Post by leunas on Sept 14, 2006 22:50:59 GMT -5
You know games are big business when they get top billing - over gasoline - in an article about British inflation.
A Reuters report claims that "strong rises in the cost of toys and games pushed Britain's inflation rate up more than expected in August, reinforcing expectations that interest rates will rise again before the end of the year."
Government statistics conclude that August featured the highest jump in consumer prices since 1997. But are games to blame?
Yes, says Reuters: "Rises in the cost of computer games and hobbies pushed inflation higher last month, offsetting the impact of easing petrol prices as world oil prices drifted off record highs hit in July."
There has been no report of a similar game-fueled inflationary trend here in the U.S. Since the launch of the Xbox 360 last November, of course, next-gen games have firmly established a $59.99 standard price point, up $10 over the norm for PS2, Xbox and GameCube titles.
And EA jacked consumers by upping the price of Madden twenty bucks after securing their monopoly exclusive position with the complicity agreement of the NFL.
But hey, if they think game prices are going up now, wait until the rest of the next-gen systems launch.
gamepolitics.livejournal.com/361025.html