EricHiggin said:
A subscription pay as you go hardware model won't work. I can tell you right now, none of my gaming friends would sign up for that. Most already don't like PS Plus, at least ever since SNY added tiers and kept jacking up the prices based on 'added value'. Paying for it in full once a year was borderline as it was, and that's for a digital service. Most my friends only pay it to be able to play online. They don't even care about anything else Plus offers. I and a few friends have cancelled our Plus subs this year. I've been signed up every year since about 2012. XB has been trying this for a while and it hasn't been working for them either. SNY should be able to shave $100 off the PS6 Handheld with a PS6 Lite console, but that's at cost to manufacture. SNY should then subsidize the PS6 Lite by $50-$100. This way you end up with something like a $399 PS6 Lite and a $599 PS6 Handheld. Either that, or subsidize the handheld $100 so it's $499 and don't bother with the PS6 Lite at that point if SNY doesn't want to. Problem with this, is that all those PS4 gamers didn't upgrade to PS5 at $499, so what makes SNY think they'll upgrade to a PS6 Handheld for $499? How many potential new consumers could SNY attract with a $399 PS6 Lite instead? |
Nothing is making any profit at $499, so subsidising it even further seems unlikely imo. This device has twice the ram and more advanced features than the Switch 2, it doesn't make sense to think it could exist at $399 in this economy. Worth noting when consoles were subsidized heavily in the past it was with the knowledge costs would fall significantly within across the generation. There is no prospect of that right now, so subsidisation would be minimal, not $200 worth imo.
As far as your friends (who already owns PS5s I presume?), that simply is not market enough evidence to say it can't work lol, I'm sorry. They already hate PS+ and tiers but the tiers are working and adding value to Sonys service revenue. They are just not the target market. Many different demographics are out there and Sony diversifying their model is intended to reach them through different means. A $199 upfront console and $29 sub with some perks would definitely appeal to some people.
Personally I always thought it was crazy that people would buy their phones outright and spend $800+ in one fell swoop. Others think it's crazy people go on these $50 contracts for 24months... Each to their own.
Now Sony will have more insight than either of us in what could work, I'm not wedded to the idea but when they say they're thinking their business model I think it's clearly implying more fundamentally about how they monitise and reach consumers.
"We would like to think about various simulations, including changing business models to come up with the best solution and strategy.”
In-game ads are also a thing that's come to mind
The reality of the console market right now is that drastic measures need to be taken to make them accessible, but none of the parties have shown a willingness to sell hardware at a significant loss, so we shouldn't expect that going forward.
