Comments on: Is $300 Magical? http://www.edery.org/2009/05/956/ For those interested in the business of making great video games. Entrepreneurial spirit a must. Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:07:36 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: David J Edery http://www.edery.org/2009/05/956/comment-page-1/#comment-254529 David J Edery Fri, 15 May 2009 23:20:31 +0000 http://www.edery.org/?p=956#comment-254529 I totally agree that there are certain price thresholds that can make a difference for social and psychological reasons; I just object to citing those thresholds in absence of all the other factors that contribute to a purchase decision. RE: the Wii's price: no question that it played a significant role in the Wii's success. And there's no question that the PS3's launch price played the *primary* role in its early failures. But, to quote Chris Hecker, nobody was going to pay $250 for "two Gamecubes duct taped together" unless the timing was right, the interface was novel and accessible, and the marketing was brilliant. Sony's working on the price. Their timing, marketing, and unique feature prop could use some work, too. But again, I don't know what they're cooking for E3... I totally agree that there are certain price thresholds that can make a difference for social and psychological reasons; I just object to citing those thresholds in absence of all the other factors that contribute to a purchase decision.

RE: the Wii’s price: no question that it played a significant role in the Wii’s success. And there’s no question that the PS3′s launch price played the *primary* role in its early failures. But, to quote Chris Hecker, nobody was going to pay $250 for “two Gamecubes duct taped together” unless the timing was right, the interface was novel and accessible, and the marketing was brilliant.

Sony’s working on the price. Their timing, marketing, and unique feature prop could use some work, too. But again, I don’t know what they’re cooking for E3…

]]> By: Kim Pallister http://www.edery.org/2009/05/956/comment-page-1/#comment-254504 Kim Pallister Fri, 15 May 2009 18:53:09 +0000 http://www.edery.org/?p=956#comment-254504 I remember seeing a market research study (a fairly credible one IIRC, but I can't find it now to save my life) that showed that $200 was a significant threshold because it was a the point at which purchases didn't require spousal approval. Interestingly, this threshold didn't change whether the family income was $50k or 150k/yr. Not sure whether recession changes it or not. I've long believed that the lower price point was a significant factor in the Wii's dominance. And the press seems to not want to even look at that. It's all about the controller and retiree virtual bowling, etc. I just think that when you look at console + a couple games + accessories, a 360 is a couple hundred bucks more than a Wii and a PS3 is more than that. If I'm a parent buying for my kid, well, that's a lot of scratch. I remember seeing a market research study (a fairly credible one IIRC, but I can’t find it now to save my life) that showed that $200 was a significant threshold because it was a the point at which purchases didn’t require spousal approval. Interestingly, this threshold didn’t change whether the family income was $50k or 150k/yr. Not sure whether recession changes it or not.

I’ve long believed that the lower price point was a significant factor in the Wii’s dominance. And the press seems to not want to even look at that. It’s all about the controller and retiree virtual bowling, etc.

I just think that when you look at console + a couple games + accessories, a 360 is a couple hundred bucks more than a Wii and a PS3 is more than that. If I’m a parent buying for my kid, well, that’s a lot of scratch.

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