Are Holiday Bundles Bad News for Gamers?

Maybe not so much bad news for gamers, since they'll typically be informed and know what they want and know what they'll get.

Maybe bad news, as the article states, for ill-informed purchasers. Really not that big of a deal since you can always keep the receipt and return the purchase if you don't like it.
 
Yes, since the advent of the gift receipt, this sort of thing has become much less of a "risk."

It is true that having too many options can be overwhelming. But a lot of the bundles being released in the U.S. are fairly simple. They pretty much just involve the console + a game. If Microsoft and Sony were mixing it up with different versions of the console being offered with different games, that would be too much. But Sony is just pushing the PS3 Slim at the moment, and phasing out the older model. Microsoft has a more complex scheme, but they are avoiding Arcade bundles for the time being, and focusing on bundling Elites.
 
They usually aren't that much more expensive, so I really don't see them being that bad.
 
Xbox holiday bundles just add some bonus crap games and doesn't raise the price. Just sucks the rest of the year when they take it out. On the other hand Sony doesn't do bundles in the United States, and all those Japanese and European bundles basically just adds the game and includes the price of it with that bundle.

It's when Sony and MS has all the various PS3 and Xbox 360 in various configuration that will confuse people, not holiday bundles with a bonus game.
 
[quote name='Raiix']They usually aren't that much more expensive, so I really don't see them being that bad.[/QUOTE]
This. I don't see what the big deal is.

[quote name='Thongsy']On the other hand Sony doesn't do bundles in the United States, and all those Japanese and European bundles basically just adds the game and includes the price of it with that bundle.[/QUOTE]
Uh, no. There've been a lot of PSP bundles in the US lately, and the PS3 has had a few as well.

The first Sony console I ever bought was the PS2 Racing Pack that came with with Gran Turismo 3. At the time, it was cheaper than buying the game and console separately. Don't know how the prices are with their current bundles, though.
 
I don't mind bundles created by the console manufacturer, especially if the console is some exclusive color or has some other exclusive thing with it.

What I hate is when retailers create bundles, and to get a Wii or a PS3, you have to buy an $800 bundle of the console you want, some games you don't, and a bunch of cheapo third party peripherals nobody wants.
 
[quote name='Thongsy'] On the other hand Sony doesn't do bundles in the United States[/QUOTE]

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I've been looking for an excuse to use the owl...
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I see no problem with it. Even with the gift option most people ask for specific presents because their families ask for a list of gift ideas.

And what's the big deal anyway? If the person wants a console, is it a bad thing for them to get a game or two they may or may not like (and could sell/trade) with it?

I just don't see the issue here. Anything that sells more consoles is a good thing for gamers as it expands the market base and means more games for the console you own as the market gets bigger and bigger.
 
I don't think the bundling is the problem. For the most part I don't think I have seen a bad bundle on Sony or MS's end. It's not usually a crap game (although a case could be made for Kung Fu Panda) but the stuff that gets bundled are either good games that are a bit old (motorstorm, Lego anything, Uncharted, Jet Grind Radio/Forza) or brand new games that have a lot of hype around them and sometimes even special painted consoles (MGS4).

The pitfall for the uninformed consumer is the differences in models, not the games and or accessories packed in. A case could be made for both sides of the coin. Multiple SKU's give the consumer more options to help customize their experience (but many end up going the high end route anyway) but at the same time it gets in the way of casual or non-gamer consumers that just want to play and it isn't always clear what they get and what they will need. When I was a kid the only decision was really Sega or Nintendo and either choice came with a game. So if a parent walked into a store and they knew their kid wanted a Nintendo thats what they bought they didnt have to worry about which version of it they had to buy.
 
Actually, once we get to this stage of console life, I like bundles. Very often it's a game (or periphreals worth having), and the system. It is much more of an all in one package.

Now the horrible bundles are those at console launch. You're often forced to buy 2 games (and I've never seen one with 2 launch games I actually want), and at least one periphreal item, and your paying full price for it all. I really wish people wouldn't buy those, so they would be gone (though, in some ways, I guess they aren't all bad. If your desperate enough to pay a premium (in a game you don't want), then you can have the console now. If not, wait 6 months or so).
 
I'm not seeing the problem here. Free/cheaper games with the systems? Sounds like a win to me. If you're honestly too dumb to decide whether your son wants Lego Batman or Modern Warfare 2, then you don't deserve to be shopping for games. This blogger doesn't know what he's talking about. If you ask any gamer out there, 100% of them will say that free games = awesome, even if they're crappy games.
 
[quote name='Access_Denied']This blogger doesn't know what he's talking about. If you ask any gamer out there, 100% of them will say that free games = awesome, even if they're crappy games.[/QUOTE]

Of course they are awesome for gamers. The article is not talking about gamers, but confused non-gamers. Right at the beginning of the article is says that bundles "widen the appeal" for gamers. I think you may have missed the point.
 
At first I thought this was about store made bundles and some of those are truly awful. $20 extra for three crappy games? No thanks.

I see no problem with the in box bundles. That Halo 3/Fable 2 bundle was a killer deal at the time and I'm looking forward to the Modern Warfare 2 bundle.
 
Bundles are significantly better than receiving a brand new system for Christmas without any games. Yes, I've had relatives that assumed systems came with all those games pictured on the back of the box.....
 
This is teh internetz. We'd bitch about a perfect world.

[quote name='daschrier']Since when are people so spoiled that they need to bitch about receiving a $300+ gift for xmas...[/QUOTE]
 
Nobody has bought me a video game console in 20 years (Gameboy when I was in ninth grade). I'd consider any free video game stuff a blessing. If anyone considers getting a holiday bundle bad news because it's not "hardcore" enough for them, they should get slapped.
 
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