Its Not About Games

At a quick glance you might think Voodoo PC is a custom builder of gaming machines, and to a certain extent that is true; but that is the tip of the iceberg.

First one has to consider the cost of those machines and compare that to who is considered to be the typical high end "gamer.”  

Second, most high end gamers prefer to build their own rigs.

So who does buy those $5,000 to $7,000 killer PCs that Voodoo builds? 

POWER USERS who may be casual gamers, but more importantly want the biggest, baddest, and most unique system their budget can handle., These are the people, mostly guys, who had the first 52-inch HDTV, drive a luxury sports car and probably play an awesome game of racquet ball.

PROFFESSIONALS who work in mid-range to small companies, or a SOHO and need the power of a workstation but don’t have the budget. These users are image professionals (including radiologists), CAD users, and visualization and simulation developers. 

ASPIRATIONAL buyers who can just barely afford (or maybe not) to buy one and what to be part of that elite inside crowd. These are the folks who managed to get a black AMX card when they weren’t really qualified, it’s all about status.

GAME PLAYERS who have the discretionary budge, but usually not the time to be a serious (>3 hours a day) first-person shooter game player. 

All of these people are naturals for HP’s products, but probably aren’t attracted because of either price or because HP is too much a “suit” company and not hip or cool. Dell has the same problem.

But with Voodoo in the HP camp, these people are going to get so much more. HP has the worldwide support and engineering to amaze the Voodoo buyers, and you can count on HP getting the word to them about other HP products. 

So it’s a brilliant move on HP’s part, and not at all about games, or at least not very much about it.