Words Of Wisdom said:
Are you familiar with the Pareto Principle? |
Had to look that one up. Wasn't familiar with it.
So you're saying the 80-20 rule means that 360 and PS3 can possibly counter the Wii's broad appeal with their strong narrow appeal. Well I offer this:
Why hasn't that worked in the past 6 generations for other underdog competitors? Why didn't that help Neo-Geo who appealed strongly to arcade-pure enthusiasts? Why didn't the Turbo-Grafx 16 overcome its other 4th gen competitors despite being backed by the powerful NEC with its powerful system and unique library? Why hasn't the PC market made gaming computers AKA game consoles irrelevant altogether seeing how strongly they appeal to the ones who swear by the PC Gamer bible. So much so that no expense is spared getting the top of the line setup available to play the latest tech-powerful games. Why didn't it help Nintendo themselves who appealed strongly to Nintendo enthusiasts like myself?
80% of the wealth may by owned by 20% of Italy's residents, Mr. Pareto (R.I.P.), but that isn't because the other 80% of the population is meaningless because of their ownership of 20% of the wealth. In fact it evens out on paper because it's all 100% in the end. Simple human greed is why that is. Unrealized by the pure on-paper percentages, however, is enthusiasm of the populations. Most of the wealth held by a few neglects the reality that the less wealthy who make up the majority of the populace make the whole system run in the first place. They are where the wealth begins. The masses is where you make your BIG money because simply they are many. Wal-Mart didn't become the behemoth it is by catering to J.G. Hassenfras and the country club set. It did it by offering low prices for the many many poor and poorer (middle class is an illusion BTW). It ROLLED-BACK prices using the thankless fruits of cheap Chinese labor to sell to other poor folk. It sold in bulk to those who were bulkless. Rich people by definition get rich by spending less frequently. They may buy big ticket items but they pretty much have everything they want and are apt to buy less often. The poor have nothing and want something so they spend spend spend which keeps them in some degree poor.
The Poor have more motivation to spend and to want to obtain than the Rich do. Your economic status flavors your view on life. A starving Rwandan would kill to be placed in a competitive eating contest because he has no food to eat. You never hear of problems like bulimia and anorexia from poor nations because they don't have the luxury of wasting a morsel of food. Nicole Richie with her spoiled ass is starving herself to death to fit some preconceived fashion of how she should look. Food is plentiful around her along with everything else so it becomes a lesser appreciated bauble.
The Many Poor may have less individual capital than the Few Rich do but collectively put together their capital is massive and because of their nature of having less they want to spend more. You go to the supermarket checkout and you see those less than a dollar snacks as you wait in line to get checked out. Small expense so it lowers the bar for purchase. You don't think it's that much. It's only 33 cents. It's only 2 for a dollar. It's only buy one get one free. FREE! OOOH! So many of these minor things are bought up everyday and overtime that makes BIG money making the maker extraordinarily wealthy where they can BE the 20% people-wise who own 80% wealth-wise.
The big problem with the PS3 is not only that its role as the powermachine has been usurped by the XBox 360 but more importantly that it placed itself as a mass market item at an elitist price. To sell to a niche market you must cater to the whims of a few and sell at a premium because of the rarity of having a company design what you are looking for. Mercedes in Germany is just a car like any other but in America it's a class symbol because of its rarity of access and it sells inflatedly higher. Sports cars sell big bucks with their souped-up engines and specialized features but a car company couldn't survive unless it also sold those economy cars and SUVs to the poorer family-filled masses who need room and affordability. This is why Toyota is on top in Japan and in the world where Ferrari only goes but so far.
PS3 made the mistake of playing Cristal to a Red Dog market (I know somebody out there hates that I used Red Dog as an analogy. They don't like the flavor. 
Maybe I shoulda used Rolling Rock, Budweiser or Miller Lite instead. You fill in the proper beer analogy). And now they're paying the price for that decision desperately playing catchup with these price drops which will only be matched and surpassed by the competition most especially its doppelgänger the XBox 360.
Wii meanwhile will not only tap into this audience that MS & Sony fight over but also capture the beer drinkers vs. the champagne imbibers. Wii becomes air. Hardly nowhere can it not infiltrate. Not many vacuums to prevent its spread. It gets everywhere within everything. It understands the masses and knows how to lower the barrier toward mass acceptance better than has ever been done before. Yes, currently the XBox 360 has a strong software base in USA which makes it viable as a competitor. But the hardware grows slower denoting that MS is focusing on catering to the needs of the 20% with the 80%. Currently Wii's software base is less but its hardware grows considerably meaning that it has the potential to solidify the software base later to broader audiences. Different groups of people to cater to in this broad category all of which will turn out in powerful sales to each respective group. Some explosive 1st week charters, others softer lingerers who just hang around on the top 20/50 for years on end.
Rules of thumb always miss the fingers and toes that make up the rest of the appendages.
John Lucas
Words from the Official VGChartz Idiot
WE ARE THE NATION...OF DOMINATION!
