GameStop has been playing a rather precarious balancing act over the past several months, teasing new console hardware without outright revealing the same until Microsoft and Sony made their official announcements. There might have been a potential slip-up in a recent interview with MSNBC with GameStop CEO Paul Raines but not quite.
When talking to Raines about what players could look forward to in the Holiday season, the Nintendo NX was mentioned. This led to Raines clarifying that the platform wasn’t out till 2017 and then began talking about the Xbox One S (releasing on August 2nd) and PS4 Neo along with PlayStation VR.
“Yes, there will be a new Nintendo console launch in March 2017. But remember, there are two different form factors: a PS4 Neo and an Xbox One new slim version. So there will be some activity and upgrades, along with the VR.”
If you’ve been following the thread, you would think that Raines mentioned the PS4 Neo coming out in the same period as other hardware but that’s not quite the case. GameStop director of corporate communications clarified to GameSpot that, “Paul did not say that Xbox One S and PlayStation Neo hardware units would be coming for the holidays. The anchor was the one who referenced the holiday period.
“Paul simply reminded him that there would be hardware upgrades coming–Xbox One S and PlayStation Neo. He did not give a reference as to the timing on when they would be launching.”
Which seems fair enough – answers and explanations tend to get to jumbled together during interviews. Raines also didn’t explicitly mention the PS4 Neo releasing in 2016 so there’s that. What are your thoughts on the whole ordeal? Let us know in the comments.