Signal Hill analyst bullish on 3DS prospects

Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald has issued his own industry note regarding the recently concluded E3 expo, praising the 3DS but describing Microsoft's Kinect as "risky".

Mirroring comments made today by Wedbush analyst Michael Pacther, Greenwald described the 3DS as impressive and responsible for generating the "most buzz". He suggested that the only potential problem with the 3DS could be its price, with a $199 price point being ideal.

Kinect was evaluated as "risky", with the rumoured $149 price tag categorised as "expensive". Greenwald also portrayed Kinect as "a tough marketing challenge" and voiced concern that for potential new Xbox 360 owners it meant the price of the console was increasing, not decreasing.

Again agreeing with other analysts, Greenwald believed the PlayStation Move to be a more measured approach to the motion controller question, although he also expressed concern over the hidden costs of the multiple accessories needed.

Overall Greenwald suggests that the impact of motion controllers in the near term will be "limited" and the introduction of the redesigned Xbox 360 has been "underappreciated", with the new SKU having in this opinion the potential to cause 360 sales to "accelerate meaningfully".

In terms of software Greenwald believed Activision to have the most impressive software line-up and monetisation plans, although he was disappointed with the lack of new titles show at E3 in general.

He was also positive regarding Electronic Arts' line-up of titles, although again disappointed that few new titles were demonstrated. Greenwald also speculated that EA would begin to announce subscription-based payment models for its main sports titles within the next 12 months.

His list of key titles at the show included Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision), Medal of Honor (EA), Bulletstorm (EA), Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (EA), GoldenEye 007 (Activision), Dance Central (MTV Games), Your Shape: Fitness Evolved (Ubisoft), Epic Mickey (Disney), and Rage (Bethesda).

Although the Wii software line-up was received positively by others Greenwald was "underwhelmed" and predicted that, particularly given the delay of The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, Wii hardware sales will continue to lose momentum compared to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

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