Fri, May 22, 2009 | 11:21 BST
PS3 and Wii price cuts in the third quarter, says Gamestop
Gamestop CEO Dan DeMatteo has said his 33.5 million hardware unit sales estimate for this year factors in Q3 price cuts for both Wii and PS3.
“That assumes that there will be price cuts on the PS3 and potentially one on the Wii,” he said, speaking in an earnings call, adding, “It’s hard to tell if we actually need a price cut on the Wii to get to our numbers. There are some price cuts built into that assumption, but not until the third quarter.”
Current pricing levels for the machines are too high, said the exec.
“The hardware price points, given this economic environment are potentially too high, and if the platform holders are going to make the numbers that they forecasted for the year, those prices would have to change,” he said.
“Also, if you think about it, these hardware prices have stayed up longer in this cycle than in any other time before, and in a very dire economic environment, those two things seem to be mutually exclusive.
“Put all those things together, I think that there will have to be price cuts in order to get the hardware moving to where it needs to be.”
More on GI.
8 comments
#1
G1GAHURTZ
22/05/09, 11:42 am
I recently discovered that I am able to get 10% off anything from GAME…
Woo hoo!
I get a price drop on everything!
#2
matirishh
22/05/09, 12:42 pm
I wait for that ps3 price drop, in the mean time – i will play some gears and mass effect, i hate the fact that i have to buy a new console just to play exclusives, hopefully Spielberg is right and there will be no consoles in the future at all, and just one major source of gaming. We will be able to spend more money on games then on platforms and piracy may stop as well… anyway
#3
Razor
22/05/09, 2:01 pm
“Also, if you think about it, these hardware prices have stayed up longer in this cycle than in any other time before, and in a very dire economic environment”
Well, duh…that’s how Sony is going to make the PS3 last for ten years; by artificially keeping the price high; thus extending its cycle.
When the PS3 goes to $299, I would imagine that it’s going to stay at that price point for about 3 years; then $199 for 3 another years; so that’s six years of artificial extension of a cycle.
#4
blackdreamhunk
22/05/09, 2:12 pm
why would gamestop care they sell reused ps3 and wii consoles any way.
this will be the last gen consoles, share holders don’t want lose more billions on consoles.
#5
Psychotext
22/05/09, 2:26 pm
@blackdreamhunk: Nintendo shareholders might want a word with you… well, if they weren’t too busy rolling in their money anyway.
#6
G1GAHURTZ
22/05/09, 3:34 pm
“Well, duh…that’s how Sony is going to make the PS3 last for ten years; by artificially keeping the price high; thus extending its cycle.”
People seem to forget that of this 10 year cycle, 3 years have already passed.
So if you consider that the next PlayStation is going to have to come out at least 2 years before that 10 year cycle ends, you’ve suddenly only got about 5 years of the PS3 being Sony’s top supported console left.
Bear in mind that (IIRC) Sony recently predicted becoming the HD format of choice in a only couple of years, that 10 year cycle starts to look a lot tighter.
#7
Esha
22/05/09, 3:36 pm
Well, with the PS3 getting the Lion’s share of interesting exclusives this year, it should be enough to bring some new people on board without lowering the price.
And to be honest, I don’t want them lowering the price too quickly. The high price-point makes the PS3 seem like some fancy and rather exclusive club that no one really wants to be the first to soil. When the price does eventually lower, I’m going to really miss that.
@Razor
Indeed, and the PS2 is still popular and being developed for.
#8
Psychotext
22/05/09, 3:57 pm
“And to be honest, I don’t want them lowering the price too quickly. The high price-point makes the PS3 seem like some fancy and rather exclusive club that no one really wants to be the first to soil. When the price does eventually lower, I’m going to really miss that.”
/smh