Kotick Says Console Price Cuts Are Coming
According to Bobby Kotick, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 could have their prices slashed soon.
The pricing battle between the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 came to a stalemate once both consoles hit their current spots at $299. However, a comment made by Activision CEO Bobby Kotick while talking about financial projections hints that the battle could be on again in the near future. Fight!
Speaking to the Financial Times, Kotick revealed some of the reason why Activision raised its projections $50 million for the calendar year. "We've more confidence in consumer spending, we feel like some of that has stabilized, and there are price cuts on the [console] hardware in the works," he said.
He unfortunately didn't elaborate on the cuts any further. The price of the Nintendo Wii was just dropped to $149.99 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109757-Nintendo-Drops-Wii-Sports-From-Wii-Bundle-Slashes-Price] so he must be talking about the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. It isn't the most concrete statement to go by, but as the boss of the biggest videogame publisher in town, Kotick probably has a little more insight into these things than the average Joe.
The PS3 and Xbox 360's prices have been in effect since approximately late-summer 2009 and are ripe for a good slashing, especially with a new Nintendo console more powerful than both [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109522-Nintendo-Officially-Confirms-New-Console-for-2012]. With Microsoft and Sony console successors believed to be approximately 3-ish years away, Nintendo could take the console crown again with proper timing, so price cuts seem like they'd be necessary to compete. I would expect the average $50 cut if Kotick's prediction rings true.
Source: Financial Times [http://blogs.ft.com/fttechhub/2011/05/activision-call-of-duty-to-console-makers/]
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According to Bobby Kotick, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 could have their prices slashed soon.
The pricing battle between the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 came to a stalemate once both consoles hit their current spots at $299. However, a comment made by Activision CEO Bobby Kotick while talking about financial projections hints that the battle could be on again in the near future. Fight!
Speaking to the Financial Times, Kotick revealed some of the reason why Activision raised its projections $50 million for the calendar year. "We've more confidence in consumer spending, we feel like some of that has stabilized, and there are price cuts on the [console] hardware in the works," he said.
He unfortunately didn't elaborate on the cuts any further. The price of the Nintendo Wii was just dropped to $149.99 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109757-Nintendo-Drops-Wii-Sports-From-Wii-Bundle-Slashes-Price] so he must be talking about the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. It isn't the most concrete statement to go by, but as the boss of the biggest videogame publisher in town, Kotick probably has a little more insight into these things than the average Joe.
The PS3 and Xbox 360's prices have been in effect since approximately late-summer 2009 and are ripe for a good slashing, especially with a new Nintendo console more powerful than both [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/109522-Nintendo-Officially-Confirms-New-Console-for-2012]. With Microsoft and Sony console successors believed to be approximately 3-ish years away, Nintendo could take the console crown again with proper timing, so price cuts seem like they'd be necessary to compete. I would expect the average $50 cut if Kotick's prediction rings true.
Source: Financial Times [http://blogs.ft.com/fttechhub/2011/05/activision-call-of-duty-to-console-makers/]
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