Every week, McClatchy News Service sends us a list of the top 10 renting and selling games at Blockbuster. I almost never look at these. Well, this week I did, and something jumped out at me right away.
The top 10 renting titles, according to Blockbuster, follow. For the sake of a point I’m going to make down the line, I’ve added the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for each game.
1. “Call of Duty: World at War,” Xbox 360, $60
2. “Fallout 3,” Xbox 360, $60
3. “Gears of War 2,” Xbox 360, $60
4. “Call of Duty: World at War 2,” Xbox 360, $60? (There is no such game; more on that in a minute.)
5. “Saints Row 2,” Xbox 360, $60
6. “Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe,” Xbox 360, $60
7. “Far Cry 2,” Xbox 360, $40
8. “Afro Samurai,” Xbox 360, $60
9. “Fable II,” Xbox 360, $60
10. “Grand Theft Auto IV,” Xbox 360, $40
With the possible exception of the fourth game on the list, which doesn’t exist and could be either the Wii or PS3 version of “Call of Duty: World at War” or the Xbox 360’s “Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat,” all these games are for the Xbox 360. Nearly all of them cost $60.
Now, let’s look at the top 10 selling titles:
1. “Mario Kart,” Wii, $50, includes steering wheel
2. “Wii Fit,” Wii, $90, includes balance board
3. “Super Mario Galaxy,” Wii, $50
4. “Army of Two,” Xbox 360, $30
5. “Army of Two,” PlayStation 3, $30
6. “Imagine: Babyz,” Nintendo DS, $30
7. “Mario Party DS,” DS, $30
8. “Grand Theft Auto IV,” Xbox 360, $40
9. “Dark Sector,” Xbox 360, $20
10. “New Super Mario Bros.,” DS, $35
The only game on this list that costs more than $50 is “Wii Fit,” an outlier because of its bundled accessory and an insane popularity that causes it to sell out shortly after stores stock it. (Sunday was the first time I’ve ever even seen the game on a store shelf.)
Granted, Blockbuster only recently started selling video games, and you certainly can’t extrapolate sales there to the rest of the industry, the way you might try to do with, say, GameStop, Wal-Mart or Best Buy. But you’ve at least got to look at this and ask yourself how much the $60 price point is tamping down sales of games on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. People clearly want to play the Xbox 360’s $60 games, but they’re not buying them, at least not at Blockbuster.
Before this console generation began, Microsoft led the charge toward $60 games by upping the license fee it charges companies who wish to put games out for the Xbox 360. Sony followed suit when the PS3 launched, while Nintendo has kept prices for new Wii games at $50 or lower. More recently, Microsoft has expressed a willingness to experiment with budget pricing on its own, non-megahit titles. “Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts” and “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise,” both great family games, debuted at $40, for example.
Other publishers have been quicker to experiment with cheaper pricing, too. For proof, you need look no further than the rental list and “Far Cry 2.” The game debuted in late October to great reviews at $60, sold poorly and had its price cut in January. With video game industry financial analysts starting to openly question the wisdom of charging $60 for new games during a recession, we might be moving toward a future in which only the surefire hits in proven franchises — “Grand Theft Auto,” “Halo,” “God of War” and the like — debut at $60. Let’s hope.