DerNebel said:
the_dengle said: Cost of owning a fully functional Wii U for six years: $300 Cost of owning a fully functional PS4 for six years: $700 Yes, Nintendo's strategy generates more profit, that's right. For the sake of thoroughness, XBO costs $860 over a six-year period. |
Number of games you get in 6 years for the $300 you paid for the Wii U: 2
Number of games you get in 6 years for the $700 you paid for the PS4: 72
Great point you've made there.
|
What's your point?
The OP asserts that, and I quote, "the only reason Nintendo makes underpowered systems is to generate more profit." However, the Wii U is being sold for $300 at a loss, and was sold at a loss even at launch, even for the $350 model which has been discontinued. This hardware has never been profitable for Nintendo.
Sony and Microsoft, on the other hand, are selling their consoles for $400 and $500, respectively, and probably also at a loss. But they lock functions of the hardware away behind a $50 or $60 /year service, effectively doubling the cost of the hardware for the consumer within a four-year period. And what's the cost of giving away a couple of older games every month to Sony or Microsoft? Sometimes those games are several years old. It's not as though they're missing out on lots of game sales with this strategy -- they never advertise at launch that a game will be available through PSPlus just six months down the road, so everyone who was planning on buying the game will buy it anyway.
It's not about the value to the consumer. It's about the profitability of the hardware, as presented in the OP. And no matter how you cut it, Sony and Microsoft's strategy of withholding major functions of the hardware from players who don't subscribe to their premium services is far more profitable for them than Nintendo's strategy of selling a cheaper console at a loss without offering any premium services they can charge extra for.
I'm with you, man. I think PSPlus is a terrific value. But the hardware itself is directly tied to that value, and you can't argue that Nintendo's $300 loss-leader is "more profitable" than Sony and Microsoft's strategy. That assertion of the OP is a blatant lie.
The FACT is, Nintendo's console costs $300, and Sony's console would cost $900 to use for 10 years. I feel comfortable using 10 years as an example, because Sony loves to brag about their 10-year plans. And I don't want to pay $900 for game hardware. I can buy a great gaming PC AND fill my Steam library with great games for less than that.