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As PS3 sales continue to lag behind those of Xbox 360, and with E3 looming right around the corner, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter feels that a price cut for the PlayStation 3 is very likely.

Consequently, the announcement of a next generation console from either Sony or Microsoft isn't in the cards for quite some time yet.  He's also fairly certain that Microsoft will consider dropping the price for the Xbox 360; even though the company's games division is outselling its chief rival, hardware sales are slowing. 

"We expect hardware sales to rebound once price cuts are implemented, but expect a recurrence of the dip next holiday, partially buffered by some modest contribution from the introduction of the PS Vita in February and the Wii U later this year. Recent slowing of Xbox 360 hardware sales could cause Microsoft to consider a price cut by E3," Pachter writes. "We do not expect an announcement of a next-generation console from Microsoft until the Xbox 360 core model is priced below $200.00, likely around this time next year. PS3 hardware sales should continue to lag those of the 360; we expect sales to trend downward by 10-20% monthly until Sony cuts prices once again, likely at E3." 

These predictions are part of a preview of a more comprehensive report slated to release this Thursday, and it's not pretty, says Wedbush. According to the investment firm's analysis, March represents the fourth consecutive monthly decline for the gaming industry, dropping down to $565 million in software sales (a drop of 23%) in spite of Mass Effect 3's huge launch, selling 3.5 million copies over the first week. 

While it's too early to predict how things are going to look for April, with all the excellent releases on the way, things might get a bit better for the industry. Of course, they might get worse, too... we'll just have to wait and see.

Source: GameIndustry International

Nicholas Greene   FollowTech_Light A gamer at heart, Nick started writing when he was a child. He holds a BA in English, works as a freelancer, and loves every minute of it. One day, he hopes to net himself a career in game design - but that's something for the future.

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