At the GameStop Investor/Analyst Day briefing in Texas (AKA the party of the decade), COO Tony Bartel weighed in on the arrival of new consoles from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft.
Bartel reckons that at least some of these new consoles are on their way soon, although he did stress that GameStop haven’t built these prospective consoles into its earning projections – just that they represent an area for potential growth for the videogame retail company.
Bartel explained:
Although we have not modeled extensive growth for new innovation in this presentation, we are very pleased to see the introduction of technology like virtual reality and rumored new console launches, some of which seem imminent.
He’s probably not wrong either. It’s widely expected that Nintendo will be unveiling their new NX console at E3 in June, and will probably even have it out by the end of the year to put the Wii U out of its low performing misery.
All signs from PlayStation meanwhile, seem to point to an updated model that can run games at a saucy 4K resolution – this is expected to launch with (or soon after) their own VR headest. However, Microsoft have recently come out and shot down any rumours that they have an Xbox 1.5 in development.
It’s worth remembering that Bartel’s projections are just that – projections. I can’t speak for everyone, but I’d quite like a few more years out of my current consoles before it’s time to upgrade.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.