Good work Shifty, especially demonstrating through the numbers the different focuses of the two company and their perceptions of customer needs, but I do have some nitpicks. Not really apples to apples on the WiFi. Why is it the PS3 path gets to go a cheapo USB WiFi path and yet the 360 has to go with an expensive a/b/g path when much cheaper solutions are available (like a bridge, readily sold at retailers for last gen consoles and available at stores like Walmart in the US specifically targetting the 360)? That doesn't really make sense to me to include a premium product in one and a cheaper less functional one in the other IF the purpose of the exercise is to create parity. It may not be a feature you or I need, but for those looking for a media center it could be an important feature.
And for a relative price comparison it really should as those cheaper solutions are sold right next to the 360...
UNLESS you are going to go out and put an a/b/g WiFi device on the PS3 to make up the extra
Which would add $80!It would if you were an online gamers
Well... not really. I have a general hate-hate relationship with wireless devices. I hate charging batteries and like the affordability and reliability of wired devices... which tend to perform better as well.
It does, their focus is quite different because their vision of their typical consumer is different. Which is right depends on the consumer.
Take connectivity. MS sees a lot of online gaming and hence appears to discourage WiFi unless you may have a HTPC whereas Sony appears to encourage WiFi usage which dovetails with their media orientation quite well.
Everyone is different, but at the cost of both of the consoles I don't see a lot of consumers walking in and buying much more than a console, 2 or 3 games at most, and an extra controller. This sort of price sensativity is something I think needs to be a core aspect of the platform design. Anything that is a low-value hurdle to the walk out of the store purchase needs to be examined, cost-reward, etc.
Value is a fuzzy thing. What is valuable to you isn't to me. WiFi may be great for you for media and horrible to me as an online gamer.
So ultimately the issue falls to the market price points of perceived value for core/common use. In which case the consumer market clearly shows that there are products with insane value and quality, and a price to go along with such, but sell VERY poorly compared to simpler, but more cost-accessible, products that dominate the market.
Being overpriced isn't an issue of value if your market is sales dependant like consoles. In which case overpriced is simple a metric of whether consumers are willing to pay money for said product types. There is a reason why those cheap-o DVD players were killer apps when much higher quality and feature rich DVD players didn't net nearly the sales or sales influence by penetrating the mainstream. They are simply overpriced for mainstream consumers.
Based on that right now both HD consoles are overpriced.
I could agree with that if the PS3 also had a different economy in regards to game development and the retail cost of games.
In the end they are both going for the same market but
a) are aiming for different niches
b) have a different orientation to current consumer needs and desires
c) have different views of the direction of the market
The primary core of the market really is gaming. That does have a lot of forces, but critical mass is one of them which impacts developer support and ultimately consumer adoption.
