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An Unofficial
Marketing Research
on
Squaresoft, Inc.
(The Best Video Game Developer Ever!!!)
"SWOT Analysis"
by Spirit Mouse
Squaresoft is in a beneficial situation for having 19% of its company
is owned by Sony Inc. Since Sony Inc. is one of the best international
electronic companies and the manufacturer of Playstation 2 (PS2), one of
the three most popular and newest technologic video game platform,
Squaresoft has an advantage to create their outstanding graphics and
significant quality game with technical advanced equipment.
The series of Final Fantasy let Squaresoft has a good start. Since
the first episode is out, this differentiated role-playing game has
become the equity of Squaresoft and it became the symbol of an excellent
RPG. It gained Squaresoft the lion share of RPG. Final Fantasy had done
a successful positioning for its company, and created an advanced
position on getting consumers' attractions.
Squaresoft's major revenues are generated from the series of Final
Fantasy. They retain their brand loyal customers by producing marvelous
game with best graphic and designs; however, this advantage has become a
pressure on Squaresoft. Its loyal customer will demand the newest
episode to be more supreme and differentiated. If any of them does not
fulfill customer's expectation, they will lose its product value. Since
Final Fantasy is Squaresoft's primary market, and there is no other
substitution from its own company, they will lose its stable customer
base.
Most of Squaresoft's games, like Final Fantasy, are super long RPG.
In order to beat the entire game, the players have to have commitment to
the game. However, approximately 95% of the consumers in the industry
prefer an 'entertainment' to relax and does not require commitment.
Furthermore, their story line must be inspiring enough to keep players
to finish the game, or else their customer's loyalty and satisfaction
will drop tremendously.
Recently, Squaresoft is developing a secondary market in the
childhood games. After partnership with Disney to produce Kingdom Hearts
for the young ages of 6-10, they are going to develop games for the Game
Cube platform with Nintendo, which is leading them deeper into the
children market. Moreover, by cultivating customer base from different
age group with different product lines, they may develop a lifetime
value from its loyal customers.
They are also starting a differentiated market. The newest released,
Final Fantasy XI is a full-fledged network RPG. They understand not
everyone who is interested could afford a PS2 with online devices.
Nevertheless, an estimate of 70% of the world will have online devices
from their personal computers by 2003. Therefore, they convert the game
system suitable for personal computers. They are including the
sub-segment group of computer games player as their variable market.
The entertainment software industry is expanding in the fastest speed
ever. As many different companies and rivals are emerging, it is
becoming more difficult to be distinct from the others. Although
Squaresoft has been known for its unique and high quality of games, it
is pursuing by many potential competitors. If Squaresoft is not
proactive enough and come up with any new initiatives, it cannot fulfill
its customers' expectation.
The cutting edge of both video games and animation are moving to a
realistic and technical age. The successful initiative of Squaresoft is
solitary technologies and quality graphics. However, its product
differentiation is becoming the ordinary culture of the game industry.
If they continue with their former pace, other competitors will
substitute its market share eventually.
Written on: Oct. 28, 2002
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