Bobby Kotick, Chief Executive Officer for Activision Inc, has gone on record to suggest that Sony and Microsoft must lower the price of their next-generation videogame consoles to USD 199 within the next two years, if they are to retain mass-market appeal.
Kotick stated that Nintendo is setting industry standards as far as price goes with its Wii console, though not before conceding that the 40GB PlayStation 3, which costs USD 400, was a “good” product.
"The Wii at its price point is now setting a standard and an expectation, and people say, well, the Wii is less complex technically. I don’t think that really matters as much to the consumer," he said.
Indeed, Kotick feels that USD 199 would be the optimum price point for mass-market consumption, adding, In the next 24 months they all will need to be at that $199 price point, and you can imagine Nintendo will be down to the $129 price point over the next few years.”
Source: Reuters