Microsoft first-party Xbox 360 games to retail for $49.99?
by Dan Choi 
{ Aug 24th 2005 at 1:33AM }
In the midst of all this news concerning expensive Xbox 360 bundles, SKUs, and HD- less Core configurations, we haven't had much time to consider the ever escalating costs of next-generation software itself. Sure, everyone likes to brush off the announced $60 price point as what's necessary to keep developers going (what with the more complex hardware and labor-intensive production work that'll be required), but have we let Sony and Microsoft get away with too much when it comes to new game prices for next-gen titles?
Well, cheap gamers, rejoice: it looks like Microsoft is only charging $49.99 for its first-party games for the Xbox 360, starting with Project Gotham Racing 3, Kameo, and Perfect Dark Zero. (The limited edition of PDZ will apparently retail for $59.99 instead of $69.99 now.) GameStop and EB have virtually identical product pages (with identical prices), but GameStop estimates the games' shipping date as November 1st, while EB lists them as November 15th, one or both of which will obviously change when the official launch date is finally announced. Third-party titles like Dead or Alive 4 remain $59.99 each (limit 1 per person online at EB), but it's hard not to wonder if such an MSRP can stand in light of Microsoft's aggressive first-party pricing.
You can find more information (some of which has been confirmed) in a post civil_dissident made on the Modojo forums (linked below) last Wednesday. Other great tidbits in that post include MS wireless-controller exclusivity until December 2007, and the already mentioned first-party pricing parity with current generation games, but extended to $29.99 bargain titles as well. Ready to buy more launch games with your 360 now?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
JamesP @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
I just signed up for gamefly today so I wouldn't have to buy so many games when the thing came out. But I hope publishers knock down the $60 price tag to just $55 or something. Even though no prices have been announced officialy. If they stick to the $60 then I think I might like some creative piracy.
Xtrios @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
60 bucks for a game? I think i'll pass.
David Iffland @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
I run a custom install business and we sell games and more. The prices stated here are the prices that we've posted for on our 360 Pre-Order page. The EA games are $59.95 while the Activision games are $59.99.
Sean O. @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Why is everyone acting like this is unheard of? Nintendo 64 games retailed for above $60 at launch... I remember Turok being $80 right at the beginning. After that $60 was the norm for a good while... up until the very end. Player's Choice titles were $40 if I remember correctly.
I guess that was almost a decade ago now...
OTAM @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
They should just make all games $29.99. With a price like that it'll even out with a $49.99 pricetag because more people will buy the damn game since they won't need to sell their stereo to afford it.
So with 6 people buying a $29.99 game it'll even out to 3 people buying a $49.99 game.
Or am I just being too optimistic?
Xtrios @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
The consumer sets the Price. Basic rule of economics(supply & demand).
Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Xtrios, isn't the point, though, that these Microsoft first-party titles are $50 each (as opposed to $60 a piece)? Maybe some (if not all) other third-party publishers will decide to follow suit. Then again, maybe not. We'll see.
Sean O., some SNES games were ridiculously priced, too, like Final Fantasy III and Street Fighter II. These cartridge-based games on Nintendo platforms really got away with murder back then, but it's pretty rare for disc-based titles to command the same price point (at least these days).
Efren @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Sounds good, although I think even for $60, games like PGR3 would be worth every penny.
steve @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
I hate to see what the Euro prices will be! Some stores were charging €70-€75 ($85-$90) for PS2 games a couple of years ago. Though, who buys games in stores anymore?
SmoothNinja @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
60 bux is change from the usual 50 pc players have been paying higher for top titles like limited edition gold Half Life 2 and other games anyone not willing to shell out 10 more bux must not wanna play the games as bad as us who are willing to work that extra bang to get our 400 dollar Xbox 360 bundle in fact Microsoft selling the games at 50 bux will MORE than make up for that in the long run making the Xbox 360 a console worthy of praise a 400 buck price tag may look steep but if your planning on buying those first party games like Perfect Dark Zero or Halo 3 that looks plenty damn good to me as Microsoft has some damn good first party games with the Xbox and that can only continue with the 360 who knows maybe Sony will take a page from them and offer the same deal since the PS3 will almost be guaranteed to be far above the 400 dollar mark with all the hammer from Sony reps themselves id say it will be even above 500 but im willing to pay for that and 60 dollar games if its TRUELY worth it...
And its Microsoft so it is worth it.
And its Sony so its worth just as much to buy a 400+ machine and GREAT titles.
SmoothNinja @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Also #7 while thats true The gaming community has grown and evolved. Gamers are much more expecting and want more from there games than in earlier generations this generation is paving new grounds no matter what Kuturagi says about Xbox 360 being Xbox 1.5 or Microsoft says The 360 is a better machine or whose Tech specs Are higher than anothers Both machines are paving new grounds as opposed to better graphics more polygons or Spiffy Controllers ( No pun intended towards the PS3 ) And in this case #6 it really doesnt come down to supply and demand although that is a part of gaming culture the more some gamers want something the more willing they are to pay more it. But it ultimately comes down to the advancement in technology you cant expect to pay 50 bux for something thats far beyond anything youve experienced before if Microsoft And Sony and the developers are correct then gaming this year should be far more advanced than anything we gamers have played before.
Bob @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
SmoothNinja. Use a frickin period once in a while.
TC @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
What is the big deal with the extra $10 already??? C'mon, for crying out loud--amortize this over the 50 hours or whatever if you play single player and online and then do the math... you can afford it already...
Don't forget if you trade it in you'll get more back, too... so in the end it's still say $35 for your use as long as you want it.
Are people actually 'taking a pass' because $1 per hour of entertainment is too rich???
Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
TC, $10 is still $10, in the same sense that $50 is still $50, and $100 is still $100 (the difference between a Core system and a Console one). You can break it down to a dollars-per-hour figure, but dollars still need to be spent, and therein lies the rub.
TC @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
In my humble opinion, I'm a believer of 'you get what you pay for'. Also, everything goes up in price... be it games, movies, holidays, the price of gas, even my income. Admittedly my income is not up 20% from when the Xbox came out to when the 360 will come out, but I can handle it...
Paying more sucks, but getting more makes it worth it. My expectations will rise by 20% as well, and I have a feeling that I'll be just as happy in the end.
Like I said though, I expect that paying $50 now for a game and then getting $15 trade in for it will continue, except I'll pay $60 now and get $25 later on... fingers crossed, anyway...
apok @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
You don't really get what you pay for so much. Gas is currently what, 2.60 a gallon, that same gallon was around 2 bucks a year ago. Same gas, different time. You pay $50-60 on launch for a game released by EA, if you wait a month its 40, 2 months its Player's Choice territory.
So, in these cases you are not getting what you pay for, you are getting WHEN you pay for.
Xtrios more or less hit the nail on the head, its supply and demand. Once the demand goes down, so does the price.
Now, the problem is when the PS3 comes out with $60 games- if 360 games publishers don't undercut that to 50, and all you friggin' yahoos keep blowing 60 bucks on games just because you can't live without them, the casual gamer suffers, gets pushed out of the market- until price goes down perhaps because of time, perhaps competition.
Either way, supply-demand.
apok @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Oh, and I forgot, that $10 bump in the price will not equal a $10 bump in trade-in value. Especially with launch titles, those things get traded-in in droves (think SSX, Luigi's Mansion, Fuzion Frenzy- all decent games, they just get older faster than the hardware does). Expect things to be worse this go round as there will be alot of crap software rushing to market with these consoles (which is arguably better than releasing a console with Super Mario 64 and Pilotwings 64 and nothing else for 3 months- you decide).
Spartacus @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
I'd say the demand for cheese should be pretty high with all this whine.
My opinion is that gamers must be the whiniest, most ignorant and most fickle consumers on the planet. Why MS, Sony and Nintendo even bother trying to cater to you is beyond me...
Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Spartacus, I like to say that cheap gamers are just wise spenders of money. Calling (all?) gamers names like you do, however, is flame bait at its best (er, worst?). Criticism is valid, but why troll? People shop at Target and Wal-Mart to save money, so why can't gamers seek the lowest game prices, too? There's a limit to complaining, for sure, but if you have more disposable income to spend on games than others, please don't look down on those who choose to express their dissatisfaction with high prices.
Spartacus @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Dan Choi:
I myself rarely buy a game or a console at its launch. I like bargains just as much as the next guy, and all I have to do to get them is wait. Everyone on here is saying that they know better than the publishers and market researchers and that people won't buy a game because it's a whole whopping 10 bucks more- blah, blah, blah. My point was that in general gamers, more than any other consumer market out there, want something for nothing and have this unique viewpoint that the industry owes them something. Prices go up on everything, gaming is no exception. I just don't see why this is so difficult to understand... If you want a deal, wait a few months, simple as that.
Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Spartacus, understood. I actually regularly subscribe to the wait-for-a-deal philosophy myself, but the Xbox 360 may force my hand this time at launch. (I'm still deciding actually.) Hope you find some deals... or wait until they come to you. =)
There are some valid criticisms of game industry pricing as well, where limited shelf life and inflated starting prices give rise to lower prices and lower profits in shorter periods of time (how we get our steep discounts on new games so quickly). The industry could definitely use an alternative distribution model than the blockbuster-or-nothing attitude so prevalent today. (<--That Lorne Lanning interview is coming soon, folks... really!)
Mitch @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
They better be cost less than $60. Incase you guys didnt realize, the xbox 360 still uses dvd-9 as its format, so production costs for the games doesnt go up at all. If anything its actually cheaper to make games for the 360 now than it was to make them for the regular xbox when it came out.
Dan Choi @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
Mitch, the manufacturing costs of game discs themselves won't go up, but development of the game itself almost assuredly will. It would help to distinguish between these different aspects of production.
Howard @ Dec 18th 2005 9:36PM
They have decrease the price of the games like 49.99 would be better than 59.99. Agree? Now what I see the fact of the Xbox 360 games would cost 59.99 plus tax maybe 63.56. They are very expensive they are closly to 100.00.