Beatles: Rock Band is hitting retail on September 9, and everyone is excited. That even includes Wii owners who should be getting the game day-and-date with the release on other competing consoles, unlike Rock Band 1 and Rock Band 2.
OK, so what’s the catch? In yesterday’s announcement, MTV Games stated that the standalone version of the Beatles: Rock Band disc would cost $59.99. Even though most Wii games are priced at $49.99 or lower on Nintendo’s popular console, 1UP has confirmed with MTV Games that the $59.99 pricing is indeed correct.
Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson tells 1UP he doesn’t think $60 will become the standard, and states that MTV Games likely thinks “the market will bear a higher price due to the attractiveness of the content.”
While that might be the case, I’m going to have to call bullsh*t here.
After losing a ton of ground to Activision and its Guitar Hero franchise by first releasing a gimped version of Rock Band and then the sequel months late on the Wii, MTV Games can’t afford to take chances like this. With Activision presumably releasing somewhere between eight and 80 Guitar Hero-branded games this year — all of which will be likely priced at $49.99, if not lower — I don’t care whose name, face, or music is on a product. A consumer at retail, especially around the holidays and with money tight, might have a hard time wanting to spend another $10. Especially after potentially spending up to $200 on peripherals.
Breaking the pricing conventions like this when you’re already behind in the game seems like a foolish gamble to take. When it comes to console gaming, the Wii battle is not one you want to lose; it’s simply too important at this stage in the game. And with months to come before Beatles: Rock Band‘s release, I wouldn’t be surprised to see MTV Games lower the pricing of the Wii version as Activision starts flooding the market with “competing” music games.
So what do you guys think? I am completely off base with this? As a Wii owner used to one set of pricing, are you OK with spending $59.99 on any one title?
