GameStop Execs Talk PS3, Wii, Xbox 360 Prospects

Cygnus

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=15547
As part of an in-depth interview published today, GameStop VP Bob McKenzie has been commenting in detail on the retailer's impressions of the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii going into this holiday season.

Starting with the PlayStation 3, when asked how he feels about Sony's next-gen console now that it's moving into its second Christmas, senior merchandising VP McKenzie commented:

"I think that has a lot of different opportunities, because it brings in a different type of consumer. It's really the higher end. It's the core consumer that wants the latest and the greatest. They're more into the technology, they probably already own a high definition television, and surround-sound entertainment system."

Then, when asked if the PlayStation 3 (currently the worst-selling of the three next-gen consoles) is "living up to its potential just yet", McKenzie's response was:

"I think they're not there yet. I think they've done some moves recently, with the mark-down on the sixty-gig that will help to show that they are reacting. That they see the opportunity, and they know that they need to continue to stimulate that. The eighty-gig is coming out now, and having a game packed in, they see that they have a little catching up to do."

Moving onto the Xbox 360, when asked for his impressions, GameStop VP McKenzie noted:

"Yeah, the 360 lineup is solid. It's really phenomenal -- they've positioned themselves well. Last year we had a two speed strategy going in with the Pro and the Core. This year it is almost double. We have four different hardware SKUs that we have at different price points... They understand that there's a consumer at the end of each of those price points, and they have the product for us right now."

"There are over a hundred 360 titles that are coming out for the holiday, and they're continuing to expand the platforms into more of the social gaming and the casual games as well. A very solid holiday; as you mentioned, Halo 3 is going to break all records. It already has. It's our highest [pre-]reservation title [ever]."

Finally, when discussing his impressions of Nintendo's Wii in the interview, McKenzie conveyed his positive impressions of the console's launch thus far:

"I give Nintendo a lot of credit. They set out a goal to expand the consumer base, and I give them credit, they did a great job of it. I have one in my house. As I mentioned, I have a 7 year old boy, and a 5 year old daughter, and we all sit around the TV. They like playing some of those mini-games, whether it's fishing, or some of the easier games.

Even though they're mini-games, there is a lot of good entertainment value in those, and they've done a good job of marketing that. And releasing them, not only at the launch, but also having them bundled in [with the hardware], to give the consumer a taste of the gameplay, then having the subsequent launches of more [titles including] mini-games."

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phearcat

Well the XBox developers are not going to sit on their hands while the PS3 struggles to catch up and with the release of Halo 3 and further price drops the gap will only widen more.

Another interesting fact is that 50% of 360 owns did not previously own a xbox 1. So in other words almost half of the 360 owners very likely owned a PS2. Sony is just loosing market share to the Wii and Xbox 360.

Sony screwed their fan base by adding the built in Blu Ray player and your average consumer doesn't want to spend 600 dollars on a game console especially when cheaper consoles are beating the pants off it.

Ntruder

Sony does have a strategy. Here's what it is:

There are 100+ million PS2's out there right now. They are betting that most of those people are going to, later down the road, grab a PS3 on sheer name recognition. And many probably will. The problem is that they could, in the meantime, be knocked right off their high horse as a valid console and lots of those PS2 owners may switch before the PS3 hits their price point of $199 or $149 or whatever.

junehhan

What's worse is that they'll have an even harder time if the X360 can hit those price points sooner than the PS3 can. The Nintendo seems to be on it's own plane right now, and I see neither catching up to it anytime soon.

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