During the post-mortem panel for the "Super Monkey Ball" iPhone game, SEGA's Producer of Digital Content Ethan Einhorn told would-be iPhone developers to not "play price wars" with their apps. He advised to keep the highest price you can while staying in the top 50 and resist the temptation to drop your price prematurely; "Super Monkey Ball" saw a boost in sales during the holidays. He added, "A $10 price point is not reasonable." Eihnorn also said to consider the pros and cons of "Lite" versions, free demos of the full-priced product. While he said they were good for new, complex games, developers should "think twice" before putting a "Lite" version; many users may feel that just a small taste of the game is enough, impeding possible impulse buys.

Why would Sony issue a demo for the potential system-selling "Killzone 2" only to people who have pre-ordered the game? Sony explained their unusual strategy to MTV Multiplayer, and dated a version of the demo that's for the rest of us. Read more...

The "Resident Evil 5" demo may have been released "only" on Japan's Xbox Live last week, but that didn't stop gamers from finding a way to play it.

Why not just release the demo in the US and be done with it?

Complications have held up the demo, Capcom told MTV Multiplayer at a "Resident Evil 5" multiplayer event last night in San Francisco. But the demo is now currently scheduled for "early 2009."

Unfortunately, Capcom couldn't nail down a more specific date than that yet. Maybe they'll make it a special New Year's gift? Hint, hint, Capcom!

You're going to have to wait a little bit longer for more zombie mayhem, but the "Resident Evil 5" demo is coming soon. The game itself comes out on March 13, of course. What will you do in the meantime?

As Tracey John lamented on Wednesday, "Mega Man 9"'s difficulty might be a reason for people to stay away from the game. A demo, however, is no big deal. A demo is safe.

Or is it?

Nintendo doesn't have WiiWare demos, so Capcom didn't produce one. On the PlayStation Network, however, Capcom released a one-level trial of the blue bomber's 8-bit return to form.

Except this demo includes one of the most difficult stages: Concrete Man.

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In just under two weeks, Nintendo will launch their WiiWare service in the U.S. Yet with 13 days to go, Nnooo creative director Nic Watt still doesn't know how much his WiiWare title, "Pop," will cost.

He does have a range for his multiplayer, bubble-based shooter: 500 to 800 Wii Points (translated: between $5 and $8).

"For a new company like ourselves, pricing is a really tough issue particularly on something like a downloadable service where there are games at a variety of prices," said Watt in an e-mail interview with MTV Multiplayer last week. "Disc-based games are somewhat easier as they all generally retail for about the same price."

Gamers have price and value expectations for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. For now, Watt uses Virtual Console as a yard stick for perceived value. "We feel we are somewhere between a NES and SNES game in price," he said.

One thing that WiiWare won't have, though, is demos. Demos are a requirement for XBL Arcade but merely an option on PSN. For Watt, the difference is moot; he doesn't think a demo would help "Pop" out.

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Demos may be the best way to find out if you like a game, but releasing one might not be in a publisher's best financial interest, according to a study discussed at last week's MI6 video game marketing conference.

This is the same study, presented by Gregory Short and Geoffery Zatkin, heads of the Electronic Entertainment Design and Research Group (EEDAR), which recommended marketing teams should work with developers to come up with an Xbox 360 game's Achievements.

While demos may be effective at producing word-of-mouth, the EEDAR found that the highest selling games on both Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 produced buzz via Xbox Live Marketplace and PlayStation Network with trailers alone.

There are some other interesting bits extrapolate, so let's look at how the sales break down…

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