Dukes up: Sony's PS3 and Nintendo Wii in battle royale

Brian White — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:05:00 EST

Filed under: Good news, Products and Services, Launches, Competitive Strategy, Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Best Buy (BBY), Circuit City Stores (CC), Black Friday

With the Sony Playstation 3 launching officially Friday morning amid insane madness outside many, many Best Buy and Circuit City stores -- among other retailers -- the holiday shopping season has officially begun a week before Black Friday even gets here.

The sheer popularity of a once-in-a-few-years game console launch reminds me of the stories I hear occasionally about the newest Apple iPod release (it's a major upgrade).

Fans and eBay resellers (mini-entrepreneurs) line up outside consumer electronics chains and discount retailers like Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) and Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) to be one of the first to buy-and-use or buy-and-resell-at-a-profit customers to get a hand or both hands on as many consoles as possible.

At $500 or $600 a pop, though, the Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) Playstation gaming console is more expensive than many home computers and even some laptop computers.

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Dukes up: Sony's PS3 and Nintendo Wii in battle royale originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 17 Nov 2006 10:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amazon.com to start selling Nintendo Wii Sunday morning

Brian White — Thu, 16 Nov 2006 13:49:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Launches, Consumer Experience, Internet, Competitive Strategy, Amazon.com (AMZN), Marketing and Advertising, Target Corp. (TGT), Best Buy (BBY), Circuit City Stores (CC), Black Friday

In an attempt to capture the nation's gaming madness with all these game console releases this season, online retailer Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) will launch the Nintendo Wii game console this Sunday. Brick-n-mortar retailers launch the highly anticipated console on Sunday as well. This brings up a hearty question: will Amazon.com lose sales since it won't be able to give "immediate gratification" to consumers looking for the new game console?

For some, Circuit City Stores (NYSE:CC), Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) and Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) -- among others -- will be a mecca come this Sunday. Hordes of gaming fans will try to be first in line to snag one of the new gaming consoles. With the Sony Playstation 3's pricing being quite a bit more than the Nintendo Wii, there are ardent fans of both who will have purchase rationalizations that are miles long in each camp.

But for those who want a Wii for gift giving during the holiday season, Amazon.com will most likely be the store of choice when the game console is launched this weekend. Who would rather get out and wade through all the muck of retail on the weekend before Black Friday when a few clicks can get you the same product -- with free shipping and no sales tax in most cases -- from Amazon.com? The online e-tailer is betting many will choose it over the madness, store traffic and holiday shopping congestion.

Amazon.com to start selling Nintendo Wii Sunday morning originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 16 Nov 2006 13:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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