http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=122468
Analyst: Nintendo won E3 2007
by GamePro Staff | 07/16/2007 | 11:49:33 AM PST
In the spirit of "who won E3" from year's past, GamePro speaks with respected industry analyst Michael Pachter on which of the big three console makers had the best showing this year.
"I'd have to say that Nintendo won," Pachter said in regards to the most exiting or disruptive conference this year. "They had new hardware and decent software introductions."
But Pachter didn't think that way until news broke on Friday that the new, cheaper PS3s would soon be discontinued. "Sony had seized the show until the 'discontinued' 60Gb issue arose, and that hurt them by confusing their price cut."
"Microsoft had decent software to show, but no price cut," he added suggesting the much rumored price drop would have been a good thing for Xbox 360 being that its sales have gradually declined in recent months according to NPD.
"It wasn't a very impressive show overall, so it's not like anyone was a 'loser,'" he maintained.
On the topic of how next year's E3 could be improved, Pachter noted that he liked the intimacy and accessiblity of game demonstrations, but missed the grandeur of last year's showing. "I think that the spectacle creates a vibe in and of itself, and it makes the overall show much more fun," he said. "This show was not fun at all."
The analyst concluded that a show about half the size of last year's 60,000 attendees would be ideal when compared to just 5,000 this year, and that he'd like to see the expo earlier in the year as opposed to July.
