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[Wario64]

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/09/23/news_6108303.html

When Sega and Take-Two first announced ESPN NFL 2K5 would sell for just $19.99, Electronic Arts scoffed at the idea. "Sounds like they're throwing in the towel," Jeff Brown, Electronic Arts' vice president of corporate communications, told the San Jose Mercury News in July. "They're signaling to consumers, retailers, and the NFL that they are no longer selling a premium product." Similar noises were made when ESPN NBA 2K5 and ESPN NHL 2K5 were also discounted to $19.99.

Two months later, Electronic Arts is singing a different tune. Speaking today to an assembly of analysts and traders at the BancAmerica Securities 34th Annual Investment Conference in San Francisco, EA CFO Warren Jensen announced a two-pronged attack to counter ESPN's pricing strategy.

First, Jensen revealed that NBA Live 2005's sticker price would be cut $10 to just $39.99, a $10 drop from EA Sports' games standard $49.99 price point. Secondly, Jensen announced that EA is launching an across-the-board, 3-for-2 promotion for all EA Sports titles. Starting next week, purchasers of any two EA Sports titles will be able to pick up a third free.

Despite the discount announcements, the EA CFO was eager to point out that EA Sports titles are selling very well at full price. "Through Sept 18, 2.4 million units of Madden sold worldwide," said Jensen, "and the $60 [PlayStation 2] Collector's Edition is virtually sold out." He also emphasized the enduring strength of all the EA Sports franchises, which are bestsellers year after year.

However, just in case anyone doubted that EA would not be competitive in Q4--worries exhibited in yesterday's $1.29 drop in the company's stock price--Jensen threw down the gauntlet. "There will be battles this holiday season," he said, "and we're going to be ready."

 

[Ristamar]

Sweet. I'm starting not to mind the lack of ESPN titles on the 'Cube, as long as the benefits of this competition are continually reaped across all platforms.

 

[DMczaf]

Sweet. I'm starting not to mind the lack of ESPN titles on the 'Cube, as long as the benefits of this competition are continually reaped across all platforms.

This better include madden buyers from August. Ill get Tiger Woods 2005 for free after I get NBA Live then!

 

[PhatSaqs]

Sweet. Too bad I have all of the EA sports titles im buying for the rest of the year (Madden, NCAA).

 

[Ristamar]

This better include madden buyers from August. Ill get Tiger Woods 2005 for free after I get NBA Live then!

Damn, I didn't think about that. That would rock. I wouldn't hold your breath, though.

 

[sohka88]

I don't think this is out of fear at all.

 

[Jesiatha]

Awesome - I really hope that within a few years all new games release at $20. I think revenue would not decrease (and may go up), more niche titles could survive, and the entire market would grow.

 

[open_mouth_]

Awesome - I really hope that within a few years all new games release at $20. I think revenue would not decrease (and may go up), more niche titles could survive, and the entire market would grow.

I think the sweet spot would be $40 or possibly $30/$20 for lower "quality" games. $50 for only the cream of the crop (GTA, Halo, etc.)

 

[robot]

What about the titles in the "BIG" series? They technically are EA Sports titles (Nba Street, Def Jam, SSX).

 

[PhatSaqs]

I wonder if this promotion will last long enough to combine it with the upcoming TRU deal....

 

[Ristamar]

What about the titles in the "BIG" series? They technically are EA Sports titles (Nba Street, Def Jam, SSX).

Afraid not. EA divides there games into 3 categories: EA Games, EA Sports, and EA BIG. Also, none of the EA BIG titles are priced at $40 on their website, thus they wouldn't logically apply in this promotion since they didn't even qualify for the $10 price drop on EA Sports titles.

 

[Meier]

I already bought Madden and NCAA

 

[Cloudy]

Yup, no fear at all!

 

[Jesiatha]

I think the sweet spot would be $40 or possibly $30/$20 for lower "quality" games. $50 for only the cream of the crop (GTA, Halo, etc.)

I'm not convinced that $40 is any better than $50. Fry's usually sells new games around the $40 price point, and I have yet to go buy a title that I would not have bought at $50.

On the other hand, I bought both ESPN NFL and NHL this year, and I would definitely have not done so for $50. I would buy a ton more games at $20.

And while I'm sure AAA titles will continue to demand a $50 price point, I hope they will go down eventually. Top box office movies don't sell on DVD for $50, but gamers are used to much higher prices.

 

[Cloudy]

I agree. At $20, I would buy pretty much any game that looks even a bit interesting....

 

[Goreomedy]

So, I guess EA Sports titles are no longer "premium products"?

Good news for all gamers. Hopefully, this starts a trend of a lower software price point next gen. $50 just doesn't cut it anymore.

 

[open_mouth_]

I'm not convinced that $40 is any better than $50. Fry's usually sells new games around the $40 price point, and I have yet to go buy a title that I would not have bought at $50.

On the other hand, I bought both ESPN NFL and NHL this year, and I would definitely have not done so for $50. I would buy a ton more games at $20.

And while I'm sure AAA titles will continue to demand a $50 price point, I hope they will go down eventually. Top box office movies don't sell on DVD for $50, but gamers are used to much higher prices.

It's sooo hard for publishers to be willing to sell games for $20 or $30 when they know very well that they'd be putting lots of money on the table from those people who would certainly buy the game at the $50 price point (e.g. Madden 2005). I guess with NBA Live 2005, EA saw that fewer people would be willing to pay that extra $10 so they knew it'd be worthwhile to drop to $40. They've no doubt have run lots of calculations and made lots of estimates before they went with the price drop.

 

[Fifty]

What about the titles in the "BIG" series? They technically are EA Sports titles (Nba Street, Def Jam, SSX).

Even if they did do that.....Def Jam is not a BIG game. It's an EA Games...game.

This sounds like a cool deal. It's going to be for the undecided casual fans most likely...A ton of people already have Madden. I'm buying Live...but that leaves me with two other games to pick from; NASCAR and Tiger Woods. Neither game is interesting. Buying Madden and Live, with Tiger Woods free is the ideal way to take advantage of this offer for most people, I'd imagine.

 

[Ristamar]

No, he's right. Def Jam is an EA BIG game.

http://www.easportsbig.com/home/home.jsp

EDIT: Oh shit. Me = PWN3D. The original is EA BIG, the sequel is not. Nevermind.

 

[Fifty]

Heh...It only shows Def Jam Vendetta on that page, and I assume we're talking about the current game: Def Jam Fight for NY. It shows the "EA Games" logo on the front of DJ:FFNY's box and it's not listed on the Big website.

 

[Jesiatha]

It's sooo hard for publishers to be willing to sell games for $20 or $30 when they know very well that they'd be putting lots of money on the table from those people who would certainly buy the game at the $50 price point (e.g. Madden 2005). I guess with NBA Live 2005, EA saw that fewer people would be willing to pay that extra $10 so they knew it'd be worthwhile to drop to $40. They've no doubt have run lots of calculations and made lots of estimates before they went with the price drop.

Just as movie publishers are leaving a lot of money on the table from people who would buy a DVD at $50. Maybe the answer is to do a "special edition" or the game with a bonus DVD or action figures or whatever.

I'm sure EA knows what they're doing, I just think $20 is a huge win psychologically compared to $40 (at least to me).

 

[Guileless]

Viva competition!

This is great and all, but it doesn't change the fact that EA should pay me $50 for the videogame abortion that is NCAA Football 2005.

 

[Ramirez]

How would they know that you already bought Madden though?You'll prolly have to get all 3 in one visit I'd live to get Live,then get NCAA for free

 

[Mrbob]

How would they know that you already bought Madden though?You'll prolly have to get all 3 in one visit I'd live to get Live,then get NCAA for free

Send in the UPC for two games, get the third free via mail?

 

[open_mouth_]

Just as movie publishers are leaving a lot of money on the table from people who would buy a DVD at $50. Maybe the answer is to do a "special edition" or the game with a bonus DVD or action figures or whatever.

I'm sure EA knows what they're doing, I just think $20 is a huge win psychologically compared to $40 (at least to me).

True, but you (nor I) represent the mass market out there and that's all the big publishers really care about. As long as there are 100k+ people out there willing to pay $50 or close to it, these companies won't think about dropping their prices, imo. As EA believes, it's about keeping the perceived value as high as possible... Music's perceived value has dropped from ~$15 to ~11 per album and DVD's seem to have dropped from ~$26 to ~$20 and games will hopefully go from ~$50 to ~$40 or at least become more representative of their true values to the majority of gamers out there.

 

[Raw64life]

Haha. When I clicked on that link right under it was a flash ad for ESPN NBA 2k5.

 

[Jonnyboy117]

I don't think this is out of fear at all.

Competition makes everyone work more efficiently. EA wouldn't be doing this at all unless they felt it gave them a competitive edge. "Fear" probably isn't the best word, but they are looking to cement their lead over Sega.

 

[Phoenix]

And so it begins - competition between players begins to drive down the cost of games, while the cost to develop them continues to skyrocket.

And lo did they bring upon the great starvation by gradually reducing their food supply...

but I'll enjoy it while it lasts

 

[DJ Demon J]

Wow, Sega actually made EA flinch!

 

[cvxfreak]

The more money EA doesn't gain, the better. C'mon Sega!

 

[Dave Long]

I've got no reason to buy EA's games this year. I've already got NHL 2K5, the top hockey game and NFL 2K5, the top football game depending on your preference. EA cannot convince me to buy NBA Live, FIFA or any of the others by offering the 3 for 2 because I've got neither the time or the interest in them.

They SHOULD be scared. Sega's games are better or nearly as good where they compete. The price has obviously gotten some folks to play these games that weren't interested before because the evil they knew was better than the one they didn't. Now they've been able to compare and found out that the Emperor's wasn't as well dressed as they thought. That's awesome IMO.

 

[Ramirez]

LMAO,EA has NOTHING to be afraid of,real fans of football still know Madden is the best this year,sure the 20 dollar price tag got more people buying ESPN,but it actually made some people want Madden more after they played it for a short while and realized how buggy it was,bleh.

Hockey I guess Sega wins,but I don't think Hockey is a big enough seller to give a damn about.

 

[MASB]

I don't think this is out of fear at all.

Don't be a hater!! Let the Sega fans live under the delusion. They haven't read articles like this about Sega/Sega games in almost a decade.

 

[DCX]

I wonder if this promotion will last long enough to combine it with the upcoming TRU deal....

That would be great, but i'm sure TRU deal would void it or something.

DCX

 

[Shinobi]

So, I guess EA Sports titles are no longer "premium products"?

:lol

Fear is too strong a word, but anyone who doesn't think this isn't in reaction to Sega's price move has their head up Bing Gordon's ass.

 

[FightyF]

What's funny was at my BB the employee's discounted price for EA's NHL 2005 was $25 Cdn ($16 US I'm guessing?)) due to a glitch, and only a few people picked it up. A testament to how crappy EA's hockey game is. The few guys who bought it were looking selling them on Ebay unopened too.

 

[BlackClouds]

Nice to hear this news...EA flinching. Thought EA's lead was cemented before...things change. As for hockey, a win is a win, and Sega needs all the wins they can get. I'd be surprised if nba 2k5 outsold live. That will be the most interesting uh...battle. I'm looking for Sega to reverse the momentum of Live over 2k at the very least.

 

[DarienA]

I'm curious... if you don't respond to a competitor you're called stupid for not paying attention. If you do respond to a competitor you're called flinching or scared...

When is it just smart business sense to respond to a competitor? In this case you're only competitor?

 

[open_mouth_]

When is it just smart business sense to respond to a competitor? In this case you're only competitor?

When you're competitor has got you buy the balls and won't let go.

 

[PhatSaqs]

When is it just smart business sense to respond to a competitor? In this case you're only competitor?

When its not posted at GA

 

[BlackClouds]

Who's calling EA stupid? Nobody is. EA is doing what they have to do (or were forced to do, take your pick). It's very smart to try to kill Sega's momentum now instead of waiting till next year, which would be too late. What I like about Sega's moves is that there was really nothing EA could do about it, but hope and pray that Sega's games had no fanbase...and we all know that isn't true. Just that before, Sega was just the stiff competition for EA that nobody played (nobody cares about 2nd place).

 

[Lazy8s]

I don't believe price drops on their titles at this point can help EA get back their lost share since it won't be seen as an original product selling point as it was for SEGA's line. The 'Buy 2, Get 1' promotion is a very crafty move, however, as it directly brings to the consumer's attention the consideration for buying more EA Sports product than they might've planned.

 

[DarienA]

an update on the 2 for 1 deal:

Subsequent information provided by EA to GameSpot outlined the deal. "Consumers who buy two new EA Sports titles between September 27 and November 14 can get a coupon online for a third free game," said a representative for the company, who said details would be forthcoming on the official EA Web site. The EA rep confirmed the online coupon would be good for any and every EA sports title. "The promotion aligns with the holiday and the launch of a lot of our most popular franchises," said the rep. "It also shows our competitors that we're playing to win in every category."

 

[PhatSaqs]

online coupon?

Boo...

 

[shpankey]

EA has been doing buy 2 get 1 free deals for over a decade now... this is no surprise. I remember these EA buy 2 get 1 free deals back on the SEGA Genesis (I shit you not). This is absolutely not a "response" to anything. EA has done this exact deal for a long time.

 

[alejob]

So I could get Madden(at frys/outpost) for $35, Live for $40 and get NCAA Football for free?

Or will they make you pay for the pricey ones?

 

[Fifty]

Don't buy NCAA. I LOVED the series, but this version STINKS.

 

[Ramirez]

Yea seriously,pass on NCAA.

 

[DMczaf]

http://www.easports.com/buy2.jsp

Link doesnt work though

 

[DJ_Tet]

Yea seriously,pass on NCAA.

What a dog that game was. Got me $38 on trade-in for Madden, that's the best thing I can say about that game. Do yourself a favor and pick up NCAA 2004 used if you must have a college football game.

It's a shame, cause Home Field Advantage creates an awesome atmosphere for the game, and the crowd is the best crowd in a sports game ever, but the game is broken, with or without sliders.

In my second game ever, on Heisman level, I held Virginia Tech to three points with DUKE! Things didn't get better from there, I couldn't even finish one season before I stopped playing.