UPDATE: The Daily Star updated their original article with an audio recording between reporter James Wright and Michael Pachter. When asked for comment from CGMagazine, Pachter responded “I’m over it.” More information can be found here.
Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 Pro has always been a hot topic among players. Billed for its 4K resolution and superior graphical processing capabilities, Sony’s Andrew House has stated that the PlayStation 4 Pro is intended to support the console’s mid-year cycle, which has traditionally seen some fall off due to PC hardware’s superior graphical capabilities over the PlayStation. In an interview with the Daily Star, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter gave his opinion on the PlayStation 4 Pro’s appeal to PC players, or lack thereof. Except there’s one problem: according a post by Pachter on NeoGAF, his comments were misreported in the piece.
The article, which previously caused some controversy on Reddit and NeoGAF, said that Pachter had a “particularly strange analogy to explain why he didn’t believe PC Gamers would be inclined to buy a PS4 Pro.” According to the Daily Star, he said “I think PC Gamers are like racists; they only like there own kind and they have no interest in venturing out and mixing with other races,” later continuing that “PC gamers are arrogant twits who are convinced what they do is better than what anybody else can possibly do.”
But Pachter disputed this reporting on NeoGAF, suggesting there were multiple problems with how the quote was handled. “I’ve never used the word ‘twit’ in my life,” he wrote. “I absolutely used the term racist, but only upon being questioned repeatedly about what I meant when I called PC gamers insular.” He later went on to call the reporting “irresponsible,” claiming that the reporter was attempting to “stir the pot.” While he did reiterate that he “said that the PS4 Pro probably wouldn’t appeal to PC gamers,” he further claimed that “the rest is just silly.”
While users were still upset by Pachter’s confirmation that he used the term “racist,” his allegation raises a number of questions regarding the way the story was reported and how the interview was carried out. If true, then Pachter’s opinion may be more nuanced than the original Daily Star article lets on. Still, it’s hard to say for certain from the outside what did or didn’t happen in the interview setting. Not yet, anyway. Stay tuned as more news develops.