Outspoken industry analyst Michael Pachter’s peered into his crystals ball again this week, forecasting hardware price cuts from all three platform holders by late 2011.
Specifically, the Wedbush Morgan man reckons Microsoft will be the first to apply a little nip and tuck, with an Xbox 360 price drop announcement expected to drop at E3 in June.
Pachter reckons Sony and Nintendo will then follow up with price cuts of their own for PS3 and Wii, respectively. He also reckons consumer interest in the latter is starting to cool off, before describing PlayStation Move as being off to a “very tepid start.”
"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," Pachter said in a research note today.
"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," he 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.”
Pachter concluded by saying he expects all three consoles to retail for at least $50 cheaper by late 2011, with Microsoft leading the pack.
"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."