Tag Archives: analyst

It’s looking more and more like Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 on Wii U is a thing, as supported by these gentle hints from Activision staff.

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According to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter, Nintendo must price its next-gen console lower than $300 (£190) per unit or else it may not be able to stand a chance at retail.

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Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter believes Rockstar has more than just GTA V up its sleeve, in fact he seems convinced five of Rockstar’s studios are currently working on their own projects. According to the analyst, speaking in an investor note, Pachter said he expects one of these projects to launch by March 2013, and that game is Grand Theft Auto V. He also expects Take Two to finally announced a GTA V release date in November.

Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter has estimated the value of 38 Studios’ Amalur IP is worth around $20 million, according to Joystiq.

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Industry analyst Michael Pachter has clarified what he meant by saying that blocking used games isn’t in platform holders’ best interests, suggesting it would be tantamount to suicide for any hardware manufacturer.

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Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter believes the settlement between Activision and EA will pave the way for Respawn’s first title to release during the 2014 fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2014.

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For the past few years, each Call of Duty release has established new sales records. Will Black Ops 2 do the same this November?

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The surprise inclusion of a multiplayer mode in God of War: Ascension has some analysts cheering, and others a bit stumped.

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EEDAR’s Jesse Divnich doesn’t agree with other analysts who are calling on Sony to drop the price of PS3. According to Divnich, PS3 doesn’t need a price drop in order to stay competitive as “sales have been consistent and in-line,” for a platform which continues to grow its install base. Divnich also said consumers shouldn’t read anything into the console’s price-cut at GameStop, as it’s just a temporary sale. “There could be many elements at play, but I highly doubt this is any indication of weakness for the PlayStation 3,” he said. Thanks, GI International. [image]

Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz has estimated player subscriptions for Star Wars: The Old Republic will have dropped from 1.7 million at the beginning of 2012 to 1.25 million by the end of EA’s current fiscal year in March 2013.

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Cowen and Company analyst Doug Creutz has deduced Prototype 2 will “struggle” to sell 500,000 units in the US during its first year on the market, predicting the title will see a “soft performance” compared to sales of the original title. Creutz noted the game has yet to break Amazon’s top 100 selling games charts, which was “typically a bad sign for actual sales.” The firm originally expected the title to “slightly exceed” the 900,000 units Prototype 1 sold in the US during its first year. Prototype 2 releases worldwide, next week, on April 24 for PS3 and Xbox 360. The PC version is expected on July 24. Thanks, Gamasutra.

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter expects a grim result in this week’s NPD report – but expects a PlayStation 3 price cut this year.

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Following rumours that Sony’s next console will block used games, industry analyst Michael Pachter has warned this could have dire repercussions for the platform.

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Industry analyst Doug Creutz of Cowen and Company isn’t confident Wii U will have an impact on publisher shares when it hits the market later this year, as historically, most publishers have a “low exposure” to Nintendo platforms. He also noted in his report, via GI.biz, the firm expects the next Xbox console to launch in fall 2013, and while rumors pegging it as a digital-only machine are highly unlikely, he believes it will be less expensive at launch than previous offerings in the console line. [image]

US marketing research firm Strategy Analytics predicts Vita will sell 12.4 million units in 2012, but only if given a price drop by Sony.

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The NPD Group Australia has revealed a 12.8% year-on-year decrease in traditional retail in 2011, but local industry expects digital revenue to climb.

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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.

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Sterne Agee’s Arvind Bhatia has highlighted some disturbing figures in Zynga’s finances.

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Cowen & Co analyst Doug Creutz has estimated that EA has invested close to half a billion dollars in Star Wars: The Old Republic. Speaking with MarketWatch, Creutz said he believes EA has “minimized its risks as much as it can” on the MMO, “but it’s still a risky bet” and how well the investment pays off will rely on “how Star Wars performs.” Last year, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter estimated that in the end, EA would have invested $80 million in the game. SWTOR was released on December 20 and shortly thereafter, EA announced that 1 million users had signed up, garnering over 60 million hours of in-game play time. Thanks, Spong.

DFC Intelligence’s David Cole believes the PlayStation has lost a bit of shine over the years, which to Cole is unfortunate due to the PS3 being “an incredibly robust system with a great content library.”

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