EA Uncertain About Future of Peripherals
With "soft" sales and rising price points for peripheral-based music games, EA Games president Frank Gibeau doesn't seem entirely sold on the concept's viability in the future.
Could the honeymoon for peripheral-based games be over? While prices of peripheral packages like the exorbitantly marked Tony Hawk Ride [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93503-Activision-Unveils-DJ-Hero-Renegade-Edition] would indicate that certain companies believe there's plenty of money to be had from giant pieces of plastic, EA Games president Frank Gibeau doesn't seem to think the situation is looking too great right now.
While Gibeau said that he's "really pleased" with where EA is at, "plastic's also way down, so a lot of the music category stuff is not as robust as it's been, and it's unclear whether a lot of this peripheral activity that's happening is going to stick. USD 125, USD 115, USD 99 price points for these things - it appears to have gone soft right now in the market place."
What Gibeau doesn't see as going soft is good old fashioned standalone software that doesn't come in a huge box and weigh three pounds. "But for standalone software titles that are high quality, from us? I feel good about it," he said. "I look at our first half, our Q2, I feel good about our company, our line-up. We're not as exposed to some of those other issues - year-on-year our Q4 is going to be very dramatic in terms of the titles released."
I certainly am skeptical about the future of the concept of paying $120+ for a peripheral-based games, but I'm also fairly certain that the music game is here to stay. Maybe a little bit of temperance when it comes to setting price points for these things is all that's really needed right now.
[Via GI.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/future-is-unclear-for-music-peripherals-gibeau]]
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With "soft" sales and rising price points for peripheral-based music games, EA Games president Frank Gibeau doesn't seem entirely sold on the concept's viability in the future.
Could the honeymoon for peripheral-based games be over? While prices of peripheral packages like the exorbitantly marked Tony Hawk Ride [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93503-Activision-Unveils-DJ-Hero-Renegade-Edition] would indicate that certain companies believe there's plenty of money to be had from giant pieces of plastic, EA Games president Frank Gibeau doesn't seem to think the situation is looking too great right now.
While Gibeau said that he's "really pleased" with where EA is at, "plastic's also way down, so a lot of the music category stuff is not as robust as it's been, and it's unclear whether a lot of this peripheral activity that's happening is going to stick. USD 125, USD 115, USD 99 price points for these things - it appears to have gone soft right now in the market place."
What Gibeau doesn't see as going soft is good old fashioned standalone software that doesn't come in a huge box and weigh three pounds. "But for standalone software titles that are high quality, from us? I feel good about it," he said. "I look at our first half, our Q2, I feel good about our company, our line-up. We're not as exposed to some of those other issues - year-on-year our Q4 is going to be very dramatic in terms of the titles released."
I certainly am skeptical about the future of the concept of paying $120+ for a peripheral-based games, but I'm also fairly certain that the music game is here to stay. Maybe a little bit of temperance when it comes to setting price points for these things is all that's really needed right now.
[Via GI.biz [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/future-is-unclear-for-music-peripherals-gibeau]]
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