Game prices dropping so soon after release?

[three3-times]

I am noticing more and more that new games, even AAA games, lower at least by a £10 within 6 weeks of being released?!

I now no longer buy games on release day now as i KNOW I can get it for £10 or £15 cheaper in a month brand new.

Question is, why the fuck is this happening and how can the retailers justify such a big prices cut so soon?! (not that im complaining)

I just brought mass effect 3 and sf x tekken for a combined price of £45 brand new!

[Beast of Bourbon]

Hmm i don't know why but gameprices really seem to drop much sooner this gen.
I usually don't buy "used" games because i can get most "old" games for a 10er brand new.

[Suley]

From the 2 examples mentioned, one of those games is shit(Street Fighter X Tekken) and so lead to very poor sales. Therefore, many retailers are issuing a price drop in order to increase sales. Also, the game itself had little advertisement and received disapproval from critics thus low sales.
Whilst, Mass Effect 3 was apparently controversial which in some cases can garner greater interest in the game however, the controversy portrayed the game in a negative light. So the price was reduced in order to gain sales from those who were on the fence and lure them into purchasing.
On the other hand, there are still many games which maintain their initial price for very long periods of time such as Uncharted 3, Call of Duty series, because they're generally received as being brilliant games so sales remain high and steady.

[DarkVincent07]

Could it be anything to do with this generation winding down?

I've noticed drastic price changes for Australia too games going down very quickly

[R3D D3V!L]

Vita games aren't. That's of course because it's a new platform.

[DreDayDetox]

Still could be cheaper by like $30.

[*goo]

Drop in sales numbers + competition = Reduction in price.

I rarely buy any game priced at more than £17.99 now. Prices are getting so low in some instances that I won't even buy at the £17.99 price point, I'll wait until it's below £14.99 Lol.

[Nitey]

Drop in sales numbers + competition = Reduction in price.

I rarely buy any game priced at more than £17.99 now. Prices are getting so low in some instances that I won't even buy at the £17.99 price point, I'll wait until it's below £14.99 Lol.

Same. Only a few occasions I actually buy a game as soon as they're released. A few come to mind, such as Uncharted 3, Gears 3, and Modern Warfare 3

[Noxia]

Unless you really want a game on release then I think it's foolish to buy them at full price. I rarely pay more than £20.

[itachi73378]

I've been waiting for like 5-6 moths for Arkham City, Uncharted 3 and skyrim to drop in price, but they haven't.
So its all down to popularity and critical acclaim

The maximum I have ever paid for a game is $40

[Nitey]

Waiting for Batman, too. Sometimes I have to wait quite long like I did for Infamous2. Or just before it hits 'platinum', I'd rather pay a few quid extra for the non-ugly platinum version

[emmerich]

I got Skyrim for £20 not long after it released. I only ever buy games I really want though and I tend to buy them on release day for full price.

[radgamer420]

I am noticing more and more that new games, even AAA games, lower at least by a £10 within 6 weeks of being released?! I now no longer buy games on release day now as i KNOW I can get it for £10 or £15 cheaper in a month brand new. Question is, why the fuck is this happening and how can the retailers justify such a big prices cut so soon?! (not that im complaining) I just brought mass effect 3 and sf x tekken for a combined price of £45 brand new!

I noticed that here too. I'll just rent games now until the eventual price drop.

[itachi73378]

Waiting for Batman, too. Sometimes I have to wait quite long like I did for Infamous2. Or just before it hits 'platinum', I'd rather pay a few quid extra for the non-ugly platinum version

Same, however there was a sale once where infamous 2 dropped from $60 to $30 for 4 days. Arkham City was $40 on that sale. I wanted to get it but I went for infamous 2. After the sale Arkham city went back up to $60 but infamous 2 stayed at $40
I was like:

[TAZ427]

Unless you really want a game on release then I think it's foolish to buy them at full price. I rarely pay more than £20.

Agreed. There's a few games that I'll pick up at release because I've got a real thing for them (Assassin's Creed and Uncharted are two series that I've picked up at release every time starting w/ the 2nd one in the series) other games I know I want but I'll wait until I can pick them up for 1/2 the original price or lower (all Lego games for example) I'd say I spend on average about $35 per game (Some full price, some $20-$30.)

That said, it really depends on the games reception and who the maker is on how quickly the price will drop. A good example is the games made by Sony tend to take a long time before they drop, and they can be at a couple million copies sold and still wait almost 2yrs before the make the 'Greatest Hits' list for the forced 1/2 price. While a mediocre game hits 1/2 million sold, and makes it on the list in under 1yr.

[Kuro]

I haven't bought a game recently on release date but I've noticed that too have no complaints on that lol usually wait 6-7 months anyways cuz I usually have a couple of backlog games I haven't played

[itachi73378]

And now most people get annoyed when they buy the game on launch and then have to wait for patches anyway.

[1solidsnake]

i noticed when reckoning came out walmart dropped skyrimm down to 39.00 maybe there doing it because similar games. but maybe the retailers just think ,people will buy it if its cheaper.

[Versus]

I think critical acclaim is what got FFXIII-2. Lately I've been hearing that it's drop like half the original price! People didn't really care for the game that much so I think a price drop tends to sneak in at some spots.

[rbrtchng]

Publisher realizes that with the reduced buying power of the consumer $60 is just too high an entry barrier for purchase. As many models have proven, some times the lower the price, the more profit just because of sheer volume.

Free to play model is based pretty heavily on this idea.

[Cloudie]

At Amazon SSX is 29.99 now a month later. Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning is 39.99. And Final Fantasy XIII-2 ( PS3) is $29.99, ( 360)28.99 just to name a few.Holding out a bit longer before I pick up a copy of SSX.

[TDbank24]

Could it be anything to do with this generation winding down?

I've noticed drastic price changes for Australia too games going down very quickly

That's the most likely answer.

I don't know though, it's always seemed like it's been like that. Depending on the game, a new game can hit the bargain bin within a couple months to a half a year.

[Fenix]

I think its weird myself, hell I got MW3 for $20 cheaper the other day cause my friend kept bugging me - Dont remember the last time a CoD game that was "new" to be below $60

[$Greatness$]

To be frank and honest, its because these games aren't worth the $60 they're so-called worth. Plain and simple. They don't offer the substance and replayability like games from back in the day. Or at least that's how I look at it. The only game I buy day one now is Call of Casual and that's because I have stupid friends and family members!

[daLa]

Probably in Europe but not in the States, they still expensive as fok lol.