Like 2K Sports, more publishers are considering price increases for their PlayStation 5 software. The speculation is courtesy of research firm IDG Consulting, which noted in an interview with Games Industry.biz that game prices have been sustained. Relatively static since 2005, despite development costs rising between 200 and 300 percent. Earlier today, it was revealed that NBA 2K21 will cost $ 69.99 on next-gen consoles, an increase of $ 10 compared to PlayStation 4.
“The last time prices for next-gen launch software 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,” IDG chief Yoshio Osaki explained. . “During that time, costs and prices at other affiliated verticals have increased.” Osaki noted that, at the same time, cable prices have increased 105 percent and movie tickets have increased 39 percent.
He continued: “Even with the increase to $ 69.99 for the next generation, that next-generation price increase from 2005 to 2020 is only 17 percent, much lower than the other comparisons. While the cost of development and publishing has increased, and prices in other entertainment verticals have also increased substantially, next-generation software pricing has not reflected these increases. From $ 59.99 to $ 69.99 it doesn’t even cover these other cost increases entirely, but what move more in the right direction. “
“IDG works with all the major game publishers, and our channel checks indicate that other publishers are also exploring the possibility of increasing their next-generation prices in certain franchises, for the same reasons outlined above,” added Osaki. “Not all games should be priced at $ 69.99 in the next generation, but iconic AAA’s like NBA 2K deserve this price more than others.” Better start saving, folks, it looks like the next generation is going to be expensive!
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