Today I spent some time following this forum over at Ars Technica. It’s a very interesting commentary about what appears to be an emerging aspect of the console gaming industry, specifically based on Sony Computer Entertainment CEO/Prez Ken Kutaragi’s comments on how expensive the PS3 is going to be:
- “I’m aware that with all these technologies, the PS3 can’t be offered at a price that’s targeted towards households. [as opposed to..?] I think everyone can still buy it if they wanted to…I’m not going to reveal its price today. I’m only going to say that it’ll be expensive.”
[courtesy Ars Technica and CNET]
The entire thread is interesting because of the simple fact that the purported pricing schemes (a ≥$399 PS3!) in home gaming consoles stands diametrically opposed to, say, pricing in the pc industry. The article does point out, to its credit, the fact that all of this talk may just be that…talk. Get people to expect something to sell for over $400 and deliver a system for a good bit less, and they eagerly snap it up. I don’t how much weight can be placed in that theory, but then again, I don’t pretend to be an expert on the gaming industry. Add Kutaragi’s comments about the PS3’s apparent 10 year life cycle to the mix, and it’s more than the fanboys who are left with stuff to talk about.