Ubisoft Competition
Now Viewing Ubisoft's competition in: Entertainment and Games Software (primary)
Call Preparation Questions
Customers, Marketing, Pricing, Competition
What does the company do to extend the life of products? - Short life cycles are common in the industry.
What has the company found most effective in building consumer awareness for new titles? - A continuous stream of new titles demands that marketing and advertising campaigns rise above the din and clutter of many simultaneous offerings.
Who are the company’s customers? - Typical company customers include mass merchandisers, wholesale clubs, electronic superstores, specialty video game retail stores, and online retailers.
How many retail outlets carry the company’s products? - A title with high retail penetration may be on more than 20,000 retail store shelves in the US at launch.
How does the company sell its products? - Companies use in-house sales forces, manufacturer representatives, distributors, and online resellers.
Who buys the company’s video games? - The average video game buyer is about 35 years old, and 60 percent of buyers are male.
What game genres does the company focus on? - Video games are classified by genre. The seven most popular genres are action, children and family entertainment, role playing, sports, shooters, simulation, and strategy games.
What major marketing vehicles does the company use? - Companies use advertising in platform-specific gaming magazines, special in-store promotions, and company Web sites, which frequently offer downloadable, playable demos.
What public relations efforts does the company emphasize? - Title previews and reviews, written by knowledgeable gamers for reputable publications, are a major focus of publisher public relations departments. Press tours are common.
Competitive Landscape
Demand is driven primarily by personal income and gamer demographics. The profitability of individual companies depends on an understanding of consumer needs, timely product development, and effective marketing. Large companies have economies of scale in manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and selling. Small companies can compete successfully by developing creative products.
Business Challenges
CRITICAL ISSUES
Dependence on Personal Income - Playing video games is a leisure activity and video game software a discretionary purchase. Economic downturns that reduce personal income and cause consumers to cut spending pose obstacles for the entertainment and games software industry. Core gamers are less likely than casual gamers to reduce purchases in a slow economy, but as video game playing becomes more mainstream, the impact of economic downturns increases.
Control by Console Manufacturers - Software publishers and developers depend highly on hardware system sales. Game console manufacturers require royalties from platform licensees for each unit manufactured. Manufacturers may also require milestone review and approval during development for products developed for their platforms. Next-generation hardware releases are risky for developers who must create software content simultaneously with hardware development.
Industries Where Ubisoft Competes
- Computer Software
- Entertainment & Games Software(primary)
