Earlier in the week, Steve reported on an analyst claiming that the days of $60 games might be coming to an end. MSNBC asked a few analysts about the matter and received mixed answers. The overall feeling is that triple-A titles will continue to sell for $60. "One of the big concerns in the game industry is that the $59.99 price (for top titles) will go away. It won’t go away. I think it’s here to stay for 2009," said Signal Hill's Todd Greenwald.
While that might be a bit of a bummer, some of you will be pleased to learn that another analyst feels that second-tier games and older titles will be discounted quickly. MSNBC reported, "Colin Sebastian, an analyst with Lazard Capital Markets, says it’s clear that pricing pressure is happening on second tier and older games now, and the pace of price cuts seem to be rising." Sebastian cited the ultra-competitive holiday season as an example, but it remains to be seen how game retailers will handle the rest of the year.
Now here's the part where I make fun of MSNBC.
The article's author had an interesting tidbit and I'd be doing enthusiast gamers a disservice if I didn't rib her. MSNBC's games editor Kristin Kalning wrote:
So am I to believe that Sony is betting the farm on a game that's only being released in Japan in 2009? Or maybe the company is using a new strategy of pinning its hopes on a title that won't see a worldwide release until April 2010 (at the earliest)? Consider me vexed.
Furthermore, why does she mention the publisher for Resident Evil 5, but not for Final Fantasy XIII? Does Square Enix not bet its farms? FFXIII is a multiplatform title -- is Microsoft not concerned about how it will do on the Xbox 360? Kristin, you're confusing me!
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