I catch sh*t frequently about my dislike of these plastic instrument videogames. That’s not to say that I don’t think others shouldn’t play them, though. It’s just that I don’t enjoy them, much like Nick Chester does not enjoy anything where you have to pick battle commands from a text menu. My co-workers would assume that I’d get some kind of joy in saying that music games are going down or something in the like. I’m not; I’m just letting you know that even EA is concerned about their future.
EA Games president Frank Gibeau isn’t feeling as solid about music games after seeing weak sales of Rock Band.
“…plastic’s 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,” Gibeau said in a recent interview.
He feels okay about software-only releases. It’s really the big boxes full of plastic things that he’s concerned about. Is it just that people are less willing to spend the money on these higher-priced packages? Or is it that music games have run their course? I was done with them after the first Guitar Hero. Are you still playing them? Are you still wanting more?
[via GI.biz]
