Analyst: Games to get cheaper

[dougp]

Source: http://videogames.yahoo.com/fe...to-get-cheaper/1286173

Analyst: Games to get cheaper
Lower prices could spell bad news for publishers

By Mike Smith
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Could the days of the $60 video game be numbered?

Maybe so, according to statements made this week by video game industry analysts. Stores that cut video game prices over the holiday season might keep their lower prices permanently, Todd Greenwald, an analyst at Signal Hill, said in a release this week. As he put it, "To us, the biggest risk facing all publishers is the demise of $59.99 pricing for front-line 360 and PS3 software titles."

But we still might not be seeing lower prices on brand-new games. "Keep in mind there is a difference between price cuts on older, catalog titles that were released 3-4 months ago, and new, front-line AAA releases. While we may see plenty of more cuts on past holiday titles like Mirror's Edge, Madden, Guitar Hero, Saints Row 2, Prince of Persia, etc, we believe this is old news. What is far more important is where new releases are priced, and how that pricing is holding up," Greenwald said.

If you're a Wii gamer, though, you could be forgiven for assuming that this had already happened. A report from analytical firm EEDAR published this week indicates that median Wii game prices had already declined from $49.99 in 2007 to a present level of $39.99.

Although lower prices might seem like good news for consumers, Greenwald sounds a warning note. Lower prices would eat into publishers' profit margins, he says, as "development and publishing costs would stay virtually flat, while sales would take a 20% hit."

Yah, I don't really see this happening - this is where the results pay for themselves, and if we've demonstrated that we're willing to pay $69.99 for the past 4 years, what's to make them lower it?

 

[erwos]

Well, it doesn't _necessarily_ mean a profit hit. I could be that the elasticity curve has changed so that lower prices will mean even more sales than in previous times. But, then again, I think that's unlikely.

 

[purbeast0]

another example of why analysts are the most worthless people in this industry.

 

[Raduque]

I want to see price cuts on year-old games. CoD4:MW is still the same price as CoD:W@W.

 

[Spoooon]

The last couple of games I remember paying full price for was Fallout 3 and Twilight Princess. Almost everything else was either a gift or purchased once it became cheaper. I don't think I'll ever buy a brand new xbox game.

 

[pennylane]

I usually wait until a game is under $40 before I buy it. Only a couple games here and there I get right away. They dip to $40 on sales fairly quickly...

 

[cyphilis]

Originally posted by: Raduque
I want to see price cuts on year-old games. CoD4:MW is still the same price as CoD:W@W.

Your exactly right man. I have COD MW on PC, and would love to get it for the 360 to start over again and enjoy it... but I have a hard time spending another $50 on a game I have already mastered on PC (not to mention feel totally violated on the whole LE W@W raping I took)

 

[VinylxScratches]

I never once payed 60 bucks for a game. I can't justify it. I usually wait 3+ months and get it at a lower price. I bought Mass Effect today for 15 bucks.

 

[erwos]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
I never once payed 60 bucks for a game. I can't justify it. I usually wait 3+ months and get it at a lower price. I bought Mass Effect today for 15 bucks.

This is getting rarer and rarer for me, too. I think the last two I bought at full price were Fallout 3 and GTA4.

 

[oznerol]

Anal-yst.

Tee hee.

 

[Jabbernyx]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
I never once payed 60 bucks for a game. I can't justify it. I usually wait 3+ months and get it at a lower price. I bought Mass Effect today for 15 bucks.

I'm not complaining about the prices. As with hardware, let the early adopters subsidize the cost for us