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The Decline of the PS3 Grey Market
Kotaku has a great piece up looking at trends over time in the PS3 grey market. Michael Fahey has been tracking the falling prices for Sony's new console, via sales on eBay and other markers. He called around to stores as well, getting a feel for the number of returns and current availability of the console. His conclusions: "As it turns out my gamer instincts and the threat of hordes of angry readers steered me clear of potential disaster. Aside from a couple brief spikes, there is no way I'd have been able to pull off the television, and I know damn well I would have waited for Christmas like so many others did, only to lose even more. The moral of this story? There's no such creature as a sure thing. The majority of eBay prospectors walked away from this experience with that lesson burned into the back of their brains. My suggestion for the future? If you want to gamble, go to Vegas. If you want to invest, try mutual funds. Leave the video game system buying to the gamers. We'll all be happier for it. "
No, the reason why there's not a ton of demand for the PS3 is because it costs $600 and doesn't have many games. Trust me when I say that despite ranting to the contrary, a lot of people are still impressed by the graphical difference between this generation and the last. Hell, I was impressed when I saw games like Gran Turismo HD on my brother's PS3, and I'm the exact opposite of a graphics whore.
As for the Wii, it hasn't revolutionized anything yet. From what I've heard, beyond being able to use it as a mouse (which is hardly innovative), the stuff that the Wiimote adds to games like Twilight Princess and Rayman Raving Rabbids is about as much as what the Sixaxis adds to Call of Duty 3. That is to say, not a whole lot. Sure, it's fun to wave your Wiimote around like a sword and see that translated on the screen, but it quickly becomes apparent as nothing more than a novelty. That's not to say that later games won't make ingenious use of the Wiimote, but it hasn't happened yet.
Rob
I didn't get a refund on the ebay/local paper listing costs. Further, I could have found a buyer, who then issued a chargeback that paypal might screw me on.
But don't worry -- I have 50 times the retail price of a PS3 in a diversified array of index funds, taking advantage of the favorable tax-free and tax-deferred accounts, so I think I've got my investing in order...
Apology to Ubuntu forum.
I'll tell him, alright. I'll tell him to his ass-face. This is the land of opportunity, not equality. Every American has an opportunity to become successful and wealthy if they're willing to work for it. -1 OffTopic (There, I saved the haters the trouble)