2K Games was the first company to commit to pricing next-gen games, setting the price of NBA 2K21 on Xbox Series X and PS5 at €70 - €10 more than its price on PS4 and Xbox One. But it seems that 2K Games is not the only publisher implementing price hikes on Xbox Series X and PS5 games, as research company IDG told GamesIndustry.biz that other big publishers are considering doing the same. . While this is a very large amount to pay for the standard edition of any game, it is also a necessary price increase. Compared to other industries, we've been very lucky when it comes to game pricing, and here's why.
Why the increase in prices?
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(Image credit: Ubisoft) While the price of GPUs, broadband and streaming services has increased over the years (often correlated with inflation, rising costs and demand), the The price of games has remained stagnant for years. "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 vertical subsidiaries have increased." When it comes to the PS4 and Xbox One era, we basically got a pass. Game prices have not increased despite the fact that developers are using next-gen technology, which means that for 14 years we haven't had to face the harsh reality of the cost of game development. While the price of the games remained at €59.99, the cost of making them increased enormously: Osaki claimed that production costs for next-gen games increased by 200-300% (depending on the studio, game, etc. ) It's huge. If game publishers must always be aware of prohibitive prices, they must also be aware of sustainability. If the cost of producing something costs more, not just in cash, but also in labor and resources, we must make peace with the fact that we, too, will have to bear most of this cost. . And, according to Osaki, it seems like just a €10 increase in 14 years is pretty good, and could have been worse. "Even with the increase to €69.99 for next-gen, this price increase from 2005 to 2020 for next-gen is only 17%, well below other comparisons," Osaki told GamesIndustry.biz. "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 they move more in the right direction."
Add all
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(Image credit: Ninja Theory) Like it or hate it, paid microtransactions and DLC have helped many publishers keep prices stable over the past 14 years as companies can cover their costs with the base price and then earn more with additional content OR, in the case of free-to-play games like Fortnite, they can take full advantage of microtransactions. We've probably reached a point where microtransactions and DLC aren't enough to cover the increased production costs in games. In an ideal world, if overall game prices go up, I'd like to see fewer microtransactions (read: no) on games that have an RRP of €70. But it's not going to happen.
The cost of the next generation.
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(Image credit: Future) We know that the PS5 and Xbox Series X are going to be power plants and that new technologies are not without (probably high) costs. While we don't yet know how much a console will cost, we don't expect them to be cheap. Make no mistake: the thought of how much the next generation will cost makes me cringe. Not everyone has this amount of disposable income, I certainly don't. But at the same time, I appreciate that a huge leap in technology comes with an increase in prices. But even if the prices for next-gen games are justifiable in terms of the cost of the games, they're not necessarily affordable. We might end up seeing more gamers switch to subscription services like Xbox Game Pass to access new games, where you get access to new and old games for $10 a month, instead of paying $70 for just one game - I know this is my favorite route But nothing is set in stone, and we're still waiting for pricing for new next-gen games to be announced. What will be particularly interesting is the price set by Microsoft and Sony for their PS5 and Xbox Series X exclusives, as this will set the bar for other next-gen games. Until then, I prepare for the worst.