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Christmas, the time all the manufacturers look forward to and hope their consoles or games will sell well. We all know the results of the festive season will be a stack of good games and used licences, giving everyone something to save up for in the long months of emptiness ahead, but this year itís a little different.
In the past there has always been an interesting fight between console firms, seeing which one will rule the roost and which will sit and watch their console getting overtaken by the others. This year, in the UK and Europe at least, there is one dominant console that will be selling faster than the Christmas turkeys in Tescos, that of course is the Playstation 2, and Sony execs will be no doubt spending their Christmas with a big smile on their faces. The timing of the Dreamcastís demise means that the console will still be available at Christmas too though, and at a very good price, but its new audience will probably be the younger children whose parents canít afford the Playstation 2, and this puts it in direct competition with the household favorite, the PSOne. Sony must really be getting in to the Christmas spirit by now.
All this means is that it wonít really be an interesting year for watching console sales, save to see where Segaís abandoned baby sits in the running and how many people pick up on the offers of the many free game packs which will no doubt be doing the rounds. Nintendo and Microsoft are off in the distance as far as the most important time of the year for selling consoles goes and Sony knows this.
Next year may be far more interesting, with the Gamecube and Xbox around, assuming that both parties get their sales tactics right and stay in the running. Nintendoís excellent little Gameboy Advance will make them enough money here until then and Microsoft have the bug ridden Windows XP to concentrate on, but for now Sony staff will have a visit from the man in the red suit and beard, and I donít mean Richard Branson in a firemanís outfit.
In the past there has always been an interesting fight between console firms, seeing which one will rule the roost and which will sit and watch their console getting overtaken by the others. This year, in the UK and Europe at least, there is one dominant console that will be selling faster than the Christmas turkeys in Tescos, that of course is the Playstation 2, and Sony execs will be no doubt spending their Christmas with a big smile on their faces. The timing of the Dreamcastís demise means that the console will still be available at Christmas too though, and at a very good price, but its new audience will probably be the younger children whose parents canít afford the Playstation 2, and this puts it in direct competition with the household favorite, the PSOne. Sony must really be getting in to the Christmas spirit by now.
All this means is that it wonít really be an interesting year for watching console sales, save to see where Segaís abandoned baby sits in the running and how many people pick up on the offers of the many free game packs which will no doubt be doing the rounds. Nintendo and Microsoft are off in the distance as far as the most important time of the year for selling consoles goes and Sony knows this.
Next year may be far more interesting, with the Gamecube and Xbox around, assuming that both parties get their sales tactics right and stay in the running. Nintendoís excellent little Gameboy Advance will make them enough money here until then and Microsoft have the bug ridden Windows XP to concentrate on, but for now Sony staff will have a visit from the man in the red suit and beard, and I donít mean Richard Branson in a firemanís outfit.
joe crow wrote:
> three words....Long Live Nintendo
How about 'Release date variable'?
> three words....Long Live Nintendo
How about 'Release date variable'?
Do bear in mind that Sony an make consoles at a lower price now. So say that Sony still make the same loss as they did when the console was £300.
And then everyone who buys the console is gonna get a memory card... which has such a profit margin that it's gonna lower the loss even further. Oh, and another controller too! Suddenly things aren't looking so bad... and people still haven't bought any games... so, most people will have a couple of games for their console when they buy it.
I think that by the time people buy three games, the console will have made a profit... even if people take a year to buy this many games, it's still gonna make a profit!
Sonic
And then everyone who buys the console is gonna get a memory card... which has such a profit margin that it's gonna lower the loss even further. Oh, and another controller too! Suddenly things aren't looking so bad... and people still haven't bought any games... so, most people will have a couple of games for their console when they buy it.
I think that by the time people buy three games, the console will have made a profit... even if people take a year to buy this many games, it's still gonna make a profit!
Sonic
Well I believe that Sony are just trying to build up their userbase before anyone else muscles in. It's a standard tactic that any console company would use in their place, but it should enable Sony to have enough units in place for them to be the dominant force.
As for the GBA, I didn't really count that among the consoles as most people would have both that and a seperate console, whether it be the PSX or something else.
Sony are playing it right, they know that they will get their money back through games and peripherals, especially with the price they charge for memory cards, I still can't believe that!
As for the GBA, I didn't really count that among the consoles as most people would have both that and a seperate console, whether it be the PSX or something else.
Sony are playing it right, they know that they will get their money back through games and peripherals, especially with the price they charge for memory cards, I still can't believe that!
Dav1d wrote:
> The PS2 is going to make loadsa money this christmas.
I know Im definatley
> going to get one, mainly due to the drop in price of the console. At the time I
> thought Sony were dropping the price of the console ready for a console war with
> Nintendo and Microsoft, but really they only did it knowing that £200 is
> quite a nice figure, that people would be willing to spend at christmas.
The
> hot titles that have just been released for the Playstation 2 have also mad alot
> of difference in me deciding to get one. GTA3 has had all the hype its needed
> comeng up to christmas, and I can see lots of kids (yes I know its an 18 but
> that wont stop em!) going out and buying this game with their christmas
> money.
Hopefully this christmas I will get more than just a lump of coal and
> an apple..... Hopefully this Christmas Ill get a Playstation 2! :-D
Directly the PS2 isn't going to make loads of money this christmas! Consoles are always sold at a loss to the manufacturer, and make there money from the games released on the console. The PS2 was no doubts getting sold at a loss at £300. Sony realised that it wasn't selling enough consoles, and that it had to establish itself a hugh userbase before the obviously SUPREME Gamecube is released and so it dropped the price. This point is backed up in anothe thread where someone commented on the fact that Sony have made a loss of something like £300 million.
Also I personally think that the GBA will do better this christamas. I don't know about anyone elses parents, but mine wouldn't folk out £200+ {console +pad +memory card +game £300 easy}, but more parents might feel willing to spend £70-£80 on a GBA for little Timmy!
:)
> The PS2 is going to make loadsa money this christmas.
I know Im definatley
> going to get one, mainly due to the drop in price of the console. At the time I
> thought Sony were dropping the price of the console ready for a console war with
> Nintendo and Microsoft, but really they only did it knowing that £200 is
> quite a nice figure, that people would be willing to spend at christmas.
The
> hot titles that have just been released for the Playstation 2 have also mad alot
> of difference in me deciding to get one. GTA3 has had all the hype its needed
> comeng up to christmas, and I can see lots of kids (yes I know its an 18 but
> that wont stop em!) going out and buying this game with their christmas
> money.
Hopefully this christmas I will get more than just a lump of coal and
> an apple..... Hopefully this Christmas Ill get a Playstation 2! :-D
Directly the PS2 isn't going to make loads of money this christmas! Consoles are always sold at a loss to the manufacturer, and make there money from the games released on the console. The PS2 was no doubts getting sold at a loss at £300. Sony realised that it wasn't selling enough consoles, and that it had to establish itself a hugh userbase before the obviously SUPREME Gamecube is released and so it dropped the price. This point is backed up in anothe thread where someone commented on the fact that Sony have made a loss of something like £300 million.
Also I personally think that the GBA will do better this christamas. I don't know about anyone elses parents, but mine wouldn't folk out £200+ {console +pad +memory card +game £300 easy}, but more parents might feel willing to spend £70-£80 on a GBA for little Timmy!
:)
I don't believe in Sony Claus - he promises the world, then doesn't deliver.
The point I want to know about is whether Sony have dropped the price of the PS2 because of Christmas, or because of a little competition that will be arising in the next few months and because of this it has caused a slight worry for them.
But even last year did Sony have any worries at Christmas time? When Dreamcast had basically already failed, the PS2 was just being released and everyone wanted one, even at the price of £300 (The same price that everyone is moaning about, the price that is to be the X-Boxs release price) and Sony knew no matter how pricy it was, we'd still buy the damn thing, and they were right aswell.
But even last year did Sony have any worries at Christmas time? When Dreamcast had basically already failed, the PS2 was just being released and everyone wanted one, even at the price of £300 (The same price that everyone is moaning about, the price that is to be the X-Boxs release price) and Sony knew no matter how pricy it was, we'd still buy the damn thing, and they were right aswell.
The PS2 is going to make loadsa money this christmas.
I know Im definatley going to get one, mainly due to the drop in price of the console. At the time I thought Sony were dropping the price of the console ready for a console war with Nintendo and Microsoft, but really they only did it knowing that £200 is quite a nice figure, that people would be willing to spend at christmas.
The hot titles that have just been released for the Playstation 2 have also mad alot of difference in me deciding to get one. GTA3 has had all the hype its needed comeng up to christmas, and I can see lots of kids (yes I know its an 18 but that wont stop em!) going out and buying this game with their christmas money.
Hopefully this christmas I will get more than just a lump of coal and an apple..... Hopefully this Christmas Ill get a Playstation 2! :-D
I know Im definatley going to get one, mainly due to the drop in price of the console. At the time I thought Sony were dropping the price of the console ready for a console war with Nintendo and Microsoft, but really they only did it knowing that £200 is quite a nice figure, that people would be willing to spend at christmas.
The hot titles that have just been released for the Playstation 2 have also mad alot of difference in me deciding to get one. GTA3 has had all the hype its needed comeng up to christmas, and I can see lots of kids (yes I know its an 18 but that wont stop em!) going out and buying this game with their christmas money.
Hopefully this christmas I will get more than just a lump of coal and an apple..... Hopefully this Christmas Ill get a Playstation 2! :-D
Sony do have Europe pretty much wrapped up this Christmas, and I don't think that they'll be giving this present away.
It might be more interesting in America.
The Xbox and Gamecube will soon be released.
Xbox before the Gamecube and Rogue Leader before both of them (Yes, I know it's stupid but it's true. See www.tendobox.com and prepare to laugh!).
Having said that, it seems that both consoles are set to sell out through pre-orders.
The winner of this corporate war may well be decided before the release date of either of these two gaming behemoths.
It might be more interesting in America.
The Xbox and Gamecube will soon be released.
Xbox before the Gamecube and Rogue Leader before both of them (Yes, I know it's stupid but it's true. See www.tendobox.com and prepare to laugh!).
Having said that, it seems that both consoles are set to sell out through pre-orders.
The winner of this corporate war may well be decided before the release date of either of these two gaming behemoths.
Christmas, the time all the manufacturers look forward to and hope their consoles or games will sell well. We all know the results of the festive season will be a stack of good games and used licences, giving everyone something to save up for in the long months of emptiness ahead, but this year itís a little different.
In the past there has always been an interesting fight between console firms, seeing which one will rule the roost and which will sit and watch their console getting overtaken by the others. This year, in the UK and Europe at least, there is one dominant console that will be selling faster than the Christmas turkeys in Tescos, that of course is the Playstation 2, and Sony execs will be no doubt spending their Christmas with a big smile on their faces. The timing of the Dreamcastís demise means that the console will still be available at Christmas too though, and at a very good price, but its new audience will probably be the younger children whose parents canít afford the Playstation 2, and this puts it in direct competition with the household favorite, the PSOne. Sony must really be getting in to the Christmas spirit by now.
All this means is that it wonít really be an interesting year for watching console sales, save to see where Segaís abandoned baby sits in the running and how many people pick up on the offers of the many free game packs which will no doubt be doing the rounds. Nintendo and Microsoft are off in the distance as far as the most important time of the year for selling consoles goes and Sony knows this.
Next year may be far more interesting, with the Gamecube and Xbox around, assuming that both parties get their sales tactics right and stay in the running. Nintendoís excellent little Gameboy Advance will make them enough money here until then and Microsoft have the bug ridden Windows XP to concentrate on, but for now Sony staff will have a visit from the man in the red suit and beard, and I donít mean Richard Branson in a firemanís outfit.
In the past there has always been an interesting fight between console firms, seeing which one will rule the roost and which will sit and watch their console getting overtaken by the others. This year, in the UK and Europe at least, there is one dominant console that will be selling faster than the Christmas turkeys in Tescos, that of course is the Playstation 2, and Sony execs will be no doubt spending their Christmas with a big smile on their faces. The timing of the Dreamcastís demise means that the console will still be available at Christmas too though, and at a very good price, but its new audience will probably be the younger children whose parents canít afford the Playstation 2, and this puts it in direct competition with the household favorite, the PSOne. Sony must really be getting in to the Christmas spirit by now.
All this means is that it wonít really be an interesting year for watching console sales, save to see where Segaís abandoned baby sits in the running and how many people pick up on the offers of the many free game packs which will no doubt be doing the rounds. Nintendo and Microsoft are off in the distance as far as the most important time of the year for selling consoles goes and Sony knows this.
Next year may be far more interesting, with the Gamecube and Xbox around, assuming that both parties get their sales tactics right and stay in the running. Nintendoís excellent little Gameboy Advance will make them enough money here until then and Microsoft have the bug ridden Windows XP to concentrate on, but for now Sony staff will have a visit from the man in the red suit and beard, and I donít mean Richard Branson in a firemanís outfit.