Recent news of sales declines has some analysts convinced that without an RRP reduction, the Xbox 360 will continue to decline year-on-year.
Commenting on Microsoft’s financial release, Michael Pachter believes that the Xbox 360’s “stubborn” price point will ultimately result in plummeting sales for the console.
"I don't think that there are many consumer products that sell more each year without a price cut," he told CVG. "Microsoft is competing in the context of lower prices for both PS3 and Wii last September, and until it cuts price itself, will likely see sales dip a small bit year-over-year.”
"I don't think that this is a problem for them, as long as sales remain near current levels; when they drop by more than 10 - 20%, we'll see a price cut to spur sales back to the current level," he said.
"Microsoft keeps giving us more for our $299, but the price is stubbornly at $299, and has been for over two years. I think that there are many people waiting for a price drop, and expect one next year."
In the meantime Pachter said the new Xbox 360 S should spike sales. "It is a great replacement for the original 20Gb SKU, and discounting on discontinued models likely spurred sales for a while," he commented.
Microsoft does have one thing to be happy about though; an announcement earlier today put the total sales of Xbox 360 at just under 42 million units. The PS3 is believed to be at somewhere around 35 million.
