I agree with you here. It would make a lot more sense to take advantage of a perceived shortage during a lower volume sales time. Plus lots of kids have summer jobs that could be leveraged.Quote:
Originally Posted by Diff-chan
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I agree with you here. It would make a lot more sense to take advantage of a perceived shortage during a lower volume sales time. Plus lots of kids have summer jobs that could be leveraged.Quote:
Originally Posted by Diff-chan
They charge the absolute most the market will bear, because part of their value statement is a perception of exclusivity. That exclusivity is driven by price, whereas the PS4's is temporarily driven by supply.Quote:
Originally Posted by Diff-chan
I dont really want a ps4, but if i could walk into best buy right now and see one on a shelf, my shitty impulse control combined with the shiny would result in me buying one. Lack of supply, artificial or not, is costing them a sale.
However, there is something to be said for the hype built around tracking down something that is hard to find.
Was Tickle Me Elmo a big thing because it was the greatest toy ever or because it got some heat and was hard to get?
Then again, a million units sold in 24 hours...i think the demand is there.
But wouldn't the fact that you're not sure when you may be able to buy another one if you walk away contribute a lot to that poor impulse control? If you knew every store had a dozen, you wouldn't be very tempted to buy something you don't really want.Quote:
Originally Posted by Some Stupid Japanese Name
I don't think that the PS4 or any game console ever has a perception of exclusivity, which is why it is annoying. If Sony wanted to leverage it, anyway, they would raise the price. They aren't going to do that, so scalpers are going to do it for them. In any case that is leaving money on the table.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshi
Remember that money today is worth more than money tomorrow, due to inflation, uncertainty ("I wanted a PS4 but by the time I could buy one Titanfall was out so I got a Xbox"), currency exchange, etc.
An anecdote: I worked at EB during the Dreamcast launch. If you remember, the system had a lot of pre-launch buzz but Sega also made sure they had ample supply for everyone. And guess what, we had a ton of people who walked in on 9/10 and 9/11 to buy systems. Why? Because their friends were raving about it, the games looked great, etc. Hell I didn't pre-order one but bought one on 9/10.
As opposed to the PS2, which launch was popular but then you had a month of people frantically searching and getting pissed off because they couldn't find one. It's crappy.
As of yesterday, the average auction for a PS4 on eBay was $425. Sure there are a few that go much higher, but the demand isn't as wild yet. I chalk that up to parents not flipping the fuck out that they can't buy little Jimmy a Christmas gift yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by Diff-chan
Listen. There are goddamned tiny robots inside the PS4 controller. I don't even know what other point there is to make. Who the fuck cares how rare or horrible it is otherwise. Tiny robots, l@@k
Release a console in the late summer.
Initial sales from the already established fanbase that will buy anything.
Production continues through fall to establish filled warehouses to successfully pull off the perceived low supply as Christmas shopping season draws near.
It's been, say, five months now and we've also passed launch titles and hopefully start to have some real games on the system.
So now it's Christmas and there's actually enough units to buy and reasons for everyone who would want one instead of just impulse buyers and/or established fanbase, plus a lot of bugs have been ironed out.
That seems logical to me on paper, but do we know if it would actually offset a near-Christmas launch that ramps up impulse buying to an artform and gets systems into people's hands before rational decisions about the build quality or whatever can be made, even with the lower production amount? Plus it also helps sell all those garbage launch titles.
Like I said, I just don't think there is any benefit to these supply shortages. Yes these companies may dream of a Tickle Me Elmo thing but those rarely happen and you just end up leaving money on the table. It's not a situation you plan for. You should be planning to get systems into the hands of people who want them.Quote:
Originally Posted by MechDeus
Apple is going to end up selling probably 20 million iPads this quarter so I don't know why MS and Sony are crowing about 1 million and why they are struggling to get more out. Amateur hour imo.