Were Multiple Console SKUs Ever a Viable Strategy?

[As originally published on GameStooge.com -- new content should be coming up very soon]

 

It’s probably safe to say that in most cases the more options you have with anything in life, the better a given situation is.  Among many of the obvious positive additions we’ve seen with the advent of the current console generation, we’ve also seen quite a few…questionable trends.  Moments after the multi-SKU strategy for the Xbox 360 was announced, gamers and technophiles alike quickly jumped on the negative bandwagon, giving the Xbox 360 Core model the misfortune of being forever known as the “Tard Pack.”  Sony’s Phil Harrison was quick (maybe too quick?) to voice his opinion on the matter, stating:

“This is my personal view, not my corporate view, but when I look at those formats, I think it just confuses the audience. They don’t know which one to buy, developers don’t know which one to create for, and retailers don’t know which one to stock.”

Calendars have changed, and with it the sensationalist attitude has dissipated as well.  We’ve seen more iterations on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 than we have enough fingers to count on, yet the videogame industry is seeing record numbers in sales, even surpassing that of the film industry.

We’re knee deep in what is looking to be quite an era in the world of videogames, but is having multiple console versions a brilliant marketing strategy, or nothing more than a fall back plan destined for failure?