Gamestop is the largest and most influential retailer to cater exclusively to gamers. Just a few years ago, it was estimated that Gamestop controled 21% of the US market. That is a great share of the market, considering that Gamestop has to go up against Wal-Mart, Best Buy, and other department stores. Occasionally, Gamestop steals the spotlight from Michael Pachter and other analysts to make some predictions of their own.
Gamestop executives made a bold claim during a series of investor meetings. The executives said that they didn’t expect the next Sony and Microsoft consoles before 2014, but successful Wii U sales could force Sony and Microsoft to come out with consoles sooner. To quote them directly:
Management does not expect new hardware consoles from Microsoft and Sony until 2014; however, a successful launch of Nintendo’s Wii U in 2012 could add pressure to accelerate a hardware refresh.
Gamestop also shared their thoughts on the PS Vita and the recently released Kinect and Move:
GameStop is also upbeat on the coming launch of Sony’s PlayStation Vita handheld gaming device, which has a $249 price-point within the reach of many gamers.
As for the motion controller launched a year ago, management indicated more software is needed to maintain sales momentum.
The PS3 was released when the PS2 was seven years old. In 2014, the PS3 will be eight years old. So, there may be some merit to the claim that Sony would launch the next console in 2014 or later, especially since Sony recently revamped their brand with Move and 3D technology. Let us know in the comments if you think the Wii U will pressure Sony to release their console sooner.
[Via]
