GAP (Gamers Advisory Panel) is an invitation only section on playstation.com. These people are the hardcore of the hardcore PS fans. We beta test a lot of the online parts of PS games, do surveys on what should be included in games being developed, ect. So this blog and the responses completely floored me.
post by dragoon13
I'm sorry to say it, but I won't be getting a PS3 this November. I won't be getting one next November, either. The reason I'm not, which is the same reason that every one of my friends is also not, is the $600.
There's a lot of issues that makes the PS3 price a problem for gamers. First, almost all game players from ages 6 to 16 rely on their parents (or Santa) to provide them with a console. I didn't have $300 when the PS2 came out, but it was inexpensive enough for my parents to break down and drive all over town for one. I don't know if I speak for all of middle class gamers and their families, but I can guarantee you that neither my parents nor the parents of any of my friends would invest over half a grand in something they generally see as a waste of their progeny's time. $600 is pushing it even when you're asking for a computer these days, with passable Dell and HP models retailing for around $500 or less. Mom and Dad aren't getting you a game machine that costs more than something that you probably NEED.
Let's step to the next demographic: high school and college students. I'm a member. Here's how my money worries stack up: paying rent, paying tuition, paying for food, paying for my car, paying for books, and paying for gas. You can subtract the college and housing related stuff for high school kids and add dating, music, and drugs (you can probably add these to most college kids, too). Money becomes a real issue when you start to make it yourself, but before you can make enough to support yourself or even pay all of your bills. I definitely don't have an extra $600 lying around. I can bearly scrounge up enough money to pick up a few of the outstanding PS2 titles that have come out this year. It's reasonable to believe that the average college student who is also a gamer is looking at the PS3's price tag and shaking his or her head dejectedly. The kids who can afford it probably have their parents' money to thank, and then we're back to the first argument.
So who will be buying a PS3? Well, gamers in the 21 to 45 group that have steady jobs and can afford such an extravagance. But wait, don't a lot of these people have families or siginificant occupational and social lives? Even when this type of person is a gamer, they're usually beset by little time to play games, a spouse or partner who doesn't approve of gaming, or simply a dwindling interest. When you look at someone who already struggles to fit games into his/her life, something like $600 might make them think about how much time they're actually going to get out of the machine. Is the price going to justify playing for only a few hours a week? None of these people had the time that was so prevalent in their earlier years. I'm willing to bet that a lot (not all, but a lot) of the people who CAN afford a PS3 might not think the investment is worth the time they're going to get out of it.
The $600 has befuddled the money/time balance that characterizes most gamers. As income goes up, free time inevitably goes down. And when you have less time to play, you might not want to spend a ton of money doing so. I'm worried that some of the demographics that Sony is counting on to snap up their console on launch day might actually be more unwilling than the marketing department suspects.
When you compare the functionality of the PS3 with a computer, you might be getting more powerful processing, but you're sure as heck sacrificing the infinite functionality and progarmmibility of a personal computer. I believe the average parent won't spend $600 on a game machine, and let's be honest, that's what the PS3 is. You can tout its Blu-Ray drive, its internet capabilities, its media interactivity, but it is a GAME MACHINE. You won't be paying $660 to watch Spiderman 3 in ridiculously high definition. You'll be paying it to play Metal Gear Solid 4. Or Final Fantasy XIII. And you know what? I can pay $400 and get Nintendo's intriguingly innovative new console with 3 of the launch titles.
The bottom line is, and this is my belief and certainly not a statement of fact, we're not ready for the technology. Blu-Ray isn't needed yet. If Sony had chosen to tone down it's console specs and not tried to have double the power of an Xbox 360, maybe we could have had the high-end model end up around $400. And I most certainly would have bought one then. Honestly Sony, you could have has LESS power than the 360, and I would have stuck with you. I love your huge library of titles, I love your third party support, I love you because of your games. I didn't abandon you when there were fewer jagged polygons popping up on an Xbox. But you've lost me as a PS3 customer this winter, and probably all of next year as well. I really do hope you can stay at the top long enough to drop your console price AND keep your third party support. Good luck this coming year Sony, because you're probably going to need it. The saddest thing is, you never did before.
Even more amazing is about 3/4 of the comments completely agree with him.
Sony is in real trouble with their price point, even with their hardcore fans.
post by dragoon13
I'm sorry to say it, but I won't be getting a PS3 this November. I won't be getting one next November, either. The reason I'm not, which is the same reason that every one of my friends is also not, is the $600.
There's a lot of issues that makes the PS3 price a problem for gamers. First, almost all game players from ages 6 to 16 rely on their parents (or Santa) to provide them with a console. I didn't have $300 when the PS2 came out, but it was inexpensive enough for my parents to break down and drive all over town for one. I don't know if I speak for all of middle class gamers and their families, but I can guarantee you that neither my parents nor the parents of any of my friends would invest over half a grand in something they generally see as a waste of their progeny's time. $600 is pushing it even when you're asking for a computer these days, with passable Dell and HP models retailing for around $500 or less. Mom and Dad aren't getting you a game machine that costs more than something that you probably NEED.
Let's step to the next demographic: high school and college students. I'm a member. Here's how my money worries stack up: paying rent, paying tuition, paying for food, paying for my car, paying for books, and paying for gas. You can subtract the college and housing related stuff for high school kids and add dating, music, and drugs (you can probably add these to most college kids, too). Money becomes a real issue when you start to make it yourself, but before you can make enough to support yourself or even pay all of your bills. I definitely don't have an extra $600 lying around. I can bearly scrounge up enough money to pick up a few of the outstanding PS2 titles that have come out this year. It's reasonable to believe that the average college student who is also a gamer is looking at the PS3's price tag and shaking his or her head dejectedly. The kids who can afford it probably have their parents' money to thank, and then we're back to the first argument.
So who will be buying a PS3? Well, gamers in the 21 to 45 group that have steady jobs and can afford such an extravagance. But wait, don't a lot of these people have families or siginificant occupational and social lives? Even when this type of person is a gamer, they're usually beset by little time to play games, a spouse or partner who doesn't approve of gaming, or simply a dwindling interest. When you look at someone who already struggles to fit games into his/her life, something like $600 might make them think about how much time they're actually going to get out of the machine. Is the price going to justify playing for only a few hours a week? None of these people had the time that was so prevalent in their earlier years. I'm willing to bet that a lot (not all, but a lot) of the people who CAN afford a PS3 might not think the investment is worth the time they're going to get out of it.
The $600 has befuddled the money/time balance that characterizes most gamers. As income goes up, free time inevitably goes down. And when you have less time to play, you might not want to spend a ton of money doing so. I'm worried that some of the demographics that Sony is counting on to snap up their console on launch day might actually be more unwilling than the marketing department suspects.
When you compare the functionality of the PS3 with a computer, you might be getting more powerful processing, but you're sure as heck sacrificing the infinite functionality and progarmmibility of a personal computer. I believe the average parent won't spend $600 on a game machine, and let's be honest, that's what the PS3 is. You can tout its Blu-Ray drive, its internet capabilities, its media interactivity, but it is a GAME MACHINE. You won't be paying $660 to watch Spiderman 3 in ridiculously high definition. You'll be paying it to play Metal Gear Solid 4. Or Final Fantasy XIII. And you know what? I can pay $400 and get Nintendo's intriguingly innovative new console with 3 of the launch titles.
The bottom line is, and this is my belief and certainly not a statement of fact, we're not ready for the technology. Blu-Ray isn't needed yet. If Sony had chosen to tone down it's console specs and not tried to have double the power of an Xbox 360, maybe we could have had the high-end model end up around $400. And I most certainly would have bought one then. Honestly Sony, you could have has LESS power than the 360, and I would have stuck with you. I love your huge library of titles, I love your third party support, I love you because of your games. I didn't abandon you when there were fewer jagged polygons popping up on an Xbox. But you've lost me as a PS3 customer this winter, and probably all of next year as well. I really do hope you can stay at the top long enough to drop your console price AND keep your third party support. Good luck this coming year Sony, because you're probably going to need it. The saddest thing is, you never did before.
Even more amazing is about 3/4 of the comments completely agree with him.
Sony is in real trouble with their price point, even with their hardcore fans.
