Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter has made some predictions about Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) success in Europe. He firmly believes that the console will sell out shortly after going on sale and that within 12 months there will be a price cut of up to €150. He also dismissed claims that the high price point will put off consumers in the UK when it launches.

"The PS3 can command GBP 425 from the hardcore and I think you'll see price cuts a year from now, probably to GBP 300." he said. "I'm actually surprised that consoles are not priced more like other consumer electronics, with early movers charged a bunch and the mass market charged less."

He expects the UK stocks of the console will disappear quickly when launched on March 23rd, and Europe will follow the UK relatively soon afterwards. "There will be a few more games by then, with several great games announced for release in May and beyond, so I expect a full sellout by the end of April," he said.

He also downplayed the the threat of Microsoft's earlier launch (over a year in Europe) to the PS3, as well as Nintendo's success so far with Wii. "March is not too late, given Sony's production problems and only 800,000 Wii's sold in Europe last quarter," he stated. "My guess is that the Wii will be up to near 1.6 - 2 million by March 23, but that is far from an insurmountable head start."

As comparison between the Xbox 360 and the PS3, he said the PS3 graphics look phenomenal, adding: "I think that games like Gears of War on the 360 look every bit as good, but given that PS3 game development was rushed, I fully expect next year's games to look better on the PS3."

Source:
GamesIndustry.biz