And no, we don’t mean Red Ring Of Death hot either. According to GameIndustry, who spoke with the Gamestop CEO over a earnings call, the retailer has been hand in hand with Microsoft and their unannounced next-gen console.
J. Paul Raines, the aforementioned CEO, had lots of positive things to say about Microsoft’s next console. Which is certainly great news for us as consumers. Especially regarding the “no used games” rumors that have set the gaming community on fire. I have my own thoughts on that as well if you care to take a gander. But to me this means that the no used games is out of the picture seeing how used games is a fair percentage of how Gamestop makes their money. If there happened to be that kind of software on the NextBox, I don’t see the CEO of Gamestop being to thrilled about it.
Here is what Mr. Raines had to say about Microsoft and Durango (yes…I’ve used almost all of the names for the next Xbox, lol):
“We’ve been spending a lot of time with Microsoft, but we have to let them take the lead on this,” Raines said. “But it will be a very hot, compelling device.
“They are doing some really cool stuff, and I’m eager to hear them start their announcements because I think the world is going to stand up and take notice,” he said.
He also went on to talk about the pricing of the next-gen software stating that:
“I think that’s going to be a big debate in the next few months.
“I think publishers, if you ask them, wouldn’t mind seeing a price increase.”
Granted none of the software talk is confirmed, but I think a lot of people will be turned off by the fact if those prices increase. Let’s face it, a lot of these games release buggy and even unpolished sometimes. Granted in a huge game, I can understand some of the bugs/glitches but for new games we are paying a lot of money and getting a poor quality and then you want to raise the price? LOL. Good luck with that! Again, just his words and unconfirmed…but I expect we will see more about this closer to the end of this month when Microsoft unveils their new console.