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Price is much more than just the cost of something. Some people think that the more they pay for something the better it is. People buy pricey things as status symbols.
Will Nintendo's decision to sell the Gamecube at £150 actually count against them in the eye of the consumer?
Will the Gamecube be seen as the Kwik-Save console?
I've always been told that the goods in Aldi's are of equal quality to those in the more well known supermarkets, but those tins with horrible yellow/brown logo's just don't look appealing.
Will the casual gamer dismiss the Nintendo for these reasons? It's cheap, so it can't be as good as a Playstation2 or an Xbox. Will that purple colour detract people?
It all depends on how Nintendo market it. If they don't do anything it will just sit on shelves, and people won't buy it as they won't know what they're getting. They need pods in stores to show it's quality. They need ads on TV and in the cinema to show that the graphics are just as good as those on the Xbox, or Playstation2.
I think Nintendo have a good enough reputation for quality to not be tarred with a 'cheap rubbish' tag. As such I see a £150 price tag as being excellent. Parents will certainly try to convince their children that a Gamecube would suit them better, as kids are expensive to raise, and saving £50 or £150 does make a real difference.
Having a large number of third party titles on the system, and as such, many games that are multi-format will also help Nintendo win the consumer over. We can pick up the games for each system, and have a good look, see which really does have the best graphics. Nintendo fans will know what Pikmin is all about, but the casual gamer will be more impressed by Tony Hawk's. With Star Wars Episode 2, Spiderman and Resident Evil all hitting the cinemas over summer, as well as the World Cup, the line-up of games certainly looks to appeal to a mass market as well as the Nintendo faithfull.
Also, it looks as though the RRP of the games will be no more expensive than the PS2 or the Xbox games. This is great news, as some of the N64 games were ridiculously expensive. If the game prices are equal to the competitors, and the games look just as good, why buy the more expensive console? Of course, a DVD player is a good incentive, and should be something that the PS2 and Xbox stress that they have.
Mind you, there will still be those out there that will see the Xbox as the most expensive, and assume it's best without looking at their options. 'Reassuringly expensive' is what I believe they say.
Will Nintendo's decision to sell the Gamecube at £150 actually count against them in the eye of the consumer?
Will the Gamecube be seen as the Kwik-Save console?
I've always been told that the goods in Aldi's are of equal quality to those in the more well known supermarkets, but those tins with horrible yellow/brown logo's just don't look appealing.
Will the casual gamer dismiss the Nintendo for these reasons? It's cheap, so it can't be as good as a Playstation2 or an Xbox. Will that purple colour detract people?
It all depends on how Nintendo market it. If they don't do anything it will just sit on shelves, and people won't buy it as they won't know what they're getting. They need pods in stores to show it's quality. They need ads on TV and in the cinema to show that the graphics are just as good as those on the Xbox, or Playstation2.
I think Nintendo have a good enough reputation for quality to not be tarred with a 'cheap rubbish' tag. As such I see a £150 price tag as being excellent. Parents will certainly try to convince their children that a Gamecube would suit them better, as kids are expensive to raise, and saving £50 or £150 does make a real difference.
Having a large number of third party titles on the system, and as such, many games that are multi-format will also help Nintendo win the consumer over. We can pick up the games for each system, and have a good look, see which really does have the best graphics. Nintendo fans will know what Pikmin is all about, but the casual gamer will be more impressed by Tony Hawk's. With Star Wars Episode 2, Spiderman and Resident Evil all hitting the cinemas over summer, as well as the World Cup, the line-up of games certainly looks to appeal to a mass market as well as the Nintendo faithfull.
Also, it looks as though the RRP of the games will be no more expensive than the PS2 or the Xbox games. This is great news, as some of the N64 games were ridiculously expensive. If the game prices are equal to the competitors, and the games look just as good, why buy the more expensive console? Of course, a DVD player is a good incentive, and should be something that the PS2 and Xbox stress that they have.
Mind you, there will still be those out there that will see the Xbox as the most expensive, and assume it's best without looking at their options. 'Reassuringly expensive' is what I believe they say.
Personally, I don't think pricing of a console can affect it in that way. The general opinion of the public (true or not) is that companies make hideous amounts of profit on games consoles, with their huge price tags. Most likely, they'll simply see that it's reasonably priced - at least relative to the other available consoles.
Hmmmm.
Well, I tried. I said it wouldn't make it look 'cheap', but I didn't convince myself there.
Clearly, no one in their right mind is going to think that the £150 Gamecube is the same quality as the X-Box at double the price.
Unless they assume it's going to be absurdly priced simply because it's Microsoft?
That's a possibility. Nobody like shelling out a fortune for the latest version of Office or Windows...and they're all well aware of the sort of profits Microsoft make.
Even if it is considered a 'cheap' alternative though - it is still going to sell by the bucketload simply because of that price. Nintendo's good name will ensure that.
Gamecube will rule.
Hmmmm.
Well, I tried. I said it wouldn't make it look 'cheap', but I didn't convince myself there.
Clearly, no one in their right mind is going to think that the £150 Gamecube is the same quality as the X-Box at double the price.
Unless they assume it's going to be absurdly priced simply because it's Microsoft?
That's a possibility. Nobody like shelling out a fortune for the latest version of Office or Windows...and they're all well aware of the sort of profits Microsoft make.
Even if it is considered a 'cheap' alternative though - it is still going to sell by the bucketload simply because of that price. Nintendo's good name will ensure that.
Gamecube will rule.
Price is much more than just the cost of something. Some people think that the more they pay for something the better it is. People buy pricey things as status symbols.
Will Nintendo's decision to sell the Gamecube at £150 actually count against them in the eye of the consumer?
Will the Gamecube be seen as the Kwik-Save console?
I've always been told that the goods in Aldi's are of equal quality to those in the more well known supermarkets, but those tins with horrible yellow/brown logo's just don't look appealing.
Will the casual gamer dismiss the Nintendo for these reasons? It's cheap, so it can't be as good as a Playstation2 or an Xbox. Will that purple colour detract people?
It all depends on how Nintendo market it. If they don't do anything it will just sit on shelves, and people won't buy it as they won't know what they're getting. They need pods in stores to show it's quality. They need ads on TV and in the cinema to show that the graphics are just as good as those on the Xbox, or Playstation2.
I think Nintendo have a good enough reputation for quality to not be tarred with a 'cheap rubbish' tag. As such I see a £150 price tag as being excellent. Parents will certainly try to convince their children that a Gamecube would suit them better, as kids are expensive to raise, and saving £50 or £150 does make a real difference.
Having a large number of third party titles on the system, and as such, many games that are multi-format will also help Nintendo win the consumer over. We can pick up the games for each system, and have a good look, see which really does have the best graphics. Nintendo fans will know what Pikmin is all about, but the casual gamer will be more impressed by Tony Hawk's. With Star Wars Episode 2, Spiderman and Resident Evil all hitting the cinemas over summer, as well as the World Cup, the line-up of games certainly looks to appeal to a mass market as well as the Nintendo faithfull.
Also, it looks as though the RRP of the games will be no more expensive than the PS2 or the Xbox games. This is great news, as some of the N64 games were ridiculously expensive. If the game prices are equal to the competitors, and the games look just as good, why buy the more expensive console? Of course, a DVD player is a good incentive, and should be something that the PS2 and Xbox stress that they have.
Mind you, there will still be those out there that will see the Xbox as the most expensive, and assume it's best without looking at their options. 'Reassuringly expensive' is what I believe they say.
Will Nintendo's decision to sell the Gamecube at £150 actually count against them in the eye of the consumer?
Will the Gamecube be seen as the Kwik-Save console?
I've always been told that the goods in Aldi's are of equal quality to those in the more well known supermarkets, but those tins with horrible yellow/brown logo's just don't look appealing.
Will the casual gamer dismiss the Nintendo for these reasons? It's cheap, so it can't be as good as a Playstation2 or an Xbox. Will that purple colour detract people?
It all depends on how Nintendo market it. If they don't do anything it will just sit on shelves, and people won't buy it as they won't know what they're getting. They need pods in stores to show it's quality. They need ads on TV and in the cinema to show that the graphics are just as good as those on the Xbox, or Playstation2.
I think Nintendo have a good enough reputation for quality to not be tarred with a 'cheap rubbish' tag. As such I see a £150 price tag as being excellent. Parents will certainly try to convince their children that a Gamecube would suit them better, as kids are expensive to raise, and saving £50 or £150 does make a real difference.
Having a large number of third party titles on the system, and as such, many games that are multi-format will also help Nintendo win the consumer over. We can pick up the games for each system, and have a good look, see which really does have the best graphics. Nintendo fans will know what Pikmin is all about, but the casual gamer will be more impressed by Tony Hawk's. With Star Wars Episode 2, Spiderman and Resident Evil all hitting the cinemas over summer, as well as the World Cup, the line-up of games certainly looks to appeal to a mass market as well as the Nintendo faithfull.
Also, it looks as though the RRP of the games will be no more expensive than the PS2 or the Xbox games. This is great news, as some of the N64 games were ridiculously expensive. If the game prices are equal to the competitors, and the games look just as good, why buy the more expensive console? Of course, a DVD player is a good incentive, and should be something that the PS2 and Xbox stress that they have.
Mind you, there will still be those out there that will see the Xbox as the most expensive, and assume it's best without looking at their options. 'Reassuringly expensive' is what I believe they say.