GameStop President talks Playstation Vita price drop, PS4 Shortages & more

GameStop President talks Playstation Vita price drop PS4 Shortages

In a recent interview GameStop president, Tony Bartel, talked shop on the business of selling the Playstation 4. He also expressed interest in improving the Playstation Vita’s sales.

When asked about Sony dropping the price of the PS Vita, Bartel responded, “We’re always happy to see a price cut! Both bundles and price cuts tend to spur additional sales, so this would make sense leading up to launch.”

Since the Playstation Vita’s was price was reduced in Japan, sales have multiplied by 4 according to Sony Computer Entertainment Japan president Hiroshi Kawano. Previously, Sony Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida dashed western gamer’s hopes by saying there is no price cut planned for the Playstation Vita in the US.

The interview with Bartel continued as he responded to a question regarding PS4 shortages this holiday season, “The PS4 will top a lot of wish lists and we expect consumer demand to be high. We obviously hope supply will flow well throughout the holidays, but, as with other new consoles, there will likely be some shortages. GameStop will use its PS4 First to Know list to give all our customers an opportunity to pre-order and purchase a PS4 with minimal effort.”

He also mentions pre-orders for the PS4 probably won’t be taken until a price point is set by Sony, “We like to wait until we have a price, release date and allocation information before accepting pre-orders. We don’t yet know when these will be announced, but we’re hoping it will be sometime this summer.”

Bartel was also asked about how streaming games via Gaikai will effect physical sales and used sales for Gamestop. Bartel’s response hints at Sony charging service fees for Playstation Network features like game streaming, “I think consumers will want to see and try this future technology before committing to purchase based solely on the streaming feature. Plus, the cost of this service is still unknown.”

Read the full interview on Forbes.

GameStop.com’s PS4 site

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2 thoughts on “GameStop President talks Playstation Vita price drop, PS4 Shortages & more”

  1. Unless Sony prices the PS4 way below what most gamers anticipate I do not believe there are going to be any shortages of units on the shelves. I’m simply basing that on the current economy, as well as on the launch of the PS3 and how that went down. That being said, I hope they do price drop the Vita. First off I’d love to pick one up, but can’t justify the current price. Secondly, Nintendo could really use some healthy competition, the more Sony pushes the Vita the more Nintendo will be forced to further push the 3DS, and that’s a win-win for Sony and Nintendo fans alike.

    1. I think the PS4 will sell as long as it’s $500 or less. Console gamers are currently graphics starved and historically, the most powerful system will usually succeed. If the game lineup is there, they’ll be fine.
      On the Vita note, I agree; price drop and I would buy one.

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