Pachter 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, for example, he analyzed the state of Electronic Arts by saying "They've made tons of progress." He even analyzes company financials. For example, 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 arent raised in Western culture, they dont think like Westerners, so we arent 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."