|
An Unofficial
Marketing Research "Marketing Mix" Since the video game market is getting wider than it used to be, the developer has to broaden their variety of products and services in order to maintain their market chair. Square, for example, was a video game developer for Nintendo Co. Ltd. when it first started in 1986 in Japan. However, while the market expands, the company's target has to expand too. It became a company cooperate with multiple platforms, including PlayStationR game and console with the PC. As a globally popular entertainment business, the market of video games is not limited to be in Japan only. Therefore, they also advance their market in the USA, which named Squaresoft Inc. They as well further spread their company in Europe in 1996. They expand their company from a local video game developer to an international video game developer. They increase customer base in ethnicity. They understand to be one of the leading company, they have to be unique from others. They realize that we are walking towards the visualization and imagination era, which everyone would like to see better graphics and a successful simulation environment. They joined force with Electronic Arts to establish two joint venture companies, one in Japan and one in North America, the Square Electronic Arts L.L.C. They both promise to develop innovation using creative techniques to push video games to new limits of interactivity and realism. They enhanced their image to suit the current era. Their brand equity is Final Fantasy, the debut role-playing game (RPG) of Squaresoft, and they know customers like the game by the report of selling 30 million units of the entire series up to Final Fantasy IX. Therefore, they are keeping on releasing new episodes for it. The Final Fantasy fans, who are the brand loyal customer of Squaresoft, would purchase and play every episode of it. Squaresoft also has a great empathy of their customers. They take comments and feedbacks from these customers and use them to improve their next episode. They increase relationship with their customers by creating and improve their products that fulfill their expectations. Therefore every episode they are about to release, would gain their customer's attention easily. For example, Final Fantasy IX had 1 million units on reserve in a record-breaking 17 days in Japan, before the game was even released in July 2000. They force frequency by improving their products with the customers' wishes. They satisfy their needs. For products like video games, there are all different kinds of enhancements. For RPGs, there are special programs that let you have different endings according to your decisions throughout the game. So your ending may not be the same with another player, unlike Most recently, Squaresoft is about to release a new episode of Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XI which allows you to interact the realism by playing online with other players. They enhance their products with auditory enjoyments and idolized experience too. Other than the game itself, they sell CDs of the soundtracks from the game, model dolls of the characters and a lot of other accessories. These enhancement let the customers could feel their involvement of the story even if they are not playing the game, but listening to the soundtrack while they are in the car. They do not have a spoke person for their company or products, because their products speak for themselves. Video game players know exactly who is who from Final Fantasy, the record breaking RPG by Squaresoft. And their unique style of graphics and design are deeply memorial for the players. When the player saw a poster or commercial, they will recognize it is from Squaresoft. They are really successful in creating their own recognition. For this reason, they promote their products in a cheaper cost. In order to maintain its leading market chair in this business, Squaresoft has to extend its company with new marketing initiatives. Culminating new market is one of their latest initiatives. They cooperate with another leading company, like Disney. They understand that Disney's target audience is younger children, which their own target audience is teenagers. To culminate the market of the younger children, it is an effective way to cooperate with Disney. Building good relationship with another competitor is also a successive method of keeping their market chair. The game of Kingdom Hearts that was recently released by the two companies has a successful result of achieving the objectives of both companies. Although Squaresoft is the third leading market chair of the video game business, their products are in the standard price. They understand they could earn more from the traffic of the customers than with a higher price. They rather produce more goods that will attract more people to buy than one particular expensive product with only a few customers who could afford. Especially their target audience is teenagers who could not afford more than the standard price to purchase their goods. Their marketing initiative is a real successful business model in my opinion. Written on: Sept. 30, 2002 |
TO
RESEARCH CONTENT PAGE