Of course, there is a huge number of different factors regarding the success of a console, but I wanted to know what you felt were the most important. Would you say that any one factor is more important than the rest?

- Price?

- Games?

- Advertising?

- Innovation?

- Mass Appeal?

- Anything else?

I personally feel that price and mass appeal tie together, as well as games and mass appeal for certain franchises - therefore, I believe that the most important factor regarding how much a console is going to sell is down to how many people actually would want to buy one (very obvious when you think about it), although I know there are those with different opinions.

Can we use these factors to work out why the current gen consoles are selling as they are, and make more accurate predictions about the potential of the next?

Price and games. If innovation were key, the PS2, frankly, would have flopped. Individual games can be innovative, but that's another category.

A console with a good price and great games that have good/mass appeal.

for me its exclusive games and alot 3rd party support

i never cared for price i dont like being hassled after i purchase the HW though, like online prices, batteries ect. and accessories.

Marketing, games, and a perfect release date!

Price is absolutely irrelevant. Perceived worth is what would be the most important factor, which includes games and console quality. Image comes next.

Games. Nothing else.

Most recent proof: Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land, Monster Hunter 3G, Ocarina of Time 3DS.

- Price?

- Games?

- Advertising?

- Innovation?

- Mass Appeal?

All of the above really

Umm all you need is kinect..

Jks

There are multiple factors ...

1) Price

While being inexpensive may not help sales, being expensive certainly hurts sales.

2) If your friends and family has the system

You're far more likely to buy a system you have first hand experience with, and you are much more likely to have first hand experience with a system someone you know owns. Beyond that, you are probably going to hear about games they're playing on their systems, be encouraged to play with them online, and (partially) be motivated by the potential of sharing games.

3) New/innovative/different experiences

People are very likely to buy new hardware if it offers something substantially different from hardware they already own

4) Familiar franchises

While people do want new experiences they're also driven to play "better" versions of games they already liked




There are lots of other factors which have a minor influence, but I believe I've captured the major ones. The ones I've listed also (indirectly) explain why the first mover has an advantage in the market ... 1) At any point in time they're likely going to be less expensive than their competition, 2) When the trailing system's launch there will be significantly more people who's family and friends own the system, 3) Since they release earlier most improvements over the previous generation will be initially attributed to them, 4) By the time the competition releases the system will be seeing many games in well known franchises