Michael Pachter is of the opinion that declining sales for both consoles will push Sony and Microsoft to slash prices with E3 the perfect platform to so.
The Electronic Entertainment Expo or E3 is more than just a get-together for geeks and gamers; it is the main event for a multi-billion dollar industry. All the major platform developers and publishers converge every year to sunny Los Angeles and give the
low down on their past, present and more importantly, their future.
New games are announced and teased, trailers are premiered, demos are available on the show room floor, celebrity guests are a mainstay these days, new consoles and technology are announced and financial reports are also presented in some cases.
Last year Ubisoft and Sony stole the show with their stunning press conferences as the former showed off some impressive upcoming content and Sony awed everyone with the PlayStation Vita.
Sony and Microsoft have both come out and announced that they will not be showing their next generation consoles at this year’s E3 yet that does not mean either of the companies will not have anything to share.
According to Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities, both companies are likely to announce price cuts for their consoles at their respective press conferences come June.
“PS3 (PlayStation 3) hardware sales should continue to lag those of the Xbox 360, and we expect sales to trend downward by 10-20% monthly, until Sony cuts prices once again, likely at E3.” Predicted Pachter.
However, he also predicted the same for the Xbox 360 when his report continued, “Recent slowing of Xbox 360 hardware sales could cause Microsoft to consider a price cut by E3.”
As for his take on the next-gen console debate, Mr. Pachter did not see any chance of either console appearing at E3 this year.
“We do not expect an announcement of a next generation console from Microsoft until the Xbox 360 core model is priced below $200, likely around this time next year.”
So if anyone is thinking of getting themselves a console anytime soon should wait until E3 to see if Mr. Pachter may just have saved them a fair bit of money.
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