I've bought two games based on the recent price cuts which I wouldn't have done had they been at normal RRP. The £29.99 price point would make me buy more games. However, one possible outcome of the price drop is the effect on Platinum sales. The price difference of only £10 doesn't make Platinums the bargain they once seemed. With a choice of Colin McRae for £20 or V-Rally 2 for £30, I chose V-Rally 2 - the extra tenner seemed worth it. With V-Rally 2 at 44.99, I would have thought very, very hard about buying it, and probably wouldn't have.

I'd like to see (as has been hinted at by Sony) a lower price for Platinum releases, say a tenner. At the moment, some Platinum releases actually cause a game's price to rise, where the original release was being sold below £20 and then rose to £20 on Platinum release. Old Platinum releases like Ridge Racer can't possibly be worth £20 when GT is also out on Platinum.

If retailers are worried about the drop in sales of PlayStation games, how about PC and N64 titles? PlayStation titles still dominate the charts.
John


In reference to John Steinbrecher's comments regarding the effect on PlayStation software sales and the perceived increase in sales following Virgin's price drop - pants! Not the most scientific comment, but look at the logic: by knocking £15 off the cost of games you're making it easier and more profitable to trade old games in. Also, parents will be more amenable spending £60 to buy two games, as opposed to £90 to keep little Johnny happy for the next six weeks (and having bought Driver and V-Rally 2 at the weekend, it will be a very busy summer for little Johnny).

No, the sad fact is that £29.99 wipes out at least 50% of a retailer's margin on software, which is why you'll always get someone bleating on about how lower costs don't affect sales.
Ky Purnell