MBA1666 Lessons Learned from Sony’s Playstation 5 Launch

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Hey O. Welcome to the $100 MBA show. Because knowing is growing every single day with our daily 10 minute business lessons for the real world. I'm your host, your coach, your teacher Omar Zenholm. I'm also the co founder of the $100 MBA, a complete business training and community online over at 100mba.net if you ever wondered what are the important steps in creating a successful business, wonder no more. Because we created the Breakout Business Roadmap. You can download it for free over at 100mba.net in today's episode you will learn lessons you can learn from the PlayStation 5 launch. It's a big time in the tech and gaming world because video game consoles have just launched their next generation consoles. Both Sony and Microsoft have launched their latest machines, Sony with the PlayStation 5 and many people have really praised how they launched this product. And even if you're not into tech or gaming, there's a lot you can learn from a great launch and I want to share with you some of those learnings, some of those great moves they made so you can do the same in your business. Product launches are an opportunity for you to market for you to sell yourself to gain new customers. So let's capitalize and learn from one of the best companies that do it, Sony. So let's get into it. Let's get down to business just for context. Gaming consoles don't come out every day or every year. The last time Sony launched their newest console, which was PlayStation 4, it was November of 2013, so seven years ago. So they put a lot of work into not only creating the next generation console, but the launch of that console. Because they're not going to have many opportunities to do this every seven years. Right? I also want to preface the fact that Microsoft came out with their device, their next generation console, roughly the same time. So they knew that their biggest competition was launching their console around the same time and they would have to compete. So they really need to make sure that they stand out not only in terms of the launch itself, but the product. So what did Sony do? Right. The first thing I want to talk about is the price. Sony PlayStation did not release the price of their device, of their product until after they showcased it. So when they did the launch and they Showcased what this PlayStation 5 console can do and demoed a whole bunch of new games that are coming out with it about a week later is when they released the price. Why did they do that? Why don't they just release the price at the same time? This is very unorthodox. You know, even if you see, you know, the keynote for Apple, when they release the iPhone, they talk about the price in the keynote, right? But this was a brilliant move by Sony. And the reason why they did that is because they want a bit of time for people to talk about the product itself before they talk about the price. So they show the product, they show everything it could do. They show the games that are going to be featured on launch. And what happens is a week goes by and during that week, game reviewers, tech bloggers, they talk about how amazing this thing is. Look at all the great features, look at the advancements, look how fast the games are loading. And what this does is in the mind of the consumer, it increases the value, the perceived value of this product so that a week later when they learn about the price, they're like, oh, that's pretty good. Because the value got built up. If they didn't allow that week or so, then they wouldn't have allowed enough time for people to talk about how awesome the product is before price was discussed. So I thought that was a really cool move. I think it's something that I will try myself in future products. Next, I talked about the games. Now, when they showcased PlayStation 5, they mentioned all the games that are going to be coming out when PlayStation 5 is, is released, but they also mentioned only PlayStation 5, meaning that these games you can only play on PlayStation 5, like the new Spider man game. If you want to play this amazing game they showcased, you have to have PlayStation 5. So immediately they differentiate themselves. They say, we have better games. Okay, look at all these awesome games. And you can only play them on this, you know, console. And Sony's known for doing this, but they really doubled down on this strategy where they have console exclusive games that they actually build and create alongside this new console so they can launch with these amazing games. This does two things. It gets people excited, but it also cures the anxiety of people saying, you know, the bad thing about having a console, a new console is that there's not a lot of games available yet. But if you showcase a few, you know, great games that you can get only on PlayStation 5, it'll get you started right next. Product innovation. And they kept this one close to their chest. So for all intents and purposes, you know, it's all a matter of preference if you want to play with PlayStation or Xbox. Up till now, okay, for the most part, they're pretty much the same. They have different kinds of games. The differences are just a matter of preference. But PlayStation pulled a huge move in PlayStation 5. They released a new controller that some say will change the way we play video games. Because it has a very, very advanced haptic feedback system that's built into the controller so you can actually feel what's going on on the screen. It's gonna feel different when you're walking on sand versus water or rock. You'll feel the resistance of the bow and arrow when you're shooting a bow and arrow. It's a really interesting way to differentiate. Now Xbox just went with their tried and true controller. And this alone, the new way to feel your way through a video game with their new controller can really different and have them surpass their new console. Sales versus Microsoft. They kept this under their belt until launch day, until demo day, and they showed it. And what's great is that all PlayStation 5 consoles come with a game that showcases the features of this new controller so you can actually feel what they're talking about. Sometimes you just need one innovation, one differentiating feature or benefit that is fresh and new and interesting, that can make you a market leader, that can make you different from your competition and lure people from the other side to your side of the fence. Another thing they did, I thought it was interesting and some people might thought it was a flaw, but I actually thought it was quite smart. PlayStation knew a little bit later in the game, before they launched PlayStation 5, that Microsoft was going to allow you to play legacy games, so games from older consoles. So Sony PlayStation wanted to compete with that, but they didn't have enough time to pull it off. They wanted to release it before Christmas. So what they did is they allowed you to play the last generation PlayStation 4 games and with a software update, they're hoping that they can do the same for older games. So you can't do it now. You can't, you know, play old, old games on PlayStation, but they can work on it later via software update and allow you to do that. I like the strategy. They still want to compete. They put it out there, hey, we're going to do this in the future and you'll get an automatic update. And they didn't delay launch, they kept the launch date. They stuck to their date so they can launch before Christmas and they offered a competing feature. So now when people buy a new console, they don't really have a sticking point with that whole backwards compatibility. They're like, oh, you know what? PlayStation is going to be able to do that soon. So it's not like a bad investment. But they did the minimal viable thing to compete and get it out there on time. I like that.

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To wrap up today's lesson. There are so many lessons that can be learned from product launches, especially companies that have a Lot of time and money and resources to do it so, so well. And Sony is really good at this. And I learned a ton in this process of just observing them. I got one more takeaway I want to share with you, and this one is a controversial one. The Sony PlayStation design. The actual design of the way it looks as a machine is pretty much the opposite of what Microsoft did with their new console, the Xbox Series X. The Series X is a box, basically. It's a black box, sort of in a tower shape. And you can stand it upright, you can put it on its side. It's pretty unassuming. It almost looks like a subwoofer. Right. And you can probably just plop it inside of your entertainment center in a cabinet. You could stow it away and it could be really, you know, discreet. The PlayStation 5's design is wild in some ways. It's got sharp edges. You can't just put this in a cabinet. Some cabinets just won't fit. You have to actually put it on top of your entertainment center or right next to your TV. And from the articles I read, this is intentional. PlayStation actually wants you to show off the console. They want you to put it in plain sight, want people to see it. When they come over your house and ask you, what is that? And they say, oh, that's a PlayStation 5. They understand the power of word of mouth marketing. They know it's so powerful that they're even willing to do a wild design that's actually not really practical. But they know that because it's such a good system, you're just going to live with the fact that you have to put it next to your tv. It's mostly white, it sticks out. It's the opposite of what Microsoft did with the Xbox Series X, which is just, again, a black box. So don't be afraid to stand out with your products and services. Whether it's with your copy or imagery or even your videos, people will remember you. They'll share your website, they'll talk about your products. That's what you want. Thanks so much for listening to the $100 MBA show. If you love what you hear, hit subscribe. Why not? It's absolutely free and we're on every single podcasting platform, whether it's Spotify or Stitcher Radio or Apple podcasts. Subscribing is absolutely free and it gives you access to over 1600 episodes in our archives. So go ahead and hit subscribe. Before I go, I want to leave you with this. Sony had to take some risks when they created the PlayStation 5. And like they say, without risks there are no rewards. Yet be willing to take some risks in business, whether it's to stand out, whether it's to differentiate yourself, whether it's to innovate and be a market leader. Don't be afraid. This is what business is all about. Taking that leap of faith, obviously, verifying that with data and information. But you got to take those leaps sometimes. Thanks so much for listening and I'll check you in tomorrow's episode. Freeride Friday. I'll see you then. Take care.

Of We've all been there. You hold on to a coupon, but forget about it and suddenly it's expired.

Expired in 2012. Dang it.

Fortunately, by switching to Geico, you could save about $900 on car insurance without ever touching a coupon.

It feels good to save big. It feels good to Geico.