The reason why you pay for Xbox Live - An attempted Explanation

[auxerre]

theprof00 said:
Yup.
price is a part of value, and there are only 2 AAA exclusives.

Don't get me wrong I love the system, but it doesn't have the perceived value of something like the Wii, which has everything going for it including the style and social desirability/status symbol value.
Just like Xbox Live, the perceived value is redonkulous. But that doesn't mean it is justified. Some things are justified, some things aren't.

To me, value of a gaming console has everything to do with the amount of enjoyment you get out of it in terms of gaming, and nothing to do with style of social value. I've got a Wii and I haven't played it since Boom Blox. To me, I regret paying $250 for it since I don't believe I've received that much enjoyment in return.

On the other hand, I play my 360 every day, and am on Live almost every night. I haven't had this much enjoyment from a console since PS1, which still holds the place of my favourite console ever. In terms of value versus price, I'm extremely happy.

But bottom line is that value/perceived value has nothing to do with companies operating at a profit. If Sony was not making a profit off of their PS2 right now, their PS3 losses would be crippling them even more than they already are. They need to make a profit, and as a fan of their system, you should be looking forward to the day when they can sell their console and make money off of it, since that is the only way to ensure it will enjoy the same longevity and support that its two little brothers did.