Recently, 2K Sports announced that NBA 2K21 for PS5 / Xbox Series X will cost $ 70, which is a $ 10 price increase from the $ 60 that has been common since the Xbox 360 / PS3 era. Other publishers are expected to do the same and raise prices for next-gen games, but the full picture has yet to be clarified. Xbox boss Phil Spencer has commented on the matter and told The Washington Post that he sees no problem with the price increase. Players will finally vote with their wallets, after all.
“As an industry, we can price whatever we want, and the customer will decide what the right price is for them,” Spencer said. “I’m not negative on people setting a new price for games because I know that everyone will make their own decisions based on their own business needs. But players have more options today than ever. In the end, I know that the customer has the control the price you pay and I trust that system. “
Spencer declined to say whether the new Microsoft games will cost $ 70, but the situation on Xbox is somewhat different. With Xbox Game Pass, Microsoft offers a subscription service that brings you all premium Xbox games for around $ 10 per month.
Before the $ 10 price increase for NBA 2K21 was announced, PlayStation boss Shawn Layden spoke about how the current AAA gaming business is unsustainable.
“It’s been $ 59.99 since I started this business, but the cost of games has increased ten-fold,” Layden told GI.biz. “If you don’t have price elasticity, but you have great volatility in the cost line, the model becomes more difficult. I think this generation will see those two imperatives collide.”
Yoshio Osaki of IDG Consulting said that despite rising development costs, the price of games has not increased in the same way that a Netflix subscription has. “Even with the increase to $ 69.99 for the next generation, that next-generation price increase from 2005 to 2020 only increased 17%, well below other comparisons,” he said. “While the cost of development and publishing has increased, and prices in other entertainment verticals have also increased substantially, the price of next-generation software has not reflected these increases. $ 59.99 to $ 69.99 does not even cover these other increases in costs entirely, but yes move it more in the right direction. “
Osaki added that he believes other publishers are “exploring their next-generation price hikes in certain franchises.”
