| yo33331 said: I am not stating anything about why switch is selling or what willl be the reason. The reason can be many different things for diferent consoles. For switch is not. For other is. However if switch receive good pricecuts and also good support, it can make even greater numbers, than it would do without it. PS2 before dropping to 100$ was 129$ in 2005 or 2006 when PS3 launching, so you can't compare PS3 or PS4 or any other modern console, because first PS2 was way cheaper than 299$ after 5 years, and PS2 was way way cheaper than it's successor. Gamecube is not a factor because Gamecube didn't sold well whatever price it was on. Take 3DS for example, It launched at a high price, it didn't sell so well and they dropped the price and 3DS is considered success now, 76M is very respectable number. PS3 was selling mediocre until 2009, and then with the 299$ price for the slim they skyrocket ahead, with sales much stronger than before. Those are just examples. But the price is very important. This is what is selling your console. Well not entirely but it's very important factor. PS2 sold well at it's launch price and PS2 sold well with the low price as well. PS2 before going to 129$ was something like 169$. So you can not compare it and say that the low price is not factor or is not relevant. It is. The current consoles doesn't sell well after their successor because, either their support is done by the time next console launches (Wii, DS, PSP) or they haven't received price cut when needed and again their support is done when their successor is launched and also they have small difference in price with their successor. (PS3, PS4) PS2 long legs were exactly because of the price and the good marketing. You can't compare 129$ in 2005/2006 or 99$ in 2008/2009 console with a PS3 or PS4 that were and are 299$ since their slim variant launched and never got dropped in price, and on top of this their successor is just 100$ more, at which price pretty much everyone who would want a console would get the new one. The PS4 with the right pricecut depends if they are 1 or 2 could reach PS2 numbers (if they were 2 pricecuts at the right time, or at least come very close to PS2) and would reach at least 130-140M if it were only 1 pricecut. But the pricecut in this case makes 2 things. Not only is lowering the console and making it more affordable, but also making the difference between it and the PS5 or even XSX if you want, bigger. At which point many people would go for the cheaper console (I am talking more casuals, family, or just beginner gamers here) rather than the expensive one, because 199$ is way more affordable than 399 or 499$ is. |
*all numbers I'm quoting are fiscal year numbers
If the Gamecube isn't an acceptable example, then let's use the Wii. The Wii was relatively cheap for quite a while. The Wii received a price cut in may of 2011 to $150. Yet, based on the numbers we see, 150 didn't really boost numbers to the levels of the PS2 despite it being incredibly successful before then. Yet, despite that price cut, it only went on to sell a bit over 10M more total. There was another price cut to $130 in 2012. At that point it only went on to sell 5M more.
You can suggest marketing, but the Wii was still heavily marketed from 2011 to 2012, and first party games were still being made for it, albeit at a slower rate than the previous years. Yet 2008 PS2 did just as well as 2011 Wii, despite the PS2's successor being on the market for 2 years and competing between Wii and 360. PS2 2009 and 2010 (not even combined) did better than Wii 2012, despite Wii's successor coming out over halfway through. The PS2 was an anomaly. It isn't expected this will ever happen again because it has never happened since.
Also, I never said that low prices weren't a factor, what I said was there is something more than just marketing and low prices. Also, you are forgetting a pretty key point, Sony continued marketing the PS2 BECAUSE it was still selling so well. They go hand-in-hand.
I agree that they could improve PS4's sales with a price cut. Heck, I even think a good price cut to $199 could boost it up to 125M units, but I don't think a price cut could cause the PS4 to ship 25-35M extra consoles. The market just moves on too quickly now.
A few other points. First, you suggest it wasn't the PSP ports that helped it, yet you criticize the Wii and DS for a lack of software. I absolutely think that the PSP ports on PS2 helped it significantly. The PSP and PS2 were relatively similar hardware wise. Ports were incredibly easy and didn't have to be adjusted much as the PS2 was the more capable machine. It helped make PS2 feel like it was still being heavily supported when, really, Sony was supporting their newer product the PSP and PS2 just reaped the benefits.
Second, the 3DS is kind of case and point that marketing and low prices aren't the only things that contribute to longevity. Cutting the price helped early on, absolutely. As did increased amounts of software (it's software was barren at launch). However, since the launch of the Switch the 3DS has only sold 10 more million. This is despite a $79 variant, a $149 variant, and a $199 variant and continued support (Samus Returns, Pokemon US/UM, Fire Emblem Echoes, Mario & Luigi, Yoshi and Poochie, Hey Pikmin, Mario Sports Superstars, Warioware Gold, Captain Toad, Detective Pikachu, Luigis Mansion, Kirby's Epic Yarn, and a bunch of other releases). The reason is simply because people moved on from the 3DS and, in many cases, picked up a Switch.
