Pachter: Wii may push 1M per month
The Wii has been able to outsell Xbox 360 and PS3 combined in recent months in the U.S., but Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter says it could sell even more per month thanks to a slightly stronger dollar.
The Wii sold an average of 685,000 units per month during the April-June period. Pachter said in an investor note Monday, "...We expect monthly sell-through to increase by as many as 300,000 units per month, beginning in August."
Pachter explained, "In our view, U.S. supply last year should have been somewhere between 720,000 – 900,000 units per month (40-50 percent of total units produced), but Nintendo chose instead to divert a significant portion of its available supply to Europe since April 2007, as the weak dollar has made U.S. sales less profitable for the company than European sales.
"It appears that European console supply has caught up with demand, while at the same time, the U.S. dollar has appreciated slightly against the yen, making shipments to the U.S. far more likely going forward.
"As a result, we think that the company likely shipped the U.S. a figure closer to its 'fair share' in the month of July, and we expect a further increase in Wii supply beginning in August."
Monthly NPD Group sales figures are expected to release on Thursday.
While the Wii's monthly success has become run-of-the-mill, the battle between higher-priced high-def consoles continues.
Microsoft recently announced that it would be upgrading its $350 20GB Xbox 360 to 60GB for the same price.
Pachter questioned the company's pricing strategy.
"We think that Sony will gain a competitive advantage as the installed base of HDTVs increases, given the Blu-ray functionality of the PS3, and think that Microsoft’s attempt to gain an advantage by increasing the size of its hard drive is ill-advised.
"At the end of the day, there are more consumers on the sidelines who will be influenced by pricing than by features and functionality, and we think that Microsoft should seize the opportunity to again gain a sales lead over Sony by cutting price below $300 permanently."
Microsoft, however, is rumored to have yet another price adjustment in the works for September.
