Still wavering over whether to buy that new PlayStation? If you"re reaching the limits of your holiday budget (or, like me, have long since blown past it), it might be worth your while to wait.
Yeah, those rumored December price cuts for the Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube proved false. (Big surprise.) But that doesn"t mean prices aren"t coming down. The question is: When and how much?
Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, naturally, aren"t saying. CEOs of major game publishing companies dropped a few hints, though, at UBS Warburg"s 30th Annual Media Week Conference.
The consensus seems to be that we can expect another round of cuts before mid-year, most likely right around the same time as the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the gaming industry"s annual trade show. Most execs are predicting another $50 reduction, taking the Xbox and PS2 to $149 and the GameCube to $99. While unlikely, they acknowledge it"s not inconceivable that PS2 and Xbox prices could fall to $99 (and, by default, the GameCube would slip to $50).
Most significantly, another price reduction will spur fence-sitters to rush out and buy a console. Larry Probst, chairman and CEO of Electronic Arts, said he expects total sales of the PS2, Xbox and GameCube to total 15 million or so this year. In 2003, he predicts another 16-18 million machines will be sold.
That vastly expanded customer base will need games to play, which should spur sales of existing titles. The mass of casual gamers the lower price point will attract, though, are typically hesitant to shell out $50 for a game. That means retail price cuts for software.
"If hardware prices come down, as we suspect, in May, that may put some pressure on coming down from [the current] $49 price point," said Brian Farrell, president and CEO of THQ (THQI: Research, Estimates).