Kotaku reports that Microsoft has confirmed that Xbox One titles continue to cost $60. Sony hasn’t committed to a price yet, but the company has indicated in the past that the price will likely remain the same. What about third party publishers though? Would they push game prices up to $70? None of them are saying.

When games prices went up to $60 in 2006, publishers said the increased cost of making games warranted the price hikes. Will increased development be used again as an excuse to push the price of games up to $70? That may not necessarily be the case.

Sony told Kotaku that they are trying to reign in game budgets on the PS4, but games are still going to cost $20 to $50 million to make. To make back that money, publishers are going to have to sell either a million copies at $60 or $70, or sell two million at $40 to $50. The former is a more realistic scenario as physical game sales continue to decline in the face of digital sales.

So, where does that leave digital distribution? Sony and Microsoft (and Nintendo to a lesser extent) have all made a big to do about selling games digitally. Sony is already experimenting with pricing on digital platforms by cutting a few dollars off of a Vita game’s digital price compared to its physical price. There’s been no such change to the PS3′s digital content prices though.

Some argue that Sony and Microsoft would be wise to offer digital copies of games for a lower price than the physical copy. It makes even more sense for Microsoft as physical copies on the Xbox One are largely meaningless as they only exist to activate a license and install data to a hard drive. Ditching the physical copy in favor of just buying it online should net the consumer at least a small discount to encourage a method of buying games that brings in more money than the traditional retail model.

In the end, I find it hard to believe that Sony or Microsoft will raise the price of their own games. For years, Sony offered PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games for $10 less than third party titles on the platform. Worst case scenario, we might be seeing something similar to that again with Sony and Microsoft selling first party titles for $60 while third parties jack up the price to $70.

If that happens, will gamers lie down and take it yet again? It’s hard to say, but the reaction to the PS4′s lower price compared to the Xbox One should be sending signs to publishers that gamers react positively to lower prices. If they want to continue offering games at $60, publishers should start to reign in their own development costs instead of running amok with budgets while passing on those costs to consumers.

[Image: Dwight Burdette/WikiMedia Commons]

According to a report yesterday on Kotaku, GameStop has been sending word to certain stores that all new and unopened Wii U Basic consoles will have to be returned to corporate if they are not sold by June 18th. Initial attempts to get some explanation from either Nintendo or GameStop were unsuccessful, but Kotaku speculated that the console was being discontinued. The $300 Basic model has only 8GB of onboard storage, while the Deluxe console has 32GB, comes with Nintendo Land bundled, and is only $50 more expensive. It seems that the Deluxe model has consistently sold better than the Basic version.

Today, however, Nintendo denied rumors that the Wii U Basic was being discontinued. The company said in a statement that only some Basic consoles will be recalled. The goal, Nintendo spokesman Charlie Scibetta said, is to “rebalance” stocks of the poorer-selling console.

Scibetta said that customers who prefer the Basic console will still be able to find it, even after the June 18th recall.

MCV reports that Microsoft will be taking command of the pre-owned market with a system that gives publishers and itself a cut of every used game sale. In fact, the new system detailed today would give retailers about the same cut as it gets from selling used games.

As you already know, each Xbox One game will tie itself to a single Xbox Live account when installed on the system. In essence, you are buying a license to use that software.

Now, this is where things get interesting. Those who sell their game to a retailer will have that game’s license removed from their system. This will all be done through Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform – the same platform that will power Xbox Live on the new console.

Once the game is in the hands of the retailer, they can sell it for whatever price they like. Unfortunately, that price may be higher than usual thanks to Microsoft and publishers now getting a cut of every pre-owned sale. In fact, unconfirmed reports are saying that retailers will only get to pocket 10 percent of pre-owned sales. The current pre-owned market allows retailers to pocket all of the money from sales.

While this may be good for publishers and Microsoft, I find it hard to believe that retailers would accept these terms. Retailers like GameStop can only survive thanks to the used game market. Taking that revenue away from them makes many, including myself, think that GameStop and others will refuse to sell pre-owned Xbox One titles.

It should be noted that these are unconfirmed reports for now. It wouldn’t surprise me, however, to see Microsoft working with publishers to take back the profits from the pre-owned market. It may be good for them in the short run, but I can only see it blowing up in their faces further down the road.

Those who do pre-order with GameStop will be able to start playing “OverRun” at 3 am EST Saturday, March 16. The early access will run until the launch of the game on March 19. During that time, players can earn XP that will carry over to the full game. The pre-order also comes with a “Young Marcus” character skin and a Lambent weapon skin.

For those who don’t want to order from GameStop, or aren’t sure if they want to buy another Gears title, a demo for the “OverRun” mode will be available through Xbox LIVE on March 19 when Judgment launches. “OverRun” is a new class-based multiplayer mode that pits COG players (soldiers, medics, engineers, and scouts) against Locust players who can take on the role of wretches, tickers, grenadiers, ragers, kantus, giant serapedes, and maulers.

GameStop announced today that it’s now an official retailer for Amazon’s insanely popular Kindle Fire tablets. The games retailer will sell the updated Kindle Fire, the Kindle Fire HD and the Kindle Fire HD 8.9-inch. As an added incentive, those who purchase a Kindle Fire from GameStop will get a $25 Amazon gift card.

“Android tablets are topping many holiday lists, so it’s the perfect time to add Kindle Fire to GameStop’s mobile electronics selection,” said Joe Gorman, vice president of mobile at GameStop. “And with customers able to trade old video games, devices and more toward the purchase of new products, including Kindle Fire, we’re making it easier than ever for customers to get the holiday gifts they want.”

In a year where tablets are topping wish lists for kids and adults, GameStop has to capitalize on the holiday rush for said devices. The Kindle Fire is one of the more accessible and cheaper tablets that folks can buy, and the quality of games on the Kindle Fire rivals that of other platforms.

The Kindle Fire joins GameStop’s large portfolio of Android tablets the retailer offers. The most notable being the Nexus 7 from Google. GameStop offers five free games with purchase so the decision may come down to getting five quality games or a $25 gift card that can be used on more than just games as Amazon’s digital storefront offers quite a bit in the way of music and movies.

On a final note, GameStop is also kicking off its trade in program for Kindle Fire devices today. The retailer is offering $100 in-store credit for any original Kindle Fire traded in. It’s a limited time special offer only for the original Kindle Fire as the retailer is only offering $85 for a Kindle Fire HD.

According to a Bloomberg report citing research firm NPD, retail sales of video games were down to $755.5 million. NPD blamed much of the decline on low console sales, which are down 37% year-over-year, while video game sales were down 25%.

As for the languishing console wars, Microsoft managed to still lead console sales in October, selling 270,000 consoles, a number that is down 31% from last year. With Nintendo’s new Wii U console being released on November 18, expect next month’s numbers to show a large Nintendo lead in console sales over Microsoft and Sony.

This news, though not unexpected, comes just as game companies are kicking off the holiday buying season – the biggest sales months for the gaming industry. Sequels such as Halo 4, Assassin’s Creed III, and Call of Duty: Black Ops II will net hundreds of millions of dollars for their publishers and demonstrate the apex of what graphics are accomplishable with current console hardware. They also demonstrate, however, that the industry is in a transition period, and that new consoles and new IPs will soon be needed to keep gamers from becoming burnt-out on sequels.

Wikipad Inc, the makers of the aptly named Wikipad, have announced a partnership with GameStop that will see the new gamer-centric tablet being offered at GameStop locations across the nation. For those unaware, the Wikipad is the first tablet to come equipped with an attachable gamepad controller that emulates what you would find on the Xbox 360 or PS3 controllers.

The Wikipad will launch on October 31 for $499. It’s a little on the expensive side, but people who buy it from GameStop will get a lot of extra goodies:

“GameStop is the retail destination when it comes to video games. Nobody but GameStop provides gamers with the best gaming content on the market. And for those that purchase or pre-order a Wikipad at GameStop, their tablet will have access to valuable extras including exclusive free, full-length game titles. The Wikipad is powered by an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor and will support PlayStation Mobile platform,” said Fraser Townley, President of Sales for Wikipad, Inc.

The Wikipad is a 10-inch tablet that runs on Android 4.1. It will have support for the PlayStation Mobile platform, but it also supports Google Play and Gaikai. In essence, the Wikipad will be the best tablet for the discerning gamer as it promises to be host to more than just simple rope cutting simulators.

The inclusion of the Nvidia Tegra 3 processor also ensures access to the Tegra Zone. It’s is a special store that includes all the games built specifically for Nvidia’s Tegra 3 processor. Games built specifically for the Tegra 3 tend to look and perform better than their counterparts.

It should be noted that Google’s Nexus 7 is equipped with the same Tegra 3 processor and it’s half the price of the Wikipad. Gamers interested in tablet gaming would be wise to balance their needs when it comes to these tablets. The Wikipad has a bigger screen and an attachable gamepad, but is it worth the extra $250? You may be better off just saving up for Razer’s tablet. It comes with an Intel i7 and Windows 8 Pro for true PC gaming on a tablet.

As you can obviously see, GameStop seems to think that Wii U games are going to cost $99.99. Unless every single on of these titles is a special edition, I highly doubt that is the case. It’s obviously an error on GameStop’s part, but it’s still pretty funny nonetheless.

Amazon on the other hand has removed their pricing from the Wii U games they have listed. Previously, Wii U games were going for $49.99, but that price point is obviously still up in the air. I would wager that Nintendo is taking a broad approach to pricing on the Wii U letting publishers set their price. I wouldn’t be surprised if first party titles went for $49.99 while third party titles like Assassin’s Creed III went for the usual $59.99.

Going into paranoia mode, maybe GameStop knows something that we don’t. Maybe Wii U games really wil cost $99.99 each. There will probably be people insane enough to buy such a thing, but such a scenario is not going to happen. The last time I paid for upwards of $99.99 for just a game was when I spent $70 for a copy of Jet Force Gemini on the Nintendo 64. Discs are not as expensive to produce as cartridges so gamers have no need to worry about exploding prices come time for the Wii U launch.

While $99.99 would be a little expensive for a game, I would gladly pay that much for that fake Majora’s Mask trailer that showed up before the press conference yesterday. If anything, I would pay to wipe away the painful memories of being forced to watch Nintendo shovel my dreams into the trash bins of Nintendo Land.

[h/t: Game Podunk]

Today, I’m happy to announce that we’re expanding the pilot to all U.S. Best Buy stores and select GameStop locations later this month. This next phase of the pilot program will be limited in terms of both timing and the number of units available—we’re excited to forge new ground and explore a new retail model for Xbox 360, but also want to emphasize that this is a pilot period for the program.

Microsoft announced the subsidized $99 Xbox 360 and Kinect bundle one month ago, and began selling the consoles in Microsoft Stores around the country. To purchase the bundle for $99, customers must commit to a subscription to Microsoft’s Xbox LIVE service for 2 years at a price of $15 per month. A normal subscription for Xbox LIVE is $60 for one year, making the normal price for the service $5 per month. Still, this deal might end up being cost effective for consumers who find it hard to save up hundreds of dollars at a time for a videogame console. Though Hyrb emphasizes that the bundle is only a pilot program, this could end up being the future of how video game consoles are bought.

It was announced on Friday that 1,600 GameStop locations around the country are to begin carrying Android powered tablets. The company previously only sold refurbished iOS devices. The move to selling new Android tablets is significant as some of them are seen as better dedicated gaming devices. It fits in much better with the idea of GameStop as a games retailer.

The company is selling a variety of Android tablets from the ASUS Transformer Prime to the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1. To encourage the purchase of tablets from GameStop, they are including free games with the purchase of select tablets. Some of those games include Riptide and Sonic CD. Gamestop purchased tablets also come preloaded with Kongregate Arcade and a free issue of Game Informer digital.

It’s not made clear if GameStop will also take trade ins of Android tablets. The online store features used tablets, so it’s a safe assumption. You will still want to call in before making a trip just to make sure they are taking in pre-owned tablets.

To see a full list of the Android tablets being sold by GameStop, check out their storefront. There’s plenty of variety that serves all kind of budgets from those who only want a small tablet that can play the simplest of games to the super expensive Transformer Prime for those who want the very best.

It’s pretty clear that GameStop has one of the best deals in the market for a new Android tablet. They know how to sell to gamers, even those who prefer their games on a tablet. The addition of free games and other bonuses are probably going to attract a lot of business for the company. It also could blow up in their faces and be seen as a poor investment. I think GameStop has a good chance of breaking into the market when you consider just how popular tablets are.