EA exec predicts software price cut

Ryan Jones, general manager of Electronic Arts Australia, has said that he believes the console cycle transition phase is now at an end - and that game prices are set to fall as a result.

As reported by Australian news site TheAge, Jones said, "I think it's safe to say that we're just about done with transition.

"Retail will show strong growth with the investment of GAME into the market, and it bodes well for the future having two strong specialists in the market as they tend to hold pricing and discount less to drive sales," he continued.

"On that point though, we do see next-gen pricing drifting down to AU $99 [EUR 60] by the end of the calendar year for all premium new releases." At present, full price Xbox 360 games retail for AU $120 (EUR 73) in Australia - the same price PS3 titles are expected to cost when the console launches there. Wii games sell for AU $100.

"We've had very successful next-gen launches in 360 and Wii, and with PS3 launching in March its initial success has become less significant," Jones said.

"Longer term it's hard to say who will win the console war out of the three hardware platforms but three strong platforms is certainly better than one strong, one average and one failure.

According to Jones the Nintendo DS is still enjoying strong growth, which he believes will make the handheld "a strong bet" for third-party publishers.

"We might see Nintendo's dominance on their own platforms challenged for the first time," he added.

"The challenges will be maximising the retail opportunities with so many different platforms in the market and limited growth in retail real estate in the medium term."