Kutagari, in other words, epitomized all that innovation requires. Firstly he chose an article that possessed the four qualities of 'opportunity':

(2) Opportunity is attractive -- Playstation is attractive to users in that it offers entertainment and laughs -- always an attractive commodity (2) Opportunity is durable -- Playstation is here to stay as evidenced by its string of successors and continuing stream of success (3) Opportunity is timely -- Kutagari realized that Internet and computer was coming into its own and that video games may well be the fad of the future. He was correct. (4) Opportunity is anchored in a product, service, or business that creates or adds value for its buyer or end-user -- Playstation certainly provided benefits to its users in that it provided entertainment value and interest.

The product, therefore, provided one dynamic of the conditions for 'innovation'; but for innovation to succeed it needed the qualities of the creator and here is where Kutagari accomplished the other requirements in that he displayed the necessary tenacity and perseverance. Time and again despite setbacks and discouragement, Kutagari forged ahead with his idea. He had belief and confidence, too, in his creation, proceeding despite disapproval from his superiors and continuing even when he had to go it alone. Eventually, it took Sony to break off from Nintendo to accomplish the project, but the product idea, development, and eventual marketing only came to fruition through the genius of Kutagari.

'Innovation' fulfills a need, but it takes the genius of an individual to recognize this need and special tenacity and particular characteristics to persevere despite all discouragement (Lei, 2003).

The key marketing features were the attraction of online games and DVD. In fact, online entertainment in its various forms. This is what helped Sony Playstation stand out from its competitors and is attested to in reviews on Sony's Playstation that included the following:

"PlayStation re-ignited our imagination with video games" (Dr. Jeffrey Brand, associate professor in communication and media at Bond University). Game designers Yoshiki Okamoto called the brand "revolutionary -- PlayStation has changed gaming, distribution, sales, image and more," whilst Evan Wells of Naughty Dog opined that "PlayStation is responsible for making playing games cool." (Tretton, 2009)

All of those aspects lauded by the reviews cited above were the key marketing features, concepts and factors of Playstation's innovation that made it stand out from its competitors to the extent that in 2010, Gizmodo qualified PlayStation unique, stating that "If you ask the average person on the street what their favorite Sony product is, more often than not you'll hear PlayStation." (Johnson, 2010)

Many see Sony's success and niche as consisting of the fact that their technologies are 'future-proof' with their products beign superior to those of the competitors (specifically Nintendo and Microsoft) and to their games characterizing the latest technology on the market. Here too is where we see the aspect of 'innovation' in that not only is there a different idea but this idea constantly seeks to keep ahead of competitors that imitate the idea, by arduously and tirelessly keeping itself on edge.

Even today, despite the recession, studies show that the PlayStation...

Facebook, for instance, shows that Playstation has over 11 million fans - far more than any other brand in the entertainment industry. Finally, Greenlight's Entertainment Retail shows the PlayStation brand to be the most interactive making 634 posts and tweets on the social networking sites of Facebook and Twitter (Woollaston, 2010). That this occurred is due to the various factors that consituted innovation not least originality and perseverence of founder, differentiation of marketign features, and timeliness of idea.
Innovative products succeed through their innovation and differentness and through the qualities of its creator. Sony's PlayStation indicates those characteristics.

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