Activision CEO: Economy pressuring console price drop

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick is all for lowering the price of consoles. Last year, the soon-to-be Activision Blizzard chief said that all three major consoles--the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii--needed to be in the sub-$199 price range by 2009 if the gaming industry had any hope of pursuing mass-market adoption.

While console makers have thus far shown no willingness to comply with Kotick's advice--and Nintendo going so far as to say the Wii and DS's prices will remain fixed through 2008--the powerful exec now believes the US's limp economy may force hardware maker's hands.

"With the rising costs of fuel and food and housing, it is more difficult to go out and buy a $399 console, and I think it's going to put pressure on the console manufacturers to reduce their prices," Kotick told international news service Reuters yesterday. In the same conversation, Kotick expressed concern over EA's aggressive takeover attempt of rival Take-Two, saying to Reuters, "When you think about one company in control of the sports category, with no competition from anybody else, that could be a challenge."

Global economics have already played a role in console makers tinkering with the prices of their wares. Earlier this week, Sony said that with the Canadian dollar having significantly strengthened against the US dollar, it would be recalibrating PlayStation Network prices north of the border to bring them more in line with those in the US.