Has business really won us all over that well? Last year, a "console war" was the headline of many news bulletins in the tech industry. Between products by major manufacturers such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo this war was simply a ploy for market share and publicity. We have fallen right in step with their plans. By hyping up the competition between game platforms, an artificial increase in demand allows for guaranteed sales for these companies. All but sony turned a profit in major proportions for the year as well.
Where is the difference between competition over a target market and using hype to dupe people into rushing out to buy overpriced goods. In sellers terms its a beautiful economic trick. For the rest of us, it is a dirty dirty evil thing. On the buyer-to-buyer market, scarcity of resources drove demand and therefore prices sky-high making the xbox 360, ps3, and wii nearly three times their list price during the month after their respective launches. This hyperinflation did not discourage sales. Rather, it hyped up everyone else to keep the demand high above supply levels. The more machines the companies made, the more money they could walk away with. We've all been duped into the newest toy, the shiniest gadget, and the coolest marketing scam.
Many of us are tech junkies in a digital age.
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In a lot of ways, the competition between consoles is at an all time low. In previous console generations, (ps2, gamecube, and x-box generation for example), consoles were all after generally the same audience, gamers. Things have changed quite a bit. Each console in this generation is much better suited for certain types of players. The 360 dominates online play, as well as the majority of sports games. The PS3 will continue to keep a firm grasp on single player games: most notable RPGs and platformers. Lastly, the Wii is best suited for children, families, and party games. Of course there is going to be overlap, so this is not a perfect generalization. Still, this is going to lead to some people buying more than one system if they have need for more than a single use.
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