Analyst: Price cuts may not boost sales

With whispers of imminent console price cuts rife, a US analyst has predicted these will be insufficient to drive hardware sales.

Doug Creutz, an analyst at Cowan and Company, attributed this to economic pressures, believing consumers will still be reluctant to purchase a new console if the format holders lower their price points.

In a note to investors, he wrote: We are concerned that, given pressures on the consumer, price cuts may not have the stimulative impact to hardware and software sales that they have had in the past.

We expect hardware price cuts on all platforms by September, with announcements possibly as early as next week’s Gamescom.”

He went on to predict that, ideally, the PS3’s price will fall by $100, the Wii’s by $50 and the Xbox 360 Elite would be lowered to $300.