Sometimes when I post about a webcomic I don’t know if I should put the picture up or just link to it. Since VG Cats seems to do fairly large pictures I’ll just link it this time.
In a way I disagree this one time that Sony keeping supply limited is a bad thing. At the cost they’re incurring Sony needs to control the supply. Nintendo, on the other hand, if they are incurring a loss it is probably not substantial. Nor would it surprise me to find out that Nintendo is actually breaking even, perhaps even making money, on each console. Plus there is the long term issue. Despite all the crap Sony has tried to feed gamers about the PS3, they are not stupid. I’m sure Sony understands that getting the PS3 to sell to non-hardcore gamers after the initial launch will be a challenge. No doubt that is why they have timed the release of their console when they did.
I suspect this is also why Microsoft kept supplies of the 360 fairly tight at the initial launch. With a loss per console they simply cannot make an unlimited supply. Every unit that goes unsold is money they are not recouping. Even though the 360 is being sold at a loss, actual sales of the console means some dollars were regained.
I really don’t know how successful this is going to be as a long-term business model. Is selling the hardware at a loss going to be viable? Granted, consumers are not going to be able to justify paying even a break-even point for the 360 or the PS3. That leaves Microsoft and Sony in something of a lurch. The whole premise is that the games will make money, but that relies on the speculation that video game sales will continue to be strong. The whole thing looks like a big gamble. It’s also hard to ignore that as fewer game studios seem to be willing to take risks, we’re seeing more of the same being released time and again in the name of assured sales. This further waters down the market.
In the long game, can Nintendo simply outwait Microsoft and Sony? I don’t think it’s that simple. Microsoft has the resources and the persistence to stay in the game for a very long time. Short of their corporate philosophy dying, which would take the deaths of Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer (Neither of who are all that old I’ll point out), I don’t see Microsoft giving up anytime soon. Sony seems intent on having their hands in all things electronic, so anything short of a major catastrophe and I’d say they’re going to stay in the market for awhile. Some might think that the PS3 could be that catastrophe, but I’d say it’s way too early to call. Sony might just surprise everyone.
While I agree with the VGCats comic in principle, I also wonder if it’s really all that simple.
