Sony vs. Microsoft – Generation gap.

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Sony looks to be at risk in the next generation.

• Sony is continuing to dominate the current generation of gaming consoles, but the user experience needs so much work that Sony must act now.
• In Europe the PlayStation 4 is scoring market share of 70%-90% while it trades leadership in the US back and forth with Microsoft.
• In many ways, I think that Microsoft has gifted this position to Sony as its dreadful launch strategy and the PS4’s slightly better gaming performance made it the strongest contender for any gamer.
• All credit goes to Sony for really capitalising on the PS4, but when management says that it is “happy with the value proposition” I get very nervous.
• There is no doubt that the PlayStation 4 is a fantastic games machine but for any other aspect of the ecosystem, its offering is very poor in my opinion.
• This is not because the PlayStation is incapable of running these services effectively, it is because the user experience is so weak that users are unlikely to ever find them.
• Sony’s PS4 user experience is little more than a bare bones user interface that a user can use to load, purchase and launch games.
• Attempting simple tasks like uploading a gamer picture, finding other services or even giving Sony money, can be frustratingly difficult.
• If Sony wants users to do more with the console, it has to make the experience easy and fun to use.
• Easy and fun will encourage users to have a look around at what else is on offer before launching a game.
• This is the key to enticing users to do more with Sony other than just playing games and I believe it is also the key to any recovery that Sony may make.
• It is here where the Xbox One is streets ahead of PS4 and it is quite possible that in the next generation this is going to really matter.
• Cable cutting, streaming media services and the digital ecosystem are now really taking off which combined with a concerted effort by Microsoft to make all of this easy and fun to use could make a huge difference next time round.
• Microsoft has great coverage of Digital Life and is actively pushing greater software consistency across all of its devices.
• This will make its user experience more consistent and more easily recognised by users who use Microsoft on other devices.
• In contrast, Sony seems to have returned to a more siloed structure where cross device co-operation and synchronisation could be much harder to achieve (see here).
• Consequently, I think that in the next generation, how well Digital Life services outside of gaming are provided will be a major factor in the user’s purchase decision. (This assumes that Microsoft does not make the same mistakes again.)
• If this is a factor, then I think that Sony will be in big trouble unless it moves quickly to address this issue.
• Sony has time as the console cycle is a long one, but developing a delightful user experience is not something that is accomplished in a heartbeat.
• I still feel that Sony has won this battle but is at increasing danger of losing the war.
• I think that Sony is still the only Japanese company with a chance of making it in digital ecosystem but Microsoft has better prospects and has embraced what it needs to do going forward.