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[theclaw135]

To think $70 is "cheap" relative to elsewhere in the world. Big titles like Final Fantasy 7 Remake cost roughly 90 bucks in Japan.

 

[Trogdor1123]

Haven't they been posting record profits and revenue each of these years?

 

[The Jason]

This is how it was in 05'-06' also, some games were announced for 49.99 and then a few got a announced for 59.99 and slowly it became apparent that 59.99 would be the new norm. It sucks but its gonna be the new norm considering the time its been since then

 

[Liberty4all]

Didn’t it revert back to 80 bucks a couple years ago?

yeah it’s 60 us/80 cad. But 70 US would be like 90 CAD. with 13% sales tax over a hundred.

Basically enough that I won’t buy anything new unless it’s a multiplayer game I’ll be playing all year.

i just checked via converter, 70 USD is 95 CAD

 

[synce]

game pricing has remained flat since 2005, whereas TV and movie pricing has increased significantly.

Do movies have season passes and microtransactions? These scumbag practices offset inflation and then some.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Shit like this makes gaming on PC all the more appealing.

 

[HitCtrlAltDel]

With the shift to most people buying digital, publishers are getting roughly double return on each game sold. In 2009 the split was 80/20, physical/digital. In 2017 it was 17/83, physical/digital. With all that extra profit I find it hard to justify an increase in price. If they do raise the price, then $64.99 better be the standard, not $69.99 like everyone expects.

 

[Grinchy]

The market will determine if $70 is too much.

And on a side note, this is why you don't buy the digital-only edition of the consoles to save $100 on day 1. While everyone is spending $70+tax for a digital copy of a new game, people like me can grab it on disc a month or two later for $40.

 

[009EspadaSageJay]

The gaming industry never ceases to amaze me with there stupid comparisons. I can pay $10-20 for netflix or hulu and have a years worth of entertainment the day I sign up with new shows and movies being added either weekly or monthly depending on how things go.
I can go and pay for any anime streaming service and have 1000s and 1000s of shows lined up for years on end watching something like One piece can take you now a whole year to catch up on now. How much value does a $60 game bring you either get games that can take 100 hour+ to beat or you get games that can be beating a single sitting to a single afternoon.

 

[itsjustJEFF]

I would not personally pay more than $30 for a sports game, mostly cause I'm likely not gonna play them that much, which begs the question why the fuck do I even buy them?!?!

But, I do know for some people $70 is very worth it. They'll play this damn game the whole year. They'll pour in hundreds of hours into them, if that's the case then $70 is a steal.

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Single player game payment model is getting worse?

Free to play has been a revalation.

 

[Bwesh]

I may just stick to PC next gen.

 

[Airbus Jr]

Game like Ghost of Tsushima and Cyberpunk 2077 im ok paying $70

But sports game like NBA2K? Hell no

Game like this should be $30 tops

 

[Sleepwalker]

*cries in $90 CAD*

edit: plus 13% sales tax



80 CAD plus tax is bad enough. 90 plus tax will put games at over 100 CAD ... CRAZY

$103 plus change in Ontario after tax. Truly never buying a game ever again at full price.


Hope gamesharing is still a thing (doubt it) or else im going disc only.

 

[Reallink]

Established AAA franchises will have no problem moving just as many (if not more) units at $70+, it's literally free money for the mega publishers. What will potentially be decimated is new IP, single/double A titles, and perhaps the 10-15 hour single player experiences. Unfortunately the public at large is ultimately spinless so I fully expect they will welcome this with open wallets.

 

[Paracelsus]

Now you understand why buying a disc-less console will be a total scam.

 

[RPS37]

Honestly, this would feel fine if the games actually seemed worth the extra 10 bucks.

 

[Rest]

I don't pay $60 for games, I'm sure as hell not paying $70.

 

[ZywyPL]

But as oppose to other media, many vide games aren't even finished when they launch, 60$ is a scam already. Not to mention everyone sees the yearly/quarterly financial reports, where the revenue is at all time high, and is consistently growing (thanks to MTX, DLC etx.), so playing victims card isn't a smart idea here. IMO the publishers already receive way more money than they deserve. Luckily for me I don't support that garbage and I cannot recall where was the last time I bought a game on day one, for full price. Unluckily tho, I'm in the minority, prepare for 70$ being a new standard.

 

[Red Rackham's Revenge]

You should definitely take this into account when you decide on whether you should get a digital or physical version.

 

[Handel]

Flexible pricing really should be more of a thing in this industry, but because publishers see others placing their games at this high price point they want a piece of that top quality money even when what they're putting out is just the same game with a nicer coat of paint. I'd pay $70 for a game if it's top quality and/or content rich, but I'm not paying that for your annual sports game update.

 

[vkbest]

In Europe we have been paying 70€ ($79) from years

 

[Hypereides]

All this for the same amount content or possibly less if the trajectory keeps on going (less and less content in the base game as DLC and microtransactions taking its place). Fuck me, this upcoming gen is looking to be the worst one yet.

You guys have fun next gen.

 

[dDoc]

I don't buy or play them but from what I told they do add new features and improve gameplay apart from improving visuals. People like the game and they buy it. Not all of them buy it yearly and the release cadence doesn't change their enjoyment of any version they choose to buy. It's also not like they have other options if they want that game. And if people think that it's worth it to buy the new version every year, I mean that's just their prerogative and what they like to spend their money on. I'm sure there's people who think it's dumb to pay $60 for a game for the story when you can watch that on YouTube or go watch a movie for $10. People might think it's dumb to trade up a console for a slim or pro model. People might think it's dumb to buy the latest and greastest GPU every year or other year. People like different things and get different levels of value. It's not like they have good viable alternatives and they are being duped into buying, they are presented with a product that they are willing to spend money on and are happy with it.

Hi A. Wilson, you seem more articulate than usual

 

[Max_Po]

 

[manzo]

That’s cool, go ahead. As this gen, I’m buying your game when it hits -75% off in 3 months anyway, I’m in no hurry.

 

[Troozi]

For the UK I guess this means a jump of £50 to £60.

Tbh I have no problem paying £60 or even more if I feel a game is worth it, particularly the ones that have spent years in development (and a genuine AAA flagship game).

Annual sports games are NOT the above. Especially when they're full with MTX already, and let's be honest, rarely improve that much much from year to year.

The big question I have is how this will affect the digital prices of games on the PS Store. If all retail games go up £10, from £50 to £60, are now going to be looking at £70 PS Store games.

 

[FranXico]

So, if games cost 20 euro more, no more lootboxes or splitting up fighting games through DLC?

ROFL

Who am I kidding, those things are just going to cost more as well...

 

[Aidah]

Poor big publisher, it's not like they're breaking their financial records every year and boasting about it.

Isn't NBA2K a very highly selling yearly franchise that is also riddled with microtransaction and even tried unskippable in-game ads?

 

[German Hops]

I couldn't care less. I'm rich.

 

[HE1NZ]

It's gonna be the same $10 in 3 months, so I don't really care.

 

[Miles708]

Now you understand why buying a disc-less console will be a total scam.

I was going to post exactly this.

On the other hand, publishers try to increase the price of gaming at every new generation start, so the correct thing is ignore both their claims, and eventually their games.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

Gamepass for the win.

Do you realy believe MS will not increase the price of Gamepass??

 

[FranXico]

Do you realy believe MS will not increase the price of Gamepass??

Once they attain complete market control, they will. But it will be done in slow increments over time.

 

[Ogbert]

Remember to buy that PS5 digital version.

It’s almost as if it’s perfect for Sony and publishers to gouge our wallets.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

I've always said I'd pay $70-$80 for games that are feature complete, without microtransactions, day 1 patches, altered progression to push user towards "time saver DLCs", etc. I'd also be more interested in a higher price point if games released with color manuals with artwork, dev interviews, etc.

I'd also give more for a game like The Witcher III, which had physical goodies, a ton of free DLC, a massive amount of content and no BS microtransactions.

With day one patches i dont have a problem at all, cous you know they dont cost a dime...but thats locigal

 

[mcz117chief]

What this effectively means to me is that games will be "delayed" for me for a couple of months until they drop to 50 or less.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

In Europe we have been paying 70€ ($79) from years

Not in the Netherlands, i always go to the Mediamarkt and i have never payed more than €59 ...even for (i take a risk here) The Last of Us 2 on releaseday....

 

[The Cartographer]

Just fix your crooked development cycles for god's sake.

 

[kraspkibble]

Greedy bastards.

Put your prices up all you want. You're just making it less likely I'll buy your game...and if I do then i'll hold out for a sale.

 

[TheWanderingOgre]

Lower the costs. Lower the budgets.

Stop kicking the dead horse of AA production with your fucking practices.

Cancel the part of this industry where some games sell over one million and still they are deemed commercial failures.

I wont pay for your poor, greedy management.

 

[Caffeine]

Budget your development better. they still raking in record profits before this lmao. come on son. as I said in the other thread ill just wait. also just reupped the wow sub, gonna play more persistant games and older game/back library.
I hope they like less initial sales lol.

 

[Dr. Samuel Hayden]

Nope. Will be waiting for sales more often then.

Also, anyone thinking this means they'll rip out the sleazy monetization schemes like microtransactions or lootboxes is living in fantasyland. If anything they'll just increase the prices of those as well.

Fuck's sake.

 

[FloatingIslands]

Some points to make:

Digital:
Makes Publishers more money with almost none of the risk.
Gives Publishers money for forever, no matter how old the game is, they just have it up on the store since they don't have to print copies.
Digital removes the money "lost" from used games, which was a bigger "threat" than piracy.
Digital means publishers have complete control over pricing, not being forced to reduce the price once it stays on shelves with no one to buy it.
With digital store fronts competing, publishers are getting better and better deals, having to share less of their cut.

Unreal engine/Unity and other tools:
Streamlines everything.
Makes things cheaper and easier to develop.
Less employees are needed.
Games can be almost completely outsourced for cheap labor.

And then we have:
Microtransations
DLC
Season pass
Cosmetics

After considering that, we watch this for a good laugh.




I hope the gaming industry crashes.




they're gonna go way more high in price.

Also, the market is way bigger than in 2005 and you have a lot more channels to reach audience.

 

[Jesb]

So 100 Canadian? No thanks. Gamepass looking good.

 

[Slings and Arrows]

I'll pass.

I haven't bought a game since Divinity 2, as I enjoy what Larian offers. Outside of that, it's Gamepass/XBLG and PSN. The industry hasn't earned a penny off of me in 10 years, even though I've fell for it many times.

Until they can make a game that sticks with me for the rest of my life, they can all go bollox.

 

[Nikana]

I'll pass.

I haven't bought a game since Divinity 2, as I enjoy what Larian offers. Outside of that, it's Gamepass/XBLG and PSN. The industry hasn't earned a penny off of me in 10 years, even though I've fell for it many times.

Until they can make a game that sticks with me for the rest of my life, they can all go bollox.

Don't you think that's a bit of a tall order?

 

[Slings and Arrows]

Don't you think that's a bit of a tall order?

No?

Not counting genres that I don't play; Fighters, racers, sports etc, there are loads and loads of amazing experiences in my genres that I do like; RPG's/adventures/D+D/puzzle games. Unfortunately, the past 10-15 years has been a fucking desert of those games, quality wise.

 

[teezzy]

Yup, it's inevitable. Remember when games were $50 on average? I remember. Budgets getting too high, inflation doing what inflation does.

Looks like PC is still the way to go this gen. I can't even remember the last time I paid a full $60 for a game. I'll blow that money on superfluous hardware - thank you very much!

 

[Optimistic Gamer]

The amount of people defending this in the time of $60 F2P games with season passes, special editions, "road maps" etc. is astonishing,
Switch to all digital, make them more money; you won't see any return for that.
Switch to paying $70, make them more money; you won't see any return for that.

This is 100% only to see how much more money you can squeeze out of consumers before they start to say something.

You'll get the same incomplete fraction of broken games that you've been getting for years now.
The next article about Koticks yearly bonus will have a bigger number.