Posted on Monday 7-Mar-2011 4:31 PM

Xbox 360 price cut likely in June - Pachter

"Sony and Nintendo to rapidly follow suit," analyst predicts

By Tom Ivan for computerandvideogames.com

Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter expects Microsoft to cut the Xbox 360's price this June, and for Nintendo and Sony to quickly make similar moves with Wii and PS3.

He believe all three manufacturers are profitable at current pricing for their core models ($299 for the PS3 and Xbox 360, $199 for the Wii), but says the current price structure has been in place for 18 months, with costs remaining at historical highs this far into a console cycle.

"We expect Microsoft to announce a price cut at this year's E3 Expo in June, and expect Sony and Nintendo to rapidly follow suit," he said in a research note this afternoon.

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"Demand for the Wii appears to us to be fading, and we think that a price cut is long overdue. However, this time around, Sony has a motion control scheme of its own with Move, which is off to a very tepid start. We think that Move's lack of traction in the marketplace is due mostly to the high price point for a system bundle ($399).

"On the other hand," Pachter added, "Microsoft's motion control system, Kinect, has had a breathtaking start, with over eight million units sold in the first three months.

"We believe that Microsoft is in the driver's seat on pricing, and believe that the company may consider a price cut for the core console plus Kinect to under $300 in June, which could allow it to extend its monthly sales lead throughout 2011.

"A console price cut from Microsoft would almost certainly prompt its competitors to follow suit, and we are confident that by holiday 2011, all three consoles will be at least $50 cheaper than they are today."

PSP Go's price was cut by 25 percent in the US last week, shortly after Sony slashed the price of the older PSP-3000.

computerandvideogames.com
Tom Ivan
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Comments

17 comments so far...

  1. Report this post Reply with quote
    gmcb007 on 7 Mar '11 said:

    If Pachter ever quits his job then the world will fall into disarray without his wise predictions.

  2. Report this post Reply with quote
    g_marrs on 7 Mar '11 said:

    A Pachter moment! :idea:

  3. Report this post Reply with quote
    Domin666 on 7 Mar '11 said:

    Old news Pattcher Sony said weeks ago to be replacing it standard modle and old stock is getting sold cheaper to off load stock,so yeh the price all round is coming down.This guy sucks at his job lol.

  4. Report this post Reply with quote
    TheLastDodo on 7 Mar '11 said:

    If Pachter predicted the day he was gonna die, I would pay someone to make sure he got it wrong :twisted:

  5. Report this post Reply with quote
    TOKEN on 7 Mar '11 said:

    so if im correct 360 £150 will be £100 and the 360 kinect pack will be £200.
    Preowend will be £80ish and £180?Next xbox senses are tingling.

  6. Report this post Reply with quote
    g_marrs on 7 Mar '11 said:

    so if im correct 360 £150 will be £100 and the 360 kinect pack will be £200.
    Preowend will be £80ish and £180?Next xbox senses are tingling.

    Hey, we do not question the great Pachter. It is beyond the abilities of us mortals to even entertain the possibility of comprehending his godhood. Simply know this. The Anti-Pachter will come forth to thwart him if he can.

  7. Report this post Reply with quote
    Hashbrown on 7 Mar '11 said:

    so if im correct 360 £150 will be £100 and the 360 kinect pack will be £200.
    Preowend will be £80ish and £180?Next xbox senses are tingling

    You are not correct. $50 is more like £30-£40 and Brits never get a clear conversion rate anyway so more likely £20 price drop. If the PS3 can manage to get under £200 I will pick one up just for Uncharted and FF Verus, until then my money is safe

  8. Report this post Reply with quote
    chamony on 7 Mar '11 said:

    so if im correct 360 £150 will be £100 and the 360 kinect pack will be £200.
    Preowend will be £80ish and £180?Next xbox senses are tingling

    You are not correct. $50 is more like £30-£40 and Brits never get a clear conversion rate anyway so more likely £20 price drop. If the PS3 can manage to get under £200 I will pick one up just for Uncharted and FF Verus, until then my money is safe

    should have gone to sainsburys a couple of weeks a go, it was £199.99 and the 360 kinect pack was, dont know if the offer is still on tho,

    patcher=nob

  9. Report this post Reply with quote
    Rob S London on 7 Mar '11 said:

    Tesco had the 250G Xbox's for £159 a few weeks ago - I picked my dad one up to use as a media centre, I reckon they'll go down to around that level...

    Slightly off topic, I thought it was a bit s**tty that you only get the non-HD lead with new xboxes - literally useless i mean who owns a non hd tv these days

  10. Report this post Reply with quote
    Very_Silver_Ownz on 7 Mar '11 said:

    can we all applaud Patcher for stating the obvious :roll:

  11. Report this post Reply with quote
    danz202 on 7 Mar '11 said:

    Can I have my predictions posted in an article as well please?

    I mean my predictions aren't as good as Patcher's obviously but I reckon it'll happen, like the 3DS will sell well, Activision will produce another CoD game, my cat will eat the cat food etc.

  12. Report this post Reply with quote
    g_marrs on 7 Mar '11 said:

    Can I have my predictions posted in an article as well please?

    I mean my predictions aren't as good as Patcher's obviously but I reckon it'll happen, like the 3DS will sell well, Activision will produce another CoD game, my cat will eat the cat food etc.

    i was with you until your last claim. I've got a cat and the chances of him eating cat food are always unpredictable.

  13. Report this post Reply with quote
    i like jam donut on 7 Mar '11 said:

    So the console will be cheaper than add-on?

  14. Report this post Reply with quote
    A3RO_DYNAMIK on 7 Mar '11 said:

    Pachter Places hands on temples, I foresee 6 year old technology reducing in price in the future! GASP :shock:
    Pachter pushes fingers harder into temples, this is LIKELY to happen in June but could be May, July, August I mean in the future, what do I mean :? ?

  15. Report this post Reply with quote
    g_marrs on 8 Mar '11 said:

    Okay, okay... Here's the plan CVG.

    We get Pachter, Derren Brown and Mystic Meg to make some game industry predictions now. In six months time we see who was right.

    Good idea?

  16. Report this post Reply with quote
    carlos928 on 8 Mar '11 said:

    Goddamn it Patcher... just get out of my sight! :x

  17. Report this post Reply with quote
    danz202 on 8 Mar '11 said:

    Can I have my predictions posted in an article as well please?

    I mean my predictions aren't as good as Patcher's obviously but I reckon it'll happen, like the 3DS will sell well, Activision will produce another CoD game, my cat will eat the cat food etc.

    i was with you until your last claim. I've got a cat and the chances of him eating cat food are always unpredictable.

    I've gotta agree on that one, my cat instead of eating the cat food will sometimes just scratch the floor after smelling it, can't really blame him.