| EricHiggin said: To me, if you require a payment plan for the hardware like this, how in the world are you going to afford $70-$100 games, or $40 GAAS games with some microtransactions, or F2P with constant microtransactions? If you can afford a $299-$499 console up front, I at least know you're much more likely going to be able to afford enough games during the course of the gen and beyond, to make it worth my while to subsidize it to get it in your hands. A $399 PS6 Lite makes way more sense than a monthly payment plan for a $599 valued PS6 Handheld. |
Edit for the bolded: The notion of a monthly plan is not specific to the handheld. It's the PS6 period. Point is, of the 110m PS5 users that will exist by fall 2027, very few will be interested in a PS6 lite which is essentially a PS5 spec machine with some improvements and a weaker CPU. They would just stick with their PS5. How does Sony get this majority to buy into their next $699-799 premium console.
We're 5months into the year and I've only bought one game. People don't need to spend a lot on software and many already prioritise free to play etc. Worth noting a contract is not a loss, that income is coming just over a longer window and many are sold at surplus (higher total profit compared to upfront cost). The main concern is getting people into the ecosystem. PS+ etc and contracts allow that through extremely low entry costs.
Also barrier to entry in regard to price is more than just a question of can/can't afford. It's psychological. Many people could afford to buy a $100 game but many wouldn't simply because they are uncomfortable departing with that much money in one fell swoop for a single game. Some of that same demographic however will knowlingly or not spend $50 on a cheaper game then spend another $50 over a year or 2 period on DLC, cosmetics etc.
The same logic applies to consoles and "hidden" costs like online access, more expensive software etc. I'm sure many people would rather spend $499 on a console and pay for online on a monthly, then spend $799 outright and have free online... even if the later is actually cheaper in the long run.
