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Software Price Drop for 2010?
We've all gotten used to games costing $60 these days, but is there any going back? EA Canada senior producer Jason DeLong ruminates on video game pricing in 2010.
We talked to DeLong about what he thinks might happen to the video game industry in 2010 and beyond, and he told us that he thinks reduced software pricing is in the cards. "I think that we’re going to start to see – maybe not in the next year, but in the near future – games go down the route of smaller up-front experiences and lower prices at the beginning," he told us, "and then the ability to extend the game through episodic material or future feature material. I think that’s a direction we’re probably heading in."
DeLong also said that apart from being a good thing for consumers, cheaper software pricing is a shrewd move for companies as well. "Games are getting more expensive, and times are tough, and it’s getting harder to purchase every game you want. So, how can we keep people playing and offer them more but not have to make them break the bank to do it? It’s going to be an interesting creative problem for us to solve."
For more on what Jason DeLong and others in the industry think may happen in 2010, be sure to check out our Connect feature in the February issue (#202) entitled, "The Road Ahead: Experts & Insiders Look Ahead at 2010".
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