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[cormack12]

Source: https://www.videogameschronicle.com...ing-pushback-from-players-on-70-game-pricing/

“We’re not seeing a pushback on frontline price,” Zelnick responded (transcribed by VGC). “What we’re seeing is consumers are seeking to limit their spending by going either to the stuff they really, really care about, blockbusters, or to value, and sometimes it could be both. And the good news is, we have a bunch of blockbusters and we have a wonderful catalogue.”

One recent example of a Take-Two release that failed to meet expectations was Marvel’s Midnight Suns. It came out last December priced at $70 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and $60 on PC, but the publisher discounted all versions of the game by 33% a month after release.

“The other news is we have a robust frontline release schedule and without regard to price, there has been some pressure, as a result, if a consumer sees something that’s interesting but not necessarily yet a huge blockbuster,” Zelnick continued.

 

[Badlucktroll]

Can’t wait until 2 generations from now when these games are $99

 

[lh032]

jimbo can see the future.

 

[Banjo64]

Can’t wait until 2 generations from now when these games are $99

They will be, but as with everything in life supply and demand will still dictate the market so as soon as demand drops, the sales will start and the price will go as low as it needs to in order to sell. Patient gamers always winning.

 

[Kilau]

What we’re seeing is consumers are seeking to limit their spending by going either to the stuff they really, really care about, blockbusters, or to value, and sometimes it could be both.

This is pushback lol, not everyone rants and raves on social media or sends death threats. Most of us just change our spending habits when we don’t like something.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

What we’re seeing is consumers are seeking to limit their spending by going either to the stuff they really, really care about, blockbusters, or to value, and sometimes it could be both.

Aka........Consumer pushback.

This $70 pricing, is going to mean that games have to be really something for them to sell now. Or it would necessitate new pricing tiers...AAA=$70, AA=$50, A= $20-$30

 

[Captain Toad]

Can’t wait until 2 generations from now when these games are $99

When they are, it will probably equivalent to $65 today. Not that people will have learned how inflation works by then.

 

[TrueLegend]

When they are, it will probably equivalent to $65 today. Not that people will have learned how inflation works by then.

People will understand inflation if they get equal raise in their earning. Inflation indicates financial growth and if the masses are not sensible to it and the country is experiencing it then either it's bad kind or there is inequitable redistribution of that financial growth.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Yup, as always vote with your wallets and let the market decide what works.

A game like tears of the kingdom obviously justifies that price but not many others do.

Just wait for a sale and these publishers will soon catch on.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

So in other words, people are avoiding $70 crappier noname games. What a shock.

 

[ReBurn]

Can’t wait until 2 generations from now when these games are $99

Will still be cheaper than a $60 game in 2005.

 

[Walter Matthau]

I guess consumers reducing purchases doesn't count as pushback?

 

[mcjmetroid]

One recent example of a Take-Two release that failed to meet expectations was Marvel’s Midnight Suns. It came out last December priced at $70 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S and $60 on PC, but the publisher discounted all versions of the game by 33% a month after release.

Not to defend the 70 dollar price point but Marvel Midnight doesn't look in any shape or form like a 70 game. As it is the game is a really hard sell even at 40, I'm not shocked it performed badly.

 

[M1chl]

What an uplifting message, about our beloved industry, Sony you are true trailblazers

 

[reksveks]

Aka........Consumer pushback.

Yeah, kinda understand what he is trying to say but to say it isn't a pushback is wrong.

 

[Pelta88]

I know that on gaf, a $70 title meant a quick death to > Insert publisher here <

In reality, Gamers and the wider consumer public will pay for greatness. The next Grand Theft could retail at $100 and will some on gaf would burn down their own home over the audacity.... While the wider gaming audience would be like

 

[GHG]

So in other words, people are avoiding $70 crappier noname games. What a shock.

As it should have been, always.

I'm not sure why the extra $10 makes a difference in this case.

What an uplifting message, about our beloved industry, Sony you are true trailblazers

Such trailblazers that it was in fact Take Two who decided to set the $70 price tag before anyone else:

2K Sports broke the $70 seal in July when it announced that NBA 2K21 would cost $59.99 on current-gen consoles but $10 more on next-gen systems, although 2K’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, insisted that pricing for its games would be handled on a title-by-title basis. Later that month, video game research firm IDG Consulting’s president and CEO Yoshio Osaki told gamesindustry.biz that “other publishers are also exploring moving their next-gen pricing up on certain franchises.” In mid-September, Sony specified that most of its PS5 launch-day lineup would retail for $69.99.

Farewell to the $60 Video Game

The cost of games had remained stable since 2005, when ‘Call of Duty 2’ set the standard price. Now, the latest installment of the series is setting a new mark at $69.99. What does it mean for an industry that’s increasingly moved toward subscription services?

www.theringer.com

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

OK so what qualifies as "pushback" if consumers buying less games isn't one? Assembling with pitchforks in front of their hq? I guess if you're T2, fuck the competition and smaller devs. Charge 150 and let only COD FIFA and GTA remain

 

[Banjo64]

OK so what qualifies as "pushback" if consumers buying less games isn't one? Assembling with pitchforks in front of their hq? I guess if you're T2, fuck the competition and smaller devs. Charge 150 and let only COD FIFA and GTA remain

Yup - if someone is now only buying 1 £70 instead of 2x £50 games in a year, that is pushback.

 

[M1chl]

As it should have been, always.

I'm not sure why the extra $10 makes a difference in this case.



Such trailblazers that it was in fact Take Two who decided to set the $70 price tag before anyone else:

2K Sports broke the $70 seal in July when it announced that NBA 2K21 would cost $59.99 on current-gen consoles but $10 more on next-gen systems, although 2K’s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, insisted that pricing for its games would be handled on a title-by-title basis. Later that month, video game research firm IDG Consulting’s president and CEO Yoshio Osaki told gamesindustry.biz that “other publishers are also exploring moving their next-gen pricing up on certain franchises.” In mid-September, Sony specified that most of its PS5 launch-day lineup would retail for $69.99.

Farewell to the $60 Video Game

The cost of games had remained stable since 2005, when ‘Call of Duty 2’ set the standard price. Now, the latest installment of the series is setting a new mark at $69.99. What does it mean for an industry that’s increasingly moved toward subscription services?

www.theringer.com

Yeah I would disagree, I think that if 2K is doing that it would be fun experiment, but when HW manufacturer does that, it will set up one hell of precedent for pricing that came afterwards.

 

[GHG]

Yeah I would disagree, I think that if 2K is doing that it would be fun experiment, but when HW manufacturer does that, it will set up one hell of precedent for pricing that came afterwards.

The issue is that Take 2 went first, other publishers followed, and then the hardware manufacturers followed.

When something like that happens industry wide it's a clear signal that the cost of production is going up and that they are doing what's required to maintain margins and keep their businesses financially healthy.

 

[M1chl]

The issue is that Take 2 went first, other publishers followed, and then the hardware manufacturers followed.

When something like that happens industry wide it's a clear signal that the cost of production is going up and that they are doing what's required to maintain margins and keep their businesses financially healthy.

True, but the argument that games are too expensive and that 60USD is not longer enough, that you are paying same for game since forever. Well never in the history has been such a large audience for games. They are reporting always the record profits, 1 million of copy sold is a lot of times failure and so on. The problem with that isn't necessarily what fans will be paying, like we here (even tho thank fuck for cdkeys), but given from where I am from, it will only increase piracy and other unhealthy shit like that.

 

[HTK]

I simply don't buy Single Player games on Day 1 and wait for a discount. Also, I try to be more smart about my purchases in general. He's right about one thing, GTA6 for me will be Day 1 Blockbuster Purchase. lol

 

[Fuz]

“We’re not seeing a pushback on frontline price,”

Dear gamers,
Fuck you.

Sincerely,
Fuz.

 

[hemo memo]

Paying day 1 doesn’t make sense when games get discounted and/or hit a subscription service more than over. Unless Nintendo which rarely discount their games.

 

[GHG]

True, but the argument that games are too expensive and that 60USD is not longer enough, that you are paying same for game since forever. Well never in the history has been such a large audience for games. They are reporting always the record profits, 1 million of copy sold is a lot of times failure and so on. The problem with that isn't necessarily what fans will be paying, like we here (even tho thank fuck for cdkeys), but given from where I am from, it will only increase piracy and other unhealthy shit like that.

Piracy will always exist, companies will always seek to maximise profits at the expense of the consumer.

All that the legitimate consumer can do is only purchase what they deem to be worth the price tag. Which seems to be exactly whats happening based on the article in the OP. The vast majority of games are not worth anywhere near full price anyway so if this price increase ends up weeding out the crap then so be it.

I'm of a view that publishers should be a lot more flexible with their pricing overall. In no world are games like the callisto protocol and Returnal worth full price IMO so it's up to us to reject those games at full price, be patient and wait for sales.

 

[The Tourmaline Gorilla]

Can’t wait until 2 generations from now when these games are $99

I'm all for it.

I'll either be on a subscription of some sort, or buying 3 games a year.

 

[Saber]

This is pushback lol, not everyone rants and raves on social media or sends death threats. Most of us just change our spending habits when we don’t like something.

Yeah.
Its similar to garbage restaurants here in my country. I don't go to media saying they suck, I just never step there anymore and move to a better one.

 

[STARSBarry]

If people are "curating their purchases" that means you have consumer pushback...

Consumers pushback by not buying your fucking products, that's literally how capitalism outside of fucking monopolies work.

How the hell does the guy who said this stay in their job?

 

[Fahdis]

Can’t wait until 2 generations from now when these games are $99

If you can suffer through MTX, you will suffer through this reality. Gamers live in their own stupidity bubble.

 

[Rayderism]

$70 games are just going to become the norm. There is zero benefit to the consumer. The games will still be bugfests when released, they'll still have deluxe editions that cost even more, they'll still have MTX and whatever other money-grubbing schemes in them. Nothing changes with gaming (for the consumer) except the price. You can argue against or try to validate it, in the end it doesn't matter.

It is what it is, we're just going to have to deal with it. The only recourse we gamers have is to wait for sales or price drops. But they KNOW that gamers tend to be impatient and impulsive, they KNOW that no matter how buggy or broken a game may be at release, they'll have thousands or millions of gamers pre-ordering or buying it day 1, and they prey on that.

It's our fault that gaming is the way it is now, and no matter how many boycotts gamers attempt, it (almost) never works and they KNOW that, nor do THEY learn from the successful boycotts, they'll still keep pulling the same shit. I mean, even if we could get every member of NeoGAF to wait 2 months to buy some new game (yeah, right) it would still be a mostly insignificant number of people to put much of a dent in their sales.

They KNOW the psychology of gamers, they've been collecting "usage data" for years in order to fleece gamers more efficiently. It will only ever get worse.

I'm not blaming or accusing any gamers of anything, I'm just as guilty of impulsivity as anyone else. And gaming companies know just as much as I do that I won't ever learn or change my buying habits enough to ever make a difference to them.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Can’t wait until 2 generations from now when these games are $99

A lot of n64 games were $60. Do you how much more $60 was worth in 1999?

The $60 standard didn’t really start until the 360/PS3 generation, and that was 2005. So I’m not thinking there would be another $10 increase after this current gen is over in 2027ish

 

[Senua]

It sucks but it is what it is, people still pay so I'll just keep on buying games later on at a huge discount as always. Patience is a virtue me ol' muckers!

 

[drotahorror]

Along with microtransactions. Take two at its finest.

 

[Evil Calvin]

$70+ is definitely a deterrent. Fewer games bought. I didn't buy Jedi as I wasn't sure about performance and I was getting Zelda instead. Normally I would buy both. People will take less chance on games.

 

[bentanchorbolt]

Gaming is a hobby of mine so I'm generally unwilling to pay full price for a game, be it $60 USD or $70 USD, unless its both a game I want at launch and its something I will put a lot of time into. Sony, MS, Steam, all run sales throughout the year and given the current state of gaming its probably better to wait for a sale. Cheaper entry price and the game is likely to have a few patches that make it an overall better experience.

And having said that, games have been stagnant in price for a long time even as costs have risen an inflation has devalued currency. It was only a matter of time.

 

[Deerock71]

Wouldn't "curating their purchases" be the consumer's way of pushing back? I mean...sure, it's no problem for the GTAs, Marios, and Zeldas of the world.

 

[Wildebeest]

So when you only play NBA or GTA games, and play nothing else, it is now called "curating your game collection".

 

[Edgelord79]

Yup, as always vote with your wallets and let the market decide what works.

Common rallying cry. I’ve yet to see solid evidence that this causes prices of new items of anything to be altered for launch. In other words causation is tough to prove.

 

[GreatnessRD]

Gamers...

Hold.

 

[Edgelord79]

Inflation is a b&tch.

But we also need to be realistic. When you are developing a 500 million dollar game, how can you keep expecting to sell it at the same cost as a game from 1999 and still retain reasonably high profit margins? It doesn’t make sense.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Common rallying cry. I’ve yet to see solid evidence that this causes prices of new items of anything to be altered for launch. In other words causation is tough to prove.

Completely agree. I can only hope that in some way it gets a message across.

Inflation is a b&tch.

But we also need to be realistic. When you are developing a 500 million dollar game, how can you keep expecting to sell it at the same cost as a game from 1999 and still retain reasonably high profit margins? It doesn’t make sense.

Yeah, Its true. I wonder what a game like tears of the kingdom costs to develop vs a big Western AAA.

I'd happily take developers cutting back on some things as long as they delivered a solid performing game and charged a reasonable amount. Something that I don't think is happening this gen.

 

[ProtoByte]

People will understand inflation if they get equal raise in their earning. Inflation indicates financial growth and if the masses are not sensible to it and the country is experiencing it then either it's bad kind or there is inequitable redistribution of that financial growth.

Uh, what?
Inflation is the exact opposite of a financial growth indicator. It is the devaluation of currency based on higher volumes of currency in circulation compared to lower increases real product.

One of the benefits of inflation is the slow increase of nominal wages to mask the slow real increases or even real decreases. Because most people are not literate in real terms.

Moreover, while the developed world is not a set of true free market economies, to expect "equitable redistribution" of financial gains is nuts. People do not contribute to the economy equitably and so are not and should not be entitled to equal shares of the gains.

Games are still 20 bucks below inflation anyway.

 

[TrueLegend]

Uh, what?
Inflation is the exact opposite of a financial growth indicator. It is the devaluation of currency based on higher volumes of currency in circulation compared to lower increases real product.

One of the benefits of inflation is the slow increase of nominal wages to mask the slow real increases or even real decreases. Because most people are not literate in real terms.

Moreover, while the developed world is not a set of true free market economies, to expect "equitable redistribution" of financial gains is nuts. People do not contribute to the economy equitably and so are not and should not be entitled to equal shares of the gains.

Games are still 20 bucks below inflation anyway.

What the heck...... Healthy Inflation indicates demand and usually to adress the demand the government plans budget and prints money in advance, this is done by practically all governments as it is considered investment because when the demand is fulfilled and that percent of growth is achieved that nominal income increase that dilutes national income and temporarily decreases purchasing power becomes real increase. However inflation can be arising out of other factors which can be bad, like out of control core inflation(food and fuel prices), overprinting of currency and so on which can cause running or hyperinflation. Also I used equitable not equal so there is no 'equal share of gains' in my comment. Equity involves judicious distribution.

 

[Pimpbaa]

People limiting their purchases is the pushback ya stupid cunts (take two, not you guys). As if they weren’t making enough with the previous price plus MTX. Feels like we are paying extra for the PC equivalent of higher graphic settings. I know I sure as hell am limiting my purchases because paying over 100 bucks canadian fucking sucks (said that about a million times). Has to be a very special game for me to get a $70 game on day one, otherwise it’s wait for sales or for the game to come to game pass.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

People limiting their purchases is the pushback ya stupid cunts (take two, not you guys). As if they weren’t making enough with the previous price plus MTX. Feels like we are paying extra for the PC equivalent of higher graphic settings. I know I sure as hell am limiting my purchases because paying over 100 bucks canadian fucking sucks (said that about a million times). Has to be a very special game for me to get a $70 game on day one, otherwise it’s wait for sales or for the game to come to game pass.

that is the point.

 

[Puscifer]

Can’t wait until 2 generations from now when these games are $99

Honestly there was a part of me that understood why certain games could justify it but that's the bait, dangling "what could be" just to then have most soulless bullshit justify the same pricing.

And the pricing is an understatement for midnight suns, they're seriously acting like green man n gaming and other sites weren't selling the legendary edition for 40-45 bucks a month after it came out.

 

[YCoCg]

inb4 he tries to charge $80 for the next GTA.

 

[Crayon]

I still think the $70 has less to do with inflation and production costs, and more to do with buying patterns due to predictable price drops over time.

 

[March Climber]

People will understand inflation if they get equal raise in their earning. Inflation indicates financial growth and if the masses are not sensible to it and the country is experiencing it then either it's bad kind or there is inequitable redistribution of that financial growth.