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November 12, 2006
Japanese Playstation 3 Launch Brings Insight on Video Game Culure, Media
Well as you may or may not know, we are now inside five days until the US launch of Sony's Playstation 3 (PS3) on Friday, November 17.
We have had the pleasure of watching a launch in Japan, but just what did it tell us? One thing people are becoming increasingly aware of is that with each launch of the "next generation" of consoles the demand leads to long lines and high prices. And this year looks to be no different.
If you hadn't heard the PS3 comes in two flavors. One is $500 and comes with a 20 GB hard drive. The other is $600 and comes with a 60 GB hard drive, Wi-fi, and built in Compact Flash, Memory Stick Pro/Duo, and SD card readers. Many people regarded prices this high (highest ever for console at realease) as prohibitive and some thought sales would be low. However, in Japan all 80,000 available units sold out [slashdot.org]. It is worth mentioning that in Japan the low-end PS3 sold for approximately $410 dollars while the high-end system was sold at "market price" (retailer sets the price) which was ¥62,700 (approx. $534) here [kotaku.com].
Kotaku also has an e-mail sent to them about the launch experiences and observation of a foriegner in Japan and characterizes it as a "dark side" to the launch [kotaku.com].
The e-mail takes issue (And blames Sony) with the following:
- People in line are unruly
- People buying PS3s are poor Chinese-nationals and homeless people who are being paid by Japanese business men who intend to re-sell (scalp) on ebay or other places for more than the retail price.
I don't see how you can blame Sony for people being idiotic and unruly. People's behavior is not a responsibility that falls on Sony. If people become unruly and a public disturbance they are breaking the law and it is law-enforcement's job to take care of that.
Also what is wrong with people buying consoles and reselling them if they see fit. There's an old saying here. "A fool and his money are soon parted." If people are foolish enough to pay 2-4 times the retail price to get a PS3 now instead of waiting for the supply to catch up with demand, then why shouldn't someone sell to them. The resellers aren't taking advantage of people or exploiting them, the people know what they are doing.
And the article mentions the employment of poor Chinese-nationals and homeless people like that's something bad. What's wrong with paying poor people to do something? Oh no! We might drive away their sense of entitlement by paying them to work. The truth is there's nothing wrong with it. It's how the free market works. Paying a poor person to do something is not expoitation, it's employment.
Some would say that the problem could be fixed by pricing consoles even more prohibitively to lower demand. But why would a company want to lower demand for their product? That goes against all business sense.
As we can see the launch tells us a few things; the pricing of the PS3 did not quell demand like many thought it would, people will be people (and hence, idiots), and the free market presents many unique opportunities (for the poor: employment, for the business minded: profits).
As for me I will be in line at a Wal-Mart or other retailer on the night of November 16th. Why? Yes, I am a video game nut and I would love to have a PS3, but I am patient enough to make upwards of $1500 and then buy my PS3 later. Oh wait, I think the auctions are topping $2000 now!
Posted in Video Games By akijikan at 09:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
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