Shelf life: playing a game of survival; unique promotions, packaging, Internet access give PC games an edge at retail - computer video games

Discount Store News, June 17, 1996 by Pete Hisey

Absent the try-before-you-buy technology, the company used stand-alone merchandising units for Fury 3 and Flight Simulator CD to make them stand out from the crowded shelves and concentrated heavily on general interest publications to reach prospective buyers.

Long-term, though, the company has invested in its permanent merchandising program, a 500-ft. concept shop that most retailers will spin off into several in-category components to merchandise Microsoft's offerings in each of several major categories, Belleba said.

Sega might be lumped in with Microsoft as a brand that really doesn't need much help in-store, but for the company's first move into the PC market, Sega is looking at several strategies to cement its presence in this new category.

According to product manager Jill Braff, the company plans to concentrate on its brand name and to cross-merchandise with its video game products wherever possible. With widely known franchises like Sonic the Hedgehog and Virtua Fighter, POP signage will bring instant familiarity to the PC department. "Parents will see the value of Sonic's Schoolhouse, for instance," Braff said. "It's an educational program that they won't have to fight with their kids to get them to learn." Sega may even bundle Sonic titles together for a learn-and-play-type promotion, she added.

Packard Bell Interactive (PBI), although not quite in the league as the above two, is a major player at the mass level, particularly through its parent, the country's largest supplier of PCs to the retail market.

According to vp of marketing John Rutter, the company is leveraging its relationship with Packard Bell by adding coupons to each of the 4 million PCs the company plans to sell this year offering a free PBI game with the purchase of another.

Packard Bell also plans a Back-to-School value-added program with several retailers to include a bundle of BTS supplies like pencils, pens, notebooks and other items enclosed in a reusable pouch with each kid-oriented software package.

"Overall," he said, "our parent has extremely valuable relationships with most of the country's mass retailers, and we look for ways to build on those relationships."

Starting with the upcoming geography game, Monster on the Loose, PBI will be getting into the Internet as well, Rutter said. A single click will bring kids to a PBI-developed Web page related to the country the monster is visiting, and that page will in turn suggest related pages on culture, music, language and politics of that country, with instant connection a button-push away.

On the retail scene, the best keep widening the gap. CompUSA and Best Buy are now leagues ahead of other mass merchants. CompUSA recently introduced its Software Sampler, which allows shoppers to test-drive up to 200 games and other software titles. Best Buy, meanwhile, has shifted into more interactive demos, along with an improved themed endcap program.