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Nintendo Undercuts PSP3 and Xbox, And Continues Pop Culture's War On Spelling
Video Games | May 30, 06
Nintendo's new Wii console will retail for no more than $250, sharply under-pricing both Microsoft's xBox and Sony's new PSP3. The announcement of the latter’s $499-$599 price range at the recent E3 game conference raised eyebrows ("Sony PS3 Priced Within Reach Of Many Home Equity Borrowers"), and this news puts the Sony premium in stark relief. Further, the Wii appears to be feature-rich, with both "shock" force and tilt control, while the PSP3 can boast only the latter ("But It's Got Blu-ray – What More Do You People Want From Us?").
Perhaps most importantly, the name of Nintendo's new machine, which for some reason is apparently pronounced "we", represents another blow against the tyranny of dictionaries and spell-check programs. Increasingly, everyone from hip-hop moguls to ad agencies shudders at the thought of a product name that in any way obeys the basic rules of the English language. And while there may be no "i" in team, perhaps the often solitary pursuit of video game play is so much about "i" that the name of a new console deserves a second one, if only to keep that first sad little vowel company.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 1:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Could Intel Gain Apple But Lose Dell?
Computers | May 22, 06
And things were going so well for Intel's dreams of bland uniformity. Even pesky Apple was learning to embrace sameness, finally placing a conformist Intel heart where PowerPC chips once resided, and putting out BootStrap to allow users to run XP on a Macintosh. (see "Windows On A Mac – The End Is Near") Remember those early Mac ads with a hammer-wielding rebel defying Orwellian tyrany? Seems Cupertino has learned to love Big Brother.
But an unlikely player is starting to color outside of Intel's lines. On Friday, Dell announced it will start putting AMD's Opteron chips in its multi-processor servers, apparently in a reach for higher performance. To be sure, this change effects only a small part of Dell's business, and while the firm didn't rule out placing AMD chips in its PCs, it made clear its commitment to use Intel chips in the majority of its machines for the foreseeable future. However, this isn't Dell's first flirtation with AMD, as its acquisition of high-performance game machine specialist Alienware gave the company a line based on AMD chips. ("Maybe They Could Make The Little Alien Head With The Glowing Eyes Look Like Michael Dell").
Having alternatives for microprocessors couldn't hurt Dell in any price negotiations with Intel. And in a world of commoditized computers and increasingly compressed margins, Dell may be looking for ways to distinguish its products – after all, Michael Dell himself recently expressed interest in giving users the option of running OS X on his products.
Then again, maybe Steve and Mike just can't play together, at least when it comes to using the same chips.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 3:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
But it's Got Blu-ray – What More Do You People Want From Us?
Video Games | May 16, 06
So apparently Sony gave up its "shock" force feedback feature as it incorporated tilt control into its PS3, while Nintendo's Wii controller has both features. This just speaks to Sony's faith in the value proposition of offering a Blu-ray HD player integrated with its new game console. Sony seems to be betting that the high price of the PS3 (see "Sony PS3 Priced Within Reach Of Many Home Equity Borrowers") will seem reasonable when one considers that the purchase of this machine gets you an HD player as well as a game device. It's an argument that worked for the firm in the past as it integrated conventional DVD players into the PS2.
The problem this time around may be the relatively low installed base of HD television sets. And among those, only a fraction support the HDCP standard and HDMI or DVI interface necessary to display Blu-ray output. With the standards for HD in so much flux, and with only some early adapters able to take advantage of Blu-ray, the incentive to unbundle one's HD disk player purchase decision from one's choice of game player is only magnified.
Perhaps the availability of Blu-ray with the PS3 will help drive acceptance of the standard among consumers. But if higher price points and a lack of key features drive buyers away, Sony may erode its PlayStation audience while failing to entrench its HD standard. So for Sony, the PS3 rollout is much more than a game, and in more ways than one.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 7:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Sony PS3 Priced Within Reach Of Many Home Equity Borrowers
Video Games | May 9, 06
As the E3 video game conference got under way in Los Angles, Sony unveiled its much anticipated PlayStation 3. The electronics giant revealed a machine that will feature a 20 or 60 GB hard drive, CELL processor, Blue-ray high-definition DVD technology and tilt control to rival that of Nintendo's new machine, and without the need of a set-top IR sensor. Sony also mentioned the small matter of pricing: $499 for the 20 GB model, $599 for the 60 GB machine. That's hundreds more than anything comparable from Nintendo or Microsoft. Even with this high price, many speculate Sony's cost of manufacture is so high that the firm will still take a hit on every console, making the PS3 a loss-leader driving profitable game sales.
Sony has been counting on the excitement over the much-delayed PS3 to speed acceptance of Blue-ray before Toshiba's HD-DVD gains traction (see "Blue-Ray Vs. HD-DVD: Lock-In, Co-Existence, Or Irrelevance?"). To this end, Sony intends to make PS3 versions of its most popular games available with the console's release. What will not be so readily available is the PS3 itself. Sony says the November launch will consist of a remarkably small two million units worldwide. Coupled with the high price point, one has to wonder if Sony is putting itself at a competitive disadvantage just when it most needs an edge.
A little theoretical aside: the economist Robert Giffen hypothesized that, in rare instances, the demand for some goods actually rises with price. But Giffen goods are generally inferior but necessary items for which there is no close substitute and the purchase of which takes up a large percentage of income. Think poor foodstuffs during famines, or perhaps petroleum in a shortage. Even with the small launch shipment number, the PS3 doesn't seem to qualify, does it? Alternatively, it might be argued that there's some prestige in buying a good at a premium price – a "Perrier" effect, if you will – that drives demand up with increased cost. Does the idea of dropping a couple of extra c-notes for the PS3 make this console more desirable to you?
With this pricing strategy, Sony will have to rely on the superiority of its technology and content. Better tech failed to secure Betamax's dominance for Sony, and content fell off as Beta faded versus VHS. Time will tell if a similar fate awaits Blue-ray, but Giffen's rara avis and Perrier aside, its hard to see how the PS3's high price will help.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 6:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Amazing Deal On Sony Digital Living System
Electronics | May 6, 06
Digital Living System – sounds like some creepy concept out of "The Matrix", but it's actually a PC that rides herd over your home theater and all the content it plays. And right now one highly rated vendor is selling it for about 35% less than any other merchant on PriceSCAN.com.
TigerDirect.com is offering the Sony VAIO VGX-XL1 Digital Living System for $1,099.99, six hundred dollars less than the price asked by Tiger's nearest rival. A fully-operational, 200 GB hard drive PC running Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, the VAIO® XL1 can organize your digital photos, recorded TV shows, music and movies with a 200 CD/DVD disc changer. You're the master of it all through a display on your TV, browsing your content via wireless keyboard or remote control.
So if your mogul fantasies have gone unfulfilled of late, pick up this jewel of the VAIO line and make yourself the god-king of your home theater room. And do so without breaking the royal treasury.
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 5:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cheaper Digital Cameras To Capture The Moment You Stop Paying Junior's Tuition
Digital Cameras & Camcorders | May 5, 06
Is there a prouder day in a parent's life than that of his or her child's graduation? You know, that special time when you can look you son or daughter in the eye and say, "well, kid, you're on your own". Now, thanks to a graduation season drop in the price of many digital cameras, you can inexpensively capture that moment of self-sufficiency in mult-megapixel clarity.
Just one example: the Canon PoweShot S2-IS, currently the most popular digital camera listed on PriceSCAN.com, with 2592 x 1944 max resolution, 5.0 megapixel image sensor, 12x optical zoom, 4x digital zoom, SD card storage, USB connectivity, movie capture, and a built-in flash. Over the holidays it was going for around $440 at the minimum, and today may be had for about $320, a drop of over 25% (see graph below). It's the same story with many models, so if you've got any cash left over from paying your offspring's way, you might even consider picking one up as a graduation present.
Time Period: 6/6/2005 through 5/1/2006
Each tick mark represents one week
Red = High Price, Blue = Average Price, Green = Low Price
Posted by jeffrey.trester at 10:46 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
