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Forums - Gaming - Why the smartphone model is wrong for consoles

TheLastStarFighter on 03 May 2013

I've owned the first two Xbox's. But as gamers and consumers I think we should all boycott these subscription models. I'm against them in principle.



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VGKing on 03 May 2013
Mr Puggsly said:
VGKing said:

We've all heard the rumors about the next Xbox being sold at $300 w/ a 2 Year XBL contract @ $15/month. At first this might seem like a great deal but it ends up being more expensive than shelling out the $500 right away. That's not the worst of it though. If people aren't smart enough to do the math and waste their money, I have no problem with it. It doesn't effect me and it won't affect smart people.

Here's where it starts affecting everyone.....if this subscription model becomes popular then the $500 console won't drop down in price. If this $300 console sells 10million within its first year, why would Microsoft drop down the price? People are already buying it and its only going to be more popular with time. This isn't just giving consumers options anymore, its about keeping profit margins high and keeping you tied to a single console. It's not good for consumers. Its only good for Microsoft or whoever else decides to follow this pricing model. 

1. You're getting worked up over rumors. Stop it.

2. It may be a great deal to people who don't want to spend a large sum of money at once.

3. Quit worrying about how people spend their money. Especially since we're talking about relatively small amount of money.

4. If the subscription model become popular, than that means consumers are happy with it. Competition still exist.

5. Consumers will have options. There are always options. Xbox Live is a pay service and its been very successful, but I don't see MS's competition doing the same thing.

6. If others decide to adopt the subscription model, their prices will still have to be competitive.

You worry too much VGKing. You worry too much about MS in particular.

1. Not just rumors. There's already a $99 XBox 360 w/ 2 year contract. Microsoft has already started doing this. When was the last time 360 received a price cut?  Next Xbox will be $300 w/ $15/month sub for 2 years. I would bet on it.
2. I already covered this in the OP.
3. I already covered this in the OP.
4. I already covered this in the OP.
5. I already covered this in the OP.
6. Depends. Xbox 360 is competitive right now yet it hasn't received a price cut in years. 

I worry about this industry in general. It just happens that Microsoft has been making the news lately and its fron and center in my train of thought. I mentioned that this would be a bad thing for any of the Big 3 to do. It just happens that Microsoft already started doing it, which is why I used them as an example. Don't be so defensive.



VGKing on 03 May 2013

Do you guys think that an iPhone 5 really costs $750? Because that's the price you'll have to pay to buy it unlocked.

Subsidized hardware is an excuse to rip off those who don't like contracts. These things are so overpriced without a contract that many will have no choice but to buy into one. A bad thing about this is that if this becomes the norm for consoles, we'll end up seeing a lot of cheap copy-cat consoles from other manufactures. It would no longer be risky to get into the console biz. Anyone could build these PC-like consoles and sell them at huge profits.

If these subsidized consoles become successful we're either in for a huge industry boom or a huge industry crash. Is that really want you guys want? An LG-branded StationBox and a Samsung GalaxyCube?



Mr Puggsly on 03 May 2013
VGKing said:
Mr Puggsly said:
VGKing said:

We've all heard the rumors about the next Xbox being sold at $300 w/ a 2 Year XBL contract @ $15/month. At first this might seem like a great deal but it ends up being more expensive than shelling out the $500 right away. That's not the worst of it though. If people aren't smart enough to do the math and waste their money, I have no problem with it. It doesn't effect me and it won't affect smart people.

Here's where it starts affecting everyone.....if this subscription model becomes popular then the $500 console won't drop down in price. If this $300 console sells 10million within its first year, why would Microsoft drop down the price? People are already buying it and its only going to be more popular with time. This isn't just giving consumers options anymore, its about keeping profit margins high and keeping you tied to a single console. It's not good for consumers. Its only good for Microsoft or whoever else decides to follow this pricing model. 

1. You're getting worked up over rumors. Stop it.

2. It may be a great deal to people who don't want to spend a large sum of money at once.

3. Quit worrying about how people spend their money. Especially since we're talking about relatively small amount of money.

4. If the subscription model become popular, than that means consumers are happy with it. Competition still exist.

5. Consumers will have options. There are always options. Xbox Live is a pay service and its been very successful, but I don't see MS's competition doing the same thing.

6. If others decide to adopt the subscription model, their prices will still have to be competitive.

You worry too much VGKing. You worry too much about MS in particular.

1. Not just rumors. There's already a $99 XBox 360 w/ 2 year contract. Microsoft has already started doing this. When was the last time 360 received a price cut?  Next Xbox will be $300 w/ $15/month sub for 2 years. I would bet on it.
2. I already covered this in the OP.
3. I already covered this in the OP.
4. I already covered this in the OP.
5. I already covered this in the OP.
6. Depends. Xbox 360 is competitive right now yet it hasn't received a price cut in years. 

I worry about this industry in general. It just happens that Microsoft has been making the news lately and its fron and center in my train of thought. I mentioned that this would be a bad thing for any of the Big 3 to do. It just happens that Microsoft already started doing it, which is why I used them as an example. Don't be so defensive.

1. The subscription model exist for the 360, but we only see rumors for the next Xbox's prices. Lets wait and see before we get worked up and piss and moan about prices.

When was the last time the 360 received a price cut? Why does it matter? The 360 is reasonably priced comapared to its competition.

2.3.4.5. No you didn't. You just babbled about people being stupid and MS is hurting us all by taking their money through subscriptions.

6. The 360 hasn't needed a price cut. The 360 sells well and is very profitable. Its also cheaper than the PS3 and Wii U entry models.

I'm not being defensive, you're just over reacting.

Sony fans used to worry that Live's success was going to make charging for online gaming standard. But it didn't happen. Sony instead created a different type of service that pleased their fans.

Now here you are, a Sony fan worried that MS's subscription model is going to keep hardware expensive thus hurting consumers. Do your shoulders hurt from always being up in arms with MS?

When avid Sony fans aren't getting upset about MS rumors, they start making predictions of how MS will hurt consumers. Seriously dude, is this the only crap your brain thinks about?



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Soundwave on 03 May 2013

No one's forcing you to buy on contract.

You can buy the standard model for $500 if that's what you want. I don't see the problem with choice.

If a person is subscribing to XBox Live anyway and doesn't want to put down $500 upfront, this lets them get the system and start playing sooner for a few extra bucks per month.



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Mr Puggsly on 04 May 2013
Soundwave said:
No one's forcing you to buy on contract.

You can buy the standard model for $500 if that's what you want. I don't see the problem with choice.

If a person is subscribing to XBox Live anyway and doesn't want to put down $500 upfront, this lets them get the system and start playing sooner for a few extra bucks per month.

HIs concern is the subscription model will be a success and deter price cuts for all consoles.

He's always pontificating on how MS is hurting the industry and consumers.



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walsufnir on 04 May 2013

I am looking forward to see how this turns to be a good idea if Sony also introduces a subscription model.



Trunkin on 04 May 2013

Why would the subscription model eliminate price cuts? Last time I checked, the average smartphone halves in price just slightly under a year after release.



dahuman on 04 May 2013
walsufnir said:
I am looking forward to see how this turns to be a good idea if Sony also introduces a subscription model.


I'd stick to the Wii U if that happens(Obiviously have my PC too). If the Nextbox drops the requirement to pay to play online, I'll eventually buy one just like I have the plan to buy the PS4 anyways after some price drops, assuming it doesn't follow suit to the Gold required to play online model.



NightDragon83 on 04 May 2013
VGKing said:
Do you guys think that an iPhone 5 really costs $750? Because that's the price you'll have to pay to buy it unlocked.

Subsidized hardware is an excuse to rip off those who don't like contracts. These things are so overpriced without a contract that many will have no choice but to buy into one. A bad thing about this is that if this becomes the norm for consoles, we'll end up seeing a lot of cheap copy-cat consoles from other manufactures. It would no longer be risky to get into the console biz. Anyone could build these PC-like consoles and sell them at huge profits.

If these subsidized consoles become successful we're either in for a huge industry boom or a huge industry crash. Is that really want you guys want? An LG-branded StationBox and a Samsung GalaxyCube?

So the solution is for console manufacturers, specifically Sony and M$, to just continue to take huge losses, potentially for several years, when launching new consoles?

Do you think the PS3 really cost only $499-$599 at launch, or the 360 a mere $299 for the core/arcade model at launch?  Would you rather they had launched their consoles at actual cost, which would have been over $800 for the PS3?

M$ is doing a smart thing here... giving consumers options, while ensuring that they won't be hemorrhaging cash the way Sony was when they launched the PS3.  The subscription thing has been around for decades now... first cable / satellite TV companies, then mobile phone providers, and now videogame console manufacturers.  Except with videogame consoles, they aren't subsidizing the hardware out to a variety of 3rd party manufacturers, driving costs up even more.  Panasonic did it with the 3DO, and Phillips with the CD-I, and look how that turned out.

There's nothing wrong with M$ or even Sony (if they wanted to) giving consumers a subscription-based option to their own services to lower the up-front cost of their consoles.  Seems to me that this all comes down to Xbox Live and how people are still whining about M$ charging for it.  Yes, in a perfect world it would be free... and consoles would still cost under $200 and come with 2 controllers plus a AAA pack-in game.  Sorry, but nothing's perfect.



On 2/24/13, MB1025 said:
You know I was always wondering why no one ever used the dollar sign for $ony, but then I realized they have no money so it would be pointless.