GameStop Expecting PS3, Wii Price Cuts in Fall

GamesIndustry.biz is reporting that GameStop CEO Daniel DeMatteo is predicting price cuts for both the PS3 and Wii. Speaking during a conference call he noted that his company's forecast of 33.5 million hardware unit sales accounts for price cuts on both systems.

"That assumes that there will be price cuts on the PS3 and potentially one on the Wii," offered DeMatteo. "It's hard to tell if we actually need a price cut on the Wii to get to our numbers. There are some price cuts built into that assumption, but not until the third quarter."

The executive ventured that console hardware costs too much in the current economic climate and that a cut is needed for the console makers to reach their own forecasts.

"The hardware price points, given this economic environment are potentially too high, and if the platform holders are going to make the numbers that they forecasted for the year, those prices would have to change," said DeMatteo. "Also, if you think about it, these hardware prices have stayed up longer in this cycle than in any other time before, and in a very dire economic environment, those two things seem to be mutually exclusive."

"Put all those things together, I think that there will have to be price cuts in order to get the hardware moving to where it needs to be," he added.