Ps3 games
Sony already caused a stir during the last E3 when it announced that the PS3 console will be more expensive than the Xbox 360 or the Wii. Then came the war of words between Microsoft and Sony regarding the formats of their consoles, games and hard drives. What seems like an endless battle now has extra fuel. Sony has just announced that PS3 games and titles will be priced higher than titles currently available on the market. Why? Blu-ray discs, of course. Furthermore, game developers also claim that developing PS3 games for Blu-ray is much more difficult than previously developed PS games.
Kaz Hirai, Sony’s chief executive officer for US operations, made the announcement last Friday. Hirai said PS3 game costs can be as high as $99, which is roughly €53. Met with protests from avid gamers as well as Sony fans, Hirai insisted that Sony is trying to keep game costs down. Still, gamers have to splurge to get top-tier games. Hirai even gave the reason behind the protests over expensive Sony games. He cited assumptions in the ’90s that games on disc would only cost between $39 and $59. Of course, with this mindset, people would have a hard time finding a nearly $100 game justified.
The price of PS3 games has been under speculation for some time. There are those who predict low prices to balance the high price of the console. Rather, most gamers expected high prices to complement the console and its next-generation Blu-ray format.
It seems that Microsoft’s attacks on the price of the PS3 console did not discourage Sony at all. The console’s price digs even seem to inspire Sony to make its games more expensive. The company doesn’t seem to mind that they’re pairing a prohibitively expensive console with equally expensive PS3 games. Perhaps Sony thinks Blu-ray is reason enough to raise prices. But we have to admit that Sony does think about its fans. Hirai assures would-be PS3 gamers that the games can be priced above $59 but not more than a hundred dollars. Swell, that’s a relief. So there you have it from the people at Sony; Price range from $59-$99 for a PS3 game. Now obviously Hirai’s comments are a bit vague, and certainly at this point we’re already seeing some next-gen games costing upwards of $59 with collector’s editions. But if most PS3 software is suddenly over $60, that could be a real problem. Consumers are already paying $500 or $600 depending on the PS3 SKU they buy. In the end, Sony, with the other two console makers and video game publishers, is competing for a limited amount of consumer dollars.
PS3 and Sony fans don’t care about these pricing schemes (or pretend they don’t), and blame it on Blu-ray. Although Blu-ray hasn’t had time to prove itself, let’s hope it’s everything it promises to be. PS3 games may not be the cheapest out there, but they sure are the most hyped. People who want copies of PS3 games but aren’t willing to shell out a lot of money may have to wait a bit longer. Games and technologies depreciate, and gamers are sure to get good prices at a later date. Just don’t show your games to those who brought theirs back in the heyday of the PS3, they might not appreciate your ingenuity.