Michael Pachter

Opinions & analysis

Pachter, born in January 27, 1956 is often known for his analysis of video game-related topics. He sometimes comments on specific video games, often with sales projections. With regards to Madden NFL 07, for instance, he said "It could do 1 million units in 5 days." Beyond specific titles, Pachter also analyses specific video game companies. In 2007, he analyzed the state of Electronic Arts by saying "They've made tons of progress." In 2004 he called Activision's sales estimates too cautious, suggesting that investors "[...] like optimism. We don't like conservatism." He once analyzed the future of major Japanese video game companies, suggesting that Nintendo and Sony were in good financial health but that Capcom could face a buyout because of their valuable franchises.

Pachter is known to also analyze other aspects of the video game industry, such as retailers. He spoke positively of the GameStop-EB Games merger in 2005, arguing that "initial sellthrough will likely be higher than in the past." Regarding the video game industry as a whole, he issues statements such as "Software sales were remarkable." Pachter believes that all video games will be streamed from the cloud by 2050. He believes the change will benefit everyone but retailers and low-income gamers who rely on used games.

Reflecting on cross-cultural differences, Pachter praised Japanese game developers but noted their inability to break through in the West, saying "The Japanese development community is supremely talented ... but they aren't raised in Western culture, they don't think like Westerners, so we aren't seeing the same type of games produced by them."

At times, Pachter criticizes the sentiments of video gamers. For example, with regard to controversy over the ending of Mass Effect 3, he said "That incident was a great example of what a whiny group gamers are in general," saying that "[game publisher Electronic Arts] handled it fine." He argued that gamers should be less demanding, or else "whiny gamers are only going to cause their beloved games to take even longer between episodes."

At other times, he has criticized corporate practices and defended the concerns of video gamers. For example, he said that including content on a video game disc that is not available unless purchased is "just plain greed." He suggested that gamers would resist on disc DLC and force game publishers to change tactics.

Pachter hosts his own online show called Pach-Attack! Pachter generated controversy in 2012 with comments about Facebook chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg. He said the CEO's decision to wear a hoodie to an initial public offering-related meeting indicated Zuckerberg's "immaturity." He suggested Zuckerberg should serve as chief product officer instead. While his view accorded with that of much of Wall Street, technology industry critics responded angrily. Technology blogger Kara Swisher called him a "doofus." Pachter explained his statements by saying, "I think that there are institutions that deserve to be shown appropriate respect." He ultimately defended his position, by arguing that "many investors feel the same way that I do."

Pachter has also commented on the entertainment industry more generally. In 2005, he recommended selling Netflix stock and buying Blockbuster stock, predicting that Blockbuster would hold the video-on-demand market.

On October 15, 2016, Pachter referred to former Nintendo president Satoru Iwata as "the late and not so great" in episode 41 of his series Pachter Factor on YouTube, which was criticized by the gaming community. Pachter later apologized on Twitter for "speaking ill of the dead".