Price wars: Next-gen software prices up, current gen down

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 premium 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?

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That extra forty bucks can snag you a brand new copy of Bully, Tales of the Abyss, Okami or Marvel Ultimate Alliance. Bully is a quality and deep title based on character interactions instead of flashy graphics. For $40 it is going to provide much more entertainment than King Kong for the Xbox 360 did. Tales of the Abyss might not be ground breaking, but it is an engaging RPG with a great combat system, clearly worth $40 considering gamers in Japan had to pay a premium price for it on day one. Okami, developed by the sadly closed down Clover Studio, is a masterpiece with beautiful artwork and creative gameplay. It’s totally worth $40. If games were priced by innovation and entertainment value alone Okami is easily worth the price of a next generation title. Marvel Ultimate Allainace is a toss up. The extra $20 goes towards using the 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 upcoming 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.


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