The Colour of a Console

[London Geezer]

Morning all,

I've been thinking about this for quite some time. As you might know already, i'm studying marketing and it seems that at the moment, the term "Relationship Marketing" is the new buzzword... It's all about RM, C(ustumer)RM and blah blah blah... RM is the new black.

When talking to lecturers and colleagues alike, one example always comes up:

It all started when Mr Ford decided to sell cars, and his motto was "I can sell you cars of ANY colour, as long as it's black". He would only sell black cars, and obviously when competitors started selling cars of different colours, he started losing market share. Basically that approach to sell a product was obviously primitive and never took into account that maybe somewhere someone wanted a white car, or a red car and so on.

Today, Marketing is all about what the consumer wants (or might want in the future, if you can convince them that they need your product), so this made me think:
In the console business things have been working like this for quite some time, and this is decades after Ford sold black cars only. Even today, if you want a console, you get it in one colour (there are exceptions of course), if you don't like it, tough.

It seems that lately manufacturers have tried to move away from this monochromatic console world, with MS releasing "skins" for the 360 and Sony releasing coloured versions of the PS2. Still, it doesn't seem to be the norm, it's always a bit gimmicky. At the end of the day, a 360 is still white and the coloured PS2's are more of a "limited edition" thing than anything else. You can't just walk into a shop and buy a silver 360 or a blue PS3 and so on...

Now Sony has gone back to only releasing a black PS3 initially. They will probably release other colours eventually, but it just doesn't seem to be a priority. I'm not saying it should be a priority, afterall they have LOADS of other things to worry about, but still, it's just a different coloured case, hardly something that will slow production down...

It seems we're going backwards instead of progressing. "I can sell you consoles of any colour, as long as it's black!"

Does the colour of a console matter to you?

Would you not rather have a choice of what colour your console is?

Do gamers in general just not care about the look of a console? Are we really so geeky that as long as the insides of the box works, it can look like a piece of crap and we'll still buy it? Or do the manufacturers think so?

Comments are welcome

(I'm liking this, these threads are almost like a Geek & the City column... I feel like Sarah Jessica Parker!)

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Does the colour of a console matter to you?

Would you not rather have a choice of what colour your console is?

Do gamers in general just not care about the look of a console? Are we really so geeky that as long as the insides of the box works, it can look like a piece of crap and we'll still buy it? Or do the manufacturers think so?

I think there are neutral options that no-one minds - black, white, grey/silver - and then colours which are personal. Choice of colour that isn't neutral is going to have an influence - the GC shows this. I know plenty of people that thought it looked kiddy.

Colours either have to be carefully selected, or run the glut of options to give people choice (for personal likes and decor etc.). I guess managing stock on coloured devices gets complicated, so it's avoided on the whole and they only release limited edition options for which they guess a market. PSP and Wii were shown with lots of colours possible, but giving people that range of choice is making your life difficult for no gain.

Colour won't sell someone a console. It can only add to (or take from) appeal. As such it's not a concern. Pick something neutral and sell everyone on the content for the device, rather than the device itself. Black makes sense. It fits into any CE environment and looks sleek. White and Grey manage the same. Colour doesn't seem worth bothering with.

Does anyone know where to get figures for XB360 skins sales? That's the best option for personalisation and moves the concerns to third-party skin designers. It'd be nice to see how important, via sales of skins, customization is.

 

[Ken2012]

Does the colour of a console matter to you?

I'm personally indifferent about the aesthetic appearance of any computer (see the crude *kitchen fan* cooling solution I have for my PC ). Black, white, pink, yellow, round, oblong... As you said, as long as it works.

 

[Beafy]

Choice is good I guess, but I don't think that the look of the console, which is usually hidden somewhere in your TV-rack, is as important as the look of a e.g. car.

If you think about it, cars are and always were often used as a status symbol, so fitting your personal style is extremely important.
Consoles on the other have a large userbase, and even need a large userbase to succeed, which somewhat reduces their "specialness".

So, I personally wouldn't care if all consoles would be all black, as long as they don't grab attention in a negative ("Man, that thing is *ugly*!") way. The original Xbox does that to me BTW (edit: I mean grab attention in a negative way. What idiot at MS designed that thing?!). The new one is quite an improvement, but I'd still prefer a black version.

It's probably different for stuff like the Nintendo DS, which in Japan somehow manages to not only be a simply game machine , but a real accessoire. You are seen with it in public, and a look that matches your style (be it elegant, hip, or trash) suddenly becomes important.

 

[Simon F]

0xA0808080

 

[Titanio]

but still, it's just a different coloured case, hardly something that will slow production down...

Nintendo spoke about this recently, explaining why there was only one colour of Wii at launch, and as they explained it, it is in fact a non-negligible complication. Starting out they want to keep things as simple as possible in terms of just getting the things out on the shelves. Maybe later when production has stablised, they'll introduce more colours.

I think, actually, they had some very recent difficulty introducing multiple colours at the DS Lite launch. IIRC, certain colours were delayed because of manufacturing problems with them, and this constrained supply starting out.

 

[StefanS]

Does the colour of a console matter to you?

Would you not rather have a choice of what colour your console is?

Do gamers in general just not care about the look of a console? Are we really so geeky that as long as the insides of the box works, it can look like a piece of crap and we'll still buy it? Or do the manufacturers think so?

First of all, nice and hopefully interesting thread.

Personally, I don't really care what colour my console is. You're talking to a guy who owns a purple GCN and a transparent purple GBA, after all. But hey, they were the only ones left at launch. I might have chosen a different colour if I had the choice, though. Nintendo has been continously releasing different colour schemes, but I'd not buy another console just because it offers a different vibe to my living room.

Now, I am aware that I am definitely not the norm. I remember that the purple cube was called "Gaycube", etc. and that people - mainly 14 years old males - might have been deterred from buying because of its colour. Sony is currently marketing its pink PSTwo as a woman console. Do women really buy consoles based on the fact that it's pink?

I think we should probably distinguish the market segments, as the console traget audience spans a vast range of ages and life style -i.e. casual gamer vs hard-core gamer-. In my opinion the older and the hard-corier -OMG I've invented a new word- the buyer the less influenced he's by the colour choice and the image a console represents.

 

[London Geezer]

0xA0808080

I agree.

 

[V3]

Does the colour of a console matter to you?

Yes, colour matter. That pink PS2, I'll never buy it. If PS2 was to come only in pink, I would never own a PS2.

 

[Graham]

Would I choose a black console over a white console? Yes.
Would I pay extra for black? No.

Would I choose a matte/satin finish to a glossy finish? Yes.
Would I pay extra for it, possibly.

Would I choose a subtle brushed aluminium look, with small, subtle carbon fibre trimmings? Yes.
Would I pay extra for it? Yes.

Would I have bought the 360 if the ring of light was a chrome spinner, and it had green neons? Yes, but very reluctantly.

The problem with an analogy of a car, is that for a lot of people a car is something to be seen in. As Beafy already mentioned. And people's taste in what looks good in a car is quite varied.

There is also the Apple way, make your product a distinctive colour, and charge accordingly for those who don't want to be a walking advertisment.

 

[Xmas]

0xA0808080

Is that premultiplied linear ARGB?

 

[Bad_Boy]

I think black consoles have a lot to do with trying to fit in with the other entertainment electronics out there that are usually black/silver. To give the feeling that this is more friendly to the professional or older audience. Black is almost a base color if you will, meaning theres really no set preference and its much broader in the aestetics of general electronics. Nintendo has been the main one to kinda stray from the black console, but as we have all noticed they are the first ones to point out their console is a game machine and nothing more, and wants to stand out as that.

I'm sure theres a lot of thinking that goes into picking a console's color, it's probably not a easy and quick decision for any company. They have to think about their audience, marketing, and like Graham said the general recoginition. For example, if anybody says the word gamecube, a purple color probably pops into most peoples mind, and the same with white for an ipod. With the ps3, you can see alot of the ps2 influence on it's design so choosing black was probably an extention of trying to be recognized as the next ps2. They both have generally the same shape (small base under a larger top portion), same color, generally the same lights and location of ports. The ps2 did well, so why drastically change something that worked before.

Anyways, its a interesting discussion you bring up london-boy. Me personally never liked the initial silver color the ps3 was shown in and always wanted it to show up in black. Looks like I got my wish at e3. If it came down to it, and the ps3 was offered in silver, I probably wouldnt have really cared all that much, but I would have still prefered black. Reason for this is like I said above, most of my electronics are black and silver, if not all of them. My computer, my tv, my receiver, my dvd player, my ps2, my tivo, my external drives (for the pc), my house phones, my psp, my cell phone, my computer speakers....yep all either black, silver, or both (hell, even my kitchen accessories are black and silver ). It all has to do with personal opinion, but in the end for most people it probably wont even matter. But of course, for those who can't get what they want will, atleast for the hardcore, will usually end up modding their systems down the road to be different.

 

[Gerry]

Morning all,
It all started when Mr Ford decided to sell cars, and his motto was "I can sell you cars of ANY colour, as long as it's black". He would only sell black cars, and obviously when competitors started selling cars of different colours, he started losing market share. Basically that approach to sell a product was obviously primitive and never took into account that maybe somewhere someone wanted a white car, or a red car and so on.

Not exactly true. The model T came in many colours when it was launched. It then reverted to black only for a short period before becoming available in colours again. The quote attributed to Ford is probably not true.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Not exactly true. The model T came in many colours when it was launched. It then reverted to black only for a short period before becoming available in colours again. The quote attributed to Ford is probably not true.

Yes, I've heard that. The only black story isn't 100% accurate, like quite a lot of these mythical anecdotes.

Is that premultiplied linear ARGB?

It's in NAO32. Consoles come in HDR colours these days

 

[Simon F]

Is that premultiplied linear ARGB?

It's projective alpha colour with sRGB.

I think black consoles have a lot to do with trying to fit in with the other entertainment electronics out there that are usually black/silver.

Cue Douglas Adams and Disaster Area's ship?

 

[London Geezer]

Not exactly true. The model T came in many colours when it was launched. It then reverted to black only for a short period before becoming available in colours again. The quote attributed to Ford is probably not true.

Of course it's not true, after all my lecturer said it, and she is a PR woman Never trust PR people!

 

[Gerry]

Of course it's not true, after all my lecturer said it, and she is a PR woman Never trust PR people!

Can't argue with that. My info comes direct from Stephen Fry - and he knows everything.

Although he did say that there's no word for blue in Welsh, which was a crock.

 

[rounin]

I think the colour of the console does not really matter so long as it doesn't look out of place / ugly. For instance, I really wanted the silver PS3 or the white one but seeing as how they won't be available, I have to make do with a black one and that doesnt affect my purchasing choice.

 

[inefficient]

Don't worry london-boy.

In the distant future, when the PS3 finally launches in Europe, the feasibility of color versions is going to be much higher.

 

[cthellis42]

I think this thread was specifically made for them damn euros to misspell "color" a lot.