Pachter Says Cheaper Products Sell More. Business 101.

With Sony due to release the Playstation Motion Controller (rumoured to be entitled Arc), and Microsoft their body-cam Project Natal, the war for second place appears to really be hotting up between XBOX 360 and Playstation 3.

As ever where there's a sniff of the console war, Michael Pachter has dropped by to weigh-in with his opinion. He told NowGamer:
[quote]
“The key to success with a retrofitted motion controller is penetration. If price points are high, it is unlikely that Natal or Sony’s motion controller will sell many units; if they are very low, they will sell a lot more. Without a meaningful installed base of consoles with the new motion controllers, developers will not be able to cost justify development of games that require motion control.

“Therefore, it’s a chicken and egg problem.

“My uninformed opinion is that Microsoft will price relatively low (around $50), and Sony will price higher (around $100), and that suggests that Microsoft will have greater success.

“If my assumed price points are off the mark, the outcome will be different.”</blockquote>

The key to a successful product is price. Well good grief Mr. Pachter — we'd never have guessed.

[Side-note: There's no way in hell the Playstation Motion Controller will be $100.]