A Cowen & Company survey indicates that only about five percent of people bought fewer console games as a result of games on mobile, online, social or F2P titles, a good indication for console game publishers. Non-console owners indicate that they’d be more interested in a PS3 or Xbox 360 if the systems were on average $30 less.

“We believe that the hardware manufacturers have left unit sales on the table by not reducing price points from $199 to $179 and $299 to $249 for the applicable consoles, and that doing so would have driven a more significant boost to hardware sales than the release (for Microsoft and Sony) of new motion-sensing peripherals, read the report. “We view continued stubbornly high hardware price points as one of the key factors dragging down software sales.”

While non-console owners had a tepid response to new motion-sensing peripherals, there were positive indicators for makers of downloadable content. 76 percent of online console gamers had bought some form of DLC in the past year, with 46 percent spending over $20.

“The results of our Fall 2010 Videogame Survey do not change our view that high-quality games for the core gamer remain the best investment for videogame publishers despite changes to the structure of the videogame industry,” concluded the report.

Source: GamesIndustry.biz