Firing up my RSS reader this morning or going to any one of the numerous sites I typically visit showed an overwhelming amount of articles written about Michael Pachter, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst for our industry. He recently put out his status report on where he thinks the video game industry is headed.
Reading all the headlines, one thing became clear: people take Pachter’s word for gold. I have absolutely no idea why, as he’s been wrong more than right. As with most forward-looking statements, predictions and hopes get thrown at the wall en masse and only a couple will stick. That’s the same with Pachter.
The guy is a financial analyst. When did this material become so important to your gaming habits? Does Pachter’s prediction of a Wii HD mean it’s going to happen? No. Did his prediction of Sony and the PS3 running away with this generation happen? Absolutely not. Do we need to hang on every word Pachter says or types with bated breath? No. Maybe we should all take a step back and focus on having fun playing games, which is what we’re really all here for, isn’t it? Can I write any more sentences that end with a question mark in one paragraph?
LoL, so while he’s forecasting the Xbox to do better than the PS3, and the Wii to rule them all. He’s fine, but once he starts indicating an upswing in PS3 sales, which may/should take over the Xbox by 2015…all of a sudden, it’s ‘Why do we listen to Pachter?’ Nice.
Morne
Did I say anything about him forecasting an upswing in PS3 sales? No. Do sales forecasts have ANY impact on your gaming? No. Do I have any vested interest in any of the consoles doing better than another? No.
I was thinking the same thing last night and this morning. Why do people care what one guy say. If a make a report saying the Wii will be last and the ps3 will sell the most units, but the Xbox will sell the most games, than do I get 50 articles written about me? What I want to know is why this guy is so special?
Pachter is like Highlander. You need to cut his head off to gain all of his knowledge. It will be a difficult task however, I hear he is pretty nasty with the Lunar Staff.
Pachter is a doofus.
here is a prediction that i can guarantee… the more you talk about this guy, the more people will listen to him.
thank god someone said it, although i would probably be a bit more harsh. But i am sick of seeing Patcher this and Patcher that when he’s wrong a good bit of the time or just completely misses the point. He throws out erroneous claims all the time. Good for you as someone finally spoke up and said something, hell i can do the same thing: Nintendo will release a new DS someday and it will sell millions, tough, if he were so good i’m sure one of the company’s he predicts about would have hired him as an analyst by now. Thank you!
Mornelithe, he has never predicted the Xbox 360 to come out on top. As a matter of fact in 2005 he said online gaming was a fad and he couldn’t imagine more than 4 million people in the world playing.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Pachter, and the Word was Pachter.
Seriously, I find Pachter one of the most interesting people to listen to on Bonus Round. He may be a doofus but he comes across as a very sincere doofus and there’s a very endearing quality to that. Watching him is what I’d imagine it would be like if your goofy uncle were on a gaming videocast.
Some people obviously take him too seriously; including Matt.