NBA Live 09 Price Reduced?

Amazon has lowered the price of every version of NBA Live 09 by $5. So far Amazon is the only retailer to have done this so it may very well be a promotion that they worked out with EA. If it was a total price reduction Gamestop would probably have made the switch at the same time. Sometimes a lowered price signals that a company isn’t as confident in a game or that they are trying to reach a different type of consumer (such as has been the case with the arcade style titles). Neither of those would apply in this situation as EA has put a lot behind this year’s version of Live.

What this could be is another way to encourage consumers to buy the game new rather than used or renting it. Remember that the Live 365 feature requires a code that comes with the game and that only works once. Anyone picking up a used copy or renting it would need to purchase a code off XBL or PSN (the price has yet to be stated) in order to activate the feature. It would also give a slight leg up on NBA 2K9 and NBA 09: The Inside which are both sitting at the standard $60.

While I doubt the lowered price would change many minds when it comes to which game to purchase it does seem like it could potentially lead to an increase in sales.

Update: NBA 2K9 has received the same drop for all versions. NBA 09: The Inside remains at $60.