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Dan DeMatteo, the CEO of global games retail chain GameStop, has stated that he believes price drops are needed for both Sony’s PS3 and Nintendo’s Wii as the worldwide recession continues to trouble consumers.
Speaking of the PS3, DeMatteo told CNBC: $399 is clearly an issue in this economy. I don’t know if a $50 price drop would even get you that much.”
The exec was also dismissive of Sony’s recent PS2 price drop, adding: To be honest, it really wasn’t worth doing. If they’d done it earlier, publishers probably would have kept making games for the PS2, but once they’ve stopped, they’ve stopped.”
There was also an expression of concern regarding the slowing sales of Nintendo’s Wii: I think demand for the Wii could slow down to the extent that Nintendo may want to cut the price.
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.”
Elsewhere in the interview, DeMatteo adds that he believes Nintendo has an unannounced big title primed and ready for release at the end of the year: We think there will be a Nintendo key property coming out by the end of the year. They haven’t given us any insight, but they have told us to reserve shelf space.”
