Customers Want Next Generation Consoles, Retailer Believes

The CEO of GAME, one of the biggest UK-based retailers, has stated that the disappointing winter holiday sales are partly to blame on the lack of new consoles, saying that customers are certainly looking forward to new devices, like the Wii U, as well as the oft-rumored PlayStation 4 or Xbox 720.

Quite a lot of video game developers, publishers and analysts have started talking about the next generation of consoles in recent times, with many saying that the age of the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 is coming to an end.

Now, it seems that big video game retailers are also lending their voice to this demand for new devices, as GAME CEO Ian Shepherd has talked about the weak sales from the winter holiday season, blaming them on the lack of interest for current consoles from the part of customers.

"The weakness in the overall numbers was partly driven by the economy and consumer confidence issues," he told MCV. "It was also driven by where we are in the hardware cycle. The hardware market was much more negative than the software market. That tells you the industry and the consumer is ready for more innovation there.”

Shepherd believes that things might get better with the 3DS or the upcoming PlayStation Vita, not to mention the future Nintendo Wii U at the end of the year, although other hardware manufacturers, i.e. Microsoft or Sony, also need to hurry up with their new devices.

GAME reported a year-over-year decrease in winter holiday sales of 14.7 percent, in tone with statistics coming from the U.S. reported by the NPD group.

When new consoles actually appear, however, they’ll no doubt have steep price tags, so who knows if GAME’s prediction, that sales will increase, is actually going to come true. Until then, neither Microsoft nor Sony has made any statements about their next consoles.