greenmedic88 said:
Reasonable said:
greenmedic88 said:
Reasonable said:
Squilliam said:
Reasonable said:
still too expensive for me - in principle, if you see what I mean. Compared to general cost of HDD today that's too much still. |
Which principle is that? I thought that everyone was gangster with the idea that console prices are cheap, console accessories are relatively expensive. The value here is more than the sum of its parts. As a business consultant how much is your time worth if you compare migrating a 40GB PS3 to a new HDD (generally after its full) to using the bundled transfer cable to upgade a 20/60GB Xbox 360?
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The principle that I don't accept consoles or other electronic devices should have more expensive proprietary devices.
Man, you should have seen me when I bought DS and discovered you couldn't use GBA accessories you already had with it!
I just hate this whole business model.
The time doesn't matter - with PS3 you just dump it to an external HDD then back again. Besides, who actually sits watching while this stuff is going on?
To conclude, I want to see fairly consistent prices for something like and HDD not a specialized one that costs more.
But to show I'm fair in this, I'll point out that nothing made my blood boil more than the cost of 8MB or whatever they were memory cards for the PS2. My foray into consoles almost ended right there!
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But peripheral pricing has always been a part of the console business model.
Generally, until costs can be brought down on hardware and they aren't sold at a loss, the peripheral market is the sweetest plum for console manufacturers (take Nintendo and the $40 remote + $20 nunchuck + $20 motion plus per player = good business model).
MS basically painted themselves into a corner with their peripheral drives in that they HAVE to charge X amount for these drives or else it makes more sense for consumers to buy a base $199 Arcade (which is less profitable) and then add on a drive. If the cost to build your own bundle is ever less than the price of the MS bundles, they lose money.
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Who says you have to like or agree with it as the consumer though? Business models change all the time, particularly if driven by consumer demand and response.
I think having a proprietary HDD is just a step too far. Controllers, etc. I can stomach more readily (and of course you get alternatives to offer some competition) but paying pretty much double (in terms of per GB cost vs a standard HDD) for an 360 HDD is just a bit much for me.
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The response is pretty simple: if you don't agree with the pricing, then you don't buy the product.
Manufacturers can only charge the most consumers are willing to pay, assuming there is no shortage or limited supply of product.
And the price of HDD space has dropped considerably, even if it hasn't dropped to match current market prices. It wasn't that many years ago that MS was charging $99 for a 20GB HDD as an index.
Personally, I never liked the proprietary HDD idea from MS, but it is what allowed them to have a rock bottom priced SKU, making it an affordable option for those who don't spend more on video games.
In the case of the Xbox 360, the HDD size is considered a "premium" feature and is largely responsible for what little profit they make on each hardware unit sold.
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Generally I don't, obviously. I consider my purchse (or lack thereof) of as a vote either for or against a product. The majority wins, of course, which is fair enough - but that won't stop me pitching my vote based on what I believe.
