Next-Gen Pricing Still A Hot Issue

GamesIndustry.biz has two articles taking a look at next-gen pricing, both from Microsoft's point of view. Xbox VP Peter Moore says that next-generation pricing is actually going to be an excellent value for the money. From the article: "...he predicted that many games may be offered in limited edition bundles, similar to the already announced Perfect Dark Zero bundle, which costs an additional $10 but adds a significant amount of bonus content to the title, and that premium downloads costing 'maybe another $5' will also be a key strategy for publishers." Additionally, the Xbox marketing folks are already planning price reductions for the 360. From that article: "'We will wind up cost-reducing the product every year,' Todd Holmdahl, corporate vice president of the Xbox product group, told Reuters. It's estimated that the 360 costs approximately $100 less per unit to manufacture than Sony's PS3, giving Microsoft more scope for price cuts."

Comments

In regards to PDZ...

[Alkaiser]

The "significant additional bonus content" has already been reported to be jack shit.

1 of 9 collector's cards? Behinds the scenes footage? Who cares.

Meanwhile on the other hand Firaxis is offering:

Collector's case: Navy blue "leatherette" bookshelf case embossed with the Civilization IV logo.

CD Soundtrack: Containing original compositions by Christopher Tin (http://christophertin.com/news.html) and Jeffrey Briggs (composer of Civilization II), as well as classical pieces throughout the ages.

Keyboard template: A die-cut keyboard layout for quick reference to keyboard commands during the game.

Tech Tree map: A foldout poster that displays the tech tree for ease of reference. A tech tree is a path you need to take with your scientific research in the game in order to reach certain goals. The path you take helps shape the society you create and help shapes you as a leader. Here's an example: http://www.civfanatics.com/civ3/techtree/

Spiral bound manual: The 250pp+ manual is upgraded from the standard perfect bound to a spiral bound version, allowing it to sit flat while open.

All this for the low, low price of FREE if you preorder. Microsoft wouldn't know "excellent consumer value" if it kicked them in the nuts and punted their dog off a suspension bridge.

Re:Who cares, it's still $500 at launch

[Digital Vomit]

Buying a new video card every 3-4 years for that much is one thing, a new console every year is quite another.

Huh?

PS3/XBox360/Revolution = 2005/2006

PS2/XBox/GameCube = 2000/2001

PS1/N64 = 1995/1996

SNES/Genesis = 1989/1991

That's about a five year time span between generations. If anything, console upgrades are less frequent that pc video card upgrades.

Adjusting for inflation?

[hal2814]

I see a lot of posters trying to make themselves feel better about the next-gen pricing structures by adjusting yesteryear's system launch prices for inflation. This will not give you an accurate picture of what's going on for two reasons:

1. Electronics are getting cheaper. How much was that TV you bought in 1983 adjusted for inflation? How about the VCR you bought in 1985 for $250? Or even your refrigerator or oven? The price of a next-gen system SHOULD be cheaper by this logic.

- BUT -

2. Consoles are becoming more powerful compared to their peers. Back in the day when the NES came out, it was significantly less powerful a machine than the PCs of the time and the arcade machines of the time. Now the XBox and PS2 are about 3/4 as capable as a PC that came out around launch. As these consoles become more and more powerful compared to their peers, they SHOULD become more expensive.

The important thing isn't what the XBox 360 or PS3 will cost compared to the NES. It's far more important that you think the XBox 360 is a good value from the money. Judging by these "adjusting for inflation" defenses, I get the idea that a lot of people aren't happy with the price but are willing to pay it.

Re:Because They Are Too Expensive

[Metal_Demon]

You are forgetting two things about the $400 version of XboX 360:
1. Hard drive (sold seperately for like $80)
2. The controller you get is wireless (like for instance the WaveBird ($25)).