James Delahunty
16 Apr 2009 17:08
GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo has called for price cuts for the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) console and the Nintendo Wii console, and also dismissed Sony's PS2 price cut as basically too little, too late. The video games industry is weathering the recession particularly well compared to others in the tech business, but according to DeMatteo, price cuts will be essential to keep the momentum going.
The first point he made to CNBC was the price of the PS3 console, which is the most expensive console on the market at $399. "That price point is clearly an issue in this economy," he said. Sony has repeatedly denied plans to cut the price of the PS3, but is expected to make a price cut before E3. The debate going on is about how much needs to be cut.
"I don't know that $50 gets you that much," DeMatteo said. He poured cold water on the recent PS2 price cut announced by Sony. "To be honest, it really wasn't worth doing," he said. "If they'd done it earlier, publishers probably would have kept making games for the PS2, but once they've stopped, they've stopped."
He also went on to address the $250 price tag for the Wii console, which continues to have considerable demand in North America, even as sales and interest sink in Japan. "I think [demand for] the Wii could slow down to the extent that Nintendo may want to cut the price," he says. "Nintendo has it within its arsenal to do that. The component costs have come down considerably. They used to break even on the Wii, but now they're making a considerable margin."