Sony aims to show the power of its platform

Oct 19, 2015 14:27 GMT  ·  By

Sony has been criticized for failing to deliver a range of exclusive titles for the PlayStation 4 for the holiday season, while Microsoft is getting ready to launch the likes of Halo 5: Guardians and Rise of the Tomb Raider.

But the Japanese hardware maker makes it clear that its marketing offensive is focusing on other fronts, with a new television spot showing the close links between the home console it manufactures and the coming Star Wars: Battlefront.

The one-minute-long footage focuses heavily on the pull that the franchise can have on science fiction fans and barely features the PlayStation 4 itself.

The strategy here is clearly to push the fact that the coming Star Wars shooter should be played on the Sony device to be fully enjoyed, and the message could have a huge impact on the marketplace when the title actually arrives on November 17.

Battlefront will focus heavily on the first trilogy of movies and will take gamers to all the battles that were shown or mentioned in it, with a range of solid multiplayer modes that range from classic to innovative, all of them designed to integrate a Hero experience that allows gamers to become the likes of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader.

Gamers on the PC, the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 will be able to get access to a free downloadable content pack called Battle of Jakku, which is linked to the events of The Force Awakens, which will arrive on December 1 for those who place a pre-order, and one week later for the rest of the community.

DICE has said that it has long-term plans to support the shooter and that it aims to offer gamers a wide variety of ways to customize their characters and to find at least one mode that they can enjoy for extended periods of time.

Star Wars: Battlefront is part of a wider strategy

Sony has been focusing on the major releases of the fall created by third-party publishers to make its hardware more engaging.

The biggest announcement is that those who own a PlayStation 4 will get access to all the downloadable content for Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 one month before all the other platforms, a deal that was previously linked to the Xbox One and the 360.

Sony is also trying to make its device more attractive to those who are getting Fallout 4 and Star Wars this fall.

The company is also implementing a price cut in order to make sure that sales of the PlayStation 4 get a solid boost in time for the very important Christmas shopping season.

Microsoft has already cut the price of the Xbox One, so it's unlikely that it will do so again, but the company is offering a variety of alluring bundles centered on its home console.

The company is also betting that gamers will be interested in the new user experience and the backwards compatibility, which are both set to arrive before the end of the November and will integrate the Xbox One with the wider Windows 10 experience.