Supreme Court Says Manufacturers Can Set Minimum Prices
Yesterday the Robert's Supreme Court of the United States overturned a 96-year-old precedent that prevented companies from setting a product's minimum price. Now if Nintendo doesn't want their games sold for less than $50 no retail store can sell the game for less than that set price because that is what Nintendo mandated. This is great for Nintendo and other companies, but horribly bad for consumers and gamers.
I'm using Nintendo for a specific reason, though I am confident that Microsoft and Sony are also jumping for joy at this decision. Last year Satoru Iwata, the president of Nintendo said:
..once the suggested retail price is announced, we should stick to it.... If the suggested retail price of any and all software is marked down in 6 months or 9 months, the customers will learn the cycle and wait for the discounting which will simply aggravate the decreasing sales of new software.
If he was bitching about game prices last year what do you think he is going to do with this news? I don't know what will happen or how this news will ultimately affect us, but I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo issued an order for all of their games to be sold for no less than full price for ever. And considering how long it takes already for Nintendo game prices to depreciate a move like that wouldn't be too far fetched.
One of the major problems with digitally distributed games is the fact that their price does not depreciate. It doesn't matter if the game is bad, if it is selling poorly or is worthy of it's price tag. A digitally distributed game that started at $30 stays there unless the game's maker decides to change it. This decision can effectively set digital distribution pricing for disc games - a pricing structure that never fluctuates and only benefits the seller.
If businessmen like Iwata get their way in the US we may never pay less than full price for a videogame ever again. However, Congress can change the law protecting consumers from this horrible decision. Do yourself and all of America a favor and tell your congressman to do something about this.
