The predictions of Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter come in one of two forms: fairly obvious or big leaps of faith. His most recent prediction falls into the former category, but considering it deals with the next generation of consoles, it's worth discussing.
According to Pachter, gamers will bear witness to the three most important pieces of next-gen information at this year's E3: the box, the price, and the date. Not only that, gamers will learn those three important details for both the PS4 and the Xbox 720.
In a recent episode of Pachter's own show, 'Pach Attack', he evaluated both Sony and Microsoft's approach to next-gen reveals. He says that Sony was "smart" to do a reveal event in February as that kept buzz up and had people instantly talking about the PS4. Unfortunately, as he explains, "That talk has faded."
Now it's all about Microsoft's Xbox event, which is set for next week. Buzz is building for that next-gen announcement, but Pachter clarifies that "buzz is one thing, purchase intent is another" In other words, buzz doesn't translate into revenue.
Pachter believes that both Sony and Microsoft will generate that purchase intent at their respective E3 press conferences. He believes that on June 10th (the date both publishers have set for their conferences), gamers will learn a price and launch date for both the PS4 and the tentatively titled Xbox Infinity. Moreover, he thinks we will see both console boxes unveiled.
Pachter surmises a June announcement leaves plenty of time for gamers to mull over both consoles before they launch (as Pachter suspects) this November. He's not exactly reaching for the stars, but if Pachter's predictions come true we would be in for a whirlwind couple of hours. Microsoft's E3 2013 Press Conference is slated for 10 AM on the June 10, and Sony's Conference is at 6 PM.
That being said, we don't actually know what Microsoft plans to announce at their Xbox event on the 21st. They could easily show off the box, announce a date, and reveal price within their 1-hour time slot, which would completely invalidate Pachter's prediction. We don't expect them to make all three — after all, they have to leave time for Call of Duty: Ghosts — but one or two of those announcements are certainly a possibility.
Either way, E3 2013 is shaping up to be ground zero for a major console showdown. In recent years, gamers have come away from E3 Day "-1" discussing which publisher won based on which games they want to buy, this year the discussion will be focused on which console is more enticing.
Do you think we both Sony and Microsoft will show a box, announce a date, and reveal a price at this year's E3? Based on current knowledge which console are you leaning towards?
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Source: Pach Attack