While the price of Xbox 360 and PS3 games went up 20% to an average price of $59.99 the price of many current generation games dropped 20% to $39.99. More and more games have been selling at a MSRP of $39.99 from day one. EA Sports has been pricing NBA Live 07 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 at $39.99 for PS2/Xbox while the Xbox 360 and PS3 copies are priced at the price of $59.99. NHL 07 has an even wider price range, it sells for $29.99 on the Xbox/PS2 and $59.99 for the Xbox 360. 2K Sports has a similar set up where NBA 2K7 retails for $29.99 and the next-gen versions sell for $59.99. What is your extra $30 going towards on the PS3? Tilt control for free throws, better graphics and the blu-ray disc. The gap is even wider for NHL 2K7 where the Xbox 360 and PS3 copies sell for $59.99 and the current generation versions sell for a mere $19.99, the same price as a greatest hit title. Are achievements and better graphics really worth an extra $40?
That extra forty bucks can snag you a brand new copy of Bully, Tales of the Abyss, Sixaxis tilt control where you swing around Spider Man’s web. Does that and better graphics make the game worth an extra $20? That’s up to you.
Now this rule doesn’t apply to every console release, just some of them. EA knows it can still cash in on Madden every year, which is why it didn’t get a $10 price drop for the Xbox or PS2. Smaller publishers like Atlus and NIS America have to make every sale count so Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories and Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner get the standard $50 price tag. And "blockbuster" games such as Final Fantasy XII, God of War 2 and Scarface all debut for $50. Even though there are still games at the traditional $50 price point the amount of games coming out at cheaper prices is fairly high and this is just another reason to stick to current gen gaming.
Look at the list of recent and titles past the jump.
$19.99
The Red Star
$29.99
Bionicle Heroes
Delta Force Black Hawk Down: Team Sabre
Family Guy
God Hand
King of Fighters 2006
Lumines Plus
NFL Street Vol 3
Reservoir Dogs
Tokobot Plus: Mysteries of the Karakuri
$39.99
.hack:// G.U. Vol.1 Rebirth
Baten Kaitos Origins
Bully
D1 Grand Prix
Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova
Destroy All Humans! 2
Eureka Seven Vol.1: The New Wave
Justice League Heroes
Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
Mortal Kombat Armageddon
Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2
Naruto: Uzumaki Chronicles
Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island
Okami
One Piece Grand Adventure
Resident Evil 10th Anniversary Edition (collection of three GCN Resident Evil games)
SOCOM US Navy Seals Combined Assault
Sopranos: Road to Respect
The Sims 2: Pets
Xenosaga Episode III: Also Sprach Zarathustra
Zatchbell: Mamodo Fury
Games priced $39.99 or lower with more expensive next gen versions
Avatar: The Last Airbender*
Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2*
FIFA Soccer 07
FIFA Soccer 07
LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Madden NFL 07 (Gamecube only)
Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Metal Slug Anthology*
NBA 07 Featuring the Life Vol 2
NBA 2K7
NBA Live 07
Need for Speed: Carbon
NHL 2K7
Rayman: Raving Rabbids
Splinter Cell: Double Agent
Superman Returns: The Videogame
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
*: These $39.99 games also have a release on the Nintendo Wii only priced at $49.99.
Published: Oct 23, 2006 12:48 pm