14 DAY TRIAL // Famous video games analyst Michael Pachter has once again gazed in his crystal ball and predicts that the Xbox 360 will see a 50 U.S. dollar price cut next spring, leading the way for cuts across the board for video game consoles.
The Wedbush Securities analyst revealed that consoles will have a very successful 2011, thanks to new hardware like the PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect, and new handhelds like the Nintendo 3DS.
This should be spurred by a range of price cuts, in order to make the new additions more affordable for the masses, not just the early adopters that will have certainly bought the devices when they were released at full price.
"We estimate that a $50 console price cut across the board will impact software sales by a positive five per cent, and we expect Microsoft to lead with a cut some time in spring 2011," Pachter revealed.
The release of the Nintendo 3DS, in February in Japan and March in the rest of the world, will definitely bring lots of profit to the video games business, according to the analyst.
"We think that Nintendo's 3DS, scheduled for March release in the U.S. and Europe, has the potential to reinvigorate packaged product sales."
Also, Kinect and Move will also be successful with the gaming public, and drive the sales of the regular consoles, says the analyst.
"Similarly, we think that Kinect and Move have the potential to drive console sales, broadening the installed base and giving new purchasers a reason to buy a greater number of packaged goods," he continued.
Bear in mind that Pachter is just forecasting things from a business perspective, so Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo may opt to keep prices the same for a while longer than spring of next year if their respective consoles will continue to turn a profit, with or without the extra hardware.