EA slashes new-game prices by 20 percent

Current-gen titles including Black and The Godfather now just $39.99. Next-gen transition cited as reason for cuts.

So far, the jump to the "next-generation of gaming" has proven costly, mostly for consumers. When Microsoft announced that its Xbox 360 would come in two SKUs, a $299 and $399 model, many gamers groaned at the prospect of forking over nearly half a grand just to get started. The groaning erupted into a full roar over the weekend, as a report from Merrill Lynch states that the PlayStation 3 may cost as much as $800 when it hits retail.

Analysts went on to predict that this year's transition between console generations would be particularly harsh on all parties involved and that cuts in current-gen consoles could bring the Xbox and PlayStation 2 under the $100 barrier.

Electronics Arts, not having a console of its own to discount, is doing its part to help gamers stay entertained while they wait for their bank accounts to bloat. The company, which last month knocked as much as $20 off existing current-gen games, is now releasing new and upcoming games at lower prices, reports Reuters.

Several EA titles, including today's release of Fight Night Round 3, will now sell for $39.95, $10 less than what new titles usually fetch on the market. Other games mentioned to be sold at the new price point include two highly anticipated games in Criterion's Black and the internally produced The Godfather.

"$39 is resonating with consumers given the transition," EA vice president Jeff Brown told Reuters. "There are indications that $39 is a solid and sustainable price point."

The price for third-party-developed games for the Xbox 360, currently the only next-gen console on the market, remains at $59.99.

72 Comments

  • dr_taffin

    Posted Mar 2, 2006 4:13 am PT

    NES games cost $50 in 1987. New releases cost $50 today. I'd like anyone who cries about game pricing to walk into a car dealership and offer the salesman the 1987 price for any of the cars on the lot. I swear some people are spoiled and/or have no sense of history.

  • metalmulisha808

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 6:33 pm PT

    YAY... for us!!

  • Merl57

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 2:06 pm PT

    great something EA did well for once. But they had to suck first to get well.

  • dan1043

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 12:48 pm PT

    Finally. It took them some time but it is about time for games to be priced lower.

  • thechosenone827

    Posted Feb 26, 2006 3:01 pm PT

    hopefully they will cut 20% off 360 game prices.

  • snaretrap745

    Posted Feb 25, 2006 12:23 pm PT

    all games should be 20-30. everything's so damn expensive nowadays..

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Feb 25, 2006 2:04 am PT

    A little late but it's a great step taken. Could be even better if they do it for Xbox-360. Reducing the price won't make loss for them but the opposite!

  • bradjust45

    Posted Feb 24, 2006 8:12 pm PT

    its going to be fun YAY check me out on ebay.com and then type in bradjust45 i am GOD!

  • transCendenZ

    Posted Feb 24, 2006 4:34 pm PT

    so we're paying $20 more for better graphics? phuck that.

  • PackersRock

    Posted Feb 24, 2006 2:11 pm PT

    Maybe EA isn't so evil after all. (that was fun to say). I'm glad they're lowering prices though.

  • Dzjaansis

    Posted Feb 24, 2006 11:34 am PT

    Listen to a old fool from the old skool !

    I remember Atari 2600 games like river raid and pitfall (activision games)
    being between 80 and 110 $ !!!
    Then think that in those days life was a lot cheaper.
    So, it's all good to me

  • hundredfirst

    Posted Feb 23, 2006 2:02 pm PT

    sweeeeet i love ea games

  • soulessjay

    Posted Feb 23, 2006 1:49 pm PT

    Nice

  • Broli922

    Posted Feb 23, 2006 1:31 pm PT

    they need to start cutting prices for 360 games in the near future. $60 is alot of money for a game on 360.

  • kabloo12

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 5:37 pm PT

    Wicked!

  • NYJets12

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 12:40 pm PT

    They should lower them to $29.99.
    The cheaper they are the more people would buy them and they still make a good profit.

  • santana4064

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 9:21 am PT

    This is great!!, but why so late?? they should also do it for the 360

  • skitzocyko

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 8:17 am PT

    ABOUT TIME!!!

  • lowkey254

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 7:15 am PT

    I'm all for that. I was wondering why BLACK was only $40 when i pre-ordered it. Thanks EA.

  • regulesblade

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 6:15 am PT

    I think they need to make better games, because this slash really gives me the feeling that they aren't doing well

  • dryden555

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 5:24 am PT

    this "under-pricing" wont last long. Its just to spur sales after the somewhat disappointing sales of console games over the last holiday season.

  • chrisdojo

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 5:21 am PT

    man.....i still remember when NES games used to cost $40-$50 and sometimes even more....

  • Reetesh

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 3:36 am PT

    I think they had too much profits with the First line of games at that High Price

  • ewjim

    Posted Feb 22, 2006 12:14 am PT

    If every company follow EA - THIS would be GREAT!!!

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 11:05 pm PT

    cool

  • Zkeptik

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 10:23 pm PT

    Coming from EA? "We are doing this for you guys!"
    Coming from ME. "Whatever, if it was for us the prices would affect next-gen titles too. They predicted bad sales for the games on an older system. In order to make it a little more attractive, they drop the price. I bet the programmers didn't have anything to say about their cut of the revenue being sliced."

  • gamecockbarista

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 9:10 pm PT

    its about time

  • geaux321

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 9:03 pm PT

    It is quite nice.

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 8:32 pm PT

    That's cool. Now if only that would up the quality of their games by 80%.

  • PantsOfFury

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 8:08 pm PT

    I still say it's not nearly as good a deal as those 2k Sports games at 20 bucks...

  • abe2cool4u

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 7:45 pm PT

    finally!

  • abe2cool4u

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 7:44 pm PT

    Finally prices are starting to be reduced for games, about time!

  • Kfoss

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 7:08 pm PT

    LOVE THE CHEEPNESS!

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 6:48 pm PT

    Very good news, 2 games that I want too (Black & Godfather).

  • npkgardens

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 6:47 pm PT

    Will it apply to PC games? Will the savings apply to cheapskates like me who only buy games on ebay? Somehow, I don't think it's going to matter to me. But lower prices are a good idea, let's see if it works for them. If I could download new games for $20-30, I might actually buy one.

  • maynard420

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 6:37 pm PT

    For people who were thinking about getting Black, I hope this is great news. From all the previews and video footage I looked at this game seems awesome. Then when I heard about the demo that comes with the new issue of Xbox Magazine, I rushed to pick it up. To me the demo was an incredible teaser. The graphics were impressive, the sound was ear-shattering, and the control felt tight and responsive. This game is going to be great!

  • SnowFarmer

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 6:35 pm PT

    Wake me up when EA goes bankrupt, or starts making games that aren't full of ADs, or when they stop forcing you to either pay or get spammed to play online. The only thing I like about EA is that they don't make a sinlge game I want to play, so I have no reason to give them a single dime.

  • i_love_my_ds

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 6:35 pm PT

    hopefully this is for all their current-gen games.

  • jimbo102671

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 6:26 pm PT

    To me, this is just another ploy for EA to stay the number 1 3rd party publisher. I really haven't cared much for any of their games (not even the Madden series).

  • S7ATER

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 5:55 pm PT

    That sounds great

  • XlpranksterlX

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 5:29 pm PT

    Sounds good to me. 40 bucks fo Black. Not bad. (to be honest i would not have paid 50 bucks for that.)

  • ghostadv

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 5:19 pm PT

    Too bad neither look all the interesting.

  • rusty_ghia

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 4:31 pm PT

    No thanks. EA can keep their crap games.

  • dwoop

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 4:26 pm PT

    We finally win a round with EA on "our" side...keep it coming!!

  • VictusMaximus

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 3:19 pm PT

    Next-gen game prices are a joke if a game only lasts a few hours. Getting your money's worth = Playability + great graphics + great story + at least 20 hours of playing time. Graphics ain't enough to make me fork over $60. I can wait for the price to come down ... or else rent it.

  • Agent_023

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 2:44 pm PT

    Good news. $39.99 for a console or PC video game has always seemed just right to me.

  • mrtweed2

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 2:33 pm PT

    "Cool! Feb. 29 will be a Black Wednesday. can't wait. "

    There are only 8 days in Feb. LOL!

  • Javier

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 2:25 pm PT

    So they couldn´t sell the games even if they strapped a ham sandwich to them?

  • tankintheair315

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 1:52 pm PT

    so awsome now i can buy black nowish

  • Nick3012

    Posted Feb 21, 2006 1:45 pm PT

    I wonder will this cut make it over to europe too. New games here on current gen consoles are €55 or $65. Xbox360 games are as much as €75 or $89! We're being robbed!

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