Breaking the $60 Minimum on the Xbox 360

[HardScores]

From Starpulse.com (AKA me) (http://www.starpulse.com/Video_Games/Test_Drive_Unlimited/Articles/)

Microsoft is currently surrounded by one "everyman" system (the Wii) that is affordable by many gamers, and one system that costs more and will most likely have games at the $60 mark (the PS3). Wouldn't the war between Microsoft and Sony be practically over if one were to see their displays stacked up side-by-side, and the Xbox 360 had a $350 system and $50 games, while the Sony half had a $600 system and $60 games?

All I know is that a $20 price break changed Test Drive Unlimited from a "buy if you like racing games" title to a "must-have" game.

Do you forsee a change in Microsoft's pricing, at least for the coming console war?

[bone_matrix]

I know I bought Table Tennis without really thinking about it because it was $40 instead of $60. At $60, or even $50, I can't really do any impulse buys. Anything under that doesn't seem that bad in my head. I think if all new 360 games came out at $40 or even $45, you would see more people buy them.

Of course, the price of some 360 games has dropped pretty fast.

[Heretic Machine]

I'm not sure if they will, but it certainly would be a good change for both consumers and Microsoft.

[Salesmunn]

I'm not considering Test Drive Unlimited at all, low price or not. Luckily I rented Table Tennis, because it got old quick for me.

I want to try Chromehounds.

[Kelegacy]

I fucking hope so.

[TrackZero]

Hey, lower priced games are always an incentive. Whether MS will feel it's worth the market share gains will remain to be seen.

[Deadend]

The more systems that are out there, the better for MS, the more games that are bought, the better for MS.

Cheaper games are more easily purchased, even though some people are weary of "budget" games, the demos help prove a games value. All MS needs now is a way for people to buy a game after playing a demo, say click a couple buttons and your card is charged, and the game is shipped to your address.

[agentgray]

No.

Why?

Becuase there are people out there who will pay $60 for games!

[Heretic Machine]

The more systems that are out there, the better for MS, the more games that are bought, the better for MS.

Cheaper games are more easily purchased, even though some people are weary of "budget" games, the demos help prove a games value. All MS needs now is a way for people to buy a game after playing a demo, say click a couple buttons and your card is charged, and the game is shipped to your address.

Interesting idea... but many retailers would throw a fit over it. Maybe if they added a price comparison sort of deal to XBOX Live? Like when you play a demo and then say, "I want to buy this" a little menu pops up with a list of retailers who have signed up for the service, with the price of the game listed under their name. Certainly would benefit Gogamer.com quite a bit :p

[AversionFX]

Becuase there are people out there who will pay $60 for games!

Economics 101. Why charge less when people will still buy it for more?

If more games were priced more competitively, I would actively buy video games. These days, I only buy if it's an absolute must-have, regardless of the price. Otherwise, I wait til prices drop.

[Ix Quantum xI]

I think the market sorts its self out very quickly and is good at doing this alone. Just look at how many games are priced at $40 dollars now, if a game isn't worth $60 dollars it won't stay at $60 long after launch.

[Serapth]

Microsoft is currently surrounded by one "everyman" system (the Wii) that is affordable by many gamers, and one system that costs more and will most likely have games at the $60 mark (the PS3).


WRONG!!! Currently Microsoft is surrounded by promises and ideas. Until tangable products come to market, with tangable price tags, Microsoft doesnt have to do jack shit. The joys of being first. Besides that, by being first, Microsoft was in the drivers seat so far as next gen pricing went... ironically we may have to thank them for PS3 games coming out at *only* 60$, if the price of BluRay movies is to be used as an example.

Nintendo and Sony are setting their prices relative to Microsofts, not vice versa. Frankly, by the time either product actually exists, MS will have a pretty good catalog of < 50$ games, and I am will to be a 20-30$ greatest hits lineup on the shelves. I think they can happily leave prices at 60$ new and still compete on prices given the back catalog. Even if Nintendo comes out at 50$ a game, they will have trouble competing with the likes of Kameo for 25$, Graw for 30$, etc... especially for first time buyer mom at walmart picking out little Billys christmas gift.

[Murtaug]

I quit buying full priced games about a year ago, and I do not see myself looking back. I would go and buy the latest and greatest, only to see it in an ad a month later for twenty bucks less then I paid. Twenty bucks over a month does not seem like a lot, but it adds up. Granted, I have been buying a lot less games lately, but when I do the new release shelf is far from my mind.

[phantomhitman]

wait, how much is tdu going to be?!

[Reanimated]

Um, Microsoft first party titles all debut at 50 dollars, and have since launch. The only people charging 60 dollars for 360 titles are third party publishers. So I don't see why they would need to change their pricing when they themsleves are already at 50 dollars. They can't force other publishers to do the same.

SO ACTUALLY, the entire premise of this post is wrong, because 60 dollars is NOT the minimum.

[Serapth]

Oh, and here might be another part of Microsofts strategy... rumour in the works that they are offering a holiday bundle, with PGR3 thrown in for free. I wouldnt be suprised to see two bundles, one with Kameo or one with PGR3.

With a bundle, MS Core + Bundled game would possibly be comprable to Wii + Game ( if Wii indeed is 250$ as rumours suggest ). As to competing on pricing with Sony... yeah... why bother.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3499&Itemid=2



Ars Technica cites “reliable sources” who have confirmed a $399 premium bundle that will not only include PGR3, but also a free three-month subscription to Xbox Live Gold and 1250 Marketplace credits ($15).



*** Note, I know this is a premium bundle, but I cant imagine if they bundle the premium they wouldnt also bundle the core in some form or another. Otherwise, *NOBODY* would buy the core at this point, or if they did, they would be getting screwed harder then normal.

[EternalGamer]

No.

Why?

Becuase there are people out there who will pay $60 for games!


I won't. Not any more. The titles I bought on launch was the only time I will pay that much for games. And actually, I only paid $50 for PDZ and Kameo. Call of Duty is the only game I paid $60 for thus far and I highly, highly regret it (I ended up traded it in because I thought it was crap).

From now on, I use Gamefly when a new $60 game comes out I want to play. If it is really good, I'll buy it when the price goes down to a reasonable price. I don't think I'm alone in this strategy.

[51|RandoM]

Nintendo pricing their games lower might actually be a justification point for Microsoft to keep their price where it is. They've got the "next-gen" games, higher resolution, more detail, Live, higher dev costs, etc., their games should cost more.

Not saying I agree with that point, just could see it falling out that way.

[Serapth]

Nintendo pricing their games lower might actually be a justification point for Microsoft to keep their price where it is. They've got the "next-gen" games, higher resolution, more detail, Live, higher dev costs, etc., their games should cost more.

Not saying I agree with that point, just could see it falling out that way.


Agreed, but people dont seem to care... well, until of course you take something away. "Next gen sucks... its all about graphics... wheres the gameplay!!!" followed by "this game is fun, but fuck is it ugly... where are the good graphics"

Sigh.

The other thing people seem to forget is the 60$ a game is NOWHERE near the most expensive its been. That price was the low end of the norm during the N64, was the norm for Saturn, and would be a friggin still for the 3D0 and Jaguar.

[Mr. Lake]

The only thing a $60 price tag has changed is how long I'm willing to wait before the price falls to < $50.

[bean19]

I would like it if opinion peices were only printed when they come from an industry source and/or they provide new information or a new look on the subject.

This entire "news post" could have been a reply on these boards to the original subject that was posted last week.

[vivafletcher]

Microsoft will definitely drop the prices on many games...when they go head-to-head with the PS3. It wouldn't surprise me if the first 360 price cut happens, too (even if it's a modest one).

Factor in additional price cuts and I think the PS3 launch will be good news for Microsoft. They could even have a special bundle that features the full system, several popular games and a subscription for the same price as a basic PS3.

[Bydo_Empire]

I'll pay top dollar for games that are "must haves" in my mind. I have no regrets spending $80 on FF3 for the SNES. I'll pay whatever Nintendo wants for Zelda. If I had a 360 I would have payed whatever Bethesda wanted to charge for Oblivion. But these are few and far between. I've been buying a LOT of used games lately, and the shelves are lined with either "Greatest Hits" or titles that had their price dropped quickly. Not sure how well this is working out for developers, but you can walk into any store and pick up A-quality titles for $10-$20, and that makes it a great time to be a gamer on a budget.

[Edit] It's way to early for Microsoft to lower their price. Dropping the price would be a strategic move to counter something by one of their rivals. But since nobody knows how the ps3 and wii will do (and things aren't looking great for the ps3 atm), they have no reason to make a move. They'll hold out at $300/$400 for at least another year.

[Kamalot]

"All I know is that a $20 price break changed Test Drive Unlimited from a "buy if you like racing games" title to a "must-have" game."

I agree. I'll be ppicking up Test Drive at launch for $30. $30 is a magic point at which I'll try ALMOST anything. $20 is the price point at which I will try ANYTHING!

[crunchymonkey]

i really take my time in picking what games to buy now that they are 60 smackers each. Games like table tennis were a no brainer to buy because of their low price. Test drive looks like a definite buy now too. I hope they get the price for games back down to $50 per game or less. Less means I get more games. :-)

[mkelehan]

I remember the N64 launch. Mario and Pilotwings were $70. Killer Instinct Gold, later that year, was $80. Adjust that for 10 years of inflation, and suddenly, $60 for a game seems really good.

[Metal Jesus]

$60 isn't outrageously expensive to me. If the game is good, then it's worth that price. That said, I'm more willing to take a chance on a game I'm less familiar with if it's either at the used price of $34.99 or $40 new.

[HardScores]

Um, Microsoft first party titles all debut at 50 dollars, and have since launch. The only people charging 60 dollars for 360 titles are third party publishers. So I don't see why they would need to change their pricing when they themsleves are already at 50 dollars. They can't force other publishers to do the same.

SO ACTUALLY, the entire premise of this post is wrong, because 60 dollars is NOT the minimum.

From the article: There are 10 games coming out within the coming months that are at the $50 level or less. There is one game - Ninety Nine Nights - that is produced in-house by Microsoft and getting a lower price (Microsoft said most of its games would be at that price, while third-party "premium" titles would garner the $60 tag).

These 10 games are: Bomberman: Act Zero, Open Season (official game of the movie), Samurai Warriors 2, LEGO Star Wars: The Original Trilogy, Test Drive Unlimited, Rayman 4, Blitz: The League, Pimp My Ride (yes, the TV show), Cabela's African Safari and History Channel: Civil War. Some of these games don't have an official release date, but they are assumed to come out within six months. There may be one or two that could be outright cancelled at some point, as well. However, as you read through that line you see more than a few games you could see being sold at the higher price - most of all LEGO Star Wars and Test Drive.

The point was the average price of a new game. If the game is anything like Oblivion in terms of graphical prowess, gameplay, and longevity - I'm all for the $60 price, thus the "premium" tag. However, I'm not thrilled with $60 tags for games like GUN, Tony Hawk, or MLB 2K6...

[HardScores]

And yeah, if I had access to good sources, I would ask them. But I don't. All's I got is my noggin. So I did some research on the subject and formed my own, conjecture-based opinion. Sure, Atari needs revenue right now, so it makes sense for their prices to drop. But TEST DRIVE? The screens look pretty sweet... so unless they ran it by some previewers and they didn't like it, this is a huge price drop.

And I think that either/both Xbox 360 will get a $50 cut and some of the newer games that come out in November/December will be given quick $10 cuts for Christmas so they have a spiffy $49.99 tag.

[Serapth]

However, I'm not thrilled with $60 tags for games like GUN, Tony Hawk, or MLB 2K6...


GUN and Tony Hawk were perhaps two of the laziest ports done to the 360 ( atleast Madden looked damned good if some features striped, NFS:MW 360 was by far the superior game, GRAW cant be compared, etc... ) and frankly Neversoft deserves to get shit on with low sales for those titles. They put ZERO effort into making it a 360 game and still tried to charge 60$ for it.

However, in both of those cases, blame Neversoft, not Microsoft.

[Serapth]

And yeah, if I had access to good sources, I would ask them. But I don't. All's I got is my noggin. So I did some research on the subject and formed my own, conjecture-based opinion. Sure, Atari needs revenue right now, so it makes sense for their prices to drop. But TEST DRIVE? The screens look pretty sweet... so unless they ran it by some previewers and they didn't like it, this is a huge price drop.

I was pretty excited by the Test Drive concept... then I played the demo.

Lets just say... if you like the driving engine behind GTA 3, you will love TestDrive. Im a big fan of racing games, yet since that demo I just cant get into testdrive... at any price. Hell, I would rather they charged full price and put out an actually good game.

Heres hoping the demo was just that... a demo... hopefully a VERY early and rushed demo.

[Kamalot]

I was pretty excited by the Test Drive concept... then I played the demo.I enjoyed the demo. It is something I can see playing in the evening with friends online.

[Samurai Joe]

Here in Canada, Xbox 360 games currently retail for $69.99 when titles launch (unless there's a special). The $70 asking price is less than appealing. If prices don't go down, gamers will be buying more from the previously used played bin than anything else.

When Prey launched a few weeks ago, Future Shop (our Best Buy) had the game for $59.99 with a free 3-month Xbox Live subscription card. I thought it was a great deal, a new game and three extra months on my Live account.

The high prices might also be the main reason why Xbox Live Arcade is so popular with gamers.

[Wyrm]

We need a comprehensive list of games that are under 40 now. I bought Full Auto and Table Tennis when I got my 360 because they were cheap. Of course, I bought them pre-owned.

[SexualChoc]

$60 or $50, it doesn't really matter. If people want a game, they'll buy it. Impulse buys when they cost that much are very rare. It would make for good marketing, but why bother?

[HardScores]

Under $40:

College Hoops 2K6
Kameo Elements of Power
Perfect Dark Zero Limited Collector's Edition
Rockstar Games Table Tennis
Full Auto
Burnout: Revenge
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06
Dynasty Warriors 5: Empires
NBA 2K6
Tony Hawk's American Wasteland
Top Spin 2
Peter Jackson's King Kong
NBA Live 06
FIFA Soccer 06: Road to FIFA World Cup
GUN
Madden NFL 06
Ridge Racer 6

[Siraris]

How is this news? It's someones opinion on what Microsoft should do with their pricing scheme. Is this site turning into digg?

As for the idea, companies will release games for what they think they will sell for and what they will make money on. If THQ decides to release a game for $30 for the 360, that's their decision, if they chose to release it for $70, that's their decision too.

[IndependentGMR]

Lower prices sound good to me. Otherwise, if a game isn't a triple A title, like Oblivion, or Mass Effect, I won't drop $60 on it. I'll just wait for affordable ebay prices.

[absolut taco]

wait, how much is tdu going to be?!
$40 for the game, but there will be car packs like PGR3.

[cp#]

I said it in the need for speed thread: $40 is the magic price point.. $50 is great for AAA titles but I will never throw down $60 for a video game

I personally don't even buy games until they go on sale or the price is reduced anyway (unless it is a must have for me). For instance I wouldn't pay $60 for EA's shit poor X360 sports titles

[jeffbax]

Depends ont he game. I'd pay for a Gear or Oblivion or BioShock class game, but not something like say Tomb Raider or Chrome Hounds or Ghost Recon etc. I dunno. Just not worth it to me. So far I've yet to pay $60 for a 360 game so knock on wood :)

[Siraris]

I still feel like this is a totally loaded question. Here we have chaimpot0k saying he wouldn't pay $60 for EA's sports titles, and on the next page we have Jeffbax saying he wouldn't pay high prices for Tomb Raider. When it comes down to it, you can't price anything to fit what everyone wants, so dont' even try. I know people who wait until you can find games for $8 at Circuit City!

I think Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo should price at whatever they see fit and whatever sells well.

[Kamalot]

Boy oh boy. I hope PS3 games come in somewhere between 60 and $100! That would make my console generation so much sweeter! :rolleyes:

[Mr.Condescension]

Boy oh boy. I hope PS3 games come in somewhere between 60 and $100! That would make my console generation so much sweeter! :rolleyes:

I don't think anyone is suggesting that we'd prefer to pay $10 more for games. I just don't believe the publishers raised their going rate to $60 on games for no particular reason. I'm sure they believe that's what they have to charge to make the same profit as they did last gen (either because of development costs or low installed base, or both). I don't believe Microsoft really has the option of forcing publishers back down to $50 that the OP seems to contend.

[Kamalot]

I don't believe Microsoft really has the option of forcing publishers back down to $50 that the OP seems to contend.
Then why are Microsoft 1st party games coming in at $49?

[Mr.Condescension]

Then why are Microsoft 1st party games coming in at $49?

Because they're microsoft first party games, and Microsoft can sell them for any amount they wish. Microsoft has been quite happy to take a loss on every game and system up to this point, so why would they be any different now? Microsoft wants to get install base first and foremost. What I'm saying is that Microsoft has something to gain from taking a loss (or less of a profit than usual) where other publishers have nothing to gain from doing so.

[Kamalot]

Because they're microsoft first party games, and Microsoft can sell them for any amount they wish. Microsoft has been quite happy to take a loss on every game and system up to this point, so why would they be any different now? Microsoft wants to get install base first and foremost. What I'm saying is that Microsoft has something to gain from taking a loss (or less of a profit than usual) where other publishers have nothing to gain from doing so.
Good point. I seriously doubt that every game has to be sold at $60 though. Games that are ports like Gun, Tony Hawk, etc didn't need to be sold at $60. Publishers are greedy. Nothing new.

[Mr.Condescension]

Good point. I seriously doubt that every game has to be sold at $60 though. Games that are ports like Gun, Tony Hawk, etc didn't need to be sold at $60. Publishers are greedy. Nothing new.

Agreed. I'm sure Liberty City stories could have sold for more than $20 on the PS2, so it is a bit odd that they didn't charge more. A publisher not being greedy? Hmmm....

[Kermit]

According to this (http://www.totalvideogames.com/news/Test_Drive_Unlimited_European_Clarification_10322_ 4849_0.htm) , only the US gets the low price for Test Drive and Europe still pays full price. (Doesn't say why..)

[Soap]

The best answer of course is:

"It Depends."

If the game is going to give me hours upon hours of game play (hugs PC copy of Oblivion), then yeah, I can probably justify it.

If the game is a freakin' port (*spits on Gun) and is basically only good for one or two run throughs, then no, I'll wait until Fry's Electronics has it on sale (concidentally all just released games are usually onsale) and give my one finger salute to EBgames and Gamestop.

*Gun is actually a decent, if very short game. I probably beat the game in under 10 hours. Granted, I did manage to secure a copy from Target for $14.99. If you paid over $20 to play this game...I feel your pain.

[DeathtollWRX]

I would pay $160 dollars to play Halo3 today.

[Kamalot]

The best answer of course is:

"It Depends."

If the game is going to give me hours upon hours of game play (hugs PC copy of Oblivion), then yeah, I can probably justify it.

If the game is a freakin' port (*spits on Gun) and is basically only good for one or two run throughs, then no, I'll wait until Fry's Electronics has it on sale (concidentally all just released games are usually onsale) and give my one finger salute to EBgames and Gamestop.

*Gun is actually a decent, if very short game. I probably beat the game in under 10 hours. Granted, I did manage to secure a copy from Target for $14.99. If you paid over $20 to play this game...I feel your pain.Well, Prince of Persia: Sands of time is only 8-12 hours long. I've played it twice and I think it is a work of art, worth every bit of $50.

Having said that, I agree with you. I've spent over 300 hours in Pokemon Fire Red. I got my money's worth, all $30.

[Animated X]

I really don't see the huge fuss about the 360's (or the ps3's) games pricing.

Sure it sucks that 360 games are 70$ (I am in canada, so I will be quoting in canadian $), and not 40 or even 30 like some ps2 and xbox titles have been launching at. It seems like almost everybody is forgetting that the reason the price difference between next and current gen systems is that we are almost at the end of the current gen cycle. Over the last 5 years, the new games have launched at lower and lower price points, but I am pretty sure both Ps2 and Xbox games were 70$ at launch. Fantavision for 70$???? I remember paying 70$ for Mortal Kombat 2, for the NES!

Even in the days of the Ps1, I assumed I would be paying 80.88 for a new game (69.99 + tax) for a new game. Sometimes I got lucky and it came out at 65$.

360 games held at 70$ for about 6-8 months, but now they are definately starting to both launch at lower prices (Test Drive Unlimited), and drop in price much faster (Burnout Revenge, Full Auto).

If you think 70$ is too much for a game, no problem. Wait 6 Months and it will likely be 50. Wait another 6 and you can probably get it for 30.


I

[Animated X]

Whoops, I meant Mk2 for Super Nes. First game I ever bought on launch. It was freakin Awesome.

Carry On.

[Animated X]

I would pay $160 dollars to play Halo3 today.

That reminds me of a news story I saw just before Halo 2 came out. Some guy won an ebay auction for Halo 2, maybe 4 or 5 days before the official release date, and paid something like 300$ for it. Just so he didn't have to wait an extra 5 days.

[DeathtollWRX]

That reminds me of a news story I saw just before Halo 2 came out. Some guy won an ebay auction for Halo 2, maybe 4 or 5 days before the official release date, and paid something like 300$ for it. Just so he didn't have to wait an extra 5 days.

I'm crazy like that. I do CRAZY things like

Buy Xbox360 to play Halo2 in hi def
Buy DS lite just to play NewMario
Buy N64 just for Mario 64
Buy Ps2 for GT4
Buy 7900GT SLI for Civ4
Buy Ps1 for Battle Arena Toshinden
Buy Gameboy for Tetris
Buy Neo Geo Pocket Color to play Match of the Millenium
I won't buy Ps3=)

[the1bullet]

Economics 101. Why charge less when people will still buy it for more.

Heh, you didn't actually take Economics 101, did you? Because I think the key concept from 101 that you'd apply here would be price discrimination (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination).

To oversimplify it, you sell the same product to different people at different prices. It's why an airline charges you a firstborn to go firstclass, but only a kidney to fly coach.

You could arguably say that game companies achieve this by selling games at $50 or $60 when they come out and dropping their prices as time goes by so cheap bastards like myself will buy them. And by charging real super-freaks an extra $10 for the special edition that comes with some lame dog tags or something. It also makes sense for different games to come out at different prices ("budget" games at $40, e.g.). And it would make sense to run limited discounts so cheapos would buy when the game is still fresh and they're still interested.

But the most profitable approach is definitely not to charge everybody the high premium price simply because some people will pay it.

[bean19]

the1bullet - Good post and good explanation.

Then the question remains why not start even higher? Why don't game companies give real freaks a 2-week early copy of their games but at an absurd cost like $100-$150? Obviously, there are a number of people who would pay this kind of money for select titles.

Well, here's the reasoning (in my opinion):

1. To avoid arbitage through game piracy. I don't know if people have learned how to pirate 360 games yet, but I'm sure that they will figure it out eventually - as they will figure out how to pirate games for the PS3 eventually too. If games that were super-hot could be bought only through prices that were repugnant to most buyers, then they would seek other methods of purchase.

2. Bad PR. It doesn't make sense to gouge what are arguably a company's best customers for an extra 500K and then have to spend an extra million repairing the company's image (However, this is only true while the market remains competitive. If Nintendo, Sony, or Microsoft somehow get a monopoly, then they would not need to spend money on image repair and could gouge in this way).

Likewise, right now they are working hard to try and get people to perceive $60 as a value when purchasing games. The problem with that is that only the best games are actually worth $50. I think by raising the set pricing, they are forcing consumers to re-evaluate the relative value of purchases. I know that this has lead to my purchasing far fewer total games than I would have if they were only $50. . . but that's a good thing for me personally. A lot of 360 games are really only good as renters (as are a ton of games for all consoles). I've become a game-renter that plays nearly every game that comes out instead of a game collector. They've priced themselves out of hundreds of dollars from me each year with this price increase.

[ghostgirl]

Yeah, I'm the person who buys $60 games on impulse. d'oh.

Though, it's mostly because I've got an odd way of justifying things - I don't budget when it comes to books or games, because regardless of how crappy they are, odds are I'll learn something from them, so for me it's worth the price. Weird, but it works from me. I have yet to regret a game purchase. :)

[Kamalot]

Yeah, I'm the person who buys $60 games on impulse. d'oh.

Though, it's mostly because I've got an odd way of justifying things - I don't budget when it comes to books or games, because regardless of how crappy they are, odds are I'll learn something from them, so for me it's worth the price. Weird, but it works from me. I have yet to regret a game purchase. :)
Your luck is amazing. You should play the lottery.

[phantomhitman]

$40 for the game, but there will be car packs like PGR3.

thank you
but that sucks. i see them holding back content that should have been there in the first place.