GameStop CEO Tony Bartel isn’t just hopeful about the chances of Kinect and PlayStation Move — he’s practically declared them the champions of the world. Claiming that Microsoft and Sony’s waggle interfaces will evoke the “Wii phenomenon” and cause huge amounts of hype, he’s suggested that consumers will be following UPS trucks to the stores.
“I see a very strong marketplace for this and I see the fervour that is beginning during the holiday season for the Kinect and Move is it’s very, very strong,” he says. “I see that — as we have the Wii phenomenon we had customers following UPS trucks to our store.
“I think you are going to have the exact same thing with new controllers and with the Kinect Bundle that goes out. I think you are going to have consumers following the UPS, UPS truck to our stores to pick up that product as soon as they can find it.”
Bartel also says there’s a high attach rate, especially with Kinect, where Kinect Sports and Dance Central are doing rather well.
I am still yet to see any Wii-level hype that wasn’t carefully manufactured, orchestrated and controlled by Microsoft. They’ve made a lot of noise, and the gadget has definitely been a success, but I’m yet to see the pure level of mainstream madness that we saw with Nintendo’s system. Still, Christmas is coming, and that’ll be the true test of its might.
As for PlayStation Move … well … yeah.
GameStop CEO Discusses Q3 2010 Results – Earnings Call Transcript [Seeking Alpha]
