Microsoft truckin' with Xbox
By John Gaudiosi -- Video Business, 5/24/2001
MAY 24 | Microsoft is taking Xbox on the road this fall with the help of two 18-wheelers for the first leg of a multiyear Microsoft Assault Xperience tour dubbed MAX (VB, 4-9).
The tour will include 45 cities, kicking off with San Francisco in late October/early November before moving to Los Angeles, Phoenix and other cities to be determined. Each stop will last about three days and revolve around weekends, giving retailers and the media a chance to check out Xbox. The Xperience will then open to the public through radio promotions and tie-ins with sporting events, concerts and so forth.
"Videogame companies have been using trucks to bring games to the public since Nintendo started the trend back in 1989, but we wanted to do something bigger and more immersive," said Xbox director of marketing Don Coyner. "We found these guys in Australia to make a custom dome that would cover a 3,500-square-foot area between the trucks, not counting the area inside of each trailer."
Under the dome, Microsoft will set up dozens of Xbox kiosks, couches, chairs, tables, lounges and an area in which games can be played on the ceiling.
Microsoft is working with retailers for summer Xbox preorder programs. Coyner said a lot of customization is available for retailers with POP materials. Xbox standees and other POP items will begin to hit stores this summer. At the recent E3 tradeshow, standees for Xbox launch title Oddworld: Munch's Oddysee were on display, as was an array of Xbox signage.
Microsoft will focus on its marquee games, such as Halo and Oddworld, in its marketing campaigns, which should include theatrical, TV, print and online advertising. About 10 games will be available at launch and 15 by Christmas.
"The console is a means to an end," said Coyner. "We need to sell individual games with our ads. At launch, we're actually selling Xbox to wave two, since a lot of the first wave of customers have already preordered the system. We need to start talking to people that might not want to buy an Xbox until next year."
Next year, Microsoft will include online gaming in its marketing. Three online games will ship this year, Halo, NASCAR Heat and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2X, with the online service debuting in the first half of 2002.
"Gamers will be the first to adapt broadband, and game publishers are enthusiastic with our model and how we're embracing online gaming," said Coyner. "We talked to gamers about Internet access and e-mail, and they told us they didn't want it. They said they wanted a great gaming machine. The Sony/AOL deal doesn't make much sense to us."
On the eve of E3, Sony and America Online unveiled a strategic alliance that will bring AOL features such as instant messaging, chat and e-mail to PlayStation 2 consumers as early as next year.
Microsoft's partnership with Sobe beverages has already begun. This fall, its arrangement with Taco Bell will include $20 million to $30 million in Xbox promotions, Coyner said.
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