Yellow is out; purple is in.

This happens every three months. A new color is suddenly trendy, and being the fashion-conscious person that I am, especially when it comes to color trends, I want some of my clothing to be that color. All clothing in that color will look dated within six months and then hang in my closet, not to be worn again for years, but for now, that color looks really, really cool.

It got me thinking, why don't game hardware makers do the same thing? They offer multiple color options now, but they tend to stick to "safe" colors and corporate colors--indigo was once Nintendo's official color, although the shade it used looked more like purple. If you need a 3rd Xbox 360 controller, you might as well get it in blue (or pink, if you're into pink) so you can tell it apart from your black and white ones, but few get excited when seeing a blue (or pink) game controller, unless it is an at the time trendy shade of blue (or pink)--which is unlikely, because game hardware makers tend to use safe shades of those safe colors.

I propose that game hardware makers sell game systems, controllers and other appropriate accessories in trendy colors.

You lust for a purple PlayStation 3, even if you do not want a PlayStation 3. (Image courtesy of ColorWare.)

These trendy-color game systems and accessories should not be permanently available. That would lead to eventual overstocks, as trendiness is fleeting. These should be limited edition releases designed to be sold out in a few months to give retailers space for the same products in the next set of trendy colors.

Again, few people get excited when seeing a blue game controller. But a purple one? (Or one in some other currently trendy color?) That's an impulse buy and a conversation piece for many, especially if its packaging makes it clear that it is a limited edition. And because color trends change, consumers are more likely to replace still-working items with new ones, which is good for game hardware makers and retailers.

You don't care about color? You only care about the games? You are the "core gamer." The video game industry is expanding beyond you. People outside the core need incentives to purchase something, and bigger incentives to purchase a lot of somethings. And just like color is the number one reason why consumers choose one car over another, it could be the reason why they choose one game system and its peripherals over another.