14 DAY TRIAL // GameStop, one of the biggest distributors of games hardware and software, has released, together with its financial results for the first quarter of 2008, a few predictions regarding the future of the console war, especially regarding the way prices will behave in the next few months.
Company Chief Operating Officer Dan DeMatteo has revealed that they are expecting the supply limitations tied to the Nintendo Wii to continue for at least the next six months, if not longer. As the next-gen console has recently begun picking up decent sales numbers more and more, the shops have been faced with problems in restocking their shelves. Nintendo has recently said that it is doing all it can to offer consoles as they are needed, but the success of the Wii seems to have surprised even the guys at Nintendo.
The Xbox 360 and the PSP are also hot items at GameStop and there are days when they aren't to be found in the shops. Microsoft has commented earlier to the results of the February NPD numbers by saying that supply issues will continue to limit the availability of the Xbox 360 console and that the company hopes to see some improvement in April. Meanwhile, the PlayStation 3 from Sony has no supply issues, even if it is outselling the Microsoft product. In April, GameStop expects a full supply of PS3s.
Regarding price cuts for the consoles, Chief Financial Officer David Carlson has said that the company is planning its 2008 financial year with some price cuts in mind. The PS2, which recently saw strong sales, is set to receive a 30-dollar cut, and the company currently projects a 50-dollar price cut for both the PS3 and the Xbox 360. Carlson stressed the fact that they had no direct information from Microsoft or Sony on this issue.
Apparently, the games business is not affected, at the moment, by the current financial crisis in the US. Sales are stronger than they were in 2006 in both hardware and software.