Game makers pause, reload: Are price cuts next?

Kathleen Byrnes and Justin Choi, a married couple attending medical school at Tulane University, New Orleans, say $40 is just too much to fork over for a Nintendo Wii game they might not enjoy.

They haven’t bought one since last fall, when they picked up “Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.”

Since then? “Nothing really interesting came out,” said Byrnes, 23.

Their reluctance helps explain why this is a rough summer for the video game business.

More people than ever are playing the games, but it’s been a while since a blockbuster title arrived. Consumers are watching their money more closely in the recession and managing to resist games that can cost as much as $60.

The trends came into focus Thursday as Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. each reported console sales are dropping. Sony posted a loss for the April-June quarter, while Nintendo Co. revealed a large drop in its profit.

The Microsoft Corp. division that makes the Xbox 360 said last week it lost money in the last quarter, too.