It was just a matter of time before the global recession impacted the game industry. While games made a record $21 billion last year, the fallout is being felt by publishers as big as Electronic Arts. The good news for gamers is that the sluggish economy will end up meaning lower prices for game hardware and software in the coming months.

Michael Pachter, videogame analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities, forecasts that Sony will drop its PlayStation 3 console to $300 by April. And he expects Microsoft to counter with a lower price for Xbox 360, as well. Pachter believes the Xbox 360 Pro will be slashed to $250 by the time E3 rolls around in June. Since Nintendo is still selling out of its Wii around the globe, that already-low priced console will stay at $250 for some time to come. When you factor in the Wii Sports pack-in game, it remains the best deal in the industry.

Now a new study by research firm Electronic Entertainment Design and Research (EEDAR) says that those $60 price points that became the norm for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 games a few years back may go the way of the HD-DVD players. Due to a lack of shelf space, more retailers are selling more games for below $60. That's not including Wii games, which retail for $50 or less. EEDAR found that the amount of Xbox 360 and PS3 games priced under $60 has increased 66 percent over last year, while the quantity of games only increased 44 percent.

The new report said the lower price of hardware has increased the amount of Xbox 360 gamers from the mainstream. While the hardcore gamers gladly shell out $60 to be the first to own God of War 3, the casual gamer is more likely to rent or buy a used game. And if they are going to buy something new, it's going to be a lower-priced game. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo have capitalized on this audience for years by offering Greatest Hits versions of best-sellers at $20 or $30 price points a few years after reaping hardcore dollars at full price.

One of the issues at retail is the fact that Sony's PlayStation 2 continues to sell well. That means in addition to PS3 and PSP games, there are still new PS2 games being released. Add in Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, Wii and PC and that's a lot of games vying for shelf space. That's making the game industry more and more a franchise-driven industry as even new releases that don't have a number in their name like Mirror's Edge or Dead Space have to compete with sequels as well as catalog games and even PS2 games.

While gamers will welcome the lower price points that analysts are forecasting as a distinct possibility -- from $60 to $50, it's not a good thing for the game industry. EA recently announced it's cutting 1,100 jobs and shuttering studios because of poor sales last Christmas. Cutting game prices by $10 will cut the margin of both game publishers and developers like local game maker Epic Games.

Of course, the industry could also choose to focus on making better games, as a whole. Last year saw record sales because of the number of great games released. But there were also a lot of horrible games -- especially on Wii. Those bad Wii games compete for shelf space right next to good Wii games like Mario Kart -- assuming that game was even in stock. Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo could start throwing stricter guidelines out there for publishers to adhere to.

Gamers will pay $60 for a great game. It's the bad stuff that needs to be weeded out, which will help retailers stock better quality offerings and help both new IPs and good sequels to have adequate shelf space. I'd rather see fewer quality games then a whole lot of medocre titles.