So Sony’s goal is to be the “Mercedes of the video game field.” And it’s true that there are various models of Mercedes: some that are pricey, and some that are really pricey. So logic goes to show that having two PS3 price points would get the “budget” consumers. Right?
Wrong. Unfortunately, when your “budget” machine’s price is still at the top of a market that is historically cost conscious, you have a problem. In the car market, having a BMW, any BMW, means you’re a big shot now. When your product is not a status symbol, you simply can’t apply the same logic! A PS3 is hardly gloat material. So if you’re buying it, you’re buying it for value, not to show off your salary.
Add to this the fact that the price range of the machine is already double that of some of its competitors, and you end up with a situation where most consumers can’t even consider buying it. The people still interested simply aren’t counting pennies because they can afford $600 either way. So if you can afford to get this machine and believe it has a ton of value, why would you skimp?
Apparently this is exactly what is going on right now: nobody is buying the 20GB PS3s.
Best Buy is no longer carrying 20GB PS3 models.
This is extremely troubling for Sony. Did you ever hear of a retailer actually abandon the XBOX 360 Core because it sold less (which it does)? No. In order for a retailer to drop a product, it must sell really bad. It is essentially a tell that the PS3 20GBs collect dust and actually negate profits for Best Buy. In short, they are better off putting something else — for example, a Wii — in its place.
It is also troubling because Best Buy is a major force in the consumer electronics market. Let’s say I go to Best Buy to buy a console. What am I going to see? $250 (Wii), $300 (360 Core), $400 (360), and $600 (PS3). That’s a pretty big jump. Without that middle price tier, the PS3’s price sticks out like a very sore thumb.
Lastly, with Best Buy ducking out, you can expect other retailers to follow soon.
How does this all relate to the stupidity of having two models? Because Sony has to cater to both the 20GB and 60GB models forever, as if they both sold equally well. They have more overhead in developing patches for both, and any software or hardware differences in the machines will need to be kept in the minds of every developer of the PS3 forever down its life cycle. Good luck finding those wired PS3 controllers when the PS3 20GB market tanks and nobody sells wired controllers anymore (the 60GB one uses wireless). Or worse yet, it will suck for the eBay market when a 20GB owner decides to offload his or her system.
These are all factors that will hurt the PS3’s over all image in the long run.
This is a pretty heavy blow to Sony.