Sony announces PS3 game prices for US: $59.99

We didn't make a big fuss over those crazy 'spensive Japanese PS3 game prices announced yesterday, since it was pretty much a given that the US prices would be lower than the straight Yen-to-Dollar conversion, and it turns out that's exactly the case. Sony is matching Microsoft's main Xbox 360 pricepoint at a "mere" $59.99, with all 7 games now available for pre-order at the Sony Style online store. Sure, we wouldn't have complained if Sony somehow decided to undercut MS on next-gen game prices, but we suppose that's wishful thinking at this point. Ah well, there's always the Wii, right?

[Via SlashGear; thanks Rohit K.]

[Rohit Kapur @ Sep 26th 2006 2:16PM]

Woot woot. My first mention on Engadget. :-)

Anyway, I think there's something really wrong in a system where we're satisfied with a 60$ pricetag on a game. Then again, there's really not much right with a system that has a 600$ game console, right?

[Deluxe @ Sep 26th 2006 2:21PM]

Remember how a few years ago, movie tickets were $3 cheaper? It's called inflation, and it's just like the "I could get a 3 course meal and a night out on the town for $5 in 1952!". Welcome to reality. We earn more money, things get more expensive.

[Uy Tran @ Sep 26th 2006 2:20PM]

Expected and the right move for Sony, for their US customers at least.

But as I've surmised before:
The PS3 is launching in Japan and the US at the same time. What's to stop Japanese player from buying region-free US games, let's say Ridgeeeee Racer, for a better price? $60+shipping is still cheaper than Japanese prices.

Japanese games have always costed more, yes, but games have also been region locked. This doesn't affect the US market much, but how will it affect the Japanese market?

[Rohit Kapur @ Sep 26th 2006 2:41PM]

lol... Cute. Actually, it's not inflation that's raising the prices here. It's the new technology. Everything something new comes out, it's always gonna be very expensive until it becomes 'standard'. Of course, by the time it becomes standard, there's always something newer and better.

Fun stuff, no? Also, I don't think everybody would agree that the 'inflation' in their salaries is enough for them to buy a 600$ game console along with a few 60$ games and sleep peacefully at night. And I'm not even talking about the ones who think about paying for colleges! But hey, let's not get political. All I'm saying is that it's still very expensive. Maybe you don't feel that way. To each, his/her own, right? :-)

[Tommy Gun @ Sep 26th 2006 2:55PM]

Well put Rohit. The basic increases we experience in our salaries are an attempt to match inflation. This does not include bumps in salary as a result of promotions or what not. Thanks for welcoming us into the real world Deluxe but in all likelihood the increase in the price of games was designed to help Sony offset the costs of the blue ray tech. As I understand it they are selling these consoles at a steep loss. God bless capitalism!

[primetime4 @ Sep 26th 2006 2:24PM]

I want to hear from all the fanboy idiots that actually believed US PS3 games were going to cost $100.

[Andy @ Sep 26th 2006 2:25PM]

As good as this is for the consumers, I have a feeling that Sony is just digging it's corporate hole even deeper.

Lets face it, BDROM discs aren't cheap right now. If they are offering games at this low of a price they have got to be making marginal if any profit. They are probably having to help cover costs or selling BDROM discs to devs for extremely cheap and taking the hit on it until BD prices go down.

I dunno, this whole PS3 thing just scares me. I'm not a big Playstation fan, but I do enjoy the competition to keep other companies at their best. With their recent struggles, a large part of Sony's future is dependant on their two big new things, the PS3 and Blu-Ray. Blu-Ray is already starting a downward spiral and the PS3 isn't looking amazing.

[DBX00 @ Sep 26th 2006 2:33PM]

Producing a single DVD, CD, or Blu-Ray disc is relatively cheap at a no more than $1 for each. The increased expensive comes with licensing fees (Sony doesn't have to pay a license fee for using the Blu-Ray technology or creating a PS3 game). Therefore, they only have to cover the cost of production and with the price of $59.99 they are fully covered and making a profit. Remember, first party games used to cost $10 less than third party games because of licensing fees, now they are the same price and Sony still doesn't have to pay those fees. They are making up the losses on hardware by pricing software at third party levels. As long as you push consoles out the door and the hardware has a reasonable lifecycle you make it all up with software sales and licensing fees.

[Brian @ Sep 26th 2006 2:30PM]

I think I paid about $70 for Dragon Warrior IV at Toys 'R Us in 1993. In current dollars that would be more than $92 today. I'm so tired of people complaining about game prices, when in actuality they've gotten much cheaper.

[CharlieX @ Sep 26th 2006 2:31PM]

Isn't their BD drive also DVD compatible? I really doubt there will be many games that need more than 8GB.

[Matt @ Sep 26th 2006 2:34PM]

Hey Andy, who said the launch titles are on BDs rather than old DVD? After all, most launch titles are going to be ports of 360 titles, which are all on DVD. Even if the games really are 1080p, a standard DVD should do the job for most launch titles.

At any rate, Sony would have been committing suicide by not pricing at or near Microsoft's price point. After all, few third-party developpers would invest the time and effort in PS3 titles because most customers would simply buy the 360 version.

BTW, the higher Japanese price probably includes VAT, which is a sales tax popular outside of the U.S.

[DBX00 @ Sep 26th 2006 2:38PM]

I believe Sony stated that all games will be on Blu-Ray discs, which coincides with their piracy strategy and the current pictures released for the launch titles. Also, after TGS it is clear that the majority of the launch titles aren't simple ports of XBOX360 games. Although, most of the EA games are ports of franchise games.

[Andy @ Sep 26th 2006 2:45PM]

You make a very good point. I hadn't even considered the fact that they may use DVDs for a while. If so then they would have no reason at all not to be at the same price point.

And in reply to DBX00, you're right, licensing fees are the larger expense, however there is still a little more expense in producing BDROMs while they are new just from factory costs.

Hopefully it's nothing that they can't make up for in the cost, and keeping the cost down will probably cause people to buy more games thus giving even more income and it probably wont be an issue. I'm just really worried that they are going to drop the ball somehow. I mean, I know that I for one am definitely not going to buy a PS3 due to the price, and I don't know any friends who are going to. It's going to be a slow start for them but hopefully they can get production prices down fast and get a price drop to make it anywhere near comparable to the price of other systems.

[DBX00 @ Sep 26th 2006 2:53PM]

1) It's a $500 console
2) Early adopters (people who purchase at launch) typically don't have the same disposable income as normal consumers. What's more important is how quickly can Sony drop the price of the system. If they've already dropped the price in Japan it leads me to believe that a successful launch and continued sales will create the production efficiency to drop the price faster than normal. Consider that Sony has THREE new high cost components (CPU, GPU, BluRay) in the console instead of your typical TWO (CPU and GPU). Blu-Ray production efficiency will benefit from the sales to multiple channels, so that could drive the cost down faster than historically. Sony has also developed their own CPU which means that they have more control on that production and it's being sold through multiple channels as well. In addition, the delay of the products means could further help the cause.

Therefore, we could see a $100 discount within a year of launch, simply from Blu-Ray becoming a standard component and additional savings from other components. The price in Japan is once again a sign of the fact that Sony could theoretically sell this product for less, but will try to price it according to the current market and leave room for flexibility.

[Rivendale @ Sep 26th 2006 2:52PM]

I wouldn't pay $40 for the crappy rehashes of games that are going to be on the PS3, much less $60...

[Gamey McGee @ Sep 26th 2006 5:03PM]

Dude, DVD was "new" when the PS2 came out. While there's no way to rationalize the price difference between a PS2 and PS3, you can certainly see that with inflation it's not a lot different.

People forget that VHS was the medium-du-jour when the PS2 came out. The PS2 helped progress DVD as the dominant medium for movie rentals. Blu-Ray will be no different.

[Sean DL @ Sep 26th 2006 2:55PM]

Yeah, I remember paying $60-65 Dollars for Nintendo 64 games. After that system died, I looked back and it pain me to see how many good games I missed out on because of the prices. Like Conker: Bad Fur Day.

From that point, I said I'd never pay for a game again if it's over 50.


And I'm going to stick with this promise. When the PSOne came out prices were at a all time low in gaming(outside of the Game Boy) at 39.99. The Dreamcast stuck with that, but the PS2 with it's DVD added, 10 dollars, no problem.

Now were inching back up again towards 60 bucks, and it's not even about the technology, it's about them wanted to make money.

Speacilly the Third Party companies, after all DVD space cost alot of money to fill with pretty graphics, and they want to make sure they get it back on return since maybe 1 million out of the 20 million base will buy that game.

And that's the true reason why 70-90 dollar games are not out of the question for the PS3/360.

[DBX00 @ Sep 26th 2006 3:11PM]

The thing about game prices these days:
1) You can get them on sale from a number of places
2) They typically decline as the console matures and penetrates the market
3) Developers can find creative ways to generate income AFTER the initial sale (Gran Turismo HD, Oblivion, WoW, etc.). They are even exploring bringing real time advertising to the games played online and advertising to single player campaigns (expect that for the next GTA as well as other games based in reality). If these revenue sources pan out over time you will probably see creative pricing with more microtransactions or lower game prices.

4) Next generation games do typically require higher production costs because you don't have the graphic engines built, inexperience developers, and etc. It doesn't necessarily have to be the fact that the game is developed in 1080p. Once you develop the appropriate engines, you will be able to throw a world together pretty quickly and spend time tweaking the system. You'll probably see more and more small developers licensing the game engines and incorporating it into their game instead starting from scratch.

In conclusion, when a new system comes out everyone will always complain how production costs are sky high and system prices suck, but at the end of the day we'll either pay for it today or wait until the price drops to the point where it makes sense for us to buy. How do you think so many people still buy the PS2? Everyone has a point in the cycle where the purchase makes sense and until your time comes you'll think the console is overpriced.

[Dan @ Sep 26th 2006 2:57PM]

I would like to reiterate that ALL PS3 games will be on Blu-Ray discs. There will be no DVD PS3 games.

According to http://ps3.ign.com/articles/696/696057p1.html

"As it turns out, all PlayStation 3 games will ship on Blu-ray to help prevent piracy. In other words, no "cheap" DVD releases.. Of course, the system will still play PS2 and movies on DVD."

[James @ Sep 26th 2006 3:02PM]

Sony,

How about matching Microsoft's pricing for 1st party games at $49.99 instead of $59.99 for all other games?

[James @ Sep 26th 2006 3:05PM]

Agreed.... most people dont even think about that.

[Gamey McGee @ Sep 26th 2006 5:05PM]

Microsoft,

How about having a greatest hits selection of games at $20 like Sony? In 6 to 9 months you will see nearly all the launch titles at that price.

[James @ Sep 26th 2006 3:26PM]

This console will be the first time since dreamcast came out that i dont get a system in the launch window. I can't bring myself to pay $600 for a system, and that doesn't include tax, 1 or 2 games, a controller, and the retailers warranty (after getting screwed over by "manufatured warranties" so many times this is a must for me). I see this thing costing me about $850. When the 360 cost me just over $600 for all that, that's a big freakin difference, and i'd rather not have Blue-ray, HDMI, 60gb HD and a cell processor if it'll knock $200 off the price.

[Steve R @ Sep 26th 2006 3:32PM]

This is kind of off topic but i just noticed that the lettering Sony uses to spell playstation is the same lettering that the spiderman movies use

[Kevin @ Sep 26th 2006 3:36PM]

Welcome to 2006. Captain obivious has been waiting for you.

[Jankylicious @ Sep 26th 2006 3:37PM]

I have not paid more than $30 on any game in years. I buy all my games previously owned. or i wait a few months down the road. No game is worth paying $5o today that i can pay $19.99 for within a few months.

... ok im lying. im sure there is some game out there that is.. ive just not seen it.

[Jeff @ Sep 26th 2006 3:41PM]

"Remember how a few years ago, movie tickets were $3 cheaper?"

And remember when people used to actually go to the movies?

[Tachion @ Sep 26th 2006 3:59PM]

As anti-PS3 as I am, people need to keep in mind that N64 games were at LEAST $60 when the system first came out, with many being closer to $70-$75.

In other words, this price isn't that ridiculous for next gen games.

[Brian Sexton @ Sep 26th 2006 4:03PM]

Then that makes two new consoles with games that are ridiculously overpriced when compared to computer (Windows and even Mac OS and GNU/Linux) games.

[Matt @ Sep 26th 2006 5:03PM]

DBX00, you make some interesting points especially number 4, which explains why Gran Turismo and Full Auto are launch titles. Last year, a large number of the 360s launch titles were sports franchises and racing games. The few games that weren't, were deemed too short by most gamers. However, looking back on launch periods, most initial titles are simple games because developers are spending most of their time developing new engines.

However, your fourth point also explains why most third-party PS3 titles will simply be Xbox 360 ports much like most 360 launch titles were either Xbox or PC ports. I have a friend at Activision, whose made it clear that all development for the time being is centered around 360 games. The strategy will be revisited in 2007 after the launch period for the PS3 ends. If the PS3 jumps to a lead, then Activision, and likely other developers, will go back to the old practice of developing for the Sony console first, and porting everything to the Xbox.

[The1 @ Sep 26th 2006 5:09PM]

They need more games.

[tbone @ Sep 26th 2006 5:23PM]

Game prices are important up to a point...lately I have been placing a pretty heavy emphasis on renting games first to make sure I like them..of course there are exceptions like GTA where renting and price are out the window...$60 and up does start to get rather expensive, but could be deemed worthy if you know you really like the game.

[en @ Sep 26th 2006 5:39PM]

Microsoft does have "greatest hits", they're called "platinum hits" or something like that. Look at Mech Assault for example.

[Ben Hobbs @ Sep 26th 2006 5:44PM]

"Remember how a few years ago, movie tickets were $3 cheaper? It's called inflation, and it's just like the "I could get a 3 course meal and a night out on the town for $5 in 1952!". Welcome to reality. We earn more money, things get more expensive."

Doesn't really work for electronics or software though. How much did your PC you typed that out on cost you? It would have been double that 4 years ago for something half as powerful.

Even a Blu-Ray disc is cheaper to produce than a tape, I remember games being $8.99 on tape some 15-20 years ago... even with inflation thats only $30 or so a game, then you have to take into account the fact that tapes were that much more expensive to manufacture.

[Sam Irving @ Sep 26th 2006 6:04PM]

Dont worry about it americans.

Do you know how much brits have to pay for a xbox 360 game...new or not?

�50...I'll go ahead and convert that for you...$95.

That price would be why i sold my 360 and bought a DS-lite.

Lets just hope wii games will be cheap (which we all know they will)

[jeff @ Sep 26th 2006 6:35PM]

If Sony doesn't create some kind of quality guidelines for their boxart, they're really gonna be sunk. :P

[Kyle @ Sep 26th 2006 6:37PM]

Selling overpriced games was considered by most to be the main way that Sony would make up for all that money it will lose from selling the PS3. They are screwed now.

[shirizaki @ Sep 26th 2006 6:43PM]

1998 and the N64 called, they want their prices back.

[Steve @ Sep 26th 2006 8:30PM]

Some people are never happy......

I'll be there day 1 to get a PS3

[Peter @ Sep 26th 2006 9:18PM]

$60 dollar games will stop me buying either the 360 or ps3. $40 is the sweet spot. Its pure greed and gouging by the game companies. If the game is good and sells $40 will make them a hefty profit.

[Sudixp @ Sep 27th 2006 12:30AM]

this is probably because of the price drop in japan... they lower the price of the game here and keep the price high for the console because on average people here get payed more. whereas in japan, they lowered he price of the console and skyrocketed game prices thinkig that once people see the games, they "will want to buy them."... sure...

[Ryan @ Sep 27th 2006 7:34AM]

Lets not forget most Microsoft 1st party games are $49.99. The only exception I know of is the MS published, Epic developed Gears of War which will be $59.99. All other MS published games have been $49.99.

MS does already have a platinum hits program. In fact it being implented into the 360 library now. I believe Kameo, PDZ, and PGR3 are all in line for this drop. I can not remember exactly what the price will be. It is not $19.99 though. I'm at work and can not look into this on account of many websites being blocked.

As for the arguement that all PS3 games are on Blu Ray, so the $59.99 price is even more justified. I call BS. You can go to Amazon and buy a Blu Ray movie for about $20. Which is roughly the same price as a DVD after it's first week in release. PLus this is an excuse, no more. There are way to many excuses being made for Sony at this point. They deserve no leway right now, they are so aragant they assume they could throw a turd in a box and it will sell.

I hope they do ok, but they need to lose the lead this gen, maybe then they will wake up and start listening to feedback, and even get in touch with their audience.

[Fusionflows @ Sep 30th 2006 3:27AM]

I work at an EB Games/Gamespot (i hate gamespot..) and honestly I have no problem paying 59.99 a game for sony since in my opinion i'm getting a good deal on the console. If you think about it the $600 dollar price tag is justifiable for competetive reasons with the xbox360. Both are great systems, but the ps3 just comes with the things you need right out of the box.

Now its unfortunate that many are tricked by microsofts sly marketing skills (i'm impressed too actually because its really working for them). They sell the system for $400 saying its $200 dollars cheaper then the upcoming ps3, but secretely make the user have to go out and purchase NEEDED equipment.

For example: It costs $400 for the premium xbox 360, but your then forced to pay $11.99 for the control charger pack, $29.99 for the kit, $100.00 for the wireless network adaptor, and then the worst hit of them all the HD DVD drive for $200.00 ultimately adding up to a $941.98 pricetag (give or take a couple pennies).

Now the PS3 "premium" on the other hand is by no means "cheap"(hell no), but it does happen to include wifi, a hard drive 3 times the size of the pro xbox360 (each 20gb hard drive for the 360 is about 99.99), a blue tooth/wireless controller but with a charger, and the already larger then dual layered blue ray player right out of the box. Its also nice that it plays all past sony titles (ps2 games) and its cool "tivo like functionalities", but then again it does weigh 11 pounds...(heavier then the xbox 1 and xbox360). Makes me kind of wonder if they just stuck the entire ps2 into the new box and added some more stuff haha. But anyways, please dont judge which system you are going to get if you havent bought one already because in reality both systems ultimately cost about the same price when you look at it closely.

Just get the system you want from a selection of games and just for fun heres some examples
-------
XBOX360
-------
Gears of War
Upcoming Halo games
Lost Planet
OBlivian
Test Drive Unlimited
Project Gotham Series
Dead Rising (supposedly being ported to ps3)
Saints Row
Ninety Nine Nights
Chromehounds
Kameo (hmm maybe shouldnt have mentioned that one.. well it had style)
----
PS3
----
Resistance Fall of Man
Lair
Metal Gear Solid 4
Ridge Racer 7
Oblivian
Vision Gran Turismo
Tekken 6
Virtua Fighter 5
Devil May Cry 4
Resident Evil 5
Ninja Gaiden Sigma
Final Fantasy 13


Well that is only a small list of games in a larger library, but i tried to label the big hitters that i've been currently hearing of from customers and so on. Well with these systems and games coming out its going to be a sucky ass christmas to work at a place like EB games...... *sniff