2K Games recently announced that NBA 2K21 on PS5 and Xbox Series X will cost $10 more than its PS4 and Xbox One counterparts, meaning the standard version of the game on next-gen consoles will cost $70 (or $60). . . While this sounds like a big price increase from the company, it appears that other game publishers are also considering raising their prices for Xbox Series X and PS5 games to $70. 2K Games is the first publisher to commit to setting the price of next-gen games, but in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, research company IDG revealed that other publishers are also considering raising the base price of PS5 and Xbox Series X games to a €70 - €10 increase. with respect to the current price of the game. "The last time the price of next-gen launch software went up was in 2005 and 2006, when it went from $49.99 to $59.99 at the start of the Xbox 360 and PS3 generation." IDG President and CEO Yoshio Osaki told GamesIndustry.biz. "Meanwhile, costs and prices in other affiliate verticals have increased."
Why the increase in prices?
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(Image credit: Sony/2K) As Osaki explains, the cost of producing games for next-gen consoles has risen from 200% to 300%. In terms of sustainability, a price increase (although hard for consumers to swallow) makes good business sense. The price of games can't stay the same when game development is more expensive than ever: it's inflation for you. "Even with the increase to €69.99 for the next generation, this price increase from 2005 to 2020 for the next generation is only 17%, well below other comparisons," said Osaki. "While development and publishing costs have risen and prices in other entertainment industry verticals have risen significantly as well, next-generation software prices have not reflected these increases. €59.99 to €69 doesn't even fully cover these others. cost increases, but move it more in the right direction. According to Osaki, the consensus among the major publishers that IDG works with is that the cost of consuming games should increase. While we didn't expect this price increase to affect all games from PS99 and Xbox Series X, we may see price increases for AAA games and franchises like FIFA 5 and Horizon Forbidden West.
More expensive new generation
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(Image credit: Future) It looks like the benefits of the next generation won't come cheap. Although the price of the Xbox Series X and the price of the PS5 have yet to be confirmed, industry analysts predict that both will cost at least $499 / £449 / AU$749, and would be at the bottom of the spectrum. Historically, we've seen the two companies reveal prices for their consoles around June or July, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic (and a lack of physical events), things are a little different this time around. . It seems we're currently at something of a dead end, with the two companies waiting to see what the other will test on their next-gen equipment. It seems that Sony and Microsoft are waiting until the last possible moment to set the price of their console, with plenty of time before making any adjustments. Hopefully we'll learn more about console pricing soon, but when it comes to games, we'll have to wait for pre-orders for Xbox Series X and PS5 games to open before we can assess whether we're looking at $70 for them. . following. gen games