With Microsoft's announcement of an Elite version of their Xbox 360 (details at aforementioned link), potential Xbox consumers have a third option at retail. Dave Karraker, Senior Director of Corporate Communications for Sony Computer Entertainment America believes Microsoft is continuing to split the market. "It doesn't increase their market share, by introducing this new SKU. They are graduating the existing Xbox 360 consumer up the scale -- eventually eliminating the Core consumer -- but this doesn't help them dip into the existing PlayStation 2 consumer," Karraker says. "They've got the hardcore gamer -- that's the 10M figure -- the challenge is how do you grow the consumer outside of the hardcore demographic -- we don't feel like splintering your market further is the way to do that."
But will the average consumer -- that consumer, according to Karraker, isn't the one that adopts consoles early in the lifespan -- "jump in" with Microsoft's new Xbox 360? And if the consumers rush out and buy the Elite SKU en masse -- last month's NPD numbers indicated that the Premium continues to outsell the Core by a large margin -- what will that do to Microsoft's $299 product? "From the developer side, they [the developers] still have to develop for the lowest common denominator -- the Core SKU," Karraker says
"We're focused on reaching out to the mass market beyond the hardcore gamer, through things like LittleBigPlanet, through Home, through the network. We view every single PlayStation consumer as an elite consumer. Meaning no one is going to get shortchanged at the end of the day, whether they bought one on day one or just yesterday," Karraker says. "[The Elite 360] just validates the same business model they were decrying back in November. They said that consumers don't need HDMI, now they have HDMI. They said that 20 Gig was enough to host downloadable content and now they are upgrading that, too. To borrow from my friends at Nintendo, it's kind of a 'me too' side."
But with their desire to expand the market, how does Sony reconcile their system's price? A six hundred dollar machine is not a mass market proposition. "It's the value proposition. When you do the inflation figure for the $299 PlayStation 2, and include the hard drive price in that, it'd be about the same price as a PlayStation 3. The onus is on us to educate the consumer on the value of a console that is going to last for 10 years," Karraker says.
source
Friends at nintendo... that's a new phrase Sony is using
I think what this article is saying is Sony now respects nintendo for being the "Entry System" and is laughing at Microsoft for how bad it's buisness model is in concern for the Elite 360.
Cypher prediction: If the price of the PS3 drops at the end of next year, sony still has a good shot at second. if it get's the games as well... nintendo will be in second.
I think the elite is very cool. The color black suits it well, the 120gb HD, and the chip set inside is being made with a smaller form factor so it doesn't use as much juice, so it'll run cooler. I'm just very surprised it doesn't have built in Wifi, and like someone in the article suggested...perhaps since it doesn't have built in HD DVD this might show the way the Next Gen DVD war is going...Though I'm not sure about that, I'd really like to see HD DVD win out
I see mr krakker blabbing on about something again... yawn
And, if you sign up for Sony's new credit card, you get 100 dollars automatically to purchase any sony item... PS3 for 499? eat that ELITE
I see mr krakker blabbing on about something again... yawn
And, if you sign up for Sony's new credit card, you get 100 dollars automatically to purchase any sony item... PS3 for 499? eat that ELITE
Many AMEX cards (which are much better than Sony cards anyway, assuming they use Visa/MC) give you between $100 and $250 credit after your first purchase, regardless of what you buy. An Elite for $230? Whew...
I guess I should have went with Amex every time they send me an invitation, but oh yeah, they don't do it for me....anyone who thinks they're special because they have one is just fooling themselves with thoughts of grandeur.
Anyhoo, I really don't think this new Xbox is so elite without built in WIFI...it just doesn't make sense why they'd exclude that. Adding a larger hard drive after telling everyone they wouldn't need anything more then a 20 gig, well I guess they called their own bluff.
I hate to say it but it does seem like the XBox360 is trying to upgrade and upgrade until it's a PS3 clone, except for the disc format. The new Elite does look cool and if I do decide to get the 360 then I'll be getting that one but just an observation.
I don't like how Sony says they're trying to reach a mass market by charging $600+ for a gaming console. Plus the whole PS2+Hard drive=PS3 price is bull. You can buy a hardrive that's 200G for about $150...
What I really don't understand is how they're trying to put down other systems, instead of telling everyone about their own system...
I think the idea behind the article and the title of this post, is that Sony when putting out the PS3 already gave the consumer a HDMI port, they already gave them a good-sized hard drive, and they also had wifi for the more expensive system.
If you already own an Xbox 360, how much does it cost to make your system wireless and how much would it cost to add that 120gig hard drive?
edit----------------
Xbox 360 120gig HD cost = $179.00
Xbox 360 Wireless Network Adapter $88.82
I think that is the reason why the PS3 is so far behind the 360 in terms of number of sales. It came standard with a bluray player, wifi, etc. and cost $600 dollars. The 360 used less GB in their harddrive, HD-DVD Player was sold seperate. It cost $400. Now, if you want an HD-DVD addon (compareable to PS3's blueray player) it cost an extra 200. So that brings the price of the console to $600, which is even with the PS3's price. And you still get 40 less GB of harddrive, no HDMI. Now you can addon a bigger harddrive to your 360 (100 GB more than orginally) for 179.99. So this means that if Microsoft did what Sony did, then the xbox would be over 700 dollars easy. Then of course they would have to keep the price low so people would actually buy it, which means you would be making no profit (like sony is doing).
So to sum it up you can compare the PS3/Xbox360 to a home. They are both the exact same house, except the PS3 home (no pun intended) comes with alot more luxuries for a better living. If you live in an Xbox360 home, then you can buy all that extra stuff when you feel like it, but you don't have to be stuck with something you don't want.
Wouldn't you think a system named "Elite" would have the bells and whistles already in the package?
Can anyone explain to me why Microsoft didn't put WIFI into their system?
Well it comes with a wireless game adapter, which is like a detachable wifi thingy... (its not built in). I have one for my ps2 though
does that come with the Xbox 360 though or do you have to buy that by itself.
It comes with the Pro, not the core. im pretty sure it will come with the elite also, just in the color black instead of white
I ask because when I got to walmart.com they talk about the wireless controller, but never talk about the wireless network adapter being part of the package.
It comes with the Pro, not the core. im pretty sure it will come with the elite also, just in the color black instead of white
It does??? We have a pro system and it didn't come with any wireless network adapter. The one Microsoft sells for the X360 costs $100 extra too. Do you have some proof/evidence that it comes with one? did Wal-Mart steal ours from the box when they sold it to us?
http://www.ebgames.com/product.asp?product%5Fid=802124
That is what I'm talking about, this product so you can connect the X360 to wifi, did you REALLY get it included w/ your pro system???
"It's the value proposition. When you do the inflation figure for the $299 PlayStation 2, and include the hard drive price in that, it'd be about the same price as a PlayStation 3.
Either that's one expensive hardrive or that's a hell of a lot of inflation. I'm not paying nearly double for a can of pop or a whopper compared to 6 years ago. Hell, gasoline has barely doubled since then and we're at war. Sony needs to redo some math.
Let's compare....(for those who already own a 360 and are considiering the 120 gig hd)
Xbox 360 Pro= $399.99
Wireless WIFI adapter=$89.99
120 gig HD= $179.99
HD DVD Player $199.99
-----------------------------------
$869.96
Playstation 3= $599.99
Wireless WIFI Included
60 gig HD Included
Blu Ray DVD Player Included
------------------------------------
$599.99
BTW for those who would argue they you don't NEED the HD DVD player for the Xbox 360...fine subtract $199.99 from $869.96 and you still get $669.97
Who needs 120 GB?
Even so, the XBOX 360 does only cost 100$ less then a PS3.
But they're forgeting something.
The 360 has a library of games. Something the PS3 doesn't have, yet.
As a gamer, I could care less about the added features. I buy a console for its games, not the ability to watch HI definition movies, or be able to store images, and other stuff.
In the end, do we buy the console because we like its features?
Or because we like the games we could play on it?