Michael Pachter: May 2010 interview

It seems to me that online game play can bear a monthly subscription (something as affordable as $50/year), and knowing that all of the server infrastructure costs Sony a ton, I’m surprised that they haven’t imposed a charge yet. Free online play is a good marketing tool, but I don’t often hear consumers say “I bought a PS3 because PSN is free”. Everyone likes free services, but more often, I hear people say “I bought a 360 because of Xbox Live”. I think that demonstrates that people will pay a modest amount for value-added services, and Microsoft keeps adding value. Sony gives a ton of value for free, but the company isn’t so profitable that it can afford to be magnanimous forever.

Pachter on PS3 online play: Sony “isn’t so profitable that it can afford to be magnanimous forever”

In answer to our question regarding a paid – for PSN service, Pachter was quick to put in that he ‘really can’t say’ what Sony will do. Pachter being Pachter however he was happy to give us his educated guess, which amounted to a charge for online play on the PS3 being an inevitability:

Pachter: Bungie “sounded quite happy” with Activision deal during conversation; potential 20% profit margin for Activision

I just spoke with Activision and with the Bungie guys about their deal. While there were no specific details provided beyond the press release, it’s clear that this is a publishing partnership and not a distribution arrangement. That means that instead of normal distribution margins of around 10%, the deal probably allows Activision to participate in profit upside, suggesting that their margins could end up between 15 – 20% if a future Bungie game sells a crazy number of units.

Michael Pachter weighs in on Activision/Infinity Ward dispute

Speaking to Critical Gamer, high profile research analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities Michael Pachter weighed in with his thoughts on the recent news surrounding Activision and the firing of Infinity Ward studio heads Vince Zampella and Jason West .

Michael Pachter interview

“I don’t think I’ve ever shaped a trend. The only thing I’ve done that has had any impact at all is to become a lightning rod for the hatred of 16 year-old boys, all of whom know more about everything than I do, and each of whom could perform my job more professionally.”

Michael Pachter – 2009 a difficult year for gaming

In our interview with Michael Pachter we discussed the idea of a games industry crash, but despite a poor year in terms of sales, Pachter believes things will improve in 2010.

Pachter predicts Xbox Live tiered payments

Another interesting snippet from our interview with Michael Pachter was his prediction that Microsoft might introduce a tiered payment system to Xbox Live.

Michael Pachter: Uncharted 2 sales “lacklustre”

In an exclusive interview with Critical Gamer, infamous industry analyst Michael Pachter discusses the disappointing sales of Uncharted 2.