Iwata not a fan of current video game pricing structure

Speaking at a corporate management briefing earlier this week, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata made it clear that he's not a fan of the current trend in video game software pricing. According to Iwata, the launching of a game at a set price, followed 6 to 9 months later by a price reduction, has created an "unhealthy product cycle". This cycle, according to Iwata, only serves to "aggravate the decreasing sales of new software". In other words, it seems the consumer has figured out how to wait for price decreases before buying.

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While Iwata stops short of flat out saying launch software is overpriced (although it's my belief that charging $69 for a short Xbox 360 game is not something consumers will continue to support), his suggestion is that game makers pick a price and stick with it for the long term. One would assume this price point would have to be somewhere between the launch price and the consumer-friendly sale price.


In my opinion, if this is Iwata's plan with the Wii, it's one more reason why the Wii will be quite successful.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz