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When did PlayStation become lux?

When did the Playstation Brand become a luxury item?

  • PS2 era

    Votes: 124 9.7%

  • PS3 era

    Votes: 731 57.2%

  • PS4 era

    Votes: 123 9.6%

  • PS5 era

    Votes: 300 23.5%
  • Total voters
    1,278
BossAttack

BossAttack

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
44,944
211103102546-underscored-ps5-vs-ps5-digital-lead.jpg


This can't really be denied, whether you agree or not, but PlayStation is now considered a "luxury" brand in the same vein as Apple products. In this brand status, the marketing and ownership of the product has less to do with specs than image. You buy Apple because you're cooler than everyone else, not some nerd Android user (I use Android). You buy a PlayStation 5 and your brain instantly become twice as big. Your closet becomes stocked with a variety of turtlenecks. And you suddenly have a wine cellar in your apartment.

This is how Sony has currently marketed the PS5, as a console for true connoisseurs. Xbox was for dudebros and is currently now for the whole living room family. Nintendo is strictly for family-friendly fun. Whereas PlayStation is for only the finest, most exquisite consumers of digital art. Sony's marketing is crystal clear, "we are above the rabble. Which means you are too if you buy one."

But when did this change occur? PlayStation certainly didn't start as the luxury brand item. The PS1 was considered a newcomer and just as much in the "nerd fight" for dominance with the other big console makers. So when did it officially transition into being considered lux? And how do you feel about this manufactured status?
 
TheMoon

TheMoon

|OT|
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Oct 25, 2017
18,835
Video Games
when they asked you to get a second or third job to pay for your six hundred dollar PlayStation 3

(all consoles are luxury goods in a way)
 
seroun

seroun

Member
Oct 25, 2018
4,961
All consoles are luxury goods right now because of the price of the hardware + software.

Sorry but from a marketing standpoint where are you seeing the "luxury" line of branding/Apple-like marketing strategy? As someone in the advertising industry I've seen their ads/website/socials etc and I don't really see it (if you mean PS4-PS5, I can agree the early PS3 marketing was very much like that). But it's different by regions, so I'm interested to see how they market elsewhere.
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

The Shrouded Ghost
Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
31,078
Late 2021, when the cost of living crisis hit and everything except bread and cat food became a 'lux' item.
 
Raysoul

Raysoul

Fat4All Ruined My Rug
Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,138
Having a Ps4 Pro means you have the luxury to pay more to play Ps4 games on higher resolution/framerates.
 
brawndolicious

brawndolicious

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,628
PS3 was definitely marketed as a luxury item but I would argue they never, ever went for that market again after the huge manufacturing costs they had to eat with the PS3. Real "luxury" gamers buy $1500 iPhones or $3000 PCs, it is a completely different market.
 
Paper Cheese

Paper Cheese

Member
Oct 9, 2019
553
Any high-priced electronic is a "luxury item" when it's bought at full price, even the PS1 was a luxury item when it first launched. I remember being amazed going round to well-off friend's houses that had a PS1 super early, it felt like magic, and it felt unnatainable.

Over time, as price comes down and second-hand options become more viable, each gen becomes less "luxury", to the point that more casual people will have, say, a PS4 in their living room that barely gets touched and they aren't that bothered about. But then the PS5 launches, and that's a luxury item for either enthusiasts or people willing to splash the cash.

In terms of your definition of a lux item, the answer would be whenever gaming marketing moved from children to adults, so probably around the PS3 era?
 
The Emperor

The Emperor

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,802
Since PS3 era
It's maybe the one thing PS3 helped with for the brand? (Apart from obviously establishing a few key franchises)
 
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boogerbrain51

boogerbrain51

Member
Nov 3, 2020
1,411
PS3 just look at the original models and the startup screen it's so luxury. I remember seeing my homie ps3 in his entertainment center with the glossy reflection on it looking really Clean. The ps4 is kinda Lux but the 5 is way more Lux than ps4 was
 
Knight613

Knight613

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,317
San Francisco
The PS3 was definitely marketed as a luxury item, but the software never really backed it up and most people's reasons for buying one was as a (at the time) cheap blu-ray player.

The PS4 was not marketed as a luxury item at all. Although you can make the case that the PS4 Pro was.

I feel like what helped the PS5 seem more like a luxury item were all the memes about it on social media with people asking their partners to get them one and all that around launch. It wasn't necessarily through Sony marketing right away, but they definitely took that feel and ran with it.
 
Kickfister

Kickfister

Member
May 9, 2019
2,383
Sony as a company has always marketed and designed their software to feel that way. Whether they actually succeed at it is a different discussion.
 
starblue

starblue

Member
Oct 28, 2017
1,783
PS3 60Gb was the most premium console they released

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But was with PS4 software when it became a "lux". With PS5 now is even more evident.
 
logash

logash

Member
Oct 27, 2017
5,316
I know a lot of people are saying PS3 era but to me it started with PS5. The PS4 seems more main stream and their marketing always felt that way to me until now. Now they seem to do what they want and people love it. It's like before they were starved for attention and now them simply being PlayStation means they get attention. It's was a sudden shift to me.
 
Kopite

Kopite

Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,568
I think the PS3 with it's price tag and stylish design was meant to be it. Got put on the backburner last gen but I think they tried it again starting from PSVR onwards
 
seroun

seroun

Member
Oct 25, 2018
4,961
Knight613 said:
I feel like what helped the PS5 seem more like a luxury item were all the memes about it on social media with people asking their partners to get them one and all that around launch. It wasn't necessarily through Sony marketing right away, but they definitely took that feel and ran with it.
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I think it was that + the situation with the stock that has made it seem like it has lux marketing.

But yeah, I think all consoles are luxury items. I just don't think they have been marketed as such other than PS3. A console being white doesn't make their line of marketing "luxury" imo
 
Jubilant Duck

Jubilant Duck

Member
Oct 21, 2022
7,623
To a small extent, since the PS1. Sony always positioned itself as the gaming brand of adults vs its contemporaries at the time which were very much still "for kids" in the eyes of the populace.

As things progressed into the PS2 era they began focussing more and more on the arty side of gaming in their advertising, hosting events and parties at museums and theatres etc. (at least in Europe) Playstation was always trying to be the classy choice in the gaming space, which naturally comes with a bit of luxury sheen even if they remained quite affordable during their first two gens.

PS3 was definitely an abortive premium attempt which damaged their ability to be a luxury choice, especially as the cheaper 360 was giving better performance and had better exclusives during the first half of the gen and was the clear choice of the 20-something gamer as games transitioned properly into the mainstream. PS3 was only able to course-correct when it ditched all the luxury trappings, and the PS4 with its "for the gamers" branding shed any sense of luxury or premium, instead just being about nailing the basics in the same way the 360 had.

The PS5 has definitely recaptured that "luxury" designation and even done it in a way none of their previous entries could manage despite attempts, but as others here have said I think a huge part of that has been due to supply chain issues in the beginning making it a hard-to-obtain device, followed by a cost of living crisis emerging just as the stock was becoming more readily available.

That the PS5 keeps selling despite this luxury perception has definitely got to be making Sony happy. I wouldn't be surprised if they try to ride it into a more PS3-style PS6 again, though I would hope they learnt a lot of lessons there.
 
Dust

Dust

C H A O S
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Oct 25, 2017
36,904
Not sure if I would call it luxury, but it is consistently the "zeitgeist" item to own. It's simply cool and popular to own a PS system.
 
Hamster Plugin

Hamster Plugin

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Oct 25, 2017
4,876
I feel like Nintendo is much more of a luxury console than Sony.

Switch itself never went down in price since release. Games remain full price forever. Switch Pro controller is more expensive than the Dualsense.
 
Celestial Descend

Celestial Descend

Corrupted by Vengeance
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Aug 15, 2022
3,908
I mean, my GPU is much more expensive than a PS5, but I don't consider myself a "luxury gamer". Dunno where the luxury tag came from.
 
Roshin

Roshin

Member
Oct 30, 2017
2,949
Sweden
One could maybe argue that it started way back with the now classic "It's a Sony" slogan, but when it comes to the PlayStation specifically, it started with the PS3 and then they embraced it fully with the PS5.

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Joo

Joo

Member
May 25, 2018
4,147
Qvoth said:
luxury item?
wat
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No. A premium (or "luxury") brand, like Apple etc. It just means the brand has certain quality assurance and appeal attached to it and is priced accordingly. It's not like it's only a positive thing. Imo PS5 is well worth the money, but it's basically 100€ more expensive here than Xbox (which also has game pass) and still sells much, much better.
 
Gay Bowser

Gay Bowser

Member
Oct 30, 2017
18,155
There's the galaxy-brain take that video game consoles have always been luxury items, which…I mean, sure, you don't need them to survive or anything, but when I bought a PS one for $99 in 2000, that did not feel like a luxury purchase. It was specifically designed to appeal to kids. And the PS one later got as low as $49.99.

The PS2 was, I think, a turning point in consoles trying to look like sophisticated pieces of consumer electronics. It wasn't just about looking fun, it was about looking at home in a high-end home theater. But that's just the look. The PS2 launched at the same $299 as the original PlayStation.

People talk about how "lux" the PS5 is compared to the PS4 but it launched at basically the same price and its pricing is in line with the competition. It's trying to look sleek and futuristic but it's not really positioned as a luxury product. Xbox is definitely not positioning themselves as a luxury brand, they're trying to make a big tent with the $299 Series S and the enthusiast Series X, and the PS5 pricing is right in line with those, so…

I think some people are confusing "I think it looks cool" with "they are positioning it as a luxury product." Of course the marketing and console design is trying to make it seem cool and futuristic. That's how new consoles have always been. If it was actually positioned as, like, the luxury alternative to the Xbox, it would be notably more expensive.
 
Dan Thunder

Dan Thunder

Member
Nov 2, 2017
15,464
I would argue that it's a luxury device not a luxury brand. Sony tried that and failed to push that with the PS3 but the PS4 was never considered to be a luxury. In fact the lessons from the PS3 clearly pushed Sony hard in the other direction.

I'd also argue that in the current climate it's no more luxurious than the Xbox Series X, they both just happen to be expensive - though you get a hell of a lot for your money with both machines. Are they expensive? Yes. Could you consider either device a luxury? Clearly yes as they're pricey and ultimately superfluous devices to everyday life.

I have both machines and they certainly are a luxury, as is any console, and it's inarguable that Sony is currently the more popular brand but I don't believe that anyone thinks of the PlayStation brand itself as luxurious.
 
Odinsmana

Odinsmana

Member
Mar 13, 2019
3,117
I feel like Nintendo is closer to being lux in their image and pricing practices than Sony, but I also don't think any of them have a super strong lux image. Nothing close to something like Apple.
 
Cali32

Cali32

Member
Oct 11, 2020
1,851
The PS3 was the luxury item to get in my circle of friends back when it released in Europe lol.
 
Jade1962

Jade1962

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,384
Can OP or anyone that agrees with them give an example of Sony's "lux" marketing?

I don't get how PS5 is marketed any different from PS4 or any PS for that matter.

It seems that pricing went up across the industry but there's been an effort to pin it on Sony and claim they are trying to be a luxury brand.
 
Megabreath

Megabreath

Member
Oct 25, 2018
2,680
Its a good question, i just think Sony are really good at marketing and Playstation is a strong appealing brand that is easy to sell. So in a way it just comes across as luxury, if that makes any sense
 
stati

stati

Member
Oct 20, 2019
5,279
The PS5 was the first time a PS console looked like modern art you'd see in a museum, so PS5. Their intent on the PS5 being the standout was clear
 
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