Once the PS3 reaches $299

[Lord N]

HappySqurriel said:

Lord N said:

HappySqurriel said:

The PS2 and XBox launched at $450 in Canada, currently the PS3 is $400 and the XBox 360 is (essentially) $300; they're both getting destroyed by the Wii ...

In other words, it is foolish to assume that the PS3's only (or even main) problem is its price. The fact is that the PS3 is currently in a price range (worldwide) that people are comfortable paying for electronics that they truely desire, and will justify the cost if it really apeals to them; the PS3 really does not appeal to people on the same level as the PS2 did when it was released.

 

In what world?

$400 and especially the launch price of $500-$600 is far more than what most people are willing to pay for a video game console no matter what it does. The vast majority of all consoles were sold at a price of $200-$300 dollars whereas consoles priced above that have done rather poorly. The fact that the PS3 and 360 with their rather slow sales are the best selling consoles at their respective price points should tell you a lot.

Had the PS3 launched at $299, whether it would have been able to outsell the Wii is up for debate(personally, I think the Wii would still be outselling it), but it's pretty obvious that its sales would be a hell of a lot higher than what they are right now.

 

 

People seem to be able to find $500 when a peice of electronics that they desire ...

I'm not saying that people are used to spending $500 for a console, but people also weren't used to spending $400 on a MP3 player before the iPod was released ...

 

People weren't use to spending anything on an MP3 player before the Ipod was released because they weren't mainstream at the point. Early adopters and techphiles are always willing to pay more, but the price has to come down in order to keep people buying. Notice how an 80 gig Ipod goes for $240 nowadays, which is far less than what a 20 gig Ipod with less features would have gone for some years ago.

Whether it's Ipods, TVs, or video game consoles, they have to be at a price that most people are willing to pay, and I think we've all seen that $400-$600 is not a price that most people are willing to pay.