Michael Pachter is an American video game, social media, digital media and electronics analyst with Wedbush Securities. He is also the Head of Research for the Private Shares Group, a Wedbush division which focuses on companies which have not yet gone public such as Facebook and Twitter. Pachter has an MBA & two law degrees. Pachter worked for 16 years at Arco where he was Arco's director of strategic planning until mid-1998.
Opinions & analysis
Pachter, born on 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 and is also known to also analyze other aspects of the video game industry, such as retailers. 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 " 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 previously hosted his own online show called Pach-Attack!. He now hosts on former GameTrailers Editor-in-Chief Shane Satterfield's . Pachter generated controversy in 2012 with comments about Facebook chief executive officerMark 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." 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".
