More publishers are reportedly considering a price hike on next-gen console games

[Ozmiz]

Unless if you're a patient gamer, and willing to wait until games go on sale.

I generally play "delayed" behind everyone else.
As a result, I save a lot of gaming dollars, bugs are fixed, and the game is solidly reviewed.

 

[Ben1978]

This will mean $120-140 in Australia, we already have $100+ for many console games and with no equivalent of STEAM for sales (or is there?), you have to buy second hand.

I lived in New Zealand for a few months about fifteen years ago and the price of games was a joke. Criminally high.

 

[BradT]

All the more reason for me not buying a next-gen console. No game is worth $70. Recent games have proven how they're not even worth $60 anymore. If they want piracy to make a resurgence, then by all means, raise the price of games to $70 and no one will be them at all. That won't stop them from playing them, of course.

As for me, nope, have no plans to buy a PS5 nor an Xbox Series X. Never even bought an Xbox One. I do own a PS3 and a PS4 but I hardly touch them at all. PC Master Race.

 

[wiak]

Well this is why I stopped buying games at retail price and waited some months to get it half the price, its so fcked up its insane, is this even legal? kinda sound like price collusion and on top of micro transactions, pay to win features, they haven't heard of amazon book pricing it seems, you price it at a level people want to buy it, if alot of people buy a game at $40, it would outsell a game that has a price of $60 and give you profit

 

[EClyde]

Sure Why Not? Guys will pay

 

[EClyde]

Well this is why I stopped buying games at retail price and waited some months to get it half the price, its so fcked up its insane, is this even legal? kinda sound like price collusion and on top of micro transactions, pay to win features, they haven't heard of amazon book pricing it seems, you price it at a level people want to buy it, if alot of people buy a game at $40, it would outsell a game that has a price of $60 and give you profit

That's what the video guys learned. Sell a ton at 19.95 and none at 100

 

[Shaitan]

BWhahaha.
- MTX
- DLC
- Skins
- Season Pass, Special Edition etc.
AND a price hike of 10 USD/Euro on top of that? Good luck in finding the cust.. oh, wait, some poor souls still cry over the EA/Activision/Ubi's fate and pay the taxes. Meh. Not gonna happen. I'll happily pay older titles and get the full GOTY a year later, when the price is discounted.
Guess what? Never got a console after the Xbox 360. I'll happily pay 300 Euro for CyberPunk 2077 and never buy Call of (politically correct) duty, Wahmenfield X, Rainbow Six Overpriced garbage, Last of Us 2 "Anita Sarkeesian Edition" and so on.
The ONLY way to teach these companies is to vote with your wallet. And I couldn't possibly care less about gender-inclusive "orcs must be good", "PC", 70 Euro plus 100 more price hike.Not with my card, pal. Not with my hard earned money.

 

[Prosercunus]

There is maybe, MAYBE 1 or 2 games a year that come out that I absolutely must have day one.

Rest I wait for price discounts, sometimes that means waiting 3-6 months, sometimes that means 2 years, depending on my interest in the game.

 

[Avenger001]

Whats the labor cost per unit of output?

 

[EClyde]

Whats the labor cost per unit of output?

Voice actors will kill you every time

 

[Puiu]

Cry me a river. The reason they haven't increased the price is because they have much more predatory business models that are very lucrative (mtx, dlc, loot boxes, etc). At the same tine, compared to 2005, the market is much larger so even with the price not increasing the volume of sold copies did.

And the whole "cost of production" is BS. Sure, it did go up, but they are also making more money per sale since most of it is digital now. With platform royalty fees and retailer fees, publishers ended up with less than half of the full price.
Let's not forget that the PS3 dev kits used to be $20-$40k at launch and you needed multiple for AAA game development.

 

[Gastec]

To talk about "increased costs" in this world, where CEO's and other "bosses" make hundreds of millions or even BILLIONS of dollars each year while the average software developer has a salary of 30,000-40,000 €, such hypocrisy! Where the market increased exponentially and there are now billions of people consuming video games. Just a quick example: "In 2016, the US video gaming market value was $17.68 billion. In 2018, the total value of the video games sales market was $43.4 billion. In 2019, the global esports revenue will top the $1 billion threshold for the first time. The South Asia gaming market is estimated to generate up to $4.6 billion in 2019"

 

[Gastec]

They probably still act like they don’t make any money either.

While in the shadows they "donate" to their private charities to avoid paying taxes and play the stock exchange game to the brink.

 

[Puiu]

While in the shadows they "donate" to their private charities to avoid paying taxes and play the stock exchange game to the brink.

They are doing exactly what Hollywood has been doing for decades doing: they own multiple companies (like a marketing company) and they can charge whatever what want between themselves. This way even the most profitable movie/game are "loosing" money on paper. Lord of the Rings? "unprofitable". Harry Potter? "unprofitable".

 

[AudoBell]

Gaming brings a great value if you look at entertainment per hour cost. I would be fine paying $100 if it attracts more talented and specialized gaming developers.

 

[TenaciousJ728]

Funny this comes at a time where lootboxes are facing regulation.

If the game's worth it, fine. But I'm starting to see very few new AAA games wow me and see more prime cases of "wtf happened here!?". And seeing as the game devs putting in the labor continue to be underpaid while the execs swim in enough cash for multiple lifetimes, I think the hike is an injustice. But whatever - I guess it's OK to live off the tears of broken game devs and gullible consumers.

 

[Gastec]

Gaming brings a great value if you look at entertainment per hour cost. I would be fine paying $100 if it attracts more talented and specialized gaming developers.

Would you also be fine with a 70% increase off ALL prices if every product or service out there would be made with more "talent" and "specialization"? Maybe you have a lot of money but most of us won't even have enough left to buy food.

 

[loki1944]

Better be a quality hike to match as well then.

 

[AudoBell]

Would you also be fine with a 70% increase off ALL prices if every product or service out there would be made with more "talent" and "specialization"? Maybe you have a lot of money but most of us won't even have enough left to buy food.

Your comparison doesn't make sense. Gaming is unique because of the extremely cheap entertainment value/hour. This would expand options. If people have trouble buying $100 games, there are plenty of cheaper games or free to play games.

 

[Gastec]

Your comparison doesn't make sense. Gaming is unique because of the extremely cheap entertainment value/hour. This would expand options. If people have trouble buying $100 games, there are plenty of cheaper games or free to play games.

Sorry, but it doesn't compute. "This would expand options."? I'm just a consumer, part of the sheeple. Could you translate that Corporate Commander lingo?