It seems like the entire gaming community has been wondering what the hell Sony was thinking with their price point and what Ken Kutaragi was smoking when he said that the PS3 is probably too cheap at that price. A lot of the comments I’ve read are a variant of Mike’s post. To sum up, “I don’t think Sony is looking at who their core market is” and that they are going to pay for it.
I am going to give Sony the benefit of the doubt on this one. Yes, the price point is high, no doubt, but i think that they are looking to a different market. Mike uses the Christmas analogy, that parents aren’t going to drop $700 (console, controller, and a game or two) on their kids this Christmas for a PS3 when there are other cheaper competitors.
But the kids aren’t going to be the only ones who want the console. According to the Entertainment Software Association the average gamer is 30 years old. Let me say that again, the average gamer is 30 years old, 19% of gamers are over 50. At 30, many people develop something that they haven’t had in their previous 3 decades – disposable income. And as time goes on and gamers age, their level of disposable income will increase.
Now combine disposable income with this recent article in New York Magazine that discusses the Peter Pan Syndrome hitting the 35 and older age group. As the article says, “This is an obituary for the generation gap.” These are the people who are going to be buying, not just one, but two – or even all three consoles, because they have the resources to do so.
So, based on my assumption that Sony is going after the adult gaming market, is $700 too much to pay for a console and some accessories? No, for two reasons.
1. If people are comfortable with a brand, they will regularly pay more for a product from that brand than for a less familiar, cheaper brand. Sony is the most popular console. Everybody knows what to expect with a PS2… although there has been a lot of griping that the PS3 is more of the same (vs. the innovation darling that is the Wii) I think most people (not necessarily gamers) like that familiarity and they will gravitate towards that.
2. If Sony positions themselves as the premium choice, and can convince people their console is “The Best” – which is where i think it is going – than people will pay for the best, if only to say “I have the best.” It’s simple, if nobody ever paid more than was necessary to meet their requirements, than 95% of us would be driving a Hyundai and SUVs would be driven by Lumberjacks. People like status, people like having the best… and sometimes all you need to convince people of the best is having the biggest price tag.
While Sony has given a less than stellar E3, I wouldn’t count them out quite yet. If they can position themselves as the premium console… then you could have an effect where Microsoft is being squeezed; innovators and people on budgets go for the Wii and the high end market goes for the PS3. Viewed in that light is it any wonder that Microsoft is allying themselves with Nintendo?
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r
posted by rook
