Ka-pi96 said:
Does it though? They're still making money from the sale regardless. So there's no difference from a hardware perspective. As for software, scalpers will ensure those that have the most spare cash and are most willing to buy things for inflated prices have consoles. ie. those most likely to buy lots of full price games. It will also mean those that can barely afford the console are much less likely to get it. ie. those least likely to buy lots of games. A greater proportion of highly profitable customers would actually be beneficial for Sony/Microsoft, so they're not getting hurt there either. Plus this is effectively free advertising for them too. If a produce as seen as hugely popular and in demand then that in turn is going to make even more people want it. People are more likely to make impulse purchases for something they know people are paying much more for online when they see there's just 1 left on the shelf, than if there were 50 on the shelf and it didn't seem that popular. Besides, Sony/Microsoft could have taken measures to prevent scalpers getting hold of that many consoles if they wanted to. They didn't though, so they can't be worried about it hurting them. |
It does, because until scalped consoles actually get into the hands of end users, they won't generate SW sales, so damaging devs, publishers and stores for the delayed sales and platform owners for the delayed royalties. And consoles being bought later by many end users could also cause a not totally insignificant number of totally missed, not just delayed, SW sales too through the whole console lifetime. Some very hyped and front loaded launch window titles could be hit more heavily than average.
