| Dodece said: I think I need to reemphasize the point of this thread. Pricing is not relevant to this discussion. That is a theory unto itself, and even though it comprises today well over ninety percent of the debate. The other ten percent being new game will vastly shift the market. Prior to pricing being the flavor of the month. The debate revolved around brand loyalties. Which nobody espouses today. A year ago the debate hinged upon brand power. Prior to Microsoft cutting the price of its console a lot of members adamantly denied that it would have any long lasting effect at all. Now with rumors buzzing about that the PS3 will see a price cut in the near future. It is a valid question will we return to the original theory that it is the brand recognition that would decide the console war in Europe between the High Definition twins. I want to see if this logic is still present, and if so what impact the last ten months will have upon it. In other words I am thinking about the world beyond the massive price differential, or at least a world where the PS3s price isn't prohibitive. Everyone talks about a price reduction on the PS3, but nobody actually discusses the aftermath long term. For the PS3 that is extremely important, because you can't just say sales will go through the roof. They would indeed, but the PS3 is also known for spiking rather then developing a plateau. Then again what happens if this theory is proven wrong once again. Where will the debate go if the PS3 gets a better competitive price, and still cannot win. What then is there another theory in the offing as to how Sony can recapture Europe where it is losing to both its competitors. This thread is about thinking about where the debate can go from where it is now. Not arguing the same points yet again for the thousandth time. Yes we know the prices are different. Yes it has probably had a real impact. Will it dictate the rest of this generation. Nope absolutely not eventually the consoles will eventually be relatively close in the pricing area, and then what do we think will happen. |
How about this to try on for size. The Xbox 360 Live userbase and console userbase have expanded at the same rate. Therefore its safe to say that the majority of Xbox 360 users are in some way connected with each other. This is neither brand loyalty or brand power, its the network of connections which are between each and every one of us. Brand perhaps is the driving force when people don't have any particular afinity towards a console aside from just the brand. Perhaps price influences the 30-40% of people who buy Xbox 360s or maybe its a type of offlife social networking. In this context perhaps what a price cut and compelling software does is drive console sales through existing social network connections. Brand affinity may just reduce the initial resistance towards going for one brand over another.
Tease.
