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Comment by alex_anglin | Hacker News Reader

As a middle-aged IT person, that sounds like poor advice to me for two reasons:

1. Marketing to the 'cool kids' with the expectation that everyone else will follow-along... is probably not good advice in the absence some key differentiation. For Microsoft, this could have just been the massive amounts of capital they could deploy towards getting the Xbox to market. Even then, just spending money is not a strategy.

2. Middle-aged IT people are likely to have more disposable income to afford a $X00 device and a library of games (where the real revenue is). They could also be thought to have less leisure time and place more value on it accordingly, which would correspond to spending decisions. They may also see themselves as 'skateboarders with tattoos.' There's nothing demographic specific about those properties.

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> Middle-aged IT people are likely to have more disposable income to afford a $X00 device and a library of games (where the real revenue is).

This is not as relevant as many think...

Good sales people know that..

- it's hard to sell expensive items to anyone, let alone middle aged people who have many other things to pay for

- the best people to convince a middle age person to purchase something are their children

- it's infinitely easier to convince children that they need something

... which is why so many industries focus on selling it to the cool kids. Once the cool kids have something then the other kids want it. When kids want something they will get on parent's nerves until they eventually get it, unless the parents truly can'f afford it.

Daughters with puppy dog eyes are bad for the budget.

It was neat when I overheard the oldest coaching her sisters on how to plead in a cute tone.

Do you reinforce that behavior or put a stop to it? That's a serious dilemma.

Now and then I’ll let them get away with it. Does make me smile.

But I have no qualms saying no most of the time. Immunity did take time to develop.

Today they gave their best pleading voice for chickens. All while holding baby chicks. Super cute.

This might be a valid perspective today, but the first X-Box came out in 2001. How many middle-aged people in 2001 were playing console video games? Some, I'm sure, but it's probably a much more significant demographic in 2021 than it was in 2001. Back then it was much more lucrative to market to teenagers and young adults who's parents had disposable incomes.

You might be right, but the overall point seems to be lost. Microsoft was used to marketing microsoft products to middle aged professionals and now they needed to be aware that they may need to think very differently about a very different product from the rest of their offerings (at the time).

Also, relatively expensive luxuries (such as video game consoles) do not need to be marketed toward people who have a lot of money. They just need an emotional appeal to the people who will want them -- then those people will either direct a larger percentage of their income toward those items or they'll motivate their parents/grand parents to buy them for them.

Lastly, even if a console costs $500, many poor people consider them a very cheap form of entertainment in the long run because that $500 console will last for several years where as a trip to the movies is very expensive since it only lasts a few hours.

Regarding 2. — are you sure the people with disposable income would buy a gaming console of all things? I mean it requires time to enjoy which is something a middle aged person trying to dance between family and work doesn’t have.. Also those younger people that are being targeted have middle aged parents with money:)

Of course it’s entirely possible that you’re right and I’m just bitter that I can’t spend more time gaming :)

Only targeting people “with disposable income” is a losing strategy. If you’re making something in this sub $1k range, people will find ways to save up for it if it’s cool. I remember people struggling to pay rent coming up with ways to manage to buy iPhones.

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