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[sonomamashine]

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, IDG President and CEO Yoshio Osaki says that game pricing has remained flat since 2005, whereas TV and movie pricing has increased significantly.

"The last time that next-gen launch software pricing 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," he says.

"During that time, the costs and prices in other affiliated verticals have gone up."

Osaki says that next-gen console game production costs have increased by 200% to 300%, depending on the IP, studio and genre, but the prices have remained at $59.99. Meanwhile, cinema ticket prices have risen 39%, Netflix subscription costs have gone up 100%, and Cable TV packages have risen by 105%.

"Even with the increase to $69.99 for next-gen, that price increase from 2005 to 2020 next-gen is only up 17%, far lower than the other comparisons. While the cost of development and publishing have gone up, and pricing in other entertainment verticals has also gone up substantially, next-gen software pricing has not reflected these increases. $59.99 to $69.99 does not even cover these other cost increases completely, but does move it more in the proper direction."

He continues: "IDG works with all major game publishers, and our channel checks indicate that other publishers are also exploring moving their next-gen pricing up on certain franchises, for the same reasons outlined above.

"Not every game should garner the $69.99 price point on next-gen, but flagship AAAs such as NBA 2K merit this pricing more than others."

IDG: Other publishers are considering raising game prices for PS5 and Xbox Series X

Other game publishers are considering raising the price of games for PS5 and Xbox Series X, says games research firm ID…

www.gamesindustry.biz

I don't like this, might also explain why Sony & MS would price their consoles at a loss, i'm sure they will benefit from that additional price hike.

[Update: A 2K Games spokesperson has issued the following comment regarding the pricing for NBA 2K21 for the next console generation.]

Q: The price for the next-gen versions of the game drew a lot of attention - could you confirm whether this is the expected price from 2K for next-generation titles?
A: 2K’s suggested retail prices for its games are meant to represent the value being offered. With nearly endless replay value and many new additions and improvements only possible on next-generation consoles, we believe our updated suggested retail price fairly represents the value of NBA 2K21

 

[stranno]

"Not every game should garner the $69.99 price point on next-gen, but flagship AAAs such as NBA 2K merit this pricing more than others."

 

[J-Roderton]

Then put more damn content on the disk.

 

[Dr. Acid Avatar]

This would just be another reason for me to justify getting the disc based PS5. Retail prices can drop quickly on some games and having the option of finding sales through PSN and retail seems smart to me.

 

[sonomamashine]

It is tho.
[Update: A 2K Games spokesperson has issued the following comment regarding the pricing for NBA 2K21 for the next console generation.]

Q: The price for the next-gen versions of the game drew a lot of attention - could you confirm whether this is the expected price from 2K for next-generation titles?
A: 2K’s suggested retail prices for its games are meant to represent the value being offered. With nearly endless replay value and many new additions and improvements only possible on next-generation consoles, we believe our updated suggested retail price fairly represents the value of NBA 2K21

Then put more damn content on the disk.

I doubt that would be the case.

 

[Nobody_Important]

Are AAA publishers still taking in money by the truckload thanks to sales and micro-transactions?


Oh they are?


Then fuck off with this.

 

[Optimistic Gamer]

Then put more damn content on the disk.

Only if you unlock it by paying extra of course.

 

[sonomamashine]

Only if you unlock it by paying extra of course.

AKA MT & DLC's

 

[TLZ]

Then put more damn content on the disk.

Oh there are a lot of content on disk, but you'll have to unlock them with.... giving them more money!

 

[Chromata]

Flagship AAA? When was the last time a sports game pushed the boundaries of what's possible in gaming?

We're talking about a yearly rehash riddled with microtransactions. In what world does that merit a $70 price tag? Lol

 

[hyperbertha]

NBA 2k doesn't deserve to sell for anything more than $14. But as for real games, I'm fine with a price bump if it means improvements in quality throughout the game's framework, like assets as in the UE5 demo.

 

[Naked Lunch]

Yeah fuck this shit. With the trend of unfinished games with post launch DLC - this is not a good thing.
All the more reason to wait for cheap sales.

 

[Nemesisuuu]

If this happens, then be smart guys and preorder everything, day one11!!!1!!1 instead of waiting deep sales for such business practices.

 

[zeorhymer]

Either you front load the money and have a spike in sales or you can drag out the revenue with dlc/micro transactions. Pick your poison.

 

[MoistPenetration]

I don’t see a problem, $70 isn’t bad

 

[sonomamashine]

NBA 2k doesn't deserve to sell for anything more than $14. But as for real games, I'm fine with a price bump if it means improvements in quality throughout the game's framework, like assets as in the UE5 demo.

That price bump was to make more profit not to put the extra work & wasting money programing, they know the audience for sports games will pay whatever they ask + you put a the mamba that died recently = emotion.

 

[too much eslim]

Gamepass for the win.

 

[sonomamashine]

Flagship AAA? When was the last time a sports game pushed the boundaries of what's possible in gaming?

We're talking about a yearly rehash riddled with microtransactions. In what world does that merit a $70 price tag? Lol

Just a roster update .

 

[Sleepwalker]

NBA 2K is a terrible franchise riddled with MTX, if anything they should make their game "free to start" so they at least feel a little bit justified in gouging people for content that lasts under 12 months with no (allowed) resale/recoup method available. Same goes for FIFA, Madden and other sports games, they are basically the same game year on year with a few minor gameplay tweaks and roster updates. Hardly pushing the boundaries of gaming.

And I say this as someone that plays those games.

 

[sobaka770]

I'd pay 70 nay 100$ for a Sony exclusive without microtransactions, endless gameplay loops - just AAA game without the fluff.

Companies like 2K or EA shove a gambling casino in their games should be released as F2P and governed by casino rules, no more FIFA packs for children that you have to rebuy every year.

 

[Soulja]

I could understand this if games didn't have any microtransactions in but so many games now'a days do and companies make a shit tonne of money... Yes they cost more to develop but companies are making a hell of a lot more money today than they were 20 years ago!

 

[SilentUser]

The comparison is simply invalid: Comparing the price of Netflix, a plataform with hundreds of movies and series, against a single game. Or comparing the cinema tickets versus a game, where in the last one tons of publishers a selling a lot of smaller parts of the game to make it complete only after you bought all those parts.

 

[Fuz]

Come on gamers, agree to this too. Bend over again and lube your asses with fine sand and chopped nutshell.

I won't be surprised.

 

[iamvin22]

If this is the case then the digital PS5 and xss are dead on arrival

 

[Rentahamster]

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, IDG President and CEO Yoshio Osaki says that game pricing has remained flat since 2005, whereas TV and movie pricing has increased significantly.

"The last time that next-gen launch software pricing 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," he says.

"During that time, the costs and prices in other affiliated verticals have gone up."

Osaki says that next-gen console game production costs have increased by 200% to 300%, depending on the IP, studio and genre, but the prices have remained at $59.99. Meanwhile, cinema ticket prices have risen 39%, Netflix subscription costs have gone up 100%, and Cable TV packages have risen by 105%.

How convenient that he leaves out any mention of additional monetization from microtransactions, DLC, and loot boxes. Maybe that was mentioned in the original interview, but I didn't see it.

 

[kretos]

Lots of suckers would pay 70$ for a yearly reskin sports game filled with mtx

 

[godhandiscen]

Meh, I just wait for sales. I don’t have the time or patience to play those broken almost-beta releases on day one.

Lots of suckers would pay 70$ for a yearly reskin sports game filled with mtx

Ugh, you got me there though.

 

[Texas Pride]

I'd be fine with game prices going up if the microtransactions went away. But they won't. These people are greedy and they want to have their cake and eat it too. At this point they made their choice and they chose MT's over retail pricing. Cry me a fucking river.

 

[me0wish]

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.

I'd be fine with game prices going up if the microtransactions went away.

they're gonna go way more high in price.

 

[hemo memo]

I'd be fine with game prices going up if the microtransactions went away. But they won't. These people are greedy and they want to have their cake and eat it too. At this point they made their choice and they chose MT's over retail pricing. Cry me a fucking river.

EXACTLY. They want the higher price with that awful practice.

 

[Jtibh]

Imagine you buy the last of us part 3 at $70 and you end up playing as a whaman or some multigender hippo human cross over adter they advertised for months that you play as ellie.

Now imagine trying to return it and demand a refund.

Mega burn in your wallet thats what this will come to

 

[Deleted member 471617]

Personally, I would prefer games to stay at $60 but games increasing to $70 (or even $80 like I was expecting) isn't going to prevent me from buying the games that I want to buy and play. Only difference is that the games I have as 50/50 will have a lot more research done on them before I decide to purchase them. For the games that are day one guarantees, vast majority are physical discs and once completed, I trade them in which usually gives me half my money back.

Ah, whatever. It is what it is.

 

[DavJay]

Not going to like this of but I think it must be done if AAA titles are to be sustainable.

NBA 2k however.

 

[DavidGzz]

Bout time fuck

 

[Johnny Silver]

Essentially it's because of inflation (of the money supply).

With the increased cost that comes with flooding a sector of the economy with cheap credit and the overhaul increase in the money supply, average prices rise as a result.

This is the Cantillon Effect in full swing. The first recievers of the freshly printed money get the benefits, the overhaul economy later on suffers the results with rising prices.

 

[Umbral]

Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, IDG President and CEO Yoshio Osaki says that game pricing has remained flat since 2005, whereas TV and movie pricing has increased significantly.

Is this true?

You can get blu-ray movies for $20 or less pretty soon after release. They used to be upwards of $30-35 if I remember right.

I‘m all for increasing prices if it means we’ll get back to no gambling being in games but we all know businesses aren’t gonna leave that money on the table.

 

[Zok310]

If it goes up to $69 then people will be more selective and buy less games as a result.
Unless they have tiers if $59 games and $69 games. But making everything $69 is gonna cause less game purchase as people will be less likely to chance a game they not familiar with.

 

[T-Cake]

This would just be another reason for me to justify getting the disc based PS5. Retail prices can drop quickly on some games and having the option of finding sales through PSN and retail seems smart to me.

I'm beginning to think about going back to disc for PS5 after having spent the PS4 years totally digital. It would mean I could play new games a lot earlier, sell them on and pick them up at some later date on PC, where prices drop a lot faster, if I wanted to play the multiplats again.

 

[hemo memo]

It’s not my fault that these companies can’t control their budget.

 

[Barnabot]

imagine being so naive to think that you'd be getting more content from a $70 game only when to realise that the publishers just wanted to charge you even more and that's it.

 

[Codeblew]

If this is the case then the digital PS5 and xss are dead on arrival

Naw, I will just add games to my watchlist on PSN and buy them when they go on deep sale.

 

[Potato Chip PRO]

Lol, imagine spending $70 on sport games with it's cluster fuck full of Micro-transactions and The yearly COD. Hard pass on these two.

 

[Barakov]

$60 was already pushing it. At $70, even games that I want on day 1 are going to wait for a sale. It's on AAA publishers that their spending has gotten out of control. Especially with a lot of the big ones being riddled micro-transactions.

The AAA industry can fuck right off with this shit.

 

[Texas Pride]

I don't believe they're losing money considering the pervasiveness of microtransactions in gaming. Don't believe it. Why should the consumer foot the bill for the companies inability to control their budgets? Fiscal irresponsibility should lead to failure.

 

[Bonfires Down]

I think only the absolute top AAA games will be able to get away with this. If mid-tier developers try to price at $70 they are in for a rude awakening. Personally I’ll just continue waiting until most games hit $10.

 

[I Love Rock 'n' Roll]

Because games will be better.... and come with a printed manuals.... and complet with no extra DLC on disk...

Yeah shure, this time, games will be better.

That's why they think - aka the guys behind NBA2k and the fiasco it is now - are legitime to ask for more.


In real life, most of devs would have to pay me to play their shit... and i would not still give a try.

 

[Torrent of Pork]

Honestly it doesn't bother me, but if they want to increase the price and keep the MTX they can fuck right off. Take Cyberpunk for example, from what I've seen I'd happily pay $100 for the game if that's what they asked, as I know I'll be playing that game for years, and I trust CDPR. EA, Activision, and to a lesser extent Ubisoft can wait until the reviews are out, and I'll make the judgement on when and at what price I'll buy in.

 

[dDoc]

good luck with that evil publishers, you ain't selling ice to this Eskimo!

 

[BadBurger]

I think most publishers are either already making enough from $60 games because they don't have crazy budgets (like Nintendo), or are fine with earning extra from DLC and mtx. That said, I'd pay $70 for games if that's what it came to.

 

[Liberty4all]

*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