The herd

[no_such_reality]

I first saw it on Wednesday.

I saw some more yesterday on the news and at lunch.

This morning, I saw anarchy. The herd wanted their Playstaton 3s.

To get them, they waited in line for three days or more, granted the smarter herd members pre-ordered.

What resulted in many locations was anarchy, violence and mild insanity. All in quest of a toy. A toy that costs $500-$700 depending on where you buy.

Maybe the mayhem makes sense, one enterprising person has their’s posted on Amazon for sale for low low price of $1899. Not bad, a 200% profit in 24 hours. Because sadly, I suspect theyy already found a greater fool to fork over the dough.

I suspect come January, you’ll be able to get them for $300.

It’s like watching the housing bubble in time lapse photography.

[LookoutBelow]

Absolutely absurd……Sheeple have made it obviuous what their values are. Doomed ! I tell ya, …WERE DOOMED

[sdrealtor]

And even though they know with certainty that they can buy one in a couple months for about $500 they still pay a huge price to have one today. It defintely sheds an interesting light on housing prices for which there are no certainties.

[poorgradstudent]

Demographically, video game players now skew heavily to men between the ages of 20-40. Many of these men have more disposible income than time. Now, to me, paying $2000 to get the latest and greatest video game system ASAP is not worth it, but I’ve heard far more stupid purchases ($300+ for a bottle of champagne?)

Calling it a “toy” is an understatement. It’s an entertainment system, and arguably a computer in terms of technology. Experts guess that each unit costs $800-900 to make. This is fairly typical of videogame devices and cell phones, where the base unit is sold at a loss, but made up for in accessories or services (the $25 extra controller probably didn’t cost more than $5 to make)

In January you will (probably) be able to go to a store and buy the PS3 for its $499 sticker price. But the current price is not a bubble… it’s supply-demand, as Sony fell behind schedule and was not able to produce nearly enough units to meet Christmas demands. There’s no way they will sell for less than $499 until at least Fall 2007.

[sdrealtor]

Its amazing that they always run short on supply when they release these new game consoles around the holidays. BTW, calling it a house is an understatement too, it’s a human security, comfort and enjoyment shelter system;)

[poorgradstudent]

Well, like any product, they rely on suppliers, which rely on raw materials. And sometimes product designs take longer to finalize than a company would ideally hope for.

Still, Sony arguably dropped the ball, with this generation of console coming out a good 6 months after Microsoft’s XBox360, and not having the availability (nor more attractive entry price point) of Nintendo’s Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii (Extra i’s added by me). It will be interesting to see if this hurts Sony’s current dominance of the videogame consol market.

[noone]

Yes, most analysts agree that Sony could have sold 2-3 times as many units as they have available at this time. And it has been suggested that this shortage could actually help Microsoft become the dominant player in the console market. Parents who cannot get a PS3 to put under the Christmas tree may purchase an Xbox (or a Wii) just so that they won’t be empty handed. Though Sony hopes to ship an additional 600,000 units to the U.S. between now and January, you may not be able to get one at MSRP until after Q1 of 2007. By then many people may not want one.

[PerryChase]

A few years ago, my little newphew wanted a PS2 for Christmas and asked me. I told him “no, they are too expensive.” My dad then runs out and buys it for him. Ridiculous!

[powayseller]

The consumption madness and overindulgence of kids is just absurd. Indulding kids in expensive toys is preparing them for a life of handouts from mom and dad, or the credit card trap.

[sdcellar]

Yeah, but if it’ll get the little rugrats to shut up for a while, it’s worth it!

Just kidding! I have few rugrats myself and I’d much rather play outside with them. Then again, maybe it’s just because I ain’t so good at videogames.

[Author]

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