FrankieViturello's discussions

I've scoured the web and all I could find on the topic of the next generation of consoles is analyst Michael Pachter (who, frankly, is never a litmus for accuracy on anything) SPECULATING that the PS4 may sell wholesale at a price that allows for about 20% profit for retailers. If that is the case (and I have no… Read more

Again, I'm not talking about consoles with any attached products, digital or otherwise. I'm saying that a console sold with nothing else on average makes about $1-$5 and at absolute best makes a retailer close to $10 if they buy very large amounts in bulk. If you think that's a great profit on a $400 item that's fine,… Read more

Again, thank you for taking a moment to support my claims. I do understand that it SEEMS completely absurd to those who are not familiar with games retail, but it really really is a reality - especially considering that companies like Microsoft and Sony sell their consoles at a LOSS. They LOSE MONEY FOR EACH CONSOLE… Read more

THANK YOU! Read more

I'm not blowing the doors off or blowing the whistle on what is a largely understood tenant of the video game retail industry. I know that it may be a tough pill to swallow, but game consoles, AT LAUNCH are an almost *zero-profit* sales scenario. If you think that I'm somehow fabricating that or covering up some… Read more

It's a "circle of life" kind of thing, you sell the consoles knowing that there isn't huge profit to be made, but shoot for the attach rate (2 games and/or 2 accessories per console) and profit off of those and also provide an environment that is desirable for repeat shopping. Big box retailers like Target/WalMart… Read more

Fair enough, retailers that can buy enough consoles in a large enough volume can probably swing a slightly better rate, but ones that have to buy their new consoles from a distributor that already got the wholesale pricing are practically just flipping them for a buck. I'm not just making this stuff up. I've been… Read more

You make a lot of pretty wild leaps and assumptions regarding what my actual position was and what I actually said. Your "disagreement with me" argues points that I don't even come close to ever making. I said this is shitty business, it's a regular practice (though a lot of retailers encourage a high attach rate… Read more

I don't have a link to a page that spells it all out but if you Google discussions on it you will find other retailers and/or ex retailers that support the notion that profits on console hardware *AT LAUNCH* is miniscule (under 10 dollars in most cases) and the "attach rate" for peripherals and software is where… Read more

$1 to the retailer. IF THAT. Sony on the other hand, will be loss-leading on hardware sales to start, as they always do, so they actually lose money per console sold. Read more

While this is no doubt shitty business, the actual profit margin on a console is so miniscule (like, a dollar) that we always see things like this at a console's launch. Read more

It's a divisive blurb that's designed to incite outrage. I'm certain that the same exact (frankly very standard and boilerplate) guidelines exist via ANY modern media publishing outlet, games or otherwise. Read more

It's too late, the knee-jerk reactionaries have already flooded the comments section and will probably carry this story as a "hot news item" for the next several weeks (until whatever other divisive thing that they can react to gets reported in a blurb). Read more

These are guidelines. Sony has the right, at their discretion make the ultimate determination as to what content violates them. There are clearly games commercially available on the Playstation Platform that contain one or more of the content guidelines listed and Sony has allowed those games to be published. To… Read more

Stuart Ashen is always appreciated. Read more

This looks good, but I currently do all my PS3/Vita PSN software purchasing on my iPhone/iPad here: store.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com because the on-system Store is typically too sluggish (and anything free starts auto-downloading which I don't like). Read more

You're right, it's any free content. Read more

Yeah, I know you can do that, but I don't want whatever file setup/remnant data it may cause on the HDD. I know that PS3 uses a proprietary/nonstandard file system but I don't have enough info on what doing that several times a week could potentially do to the fragmentation level of of the drive. Read more

I sincerely hope that "auto-download" of purchases made on the SEN store isn't mandatory because I absolutely HATE the fact that PLUS games auto-download when you add them to your cart/purchase them on the on-system store. There are so many free games that I want to simply add to my download list for the FUTURE but… Read more

Or the classic Canadian/American jam "Friday the 13th the Series"! Read more