When Dead Space 2 hit store shelves on January 25, it cost roughly $60 — no matter where you bought it. By mid-February, you could find it on sale at some big online retailers like Amazon.com and BestBuy.com for anywhere between $40-$50. Meanwhile, more than three months after the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops, that game hadn’t gotten a penny cheaper. What gives?

The pricing of videogames might seem entirely random, but there is a logic to it. And understanding that logic can actually explain why we’re seeing so many games with “2” and “3” at the end of their titles these days.

Read more in the May issue of Official Xbox Magazine