Price does indeed matter, and we see the proof every single week that we view the charts. Last week the PS2 accounted for 18% of console sales in North America. There is also very little doubt that it is the price that is moving that console not a distinct quality advantage. Basically consumers are opting to forgo purchasing a current generation console in favor of over a hundred dollars in savings.
Not only do we have this proof, but the price cuts in this current generation have also lead to higher console sales once they pass. I would not use the clearance 360 sale as any indicator. Given how far the charts were off last month it is within the realm of reason to believe the predictions were taking into account more units in the channel. Which may or may not have been there. I would lean towards the units probably not having been there after all a clearance sale is about getting rid of something. Perhaps Microsoft did a better job of clearing the channel leading up to their announcement then they were given credit for. We have to remember, because a unit has been sold to the retailer does not tell us what model it is, or if the retailer is even permitted to sell said unit until a certain date.
I think too many members of these forums are inured to the cost of hardware, and it is understandable to some extent. After all how often do we think of starving Ethiopians when we are eating a steak, or how often do we think of people in wheel chairs when we go about our lives walking. I think its a very logical thing to think of oneself as the norm rather then the exception. When in fact those that can spend three hundred, four hundred, five hundred, or even six hundred dollars on a videogame console are probably the exception rather then the rule.
When posters say mainstream they are talking about what the majority of people will buy into. What the majority of people would be able to afford. I think if more people here cut their monthly wage in half they would probably start to develop a more profound appreciation of what kind of motivation price has on less fortunate people. I know a great many people that enjoy gaming, but simply cannot afford to buy a current generation console. So they make due with older machines, or buy used machines. Then they tend to rent rather then buy, or they buy out of the discount rack.
When the price gets down to two hundred dollars or lower then for them the time does seem to be right. Two hundred dollars in no small purchase for them, but with a little effort they can afford to spend that kind of money on a gaming console.
Will this help to cement the 360 probably, and more to the point it probably is not the last time the 360 will see a price cut. Eventually perhaps next year the price of the arcade may even be on par with the PS2. At which point even the die hard Sony or Nintendo loyalists will be very tempted.
