PS3 to take #1 Holiday spot

[Squilliam]

Phrancheyez said:
The problem is a lot of the people buying the consoles aren't as informed as you or I. They're going to buy a $200 XBOX 360, then the guy at GameStop is going to say, 'You should get a hard drive so that you can save games and not have to worry about a memory card. And if you get online, you can download all kinds of things with it!' So they buy a hard drive for $100 or whatever. Then they're going to ask if it comes with wireless, and the guy at GameStop is going to say, 'No ma'am, but we have the adapter right here!' Then they're going to have to buy their kid a game, so tack on another $60. Then they're going to have to pay for XBOX Live, so tack on another $50.

When it's all said and done, even at $200, the PS3 has much more value over the 360. But most consumers aren't seeing that. They don't look for specs..they just see that 'Hey, this system is only $200 and it has a lot of the same games as this one for $400.' They don't look at WHY the other system is $400, or how much it's going to cost them when it's all said and done to get that $200 system up to par.

The people buying these systems are moms and dads and grandparents and uncles and aunts who know nothing about gaming or video game consoles. If everyone was as informed as us, they might pick the PS3. Some would still pick the 360, but the PS3 being $400 would make sense to a lot more people.

Except that on par is precisey $200 for at least a third of potential customers who won't go online and won't play a Blu Ray disk for at least a few more years for a variety of reasons. You can't sell ice to an eskimo nor can you sell heated seats to a Californian.