Tag Archives: Dan DeMatteo

GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo doesn’t believe that DLC opportunities from services like EA’s are a deterrent to customers who want to buy used games.

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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.

Gamestop CEO Dan DeMatteo has told CNBC that Nintendo’s told him there’s a Christmas blockbuster on the way.

“We think there will be a Nintendo key property coming out by the end of the year,” he said.

“They haven’t given us any insight, but they have told us to reserve [shelf] space.”

There’s no further detail through there, other than speculation it may be a new Zelda game. We’ll know at E3.

Gamestop CEO Dan DeMatteo has told CNBC that a Wii price cut may become inevitable in the US, thanks to dwindling demand.

“I think [demand for] the Wii could slow down to the extent that Nintendo may want to cut the price,” he said.

“Nintendo has it within its arsenal to do that. The component costs have come down considerably. They used to break even on the Wii, but now they’re making a considerable margin.”

Clearly having his console price cut head on today, the exec said the Sony’s recent PS2 price drop was too little, too late.

“To be honest, it really wasn’t worth doing,” he said.

“If they’d done it earlier, publishers probably would have kept making games for the PS2, but once they’ve stopped, they’ve stopped.”

More through there.

Ever wonder what game industry CEOs make in a year?  It’s loads more than any of us, we guarantee.

According to The Game Trade Journal, between bonuses, stock options and incentives, the following CEOs are paid the most according to proxy statements filed with the SEC.

• Activision – Bobby Kotick: $14.9 Million; Base pay is $899,560 plus $5 million in bonuses last year with $3 million in incentives with $5.9 million of that in exercised stock options. Before the Vivendi merger, his grand total for the year was $2.8 million. (Activision lost $107 million in 2008)

• Electronic Arts – John Riccitiello: $5 Million; Base is $750,000, $3.6 million in stock options, $625,350 in incentives. (EA posted a loss of $641 million in Q4)

• THQ – Brian Farrell: $2.7 million; Base pay was $600,000 lower than 2007 which last year amounted to $651,087 and $1.4 million in option awards (THQ posed a $192 million loss for Q3)

• GameStop – Dan DeMatteo: $4.9 million; Expected to get a $2.4 million bonus this year.

• Midway -Matt Booty: $387,584; That figure is since October 2008. The previous CEO, David Zucker took in $1.5 million.

• Majesco – Jesse Sutton: $943,847; Base pay of $356,073 and a bonus almost equal that amount (Majesco’s net was $3.4 million last year)

• Take Two – Ben Feder: $1; Take-Two paid him $1 last year excluding health benefits because his check comes from Take-Two Chairman Strauss Zelnick. (Take-Two reported a profit of $97 million last year)

Thanks, Evil Avatar

There’s clearly a “messaging” issue going on here. Despite GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo saying a month ago that getting a Wii this Christmas was going to be some kind of living hell, GameStop vice president of merchandising, Bob McKenzie, has told MTV that no one needs to worry. It’s all going to be fine.

“It’s been a unique ride for Nintendo to have the Wii going into a third year this November where the consumer may still be searching for it,” he said.

“Our look from Nintendo, though, is that it will be much, much better than it has been the last two years. I can’t say we will be in stock every day throughout the holiday season but I can tell you that the current flow we’ve seen coming from Nintendo on Wii hardware makes us very confident that we will meet the business model that we’ve got.”

There’s a full interview through the link.

GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo has told GameDaily that there are nothing like enough Wiis to go around at the moment, and he thinks it’s a problem that’s going to run into the holidays.

“I’ve never seen this type of demand before. I know they’re making more, but we’re still short like everybody else. I think we’ll have a continued shortage this Christmas,” he said.

He continued, “I don’t see a near-term end in sight for Wii shortages, not unless they really ramp up supply. I think they’ve ramped it up 20 percent or so, but Nintendo is fairly cautious by nature. They ramped it up 20 and it’s still evaporating.”

More through the link.