During his most recent gaze into the crystal ball, famed Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has discerned that Xbox 360 sales may rise 20% over last Fall holiday season. In an interview with Gamasutra he states, "with a little help from correct marketing, Xbox 360 sales stand to lift 20 percent in the Fall-Holiday season over the same period last year."So what information is this latest oracular vision based on?
The $199.99 price of the Xbox 360 Arcade SKU and the continuing supply-constraints of the Wii. As Pachter says:
"I'd guess that there will be some substitution of Xbox 360 Arcade for Wii as gifts," Pachter says.
"More important, I think, is the low price itself; I think that Wii owners may consider buying a 'next gen' console and look hard at the Xbox 360 at the $199 price point, and don't think Sony is particularly competitive at $399 for the cost-conscious crowd."
"More important, I think, is the low price itself; I think that Wii owners may consider buying a 'next gen' console and look hard at the Xbox 360 at the $199 price point, and don't think Sony is particularly competitive at $399 for the cost-conscious crowd."
Meanwhile, Sony corporate communications department employee Julie Han replies:
"We're really confident that consumers are making choices driven by value," she says, "and we know PS3 offers that value across the board, with the built-in Blu-ray player the broadest and deepest software lineup in the industry, with LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, Motorstorm [Pacific Rift]... we're quite confident our holiday sales will be good."
So how will the so-called "console wars" play out this holiday season? The only way to find out for those of us without crystal balls (not a pun) is the tried and true "wait and see" method.
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