Tag Archives: Igor Cipolletta

ShopTo boss Igor Cipolletta has told Eurogamer that while his business has no plans to boycott PSPgo like other European retailers, he feels that the handheld is “almost dead before it has arrived”.

“We do have it listed on the site, but we are not concentrating any big marketing behind it,” he said. “Sony has decided to cut publishers and retailers for the software of the PSPgo and deal direct with developers, giving them a 70 per cent margin for any items sold on Sony PSN.

“I have the feeling that as a format it is almost dead before it has arrived, and it relies far too heavily on a customer base that is prepared to pay more for download content than the equivalent disc based product, and I suspect this market will soon dry up based on the technical limitations of the hardware.”

Analyst Michael Pachter has responded to retailers boycotting the system, and thinks that each are being “foolish” and “ridiculous”.

“It’s just silly for a retailer to say that they won’t sell a big ticket gaming device because they can’t sell the games,” he told Eurogamer. “Consumer electronics stores sell refrigerators and not food, everyone sells iPods and not the music for them; this position is just ridiculous.

“I think that it’s foolish for a retailer to be selective about what they carry, unless they truly don’t believe it will sell well. Refusing to carry them subjects them to the risk that Sony will bypass them for Gran Turismo or Uncharted, in which case they lose. To draw a line in the sand is wrong.”

Via GI.biz.

ShopTo bossman Igor Cipolletta has relayed that he is worried over the newest “trend” of pricey franchise games.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Cipolletta fears that publishers are following Activision’s lead in this respect, thanks to the announced price increase for Modern Warfare 2.

“Whether planned, or a case of jumping on the popular franchises bandwagon, we have seen Microsoft increase the price of Forza 3 to GBP 49.99 and Nintendo increase the price of Professor Layton [and Pandora's Box] to GBP 34.99,” he told the site. “I sincerely hope that not all publishers will follow this lead.

“The price increases that some publishers think the market can stand are, to say the least, a worrying trend, and appear to be more than just a result of currency fluctuations.”

Cipolletta commended Capcom for dropping the price of its games to GBP 39.99, but felt the price increase for Wii did not go over as well as Nintendo hoped.

“Subsequent to the price increase and as a result of the European ‘free market’ the console is in plentiful supply and some chain stores were forced to discount the machine to gain cash back,” he added. “I think this is a demonstration that the market was either unable or unwilling to stomach the Nintendo hardware price increase.”

Thanks, GI.biz.

As expected, UK retailers have reacted badly to news that Nintendo’s to raise the trade price of Wii in the UK, with one saying the proposed rise will leave no margin on the hardware at all.

“It’s very bad,” ShopTo.net’s Igor Cipolletta told GI, admitting: “If it’s true that they want to increase it by [at least] £18 then there is no margin for us at all.

“It’s very disappointing because we believed that after two years the Wii machine would get cheaper rather than more expensive – I’ve heard that this is the first time in history that the price has gone up for a machine after two years.”

Retailer Chips added that the rise is likely to have an adverse affect on sales, and that the increase will have to be passed onto consumers.

“It will have a negative effect on the sales,” said MD Don McCabe.

“I think we’ll still end up with shortages come Christmas again, but through the summer it’s going to have an effect.”

Nintendo said yesterday it’s to raise the trade price of Wii in the UK by as much as £20 thanks to a depreciated pound.