Activision CEO says $199 price point is 'critical'

by David Hinkle { Nov 27th 2007 at 10:38PM }

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has some ideas on how things get done in the industry. To him, price is critical to the success of a console, he explained to Reuters. And, while we agree that a lower cost is going to help a console on the shelf, ultimately we believe the console's games and features are what help it stand out the most.

Bobby K (as he's lovingly known here around the offices) said "The Wii at its price point is now setting a standard and an expectation, and people say, well, the Wii is less complex technically. I don't think that really matters as much to the consumer." He went on further to discuss Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 systems, stating "In the next 24 months they all will need to be at that $199 price point, and you can imagine Nintendo will be down to the $129 price point over the next few years."

Now, obviously Nintendo has no reason to cut the price on their system since, well, not even the folks working the assembly lines can seem to find one (we imagine they disappear in a cloud of smoke upon completion at the factory). But, that doesn't mean that we won't entertain opinions on when you think the console will lower itself in price.

So, what do you think?

[Via NeoGAF]

Tags: activision, ceo, microsoft, price, ps3, shortages, sony, supply, xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

mindnumbingzero @ Nov 27th 2007 10:52PM

FIRST!

Sorry, had to be the jackass. Anyways, I feel the price is fine. There isn't a shortage in demand at all!

Shadow31 @ Nov 27th 2007 10:58PM

Okay, speculating price drops at this point is pointless, but I will do so anyway...

Obviously Nintendo isn't considering a price drop right now. The Wii is selling out, so they make the most money if they keep it at $250. Assuming these 1.8 million Wiis are really being made a month, at the latest, it may finally catch up to itself spring, maybe summer. This is a rough guess by the way, so hard to tell how far demand will take it. The Wii sells itself though, they don't even really need marketing. Even when it does catch up to itself, it will most likely still sell. And by sell, I mean Nintendo won't be seeing much lower sales than it has right now. How long until it will need a price drop? I'd be suprised if it gets one by next holiday season, those it's possible. I'll give it two years, it is so much below it's competitors, it will keep selling... after the dreaded GameCube, Nintendo will be milking as much as they can out of this one.

Avoli @ Nov 27th 2007 11:12PM

The Wii does not need a price cut. Its already priced to move, and the most affordable of all the systems. Everytime one of the other two drops the price, they also strip away features, so do they really count? I think not. I would never see Nintendo going 'To drop the price, we removed the wireless net feature (or) we removed the internal memory (SD cards only!).'

Andy S. @ Nov 28th 2007 9:55AM

On the other hand, if they dropped the internal memory and went with SD cards only, at least we'd be able to store VC titles on SD cards, finally.

Mr.Nitemare @ Nov 27th 2007 11:47PM

price cut? oddly i think it'll actually be in the opposite direction... i believe we'll be seeing a new or temporary sku for the Wii probably including Wii Fit or new peripherals such as "hopefully" a hard drive or even a system with even more built in memory, or the forementioned dvd-capable Wii, a price drop is far off, if sales were to ever drop there will just be more features made available.....
thats my 2-cents

andyl @ Nov 28th 2007 12:17AM

I agree w/Nitemare... They'll keep it at $250 and start bundling in other games, like "Mario Party" or "Wii Fit" before they drop the price to $200...

On another note, it'd be _nice_ to have all that profit Nintendo is making on the Wii put into this shortage situation... Considering that they're making off like bandits, you'd think they could have built another 10 factories by now to print more money with...

Drew @ Nov 28th 2007 12:34AM

I'll buy a Wii when the price drops, it includes a dvd player, alternate colors or faceplates, and a store has a promotional sale for an extra game.

I got a gamecube when Best Buy was doing a free game deal (RE:0), plus I had a choice between a Platinum GC or a GC Super Mario Sunshine bundle. I chose the bundle. A gamecube and two games for $200 was well worth it!

sba sb3002 @ Nov 28th 2007 7:28AM

I don't see why Nintendo would cut the price of the Wii when it's doing so well. If anything they'd be jerks and raise the Wii price to get some extra cash from the Wii's popularity.

Sora57 @ Nov 28th 2007 12:13PM

I think the Wii is currently priced right, but my old high school friend Bobby is right: the consumer does care most about price as long as the games are there to support the platform. The Wii is technologically the weakest of the 3 consoles, but it has captured the imaginations of traditional non-gamers who don't care much about HD graphics or more complex functions (media/entertainment hub for your home, etc.) They want to play and have fun. Fanboys and gamers want all the bells and whistles-- but most consumers, like Bobby indicates-- aren't interested in that.

The price of the console allows non-gamers to get their feet wet in the video game arena without totally busting their budget. Good games keep them coming, but the price gets them in the door.

He says in two YEARS the other consoles might have to drop to $199. That's a long time away. I think he's right.

Adam @ Nov 28th 2007 2:48PM

The Wii and the 360...fine they are both in the black now. What I would like to focus on is the PS3 who has lost HUGE amounts of money on their console (you can see this by looking at Sony's Game devision year end report) for them to drop the console anouther $200 would be death, especially if we continues to see the Delay of games and lack luster programming *cough* Lair *Cough*. I think that we are still in the early part of this generation's technology (meaning Hi-Def) and thus more so the PS3 as oppose to the 360 because to the Blu-Ray Drive and Blu-Ray Discs. The Wii was making money Day one one their console because technology-wise, everything was older and proven (Power glove meets remote). It was the application of that Technology that was "revolution-ary".
All that being said. I don't the Technology falling to the $199 range this generation.