The Console Wars Hit the Shelves - The Price Effect
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One of the most talked about topics is price. People have limited funds to spend, and when you need to include the price of the games and accessories they buy, a console becomes an investment. With this in mind both Sony and Microsoft produced two different version of their console. They had a premium version with all the bells and whistles and a stripped down version at a cheaper price.
The Xbox 360 core is $299, with the premium version costing $399. The PlayStation 3 20 GB model retails for $499 and the 60 GB version goes for $599. It seems more people are flocking to the Xbox 360 premium version over the core. The opposite holds true for the PlayStation 3; the cheaper model appears to be selling better at this time.
The cheaper PlayStation 3 is still more expensive than the Xbox 360 Premium. Either Sony did a lousy job at bundling the two different versions or people won’t shell out the money for bigger model. Can we really blame them? They would have to shell out $600 before ever playing it, and after buying it, players need games and probably a few more controllers. Two games and an extra controller will run you at least an extra $150.
Nintendo took a different approach to the skyrocketing pricing of video games. When they decided not to try to pack the next generation hardware into their console, they also cut its cost. With most consoles, the company will sell the console for less than what it costs to produce it. This sounds like a horrible thing, but in the long run it is okay. They make up for it with game licenses and accessories. It does not cost $20 to make a headset, but you’re going to pay that much at a store for it.
Since the Wii doesn’t have high production costs, Nintendo decided to sell it for more than what it costs to make it. While Sony and Microsoft are losing money with each console bought, Nintendo is making money, and when you buy games and accessories, they make even more. The Wii retails for a mere $250, which is half of the Xbox 360 Premium and under half of the cost of the cheapest PlayStation 3. Now parents can get their kids a video game system and not have to empty the bank for it.
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