Molyneux Anticipates 'Price Pressure' for Games (XB360)

The BBC today posted an article asking various gaming industry professionals to reflect on the year that was and muse about 2009. Most generally thought that the Wii was a phenomenal success and that the PS3 underperformed.

"The Wii produced some kooky games that defied logic, the 360 continues to do well, the PS3 is desperately trying to find a market, and the PC was coming to terms with DRM (digital rights management)," said Paul Barnett, Creative director for Mythic Entertainment

Peter Molyneux, lead designer at Lionhead, wondered about the staggering of releases and questioned if stacking everything during the holiday period made sense anymore. "One of my personal favorites was LittleBigPlanet; superb artistry and a fantastic marketing job by Sony - yet it didn't make the numbers. I wonder if Christmas is really the right time to release a new title. We've got into a rhythm [of sequels at Christmas] which is all fair and well while people are buying games but we have to make sure we don't get complacent," he said. "Next year, well, it's all looking a bit dry. All the triple A titles came out this Christmas and while there is stuff in 2010 we can look forward to, off the top of my head I cannot think of anything next year that really excites me."

Molyneux also offered his concerns about the standard $60 price for console games. "Everyone says games are good value for home entertainment, despite the relatively high price," he said. "I'm not so sure. I think we're going to see a lot of price pressure put on games."