Pachter: Microsoft will release 250GB Xbox 360 model early next year

Think the 120GB Elite Xbox 360 is Microsoft's final version? According to Michael Pachter it's not. The Webush Morgan Securities analyst believes we will see another iteration from Microsoft sooner rather than later. It's in a discussion about the Modern Warfare 2 Xbox 360 bundle Michael lets it slip.

"They are going to have a 250 gig box. That's the point. They didn't buy 5000 of these for a test. There's going to be a 250 gig 360 some day. So I actually think your're going to see the 120 gig priced at $249 whenever they feel like it, which might be January, February, it's going to happen. So, if I were a gamer, I would be watching for that."

Since Sony released the redesigned PS3 Slim, Microsoft has been losing momentum, and now the PS3 is leading not only the Xbox 360, but the Nintendo Wii in the weekly hardware sales charts globally, so Michael's prediction makes a lot of sense if Microsoft wants to remain competitive. This Christmas will be an interesting one to say the least, but with The Redmond Giant constantly forging ways to stay relevant in the industry, I doubt it'll be a bad season for them.

However, in the coming year one must wonder what will Microsoft do to sustain momentum; with the PS3's games constantly outdoing its counterpart in pushing innovation to the next level, what will be their response? Natal is good, but no one knows how the motion device will be received, it could be very successful or a total flop. If the current situation holds steady, the years facing Sony's PS3 are much more favorable compared to the Xbox 360. I see only one route for the Redmond giant, a route I believe that's inevitable. Microsoft will have no choice but to jump into the next generation of consoles before Sony.

They will do it, but what will be Sony's response? Will the software maker follow suit and rush out the PS4, or will they let the PS3 take its course? But if they do allow a few more years before rolling out the PS4, there will be a huge gap in technology again, with Sony's PS4 leading the way because of its late introduction. Developers very much disdain this uneven balance, since it costs them substantially more money to develop games at the beginning of every cycle.

Question, questions, questions, and not too many answers in the mean time. But there's one thing that rings true, ever since Microsoft crashed the console war party, competition has become stiff. It's all good for consumers, so I'm not complaining.

10/12/09 Ernice Gilbert

Patcher: PS3 leads the sales chart, while 360 and Wii follow

The one who predicts and gets it right/wrong half the time is back at it again, this time telling you what to expect from hardware sales this month. According to the Webush Morgan analyst Michael Patcher, the US games trade will return to double digits growth after six straight months of steady decline.

"We forecast sales of $750 million, up 21% compared to last year's $618 million," Patcher said in a note.

The analyst also predicted the PS3 beating Wii and Xbox 360 for the month of September.

"We estimate sell-through of 390,000 Wii hardware units, (down 45% from last year), 350,000 Xbox 360 (up 1% from last year), and 410,000 PS3 consoles (up 76% year-over-year) as the price cuts for all three consoles spur demand," he concluded.

So that's Patcher's estimates, look out for the more accurate NPD numbers next week.

10/08/09 Ernice Gilbert

Patcher: Uncharted 2 is the game Sony always wanted

The most anticipated PS3 exclusive this holiday season is without a doubt Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and according to the man who sees all things happen before it actually does in the gaming industry, it's what Sony always wanted. And we agree, everyone expected a great sequel to the first Uncharted game, but what Naughty Dog has done is gone far beyond the gaming community's expectations. In fact we agree with him about Uncharted 2 being a "game changer" but not only for Sony, it's also for the industry on a whole, (that's our opinion) here's Patcher:

"I think it's the game Sony always wanted and I think it's been a long time since we've seen a 'Game Of The Year' kind of game come out of Sony. So I think it matters and its got hardcore appeal." He then added, "It's a game changer for them, it's coming out in a nice little window in October and it's coming out right on the heels of the price cut. I think it keeps them ahead of Microsoft for a bit."

Patcher was then asked whether Uncharted 2: Among Thieves would be a system seller, he replied the following:

"I think that certainly Uncharted 2 will push a couple of hundred thousand incremental boxes. Not five million boxes but two or three hundred thousand incremental boxes absolutely."

The highly anticipated game will be out October 13th and 16th in North America and Europe respectively.

Source

10/06/09 Ernice Gilbert

Talk of THQ takeover causes stock to rise

THQ has been doing pretty well lately, with UFC 2009 Undisputed scoring big sales for the once unstable publisher. On top of the company's recent success, news that the they're being eyed for a takeover bid shot up the company's stock an impressive 13 percent yesterday.

Investors are not too sure, although they think a take over's in the works, they note nothing concrete would happen in the near future. Speaking to reuters, MKM Partners analyst Eric Handler says, rumors of a THQ buyout crop up every quarter. He, as well as Wedbush Morgan's Michael Patcher voiced that THQ is heavily licensed, and a take over would void too many contracts on change of control. Here's Patcher:

"THQ is on heavy licensed content, and many licenses potentially terminate on change of control. I don't see their recent performance instilling a lot of confidence in their ability to manage a bigger library of content that would be presented in a media buyout." Wow, okay Patcher, you sound a tad pessimistic there; but hey, you know what you're saying right? Right?

09/23/09 Ernice Gilbert