Sony on PS3: You're "paying for potential"

[Dodece]

The word that best describes consumers who buy hardware under this mantra is gullible. Unfortunately there seem to be over ten million gullible gamers out there that are not only gullible enough to fall for this ploy, but believe this is the way it is supposed to be wholeheartedly. They actually believe they should buy a product and wait two years for results. This is more about appealing to faith rather then appealing on a rational basis.

Well the strategy seems to work for Sony, because there seem to be millions of people that think this is good enough reason to buy the hardware. Not that Sony had or has a lot of good arguments for their hardware. Ten years is not a good argument rationally speaking, because by the time year six rolls around someone can buy the console and get the potential that actually arrived for less then two hundred dollars.

There is an aphorism to describe why this marketing strategy works. There's a sucker born every minute. That is over five hundred thousand suckers born a year. I think Sony is finding more then its fair share. Then again the worlds population increased many fold since that statement was first uttered.

I am not criticizing Sony's marketing strategy. When life hands you lemons make lemonade. When you have no actual merit turn the lack of merit into a promise of potential. Which seems to have worked. They have sold a more expensive piece of hardware with the least game support, and somehow have managed to thrive. Even the mantra has been taken up by the owners.

We read their posts everyday about the PS3. How it will have all these things at some point in the future. Even though everyone has it better now they firmly believe that some day they will have it better, and all that hard earned money they spent will somehow be worth it. Even though for those who purchased the console on day one that will most certainly never be the case. They spent more then they had to, and they have had to wait a long time for their first really good exclusive. Meanwhile everyone else was playing and having lots of fun. To me that victory sounds cavernously hollow.