Sony: 'Price doesn't make or kill a platform'

[HappySqurriel]

jacks81x said:

disolitude said:

goforgold said:

disolitude said:

I agree that if you make a compelling original product, price doesn't play such a big difference. I mean, look at Kinect...

However Sony has to yet figure out how to make a compelling video game hardware product and not lose money on it at launch.

which has absolutely nothing to do with what he's talking about

 

Ask Sony Entertainment CEO when PS1 launched for 299 and Saturn and 3DO were sold for 399 how much price had to do with appeal and you'll hear a different answer.

Well, much of that has to do with the game library and 3rd party support.  A console by itself is useless if there are no games.  If Square had released FF7 on 3DO instead, who knows how history would've changed?

And he's not entirely wrong with his point.  In almost every other industry customers are willing to pay premium for quality.   If we all had the same mindset in purchasing other products as we do in purchasing game consoles, we'd all be driving Kia's and wearing K-Mart brand clothes.  What I find ironic is that the general public has no problem paying $600 for an iPad, but yet scream and yell when a game conole that is technically superior and feature-rich cost more than a couple hundred dollars.

First off, iPhones and iPads tend to be purchased through carriers at heavily subsidized prices that make them less expensive than the typical game console; and people tend not to consider the total cost of ownership (including the cost of their data plan over their 3 year contract).

Beyond that, most markets are exactly like the videogame market. If you multiply the cost of a videogame console by 60 to 100 you will find a (rough) approximation to how people would perceive the cost of a console if it was a car. Most people don’t pay for the high end clothes ($200 jeans), and most people see value in paying for more than the bargain brands ($20 jeans); and this means that selling your console at $75 to make it a bargain isn’t a good strategy, and it probably doesn’t make sense to sell a console at $750 or more.