EA: New hardware cycle at least three years away
High console prices are preventing current generation from reaching mass market
With the release of both the PlayStation Move and Xbox Kinect on the horizon, EA Sports president Peter Moore is confident that the current generation of console hardware will last at least three more years.
The Electronic Arts executive told Eurogamer that the launch of the new motion controllers is essentially acting as a reboot to both Sony's and Microsoft's platforms. Additionally, console prices are still high, which is preventing many interested consumers from migrated to the current generation.
"Chronologically, this is the last few years of previous cycles, but when you look at pricing, we're mid-cycle," Moore remarked. "Over the years, $199 and below has been where 75 to 80 per cent of business is done. With the exception of 360 and the Wii, PlayStation 3, which seems to have a lot of momentum, is not even close to that."
"So we're still to reach a price point across all three consoles where historically 75 to 80 per cent of business is done. Yeah, I think we're in mid-cycle," he concluded.
Sony's motion controller is set to launch this month, while Microsoft's is due in November.
