[quote name='Vcize']Too be fair, a ton of games release at this price at certain retailers or with free gift cards, etc, and many sell pretty well.
I don't think that's any indication of how well they think the game is going to do. TRU is not competing its games against its other games (they don't care if you buy Too Human or Soul Calibur as long as you give them your money), they're competing against other retailers for the same game (Too Human at TRU vs. Too Human at Best Buy, Circuit City, etc).
In fact, it's usually games that are expected to sell well that some stores release at a few bucks less to try and entice people to buy that big seller at their store as opposed to others. I'm not saying that means they expect Too Human to sell well (I'm sure they don't), just that it's not an indication that they expect it to sell poorly, even if that is indeed what they expect.[/quote]
I think you make a very valid point here. TRU, as a company, isn't competing internally with itself on what games they sell, that wasn't what I was trying to say. From my perspective, and this is not completely confirmed mind you, the store I went to only received one copy of the game. They may or may not get more shipments, but when I see stores ordering low amounts of one particular product and then selling it cheaper, it makes me think that the game may not be that great. That's certainly not always the case, but in my experience the majority of low quality games have been cheaper than the competition.
However, TRU is also competing with other gaming businesses, especially around my TRU where there is a Best Buy next door, a Target across the street, and 2 GameStops all within about a 2 mile radius. Of course all of them will be competing for the customer's business, as well they should, but this kind of competitiveness hasn't been seen in the gaming industry for quite some time. When games are released they usually have a fixed price point of $59.99. Hardware is no different. I always thought to myself, "I wonder if I could open an independant game store and sell the games for $5-$10 cheaper and get more business than the big guys?" I guess what I'm trying to say is that there may be a change in the gaming industry, a revolution if you will, of competitive pricing and other enticements. For instance, I bought Madden 09 at TRU just because of the free figure and gift card. I was actually planning on buying it at Target but TRU won me over. Just about every "big" release game has some sort of promotion that follows it these days, which is simply fantastic for gamers. For once we as consumers are having a choice about where to buy our games, unlike in years' past where it didn't matter where you bought it because it was the same game, at the same price, with the same non-promotion.
WHat I am truly hoping for is that this revolution continues and we reap the benefits of great games and great promotions.
