One company seems to continually appear at the top of monthly social media rankings, Playstation. Although the release of the PlayStation 5 is the main contributor to their global ranking, it signifies much more than that alone.
What Sony does or doesn’t do with its new console will be scrutinised on such a scale that it is unfathomable to comprehend. Think of the tech-sector, think of the number of gaming industry brands that produce competitively priced and similarly marketed Televisions. Then think of the gaming sector, an immensely popular industry worth multi-billions each year, now think of the alternatives to PlayStation and XBOX…
The WII, GameCube, DS and whatever other attempts Nintendo have made have often fallen into insignificance and what remains is a marketplace soaked with money and two competitors truly on the same level. There’s so much profit to be made in the sector that it wouldn’t surprise us if both Sony and Microsoft enjoy having the other one around.
Gaming branding 🎮
So what does it take to stand out in a sector of a million colours and endless possibilities? Well, truthfully it takes more than you would imagine. Many games, consoles and even applications have tried and failed. As an industry, it isn’t one without risks, but for those who manage to weather the storm and hang around, it can be a great sector to be in.
It’s the gaming industry brands with industry insight and forethought that stand the test of time, those who see movements in the sector and appeal to the mass-market. A gaming industry brand that is open to long-term growth, will reap the rewards of the gaming sector. Think of Angry Birds, a simple game with seemingly childish branding. But along the way, they gained a large following and whilst selling merchandise across the world they also bagged it big and brought out their own film.
Brand collaboration 🤝
Brand collaboration has epitomised the growth of the gaming sector. In the past year, Fortnite has cemented itself as the dominant force in the world of online gaming. With partnerships including hip-hop mogul Travis Scott and other-worldly DJ, Marshmello, Fortnite has bridged the gap between the gaming sector and the music industry seamlessly. In doing so, it has opened up the possibility of even more out-there collaborations in the future. The standard really has been set by the cross console battle royale based game.
Gaming specific products 🕹️
With the rise of the gaming sector, subsidiary products specific to the gaming industry have created several secondary marketplaces. From headsets and microphones to energy drinks said to increase gaming performance. Gaming specific products are very much here to stay. Take Sneak Energy or G-Fuel; two of the biggest movers in the gaming energy drink sector, with die-hard fans and gaming industry brand ambassadors, the products keep going from strength-to-strength. How can an energy drink improve your gaming ability, well honestly we don’t know, but it certainly isn’t a product we ever needed for our Crash Bandicoot marathons growing up.
Gaming on the go 🤳
The most significant branding development in the gaming world has been the desire to game on the move. With mobile phones becoming more responsive to games, some top-performing games now need to be accessible across mobile devices. We see the likes of FIFA and Fortnite developing usable versions of their game that can be downloaded onto mobile phones and played on the go.
When building a brand strategy, gaming companies must think across platforms, and foresight must be given to making the game and brand adaptable to smaller screens with less capacity for depth and scope.
The champion of the world 🏆
Multiplayer online battle arena game Dota2 offers a prize pool of over $200,000,000 for their world championships, meaning that being good at the game can be a lucrative career for some. Which in turn also means more people will see the brand, download the game and spend money within the game to compete with rival players.
At Create8, we’ve worked on various shakes and protein bar brands, we are ready to take on yours next!
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