Kamalot
07-12-2006, 07:57 AM
New research (http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=1008372006) suggests that the need to buy the latest gadgets may be a genetic predisposition not unlike addiction. Companies seeking to increase the cost of gadgets could tap into this market of, “people who would always buy the newest release, no matter the price, simply because they had to have it.”
researchers from Japan's Yamagata University School of Medicine say the enzyme is "significantly associated with higher scores of novelty-seeking".
Essentially, that means people with the genetic predisposition to replace an existing gadget with the updated version simply cannot help themselves.
It may sound like a fantastic excuse for taking home a new laptop computer when the old one is still in pristine working order, but researchers say there are some fairly clear parallels with addiction disorders, and that this makes that sector of the population fertile ground for any company plugging the latest version of its gadget.
Nomura Research Institute supported the scientists' findings by saying there was a sub-section of people who would always buy the newest release, no matter the price, simply because they had to have it.
Perhaps there are enough of these people to sell 5-million PS3's even if there were no games. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6151631.html)
researchers from Japan's Yamagata University School of Medicine say the enzyme is "significantly associated with higher scores of novelty-seeking".
Essentially, that means people with the genetic predisposition to replace an existing gadget with the updated version simply cannot help themselves.
It may sound like a fantastic excuse for taking home a new laptop computer when the old one is still in pristine working order, but researchers say there are some fairly clear parallels with addiction disorders, and that this makes that sector of the population fertile ground for any company plugging the latest version of its gadget.
Nomura Research Institute supported the scientists' findings by saying there was a sub-section of people who would always buy the newest release, no matter the price, simply because they had to have it.
Perhaps there are enough of these people to sell 5-million PS3's even if there were no games. (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6151631.html)