Analyst: Don't expect price cuts to help hardware sales

don't expect price cuts to help hardware sales?

that is the stupidest thing I have ever heard

This is pretty stupid because consoles are selling poorly relative to previous generations because they cost so much more, coupled with confusion due to multiple SKUs (the $200 xbox isnt as good a value as a $300 xbox, so the $200 model is less desirable and the $300 model just costs too much).

A new $399 price for the Xbox 360?

Sweet!

Actually, the current economic climate is likely to help hardware sales *more* than previous cuts, at least percentage-wise (rather than total units sold). Typically there are groups of consumers that wait for a certain price point "sweet-spot" before they buy. Bad economic times means fewer buy at the high prices, and a larger percentage buy at lower prices.

Simple economics and math suggest Creutz is dead wrong.

To be fair, the title of this article is entirely misleading (although the text of the article isn't).

What he actually said was "price cuts for all major consoles won't stimulate sales aAS MUCH AS PREVIOUS CUTS HAVE IN THE PAST".

Which, given the economy, is just yet another statement of the obvious by an analyst.

That said, while it might not have much of an affect on the 360/Wii at this point given their already fairly low prices, I would think it would still give PS3 sales a very major boost.

A $100 price cut on the PS3 will guarantee a sale from me. I've been waiting for it, as I have the Battlestar Galactica Blu-ray box set now, with nothing to play it on.

Hardware may cost a lot, but games is where I'd like to see a cut.

I almost wonder if we're approaching the threshold where most of the people who want to purchase a console already have. In this case it would make sense to say that price cuts won't have much effect, people simple aren't going to buy more than one.

Screw hardware sells. I just want the price drop.

I'm sure hoping for a $50 price cut on the Wii before christmas, that'd make me feel a hell of a lot better about getting one.

I would think Nintendo's first jump would be a full $100, if anything. I also don't think Microsoft will introduce a newer premium-tier product at $400, unless that's a typo (or an estimate including Natal). I think that, when PS3 starts the move downward, i don't think Microsoft will want to stand at the top.

Doug Creutz is the anti-Pachter.

Pachter didn't say this? Seriously?

I'm not sure what's worse. The fact that the headline for this article is a bit misleading, or the fact that, even though what Creutz REALLY said is right there in the first sentence, 90% of the people commenting here are still commenting as if he actually said that price cuts won't help hardware sales, as the headline implies.

But the REALLY funny part is that most of that 90%, who apparently lacks the ability to read, is commenting to call the guy dumb, for something he didn't actually say.

Irony.

Ok well basically this guy is just stating the obvious. Consumers aren't buying because they don't have money.....DUH!........

However his prediction that sales will continue to decline year over year with the consoles reflects the longer life cycle that the big 3 are always talking about. Unless Sony, MS or Nintendo are planning to pull a rabbit out of their hats in the next 2 or 3 years in the form of PS4, XBox 720, Nintendo (Whatever the new console is named) nobody is going to want to buy consoles they already own. Obviously if nothing new is coming out there won't be any new business except on the software side of things. As things do get cheaper I think more of the people who haven't jumped on the current bandwagon will probably purchase but that'll be a small percentage and consist mainly of casual gamers or people who have been on the fence about buying.

I read somewhere that they are planning to drop the 360 Elite to $299.99 not $399.99 (thought it was already at that price point) I swear these analysts sure get paid a lot of money to tell people things they already know........maybe I should apply for their jobs?

As much as I like the Xbox at $299, the $399 price is almost too good to pass!

WTF?

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I may be getting a PS3 soon. I'm missing out on some great games and a powerful machine. Besides, I'm a SERIOUS gamer, and it makes sense for me to have all 3 in my opinion.

Multiple SKUs needs to gtfo. Props to Nintendo for not going that route.


$299 360 that will rrod, no thank you!

He's right! In this economy people want to spend more. Price cuts will make people think that consoles are for cheapos, losing their position as a status symbol.

Umh... Lol!

Ok, what this guy is saying is that we, in a recession, do not buy as much stuff. Therefore, no matter what you do, people aren't going to flock to a $200-$300 device, simply because people don't have $200-$300 to spend on video games due to the lack of money due to the recession.

A price drop is still going to attract people, just not as many who'd normally spend money whimsically due to their stable jobs.

Again, he's an analyst, what does he know. From what I've seen over IGN and Joystiq, gaming analysts are finally being looked down upon as people are really realizing they're just as annoying as the IRS. Analysts jobs are to be able to take data and is believed to forsee coming events through that. All they do is "wear cheap purple suits and make-up" and look like they know what they're talking about. But its not so. They actually GET PAID TO GUESS! "People in masks cannot be trusted."

Price drop, yes. Is it going to do SONY any good? No. Everyone knew that Microsoft wasn't going to stand-by and let something happen. Given's Bill Gates history as well as the history of Micosoft, Microsoft can only compete by cloning and mirroring around them. There is no creative balance. So naturally, if Sony's gonna price drop, Microsoft is gonna find somewhere to make cuts too to try and stay ahead. I don't think its in Sony's style or you might find a stripped down PlayStation 3. But Sony isn't like that. Sony has packed their console full of technology and they wanna really move the world further.

If you look around other econimical times when the states have suffered, I believe there was an increase in people going to movies. The gaming industry is thriving. Apple is beginning to see this with the demand for games on the iPod, which in my personal opinion is a joke. I don't believe gaming is on the downfall in the least. For the rest of this year, I don't see any games worth buying other than the coveted Uncharted 2. Everything has made the shift to Spring. You can imagine that Microsoft is eventually gonna pick this up, and they're gonna start delaying. There is something about Spring of 2010. Sony promised we'd be seeing more and hearing from motion control. Is this implemented into the games delayed intil 2010. Definately not. But, the Holiday season is drab. There's nothing good and I personally think Sony should consider releasing their Slim model in the Spring as well with a slew of games to choose from. Unless Sony believes Uncharted 2 can really help things along. Other than that, I'll be getting Uncharted 2 in October, but doesn't look like I'll be getting any videogames for Christmas. They all suck.