Purple Plums

The next major competitor is Purple Plums, with sales of just over $850m.  It is a spin-off from a major computer manufacturer.  The management team hired some experts from the consumer electronics and gaming industries to create a new powerhouse in the gaming industry.  The press calls Purple Plums “little Shiny Apples” since their console, the Purple Player, is very similar to the Shiny Station, with not quite the same sophistication as the industry’s flagship device.  However, at $125 less per console, savvy customers believe they are getting all they need at a great price.

Unkind observers believed that Purple Plums merely imitates Shiny Apples, thus avoiding the high development costs spent by Shiny Apples’ executive team (Shiny Apples was rumored to be having financial difficulties).  Purple Plums defends its reputation by saying that its main strategic focus was the online gaming experience.  To support this, it has a broadband wireless link built into its console rather than the Ethernet LAN connection in Shiny Apples console.  It has a well respected online support business with the best search facility in the business.  Through an alliance with a world class search engine, customers are able to search Purple Plum’s database of FAQs as well as the whole internet to access the information they need for gaming tips and strategies.