Analyst: Publishers potentially slashing $60 pricing

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http://www.joystiq.com/2009/02/03/an...ng-60-pricing/

In this day and age of economic downturn, people are holding on to their hard-earned greenbacks. For some, the $60 price tag on new gaming software is a bit too rich for their blood and – as if sensing their trepidation – Signal Hill analyst Todd Greenwald says it might be on its way out. Greenwald points to this trend using retail and publisher-supported price reductions during the past holiday season (Mirror's Edge, Madden NFL 2009) as examples of what could become stationary in 2009.

Consumers might be smugly smiling at the possibility of future software price cuts; however, such a move to counteract slowing sales would only be a brief riposte. In the long run, it would cut the industry deeply and would be "devastating for margins." That means more of this and less of that. In the end, it's a double-edged sword for both the industry and consumer alike.