GameStop CEO encourages PS3 price cut

via Games Industry


GameStop CEO Dan DeMatteo has gone on record saying that he'd like to see a price cut for the PlayStation 3 in order to bolster sales.

Speaking to CNBC he also poured cold water on the recent USD 50 cut to the PlayStation 2's price cut, saying that it came a year too late.

"That price point is clearly an issue in this economy," he said, referring to the USD 399 price of the PS3 in the US, ahead of on obvious opportunity for Sony to act by announcing a cut at E3 this year.

And on the PS2 price drop he said, "I don't know that USD 50 gets you that much. 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."

Meanwhile he also added his comments to the recent speculation that Nintendo might consider dropping the retail price of the Wii for the first time since launch, a move the company has strongly denied as it has instead moved to increase the unit's price point to counteract Japan's strengthening yen.

"I think [demand for] the Wii could slow down to the extent that Nintendo may want to cut the price," he said. "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."

GameStop's business performance has been strong in the past six months, bucking the economic downturn by posting record results last month.