According to Gamestop, a major gaming retailer in the U.S., console manufacturers are about to drastically drop their prices. An alleged employee of the company has suggested that prices, for all three major consoles, are about to be reduced by USD 50 in the U.S.
The intensity of the competition in the console market has certainly pushed the manufacturers to extreme levels but if the rumours of a price cut prove to be true, any person in the U.S. could own all three consoles for just under USD 400. This would indicate that each of the manufacturers have decided that cross platform ownership is not, necessarily, a bad thing and that survival in the business is only possible through content rather than just through hardware supremacy. If these price cuts do happen, if so they are likely to occur around E3 time, the price of Nintendo's GameCube will become USD 99 and XBox and PS2 wiill sell for USD 149.99.
Although such a move would be welcomed by the vast majority of gamers and would make sense in a business way for the companies, since profit comes from title sales, the source of the story i.e. Gamestop, raises some doubt about the details of any price cuts. Considering the source and the fact that a uniform USD 50 cut seems odd to say the least, it may be possible to presume that the price cuts may not be introduced by the manufacturers but rather by Gamestop themselves. If that proves to be the case then it seems likely that any cuts would only apply if the buyer also purchased a number of games with the console.
Whatever the truth behind the rumour it is only a short time before E3 becomes history and we will soon find out what exactly will happen to console prices. One thing is certain whatever the nature of any price cuts, if the attempt proves successful the manufacturers are bound to pay attention and follow them up with some form of promotion or offer.
