Pachter: "Nintendo doesn't even know there's an Internet yet"

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter believes that cloud gaming won't kill consoles altogether, but that Nintendo is most likely to suffer through the transition.

Speaking on a panel at CES 2012, as reported by IndustryGamers, Pachter assessed eahc of the three major gaming platform holders for their ability to keep consoles relevant as streamed content becomes more common.

"Sony is a content provider in film and music and games; I think they're ahead of the curve. Microsoft... They're right back on track. These guys want to be an entertainment hub. So you're going to get a box out of Microsoft that's going to turn your washer and dryer on, and they're going to give you the multi-purpose console of all time," he said.

"Nintendo doesn't even know there's an Internet yet so trust me, they're going to be making consoles until someone explains it to them."

The analyst also outlined his argument for the continued existence of consoles, drawing an analogy with ongoing sales of CDs.

"You're never gonna have a step function, where every game developer, every publisher says 'Screw it, we're putting everything in the cloud, on OnLive,'" he said.

"So as long as there's somebody who is going to buy a game console, and buy a game in that format, then consoles will continue. Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo have a vested interest in their core royalty business: getting people to put content on their platforms."