Talking about Steam doesn't help because in order to use Steam you need a functional PC capable of playing PC games, which are demanding and require knowledge of hardware the average consumer doesn't have.
What I'm talking about is the average person walking into a big box retailer like Target and seeing a game for their PlayStation Box One. And these people do exist. In fact, I'd argue they make up the majority of purchasers in video games. They are the ones that see a $29,99 new game next to the $59.99 new game and think "something must be wrong with it," because if it was any good, why wouldn't the store price it to gain maximum revenue? Unless they are, and the store thinks that $29.99 is what they believe all anyone is willing to pay, in which case, they don't have confidence in the product, now do they?
And don't pretend people don't do this with everything. It's not just video games. It's practically all consumer goods. People have been trained to believe (and quite accurately in most cases), that the price of a product is reflective of its quality. While there is certainly wiggle room with that axiom, it's more or less true. I sure as shit don't buy tools from Wal-Mart, even if a skilsaw will only cost me $70 as opposed to $299.
Talking about Steam doesn't help because in order to use Steam you need a functional PC capable of playing PC games, which are demanding and require knowledge of hardware the average consumer doesn't have.
What I'm talking about is the average person walking into a big box retailer like Target and seeing a game for their PlayStation Box One. And these people do exist. In fact, I'd argue they make up the majority of purchasers in video games. They are the ones that see a $29,99 new game next to the $59.99 new game and think "something must be wrong with it," because if it was any good, why wouldn't the store price it to gain maximum revenue? Unless they are, and the store thinks that $29.99 is what they believe all anyone is willing to pay, in which case, they don't have confidence in the product, now do they?
And don't pretend people don't do this with everything. It's not just video games. It's practically all consumer goods. People have been trained to believe (and quite accurately in most cases), that the price of a product is reflective of its quality. While there is certainly wiggle room with that axiom, it's more or less true. I sure as shit don't buy tools from Wal-Mart, even if a skilsaw will only cost me $70 as opposed to $299.