MSNBC asks analysts if $60 is too steep for games

MSNBC asked several analysts -- but not a single consumer -- if game prices could retain the standard $60 next-gen price point in this worsening economy. So far, despite layoffs across the industry, game sales are up around the globe -- well, mostly. A survey by Frank Magid Associates last spring noted that only 17% of respondents would pay full price for a game at that time, so MSNBC wonders what consumers are thinking now.

Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald reiterates his concerns about the $60 price point in the piece and analyst Colin Sebastian states he can already see price cuts accelerating on "second tier and older games." Greenwald expresses that publisher financials depend on that $60 price point -- without it, he believes, we'll see "poor quarterly earnings, layoffs and studio closures." But, wait, isn't that stuff already here?