Emotiv System

Emotiv System Min Company Background When Tan Le and Nam Do sold their company and earned a large of money in 2003, they decided to take a new challenge about processing brain signals. Then, together with Allan Snyder, a physicist and Neil Weste, a chip designer, they founded Emotiv Systems Inc.. The company built a R&D lab to develop a workable system about brain signals process. Finally, the team had a breakthrough-successfully developed basic technology called EPOC, which can detect 30 mental states and process brain signals into software algorithms.
Now, The company wants to launch this new kind technology into market. However, there are many issues need to be decided, such as: 1. To launch as a PC-only device or both console enabled and PC enabled, which is better? 2. If Emotiv plans to launch into console market, what marketing strategy would best promote rapid adoption? 3. What kind of demand could materialize for the EPOC console-enabled? How about if only PC enabled? Technology development about brain activity Actually, many approaches were developed all the time for transmitting brain activity.
Tech| method| Advantage| Disadvantage| fMRI| Through magnetic properties of oxygenated blood | 1. Able to get strong signals2. Able to distinguish what different brain structures are doing| 1. Much cost2. Large size of apparatus| PET| Through injections of radioactive tracers| 1. More portable than fMRI machines| 1. Expensive process2. Consumer are hard to be willing to endure| EEG| Cross brain’s protective layers| 1. Portability2. Low cost| 1. Bad effects on signal quality| EPOC| Through a head set to capture brain signals| 1. Portability2.

The cost is reasonable| | According the table above, we knew EPOC is a new technology that is innovative enough for Emotiv to seek launching into market. Console-Enabled market Gaming market is certainly a giant market from which the company can earn amounts of money and creates much profit, especially for console-enabled market. Then, it’s necessary to seek the chance to cooperate with console makers. The following is the comparison for seeking cooperation with different console makers. Console maker| Group of consumer| Issues| Nintendo Wii| Casual gamers| 1.
Lacking in computational power. 2. Planing to focus on improving existing technology rather than trying a new one. | Sony PS3| Mix of hard-core games| Harm for cooperation:1. Sony company was highly divisive with PS3 hardware and software. 2. Sony Europe was willing to cooperate with Emotiv, but it needed to dumb down EPOC just for releasing a simple version. Benefit for cooperation:1. Sony PS3 is less competitive than Wii for less complex controllers and needs a new technology. 2. Sony Europe group has autonomy to decide whether to cooperate with Emotiv. Microsoft Xbox 360| Hard-core gamers| 1. Not include a high-definition DVD in console2. Taking a policy of “wait-and-see”. 3. Wanna others to prove the concepts first| According the comparison above, we can conclude Sony is the best choice if Emotiv manages to convince one of the console makers in time for a fall 2008 debut. And the demand of new product needs to focus on hard-core gamers. Then, the marketing strategy is the key to best facilitate rapid adoption. Product| With the platform of Sony PS3 and EPOC system|
Price| Using Penetration pricing to capture market share| Place| Retail channel including Sony and Best Buy, e-tailers, company| Promotion| Bundling with PS3, Selling CDs with inclusion of experience, etc| PC-Gaming market For gaming, except console gaming, PC gaming also take over a large part. There’re several features as following. 1. PC gaming was less than 1/5 size of console market. 2. Game development for PC was less concentrated, then there were more PC games. 3. There had been a trend to open brain computer interface technology. . The demand of PC gaming would focus on very hard-core gamers and role-playing gamers. 5. PC and Console Gaming profits are inversely proportional to each other. Conclusion According all the information above, there’s a conclusion that EPOC will have a beautiful prospect with no matter Console market or PC-Gaming market. Emotiv may launch its technology at both the markets, but what it needs to do the most important now is firstly to launch at console market, seek to cooperate with Sony, capture the market and finally aim at other goals.