Following the launch date and pricing info for PlayStation 5 roughly a week ago, an ongoing debate is how many next-generation games will have the new $70 price point. An industry analyst has talked up the issue, suggesting it will be more common than we think – and that gamers will be totally ok with it.
The sound byte comes from NPD analyst Mat Piscatella on the Virtual Economy podcast (via VGC) who said “for some of these premium games, if the $10 increase was implemented, people would happily pay it. They might grumble about it, but they would certainly pay it. The price sensitivity, particularly on day-one, suggests that.”
The latest Call of Duty game, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, is one of the handful of titles that has committed to a full $10 price increase to $70, alongside some Sony-published titles like the Demon’s Souls remake, and Destruction All Stars. “You do pay a premium, and you have been paying a premium, for years to play a game on day-one,” Piscatella said.
“Game prices have stayed the same since 2005, when Call of Duty 2 first went to $59.99 on Xbox 360 and we’ve basically stayed there ever since,” he added. “Now, a lot of people will say a rise in base prices for the higher tier, premium games is needed to off-set development costs, inflation or whatever, and all those arguments seem to fall flat.”
He added: “We’ll have to see how people respond. If nobody buys the $70 games then that will change real quick, but I have a feeling they’re going to sell pretty well”.
What do you think about the increased price point on next-gen games? Is it too steep? Maybe worth it for a select few titles? Sound off in the comments below!
