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ESPN Sports Titles to Scrap $20 Price Point
SansTinfoilHat writes "Gamesindustry.biz reports that 'Take-Two and partner Sega will seek to return pricing to premium levels for the next-generation console versions of [the ESPN series of sports games].' It couldn't last forever." From the article: "Most notably, [the low pricing] has put immense pressure on Electronic Arts' market-leading sports range, with the giant publisher forced to drop prices on several of its key EA Sports titles in order to compete more effectively in the run up to Christmas."
Lowering the price worked really well, or it didn't work at all. Huh.
It's most likely one of two things; either it did do very well and they now have a larger installed fanbase on both the ps2 and xbox and they can now raise prices and everyone will see it as it can't be done, or the marketing ploy did not meet the quota they needed to ship and continue shipping so that their would be a profit or not a large enough profit to continue to be successful. Or economical logic failed and Madden pwned them any way...
Every article I've seen has said that they're planning on keeping it at $19.99 and that it has worked really well. Only time will tell.
I'd be really interested in seeing:
- the sales difference between last year's ESPN titles and this years, and
- a comparison between NFL 2k5 and Madden, which I suspect was the primary target of this ploy.
I seem to recall that the ESPN NBA, NCAA Hoops, and possibly the NHL games got better reviews than EA's lineup, anyway.
I know I jumped on ESPN's NFL game because of the price point, and I can't think I'm the only one.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
or really cheap. Then they own you.
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I bought two of the discounted titles and I doubt I would have purchased either if the prices weren't so low.
I think those ESPN people are in for a little shocker. Once you cut prices like that on a product that is not the leader in its sector, there's no going back. Madden is king, they can do what they want for the most part, but ESPN is going to find out that they can't hope to stay in the game without some kind of price advantage. Now maybe the retail price will go back to $39 or $49 with a mail in rebate or some other incentive. But toe to toe with Madden at the same price they can't make it.
Discounts are a double-edged sword. As the auto manufacturers found out, once you start discounting, the customer expects it all of the time. When was the last time you or anyone you know bought a car that didn't have a rebate or discount financing? Only the top end can play without incentives.
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I personally prefer ESPN NFL 2k5 as a game anyway. No annoying online bugs that cripple Madden. Now, I play with my buddy who joined the army every day for under 50 bucks. Not too shabby.
I think that if ESPN can keep their titles at 20 bucks they'll just sell and sell and sell. Think of it, 20 bucks for an online enabled football game that is as good as the 50 dollar competition.
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If you read the article, the experiment was successful, and put pressure on EA to lower their prices.
Also in the article, they are only talking about raising prices for the next-generation consoles-- i.e. the PS3 and X-Box 2. There is no mention of what they will or will not do for the current platforms (only speculation).
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It seems like everyone skipped over an important phrase in that post:
Next Generation Consoles
Obviously the cost to develop for the new consoles is going to be higher, so a better return is going to be made by returning to the standard pricing method.
This would be a bigger deal if it was happening for current game systems, but it isn't.
19.99 for a game really isn't much. When you look at more expensive newer games selling for 50 or 60 dollars, it's quite a bargain. People are willing to buy a cheap game that may not live up to their expectations than a 60 dollar ones. I know, from personal experience, that the bargain bin ones for ~20 bucks aren't too shabby of a deal, and would guess that many of those increases were just that, a bargain game. Also, there are many who don't buy sports games because they feel that they all feel/play the same, like myself. So many of those sales, may be 1 time sport ones.
Sega, Please reconsider! In the last 6 months (Starting with nhl2k5) I have bought the following 20$ games:
nhl2k5, Midway Classics 1 & 2, Sonic collections, Katamari Damacy, & Outlaw Golf 2. These are all beloved games.
I have bought loads of software in the last two quarters, and more than I usually would due to the 20$ price point. It's allowed me to take some chances on games, without the risk of massive late fees- weeks later. I'm not a bad customer; I buy many of the hot new releases at the regular price point.
It's twisted really. Just when I thought (after years of getting ripped off by incremental sports updates that I just *had to have*), a company could offer updates to their fine sports franchises for 20$ and win the hearts and minds of gamers everywhere- carrying a torch of affordable games for everyone! I apologize for over-dramatizing, but this truly disappoints me.
I loathe to attack Sega for its decision regarding their own business. I merely submit that they are making a grave mistake. One can only hope that it does not, once again, start a trend within the industry.
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Thanks for the info. Hard to make a business case with those kind of numbers.
Dammit. Would've loved the $20 price point to continue.
ceci n'est pas un sig.
I know it's the last paragraph of the article and there aren't any pretty pictures or diagrams, so you might not have made it that far.... but, come on, get your facts straight.
"Buckwalter's comments confirm that premium pricing will be used for next-generation console SKUs, presumably on the basis that product development will be more expensive and that the early adopter market is less sensitive to pricing, but it's still not clear whether the $20 price will be used for next year's range on current-generation systems."
The $20 price tag worked, the ESPN line was able to outdo EA's line... at first. The problem is EA fought back the way it always did, by throwing money at the problem. Once all sports games hit $20, Sega's advantage was lost and any future attempts to do so again would just be responded by EA by the lowering of prices again. It was a one-shot trick which gambled on EA not being willing to lower the price so quickly.
Am i the only one who readed "ESPN sport titles to CRAP $20 price point". Now if that wouldn't be newsworthy, i don't know what would.
Sports titles more than one year old continue to compete in the 20 cent price range.
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This is no surprise. They realize that the current gen consoles (GCN, PS2 XBox) are pretty much tapped out as far as technical capabilities, plus developers have had a few years to get familiar with development on them making it cheaper to do. I'm imagining that the next generation consoles will be a bear to develop for, at least in the beginning, driving up development costs and therefore driving up retail prices. I'd gladly pay $40 for ESPN NFL 2k6 if it's for the Playstation 3. I think the price hike would be justified because the gaming experience in general would be improved. Although the article doesn't say, I assume that any more ESPN games produced for the current gen consoles will remain $20.
Now the question is, will there be a "2k6" series of games for the current gen consoles, or will "2k6" be exclusive to the next gen consoles? Will the next gen consoles be around in time for the "2k6" series? Probably not, so I think the first time we'll see this price hike will be on "2k7" for the PS3 or Xbox 2.
That realizes the article is talking about the price being changed for Next-Generation Consoles! No where does it even imply that next years version is going to increase in price. The only reason the price increase will happen is because of higher production cost to produce games on the new systems.
It makes sense that they'd need the extra money to redo the games for the next gen systems. But once they've got a year or two under their belts, why not lower the price again? It seems to have done wonders for sales and for popularity, and if they can do that once they've got the basic framework in place, I can't see how it could be a bad thing.
Selling a game at $50 won't make as much money as selling many more games at $20, after all...
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a few posters have got it right
/imo
the price drop was a ploy to get people to play the game - a game that dominates the market as much as madden does can only be countered by devising a method to penetrate that market - even if the product is superior, it will fail, unless there is incentive to buy it.
the price can be increased to regular on next generation consoles because espn has now penetrated the market. this is more appropriate to do now also because their technically is not an established market for next generation console games like madden. which game is better, word of mouth, and established industry standards will dictate the initial market.
timing will also play a critical role. as i suspect, the current generation espn nfl will also retail at the same discounted price. these current gen titles will also be released prior to their next generation counterparts. in essence, if espn nfl improves and really puts it to madden (or whatever it's gonna be called) again next year, that will help sway the initial market for the next generation consoles towards espn nfl