Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Morgan Securities, has predicted the lowering of prices for Xbox 360 games in the near future due to, “…normal occurrences in the industry.” The normal occurrences Pachter is referring to is the tendency for newly released video games to become discounted after a period of time. Normally, this discount pattern holds to a $10 reduction for every 60 days following the game’s release until the game price holds at either $29.99 or $19.99.
Pachter backs up his observations by noting, “prices have been cut to $39.99 for Burnout: Revenge (released March 7), Amped, Madden NFL 06, NBA 2K6, NBA Live 06, NHL 2K6, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 06, and King Kong, but have not been cut for Quake 4, Call of Duty 2, Gun, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and Tony Hawk’s American Wasteland. All of the games with Xbox 360 versions cut to $39.99 are offered on PS2 and Xbox at $29.99 or lower.”
However, a few 360 titles have continued to hold firm at the launch price of $59.99, in spite of being on store shelves for over 60 days. Pachter commented, “In fact, we are surprised that games for the Xbox 360 have held launch pricing as long as they have (more than six months), and attribute their staying power to a lack of hardware supply over the first months following launch.”
As the launch of the Wii and PS3 are approaching fast, Microsoft may well take advantage of the situation by discounting their Xbox 360 games to entice gamers.
