EA Slashing Current-Gen Pricetags 84
kukyfrope writes "In order to help push current-gen sales, EA is slashing prices on some of its upcoming titles. For instance, two of EA's most anticipated titles, The Godfather (March 14) and Black (February 28), will retail for $39.95." From the article: "It'll be interesting to see how the market reacts to these price cuts. We would guess that several other publishers could soon follow EA's lead and drop the prices on their upcoming current-gen software also. It could be just the strategy the industry needs to boost overall sales. $39.95 looks like a bargain when it's sitting on the shelf next to a next-generation game priced at $59.95."
Good stuff. (Score:2)
Re:Good stuff. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Good stuff. (Score:4, Insightful)
Since they are trying to maximize profit, they will (correctly) charge as much as the market is willing to bear. Unless they difference in the number of sales more than offsets the loss in profit-per-unit, other publishers won't follow suit. Given that they are experimenting with lower prices it seems to be that they think they can indeed get a larger return from more sales.
However, since not all games are created equal, it seems silly to try to sell them all at the same price. Each product will have a specific price point that maximizes its profit. Perhaps this is the conclusion they are coming too.
Re:Good stuff. (Score:1, Insightful)
Not quite. The demand curve determines how many units you will sell at a given price. The market might "bear" $100 a unit, but you'll only sell 10, but at $60 you'll sell 100,000. Drop it to $40 and you might sell 300,000. What you want to find is the point at which profits are maximized, considering that you don't know what the competition will do (If they drop to $40 too you'll lose canibalize
Re:Good stuff, but econ of game price is? (Score:2)
We don't know the wholesale costs, nor do we know what in-game-revenue deals for product placement, or pricing of game supplement materials (books, add-ons, t-shirts, sports cars paint jobs, etc) are.
It's possible that they could drop the pricing from $59.99 SRP to $39.99 SRP per unit, sell five times as many units but only drop production/marketing/delivery costs by a fraction - more volume discounts on shipping, easier channel cost
Re:Good stuff. (Score:2)
Go back to watching Sesame Street.
Re:Good stuff. (Score:2)
Re:Good stuff. (Score:2)
Unless you have a virtual (or real) monopoly then you charge as much as the market will bear then throw a few bones when too many people start complaining about it. Look at the gas/oil companies. there are only about 5 companies that control all the oil and gas in the US, everything else is conected to those 5 in some way unless it is some independent producer (very f
Re:Good stuff. (Score:2)
Re:Good stuff. (Score:2)
I'm kind of thinking that this type of system might actualy lend to abuse more redily then a clear monopoly because of the apearance of it being an open market. Either way, it has some of the apearances of a monopoly. I'm going to have to look inot it some more. Thanks for the correction.
Re:Good stuff. (Score:2)
See also "Cartel". My admittedly possibly incorrect understanding is that a cartel is essentially an oligopoly where the few players are *actively* colluding.
I'm Buying (Score:1)
Re:Good stuff. (Score:2)
I dearly hope for your own sake that all your servers, cables, racks, and heck, your whole data center are made out of asbestos
EA pricing? (Score:4, Insightful)
If they started pricing games more reasonably, based on length, quality, and quantity of game play, then maybe they'd make money, and a much better return on investment... but instead, I just sit around waiting for a month before buying the game.
Then again, if you can sell a crap game for 4 times as much as the reasonable market value, why not!?
Pricing based on length... (Score:1)
Re:EA pricing? (Score:2)
You can't price games based on "quality", which is totally subjective (I, for one, wouldn't pay $5 for a Need for Speed game), and a long game isn't better than a short one (unless all you are looking for is a way to kill time). You price the game at what you think peop
Re:EA pricing? (Score:2)
It takes a lot to get me to pay more than $20.00 for a game. When a game is particularly interesting or good I will, but I'm not going to buy a game at launch if the price is $69.99. It simply isn't going to happen. Also, I don't own a console, so any games I get are PC games. I don't see the draw in paying so GD much for a console or the games for it.
LK
Re:EA pricing? (Score:2)
I'm in a similar situation, but it's not a particular price point that's my cutoff.
I just don't play that many games. This means that when I feel like getting a new one, there are a lot I've never played that I can easily know whether they're generally considered "good" or "bad" and they're at about that price or less.
I just got a brand new computer, so I picked up a few games recently, all a bit older. I can play all of them at max settings totally smoothly.
May
Re:EA pricing? (Score:2)
It's the free market in action. The longer after the release date, the more used copies are going to enter the market, competing with the new copies for sales, so the publisher has to lower prices in order to keep selling more games. There also may be new games out competing with the old game, so although the new game has a
Re:EA pricing? (Score:2)
1) Users who obviously get the most out of the product get taxed for their impatience.
2) Users who would not normally buy the game will get a chance to in only a few months.
3) Publishers/Developers get the most money out of the game because of #1 and #2
4) Publishers can build a better game because of #3
5) Users enjoy the game more than otherwise because of #4
6) See #1 for sequal/new title
This is capitalism worki
Big deal... (Score:2)
Re:Boycott (Score:2)
Re:Boycott (Score:2)
Are they learning? (Score:1)
Its only a bargain... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Its only a bargain... (Score:1)
Re:Its only a bargain... (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Its only a bargain... (Score:1)
Re:Its only a bargain... (Score:1)
Re:Its only a bargain... (Score:1)
i refuse to buy EA (Score:2)
Not that they've had anything remotely interesting lately anyway...
smash.
Re:i refuse to buy EA (Score:2)
I've got well over 100 legally purchased games in my collection, 0 pirate games installed (shock!) and end up buying about 1 game per month (not much, but I only spend 10 days per month at home so....)
smash.
Re:i refuse to buy EA (Score:1)
They're made by Sony Liverpool (they guys behind the WipEout series and ex-Psygnosis), so if you can get a cheap PS2 I'd recommend giving them a look; they're good fun with a force-feedback wheel.
Re:EA web site contents and support also slashed (Score:1)
Re:EA web site contents and support also slashed (Score:1)
The difference is that Apple's site actually even works in links if you choose to go without the pretty pictures.
It's just a basic useability issue.
Bummer for the employees (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Bummer for the employees (Score:2)
-nB
Re:Bummer for the employees (Score:1)
Re:Bummer for the employees (Score:2)
Re:Bummer for the employees (Score:2)
EA (Score:4, Informative)
Give it a break, will 'ya. EA cutting prices on anticipated games such as Black and The Godfather is a good thing for anyone who's been waiting to sample these, and for those who think they will suck, well, let's wait for the reviews, shall we?
Sure, EA has published a fair number of crap games, but they have a long legacy of producing good stuff as well.
Re:EA (Score:2)
Fight Night Round 3 is $20 cheaper on the current-gen systems than the 360, which is just unfair, All that's different is graphics, I think I'll pass.
Re:EA (Score:2)
Re:EA (Score:2)
There are what, 10 Xbox360 games?
39.95 (Score:4, Insightful)
That's what we call spin. What they really wanted to say is:
"Having reviewed testers' opinion on our upcoming games, we realise they stand no chance of being successful. Subsequently we will attempt to sell off as many copies at $40 as possible before the public wisens up to this."
Take Hacker:Elite - released a couple years back at 30 dollars to start. Box looked great, concept sounded great, game itself was short and ultimately pretty dull. Fortunately these days anyone with google, 4th grade reading comprehension, and enough patience to wait a day, can tell if a game sucks or not without blowing 30-50 dollars on it.
Re:39.95 (Score:2, Interesting)
Also, anyone who has actually shot the guns u
Re:39.95 (Score:1)
So there's more to it than this, I'd suggest.
Re:39.95 (Score:1)
Re:39.95 (Score:1)
Personally, I don't think the problems that affected Dice's inability to write stable, crack-proof network code are particularly relevant to Criterion's single-player game. On the other hand, I'm not desperate for yet another FPS game (even if it's supposedly very good), so I'm not buying it for that reason.
Re:39.95 (Score:1)
remember when (Score:1)
Yeah, but.... (Score:1)
How does it look sitting next to the used game for $15? Especially if the new game is "Getting Up" sitting next to a copy of, oh, the first "Prince of Persia" or "GTA: San Andreas" or whatever older game you think was awesome.
Don't get me wrong, though: I'm all for cheaper video games. And frankly, I'm sure it's just a matter of the game-buying public being unwilling to shell out $50 for a "last-
Re:Yeah, but.... (Score:2)
$15? I guess you haven't been to GameStop recently. They'll sell a $39.95 game used for $37.95 and have the sales droids push that $2 "discount" on anyone interested in the game.
Melissa
Sure (Score:2)
Not much of a price cut, is it? (Score:1)
It might take a while, but by the time I get a game, it'll have most of it's patches out, the game guides will be up, and I'll have seen enough reviews to know if it is even worth buying in the first place.
MMORPGS are left until the client is released for free. I'm not spending money to buy a game that requires a monthly subscription.
Re:Not much of a price cut, is it? (Score:2)
meaningless.... (Score:1)
(sorry: I just had to say that).
Winning Eleven always launches at $40.... (Score:1)
Re:Winning Eleven always launches at $40.... (Score:1)
I wish more Americans would dive into the winning eleven series. I'm one behind the current one, and it's head and shoulders above FIFA. Reminds me of the fun I used to have playing FIFA '96 against my brother on Sega Genesis.
Precieved Value, etc. (Score:2)
While it's certai
Re:Precieved Value, etc. (Score:1)
Then everyone got addicted to Katamari as a mind-altering substance so they raised the price 50% on the sequel. Bastards.
Sounds a lot like... (Score:2)
Let's at least mix the subjects around when we're going to get a month-late dupe
Sounds like last couple months (Score:2)
I know Need For Speed Most Wanted dropped to $40 from $50