NPD May 2007

[fearsomepirate]

Holy sh*t. I make a sardonic, off-the-cuff remark, and you guys analyze it like I'd just published a dissertation.

But as for your analysis, the problem with all the examples you cited is that the form is unrelated to the function. The form is pure novelty. A game controller doesn't share that essential trait. Unlike a PC-in-a-toaster, the PS3 controller doesn't look the way it does because its appearance is supposed to merely amusing. It's supposed to look like a video game controller because it is a video game controller. The form is the function. If MS and Sony really wanted people to think of the machines as media centers with gaming as merely one of many possibilities, the controller is merely one of many things they would have done differently. There would have been no 360 even available without a hard drive, and the Premium wouldn't have had a mere 20 GB. They wouldn't have blown so much money on the CPU/GPU. You wouldn't need a Tivo...seriously, a TV-connected "media center" that can't record from the TV? The 360 wouldn't have limited DVD playback to 480p (has this changed?), which according to reviewers is some of the worst quality playback $400 can buy, and probably would have used the money they wasted on the graphics chip to ship with an HD-DVD player. Rather than the media remote being an optional peripheral and the game controller being standard, it would have been the other way around.

Whether you look at the form, the silicon, the marketing, or the software, it's quite clear that the #1 reason X360 and PS3 exist is to play video games.

 

[zed]

so was the elite xb360 launched in time for those may numbers of 155k, or is next month the first month?

 

[Cheezdoodles]

so was the elite xb360 launched in time for those may numbers of 155k, or is next month the first month?

April

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Whether you look at the form, the silicon, the marketing, or the software, it's quite clear that the #1 reason X360 and PS3 exist is to play video games.

Fundamentally disagree here. I think you've reduced key functions into smaller bites than intended. I think the intended functions are 'entertainment' without that being subdivided.

As for people responding to your sardonic comment, if you're not being 100% serious, try adding a smiley or two. Otherwise some people are bound to read it as a serious remark and treat it as such.

Ah, that explains why the only input device they ship with is a video game controller!

If you're allergic to smiley's, the ellipsis is always good for showing a wink and a nod too.

Ah, that explains why the only input device they ship with is a video game controller...

... has the same meaning as in this case, which is an ironic . I wonder if language degrees have extended to the grammar and semantics of smileys?

 

[ninzel]

It looks like Canada is more price sensitive than the US. Not surprising when you consider a 360 Premium cost $500,a PS3 costs $700 and a Wii costs a grand total of $280. Then add 14% tax.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

It looks like Canada is more price sensitive than the US. Not surprising when you consider a 360 Premium cost $500,a PS3 costs $700 and a Wii costs a grand total of $280. Then add 14% tax.

Huh?

Retail prices alone cannot tell you anything about price sensitivity

 

[ninzel]

Huh?

Retail prices alone cannot tell you anything about price sensitivity

The Wii sold relatively better in Canada than it did in the US AFAIK.

 

[Paul_G]

The Wii sold relatively better in Canada than it did in the US AFAIK.

That could be for any number of reasons. Canada != US, which you've pretty much said wrt price, but what if the sort of games on Wii just appeal more in Canada than the US?

 

[ninzel]

That could be for any number of reasons. Canada != US, which you've pretty much said wrt price, but what if the sort of games on Wii just appeal more in Canada than the US?

No Canada is not US.Similar.. but pricing and average wages are different enough to have an impact IMO. $100 difference is no small thing,add more tax and lower average wages.
If anything would be the same is the appeal of certain games. Media wise we are almost identical.

 

[Cryect]

How about the much easier explaination of potentially better supply in Canada?

I mean its hard to say price has anything to do with a console when its completely sold out both in US and Canada besides the impulse to buy a different console if the console you want isn't available (I doubt someone really plans to impulse spend at least 50% more than they were thinking when they went in)

 

[Carl B]

whats all this talk about a $400 console
it seems that ppl are forgeting that you can buy a xbox360 for $300, ie $50 more expensive than the wii

That's a good point, and in retrospect I find it surprising that everyone in this thread (including myself) was viewing things solely from the angle of the premium unit. That said though, I don't believe that the majority of Wii demand is on the same continuum as 360/PS3 demand anyway, so to forget about the $300 360 is ok since I don't buy into the cheap 360 taking sales away from Wii idea anyway. But of course, a cheaper 360 is going to be good for 360.

To believe a $250 Wii would outsell an equally priced or lower priced 360 (which is what the original poster said) is completely laughable.

Well, only a $50 spread presently... frankly I think you underestimate the 'social phenom' value of the Wii.

 

[ninzel]

How about the much easier explaination of potentially better supply in Canada?

I mean its hard to say price has anything to do with a console when its completely sold out both in US and Canada besides the impulse to buy a different console if the console you want isn't available (I doubt someone really plans to impulse spend at least 50% more than they were thinking when they went in)

It's a number of factors,but I don't think you can write off price.
Especially now that the CDN dollar is almost on par with the US,yet retail prices have not adjusted to reflect our higher buying power. I know a lot of CDN consumer who are either holding of buying certain items or going directly to the US to avoid the gouging CDN retail prices.
Buying the Wii you are being gouged for an extra $17CDN, buying the 360 Premium hit's you for an extra $73 right now. That's a big difference.

 

[fearsomepirate]

How many Cores are actually sitting on shelves in stores?

 

[ninzel]

In all my local weekly flyers(Zellers,Best Buy,Future Shop, Walmart) I see only the Premium advertised. That has to have an impact on how the average consumer.

 

[mrcorbo]

That's a good point, and in retrospect I find it surprising that everyone in this thread (including myself) was viewing things solely from the angle of the premium unit.

Until consumers show that they consider the Core unit to be a viable option I don't really see any other way to view it.

Now, I would like to see how a core+memory card+game bundle would fare @ the Wii's price point. Don't forget that the Wii's $250 includes everything you need to start playing games right away. This makes the $50 delta between the Wii's price and the Core's price more realistically $100 at least (add on a $30 memory card + a $20 budget game).

 

[Johnny Awesome]

Things seem grim for Sony right now. I agree with Dave, Tap, Scooby and others who say that MS is waiting until they solve their production issues before lowering the price of X360 at retail.

 

[Cheezdoodles]

The Wii sold relatively better in Canada than it did in the US AFAIK.

That still tells you nothing about Canadian price sensitivity regarding consoles.

For that, you would need several things, price drop data for one. Just because the wii is selling a little more in canada doesn't alone mean anything.

Here in Norway, the Wii is selling out all the time, they get swooped of the shelves. That alone doesn't tell us anything about the norwegian price sensitivity. Even tho the wii is selling more than the PS3 and X360 relative to other countries. If anything, norway is less price sensitive regarding console prices than anything.

 

[ninzel]

That still tells you nothing about Canadian price sensitivity regarding consoles.

For that, you would need several things, price drop data for one. Just because the wii is selling a little more in canada doesn't alone mean anything.

Here in Norway, the Wii is selling out all the time, they get swooped of the shelves. That alone doesn't tell us anything about the norwegian price sensitivity. Even tho the wii is selling more than the PS3 and X360 relative to other countries. If anything, norway is less price sensitive regarding console prices than anything.

Well it's easy to say that you don't think a certain theory is correct without any reasons.
My logic is that in places where things are relatively more expensive,where taxes are higher and wages are relatively lower all those things combined,conspire to make people more price sensitive. I base that on the simple idea that everybody in the world in price sensitive, it's just that the level of price sensitivity rises and falls depending on conditions that effect disposable income.
Price is not the only factor especially in gaming,but it's a big one.

 

[Mintmaster]

Price sensitivity, by definition, is the change in sales given a change in price.

Comparing sales across consoles is a terrible way to judge that. The appeal of the different consoles can vary drastically from region to region. The Wii is outselling PS2 by a greater factor in Canada than in the US, for example. Does that mean the US is more price sensitive?

There is no way to quantify price sensitivity before a price drop, and even then it's tough to separate it from other factors.

 

[ninzel]

Well I guess I had a different idea of what price sensitivity means.

Anyway when thinking about the Wii's success,I can't help but notice it gives off an eco-friendly vibe and I wonder if that's resonating with people as well as the price.
It gets the same job done(more or less) as the other two for less money but in a package that has a smaller footprint, uses les electricity and overall seems more efficient. Even the controller seems to echo that with a streamlined one handed approach and less buttons. Then look at the marketing using healthy people wearing white which represents clean.
In this day when the environment is becoming more in the spotlight I wonder if Nintendo intentionally is trying to ride that wave as well.