arne said:
Wait, wait. You are all saying that basically people are settling for an Xbox 360 when they what they really want is a PS3?
And that people aren't buying the PS3 because it's a lot more expensive than the X360?
People aren't buying the PS3 presumably because it's expensive, not because it's $x more expensive. Let's add that maybe there's no library of compelling software to justify the price point yet, which is what everyone here also points at when looking at Feb NPD, etc., etc.
Sure that would be rational, but most everybody here says the video game consumer is an irrational consumer.
I bet you that consumers that go to buy a X360 these days, are Xbox 360 intenders, not PS3 switchers. That substitution crap maybe only happens during the holidays.
make up your minds.
there's no doubt in my mind that most people that only owned a ps2 would rather get a ps3. that's just human nature, stick with what you know. all their favorite games will be there, that's not an issue. the only issue is how much they are willing to spend for it. if it turns out xbox 360 is also getting all their favorite games and at a price much lower (and, besides, they don't get all those hd, blu-ray mumbo jumbo), then maybe xbox 360 actually is a viable alternative.
microsoft right now
should be thinking of a way to solidify that switchover. january and february npds are clear indicators that sony is going to have a hard time, microsoft should be in a position right now to make that hard time much worse. but then they go and announce a new sku that carries a higher price, and you are left to wonder, does microsoft even care about getting to the mainstream? or are they completely oblivious how to get to it? or maybe do they expect halo 3 and grand theft auto iv to do all that work for them?
for whatever reason, consumers are rejecting the core, arne. there's no denying it. the rationale has been that sometime down the line when it's at a lower price, then people will start to buy it. that'd be easier to swallow if a sizable percentage were actually buying it now. since they aren't, we can only hypothesize why people aren't going for it even now. is it because they recognize the lack of functionality? or is it because they don't want to settle for a lesser version? or maybe somewhere in between? for microsoft's sake, it better be the functionality. if the major reason is due to the lesser image, the elite is basically what many in this thread, myself included, say it is: a price increase in the eyes of the average consumer. and that is precisely the opposite of what the 360 needs if it is to be the dominant force of the industry.
which, again, brings us back to something i asked earlier, does microsoft actually care about the mainstream? or is it just about becoming the media hub and appealing to the ultra-hardcore techies, and if you aren't interested in that then screw you.
