OoSnap said:
puffy said:
Nintendo aren't being greedy if they don't cut the price, they're keeping to their strategy.
If Nintendo begin to lose market share, it won't be because the PS3 is taking sales away from Wii but because the PS3 is selling more so the total HD consoles sold compared to Wii will be greater. I think it's likely that this will happen in September but the Ps3 won't be stealing Wii sales.
Therefore I think Nintendo cutting the price would be silly as it won't pull consumers away from the PS3 at all, it'll just provide more incentives to consumers who were interested in Wii already. |
Yes it will. I guess you're one of those people who believe the Wii and the PS3 or not in competition. I don't think the Wii is direct competition as much as the HD consoles are but there is a lot of overlap.
I can see a lot of moms buying a console for their children and picking a PS3 over a Wii.
Mom: " I want to a video game system for my son"
Gamespot Employee: "You can get a Wii for 250 or a PS3 or 360 for just 50 dollars more"
Mom: "Why is the PS3 50 dollars more?"
Gamespot Employee: "It has much better hardware that can run better graphics and sound and you can play bluray movies"
Mom: " I always wanted to watch Desperate Housewives in HD. Sold!"
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I don't think this conversation will ever occur. First, wouldn't the employee inform the mother that the Xbox 360 is $200 (and this lower price point hasn't exactly propelled the Xbox 360 past the Wii)? Also, why would the mother only ask why the PS3 is more expensive? I also can't fathom many mom's wanting to watch HD movies as the thing that tips the scale in the PS3's favor. Most mother's will buy what the kid wants (it is for the kid, not the mother), not what some employee tells them they want. Maybe it is just my mother, but upgrading to HD is not a huge thing for her-- she would have to buy a new TV and then pay more money for the movies than if she just bought it on DVD and my mom is very concerned about how much everything costs. Plus, between raising her kids (while I am out of the house, she still has three kids living at home) and a job, she doesn't have much time for TV-- and I am willing to bet that most mothers don't watch much TV for the same reason as my mother (kids plus a job).
While I believe you are correct that the PS3 and Wii are in more direct competition than many claim (including Sony), this price drop is not much of a threat to Nintendo. I don't think Nintendo needs to drop the price of the Wii-- some great software that will sell to everybody (such as NSMBWii) and new colors will keep the Wii momentum going. Price drops tend to only raise hardware temporarily, software increases hardware on a more permanent basis (look at the Gamecube and the PS2 last gen-- which was cheaper and which generally had more of the great games).
