Nvidia: Do You Feel Cheated?

I'm sure everyone who has any remote interest in PC Gaming or gaming hardware is aware of the massive price cuts being dished out by Nvidia at the moment as a direct response to the threat posed by the price point and performance of the recent ATI 4800 series.

As consumers this is of course fantastic news for everyone looking to purchase a new GFX card in the short to medium term and kudos to ATI for such a strong showing this time round. However, those that had jumped onboard and paid top dollar for the hardware prior to the price cuts must be dropping F-bombs all over the place and surely this cannot be good news for future goodwill between early-adopters and Nvidia.

Let me explain. People who have any sort of history with new technology know, realise and have to accept the fact that you will pay a premium price if you wish to be an early-adopter and have the absolute latest kit. That is the nature of the beast. In return for paying that premium price those early-adopters get a honeymoon period where they enjoy the added performance and exclusivity of having the latest hardware. Typically this lasts a few months before serious price cuts begin to kick in and the exclusivity begins to lose its shine as more and more of the general populace get their hands on the hardware. Generally that is the case but not this time around.

The latest Nvidia series was only just released on the 17th June, a mere 3 or so weeks ago and already we have seen a massive discount on the 280/260 GTX cards of over $150 which has clearly brought the technology within the financial reach of many more gamers. A premium of $150 for 3 weeks of exclusivity is very steep in anyone's language and I'm sure a lot of people must be very unhappy with the current state of affairs especially in the current financial climate on both sides of the Atlantic.

The question this also raises is just how much is Nvidia padding their prices on newly released hardware? To have the financial leeway to drop $150 off their top offerings within 3 weeks of release suggests that Nvidia are not offering customers a value for money product unless forced to do so by competitors. Maybe, due to the dominant position garnered for itself in the wake of the 8800 series, Nvidia was relying a bit too much on goodwill from customers and its own reputation to maintain profit margins. All thanks must go to ATI for bringing a touch of reality back to the GFX card market and ensuring the market does not become an Nvidia-run monolpoly, one in which all of us gamers would be much worse off in.