Recent activities at Sony Interactive Entertainment suggest that the company might be looking to expand its advertising business by monetizing PlayStation, which could potentially lead to an ad-oriented future. PlayStation has recently reaffirmed the discontinuation of physical discs, a move that many believe is aimed at improving the company’s profit margins. Now, it might be looking to generate more revenue through advertisements.
The gaming industry appears to be at a critical point, with mass layoffs becoming increasingly common and production costs rising rapidly. Many video game companies have already turned to advertising to help close the gap between costs and revenue, mainly because it is one way to generate more income without charging consumers more. And if recent reports are accurate, PlayStation’s future products could be next in line to follow the trend.
Sony’s New Job Listings Hint at an Ad-Monetized Future for the PlayStation Brand
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Image via Sony -
Image via Sony -
Image via PlayStation
A series of job listings appearing at Sony Interactive Entertainment hint at an accelerated expansion of PlayStation’s advertising business. A report by Digiday suggests that at least four advertising-related roles have been open at Sony in recent months, which could indicate that the company wants to adopt similar ad-centric strategies to Xbox and EA. One job listing, for example, mentions “PlayStation’s newly formed advertising organization,” which has led to rumors about ad-supported services or in-game ads for PlayStation products.
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None of the job descriptions provide specific details about how the new ad organization will operate. Most of the roles include generic mandates, such as “Recommend integrated advertising solutions that maximize the value of the PlayStation platform.” However, some experts believe that the timing of these job listings is significant. Jacob Bourne, a technology analyst at eMarketer, said, “The timing also isn’t accidental.” According to Bourne, rising operational costs in the gaming industry are pushing publishers to consider advertisements, and PlayStation is no exception.
Bourn also says gaming is similar to social media in that it relies heavily on user retention. However, the industry is far behind in monetization, as games “earn about one-tenth the ad dollars per minute” compared to social videos. Experts suggest that this gap is enticing for game publishers, and PlayStation might be looking to keep up with its competitors by increasing its ad revenue. EA has already embraced in-game advertising, with its executives calling it a “huge opportunity.” Xbox is also actively testing an ad-supported tier for its Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is going to be free for the end user.
Sony hasn’t commented on its recent job listings, so these theories should be taken with a grain of salt. The company is already facing criticism for moving away from physical discs, making it unlikely to announce plans for more advertising anytime soon, if such plans are indeed in place. There is still a negative stigma surrounding advertisements across most industries, and consumers generally don’t want to see ads, especially for paid products like video games. As a result, it remains to be seen how Sony plans to expand its PlayStation advertising business without frustrating its user base.
