what do you all think about this?

I don't see prices going anywhere. Nintendo still wants $7 for games that cost a dollar on iphone. I wouldn't be surprised if Wii u games were $60

I think it's the dumbest article I've read in weeks.

Agreed. It's just pageview-trolling sabre rattling. Look at it this way: just because you can buy a $10,000 Kia doesn't mean the $50,000 Mercedes Benz is going away. The market that buys $60 Madden roster updates every year is not the same as the killing-time-waiting-for-my-flight Angry Birds crowd.

Now, IMO, games have strayed far from their roots (gameplay-focused) and have become full-blown interactive theatrical experiences. And even though the average age and income level of a gamer has increased over the years, it's hard to make a case for plunking down $60 for a new game when a $30 used plays exactly the same. It's not like with cars, where you get the new-car smell and a warranty.

So while I believe it behooves the gaming industry to go back to its roots and scale back its production costs (and then pass the savings to the consumer with a modest price decrease), I don't think Fruit Ninja is going to ring the death knell for consoles or "hardcore" games anytime soon.

I think it would be wise for Nintendo to offer a good selection of cheap, quality, digital-download games (and the 3DS eShop is already doing a decent job of this) to grab the iOS crowd, but their full-price franchise retail games aren't going anywhere. Nintendo's been able to consistently sell Mario and Zelda games on Wii at $50 for years and years, when every big game on competing platforms usually drops to around $30 within months. The 3DS picked up steam when they slashed the hardware price, but they left the $40 standard software price intact (even though I think that's way too high) and it seems to be working just fine for them.

I wouldn't bet on Wii U games going for $60, either. Nintendo seems to recognize that $50 is the magic price point.

And yeah, I think even the most casual, 99-cent gamer recognizes the difference in depth of experience between say, Arkham City Lockdown and Arkham City. There's rooms for both types of gaming and they'll continue to be priced accordingly.

If Nintendo would price the virtual console stuff lower and make the games compatable with both the 3DS and Wii U then they wouldn't need as many cheap downloadable games.

It's really the PvZ costing $15 on Vita vs. $3 on iOS for the exact same game that really makes the point.

There are SO many games coming out on SO many platforms. Digital distribution has reduced the marginal cost of each copy to basically zero. The competition for gamers time and money has never been greater.

I just dunno if the economics of $60 games is going to work once boxed copies are out of the picture and we're all digital. Premium games will stick around....but $60 is a tough pill to swallow.