Next-Gen Console Games Will Be $10 More Expensive (thegamer.com) 89
If NBA 2K21 is any indication, the price of $59.99 new console games is about to be over: "NBA 2K21 will cost $69.99 on PS5 and Xbox Series X, an increase of $10 compared to the recommended price for the current generation's AAA titles," reports TheGamer. From the report: NBA 2K21, which will be released across both generations, will cost $69.99 on PS5 and Series X. That's $10 more than the game will cost on PS4 and Xbox One. $59.99 is and has been the standard for AAA titles throughout the course of the current generation of consoles, and the generation before that for that matter. Although a recommended price of $69.99 might not apply to all of the next-gen's top titles, NBA 2K21's pricing certainly implies that will be the case. Comments from others in the industry have also hinted that the price will be upped across the board.
Former PlayStation exec Shawn Layden suggested during a recent interview that the price of next-gen games would have to be increased. Either that or the length of AAA titles would have to be shorter. For games like NBA 2K21, that isn't really an option. Chances are developers won't want to sacrifice storytelling just so they can charge less for a game, so be prepared to pay a little extra for quality games in the years to come.
Former PlayStation exec Shawn Layden suggested during a recent interview that the price of next-gen games would have to be increased. Either that or the length of AAA titles would have to be shorter. For games like NBA 2K21, that isn't really an option. Chances are developers won't want to sacrifice storytelling just so they can charge less for a game, so be prepared to pay a little extra for quality games in the years to come.
Sure, but kill microtransactions (Score:5, Insightful)
I get it, game development is expensive for these AAA titles, but if I'm paying $70 how about I get the whole game and not nickel and dime me on top of that? If you want a free to play business model release a free to play game.
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I've never paid that much for a whole set, ever. Maybe for an MMO I've been in for over a decade, but for single player games I always wait until the price drops, and then am still disappointed in how bad the expensive ones are compared to the inexpensive ones.
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Play indie games then. The only thing AAA has over indie games is fancy new graphics. I find everything else, including the entertainment value, is actually worse.
Re: Sure, but kill microtransactions (Score:3)
Just wait a year or 2 for the GOTY version with all dlc for as much or even less than the base game sold for. Even better, wait for a Steam/Humble Bundle/etc sale for half price and get it on PC.
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Part of the cognitive dissonance is that a lot of people don't get how most entertainment products are made. Generally they have a target demographic, say 15-25 year olds (and probably segmented by gender, because they know specific things will sell better if they do that rather than try and go generic), because they know that's the age group most likely to shell out $70 for AAA launch price games. When the original demographic ages out, they're not longer a profitable segment to target so the new reboot is
Re: Sure, but kill microtransactions (Score:2)
I normally tend to just wait a decade or so and pick up games on gog for a tenth of their original price. I can't imagine paying more than about $20 for a game when there is so much older stuff that's good and cheap.
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Reasonable price, what the fuck nonsense is this reasonable price schtick. They charge as much as they can, if they could pay lobbyists to make it compulsory to buy them, they would and they would charge $1,000 a game. They are trying to raise the price, nothing new. It's a choice charge more and get fewer sales or charge less and get more sales and then there is the nickle and diming, games just released with DLC at the same time. Going through the steam summer sale, all the new games sucked, already runni
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Of course, if piracy stops then prices will go up because they no longer have to compete with the pirates.
Pirate versions are often superior, because they remove anti-features like drm which often causes problems for players.
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Spend $$$ more on a PC to save money on the games... And doesn't help with console exclusives either.
Re:Sure, but kill microtransactions (Score:4, Insightful)
Spend $$$ more on a PC to save money on the games... And doesn't help with console exclusives either.
The extra $$$ spent on a PC is not just wasted, for that money you get the benefit of a relatively powerful general purpose computing machine that is under your control, something you don't get from consoles anymore, Sony or Microsoft own your console hardware and decide what software you can and cannot run on it. If the computing power doesn't benefit you outside of gaming, put it to some socially responsible use like folding@home or something. You also get the benefit of superior graphics (and graphics customization) compared to console versions of games. For many games you get access to a community of modders who create free content often superior to the game's own paid DLC.
Plus, due to upgrade-ability if you stick with PC gaming through two or three console generations you can end up saving money on the hardware, or at least break even with console owners. I built a new gaming PC around 2012, yes it cost me roughly twice the cost of a new PS3 at the time. In 2015 I upgraded the graphics card only, and since I bought that used (ebay) it was less than half the price of a new PS4. This year I upgraded graphics cards again and spent the same amount. So in total hardware costs I've probably spent the same on this gaming PC since 2012 as I would have spent if I bought a PS3 in 2012 and a PS4 at launch. But I've got all the benefits I mentioned in my first paragraph, including superior graphics quality and framerates to the consoles at every stage, and saving $$$ on games by waiting for them to be discounted on Steam.
Not much you can do about console exclusives but they don't seem to be as common as they were in the previous console generations. If more people switch to PC gaming then console exclusives will look less and less financially attractive to developers
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That's true... To turn my workstation into a gaming PC I really only need to update the GPU and maybe add another SSD for games. Although it might be more expensive when the PS5 comes out as games start to rely on its ultra fast SSD tech.
I wonder what the TCO looks like. Buying a console early is usually an expensive affair and I expect the PS5 will be discounted within 6 months.
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I wish! The machine is under Microsoft's control first and foremost. Next, it is under the control of the rootkits installed as anti-cheat components of games. Whatever is left is under your control. I would never attempt to use a machine meant for gaming to perform tasks I depend on for my livelihood.
Nintendo Switch exclusives (Score:2)
I've got all the benefits I mentioned in my first paragraph, including superior graphics quality and framerates to the consoles at every stage
Does this include ability to use it on the big monitor in the living room? Yes, living room TVs have been able to display PC video for a decade. But last I checked, people didn't want to have to lug a desktop PC back and forth between the living room and the computer desk or run HDMI cables through the wall (if the landlord even allows that).
Not much you can do about console exclusives but they don't seem to be as common as they were in the previous console generations.
True, one can replace Breath of the Wild with any of the Skyrim clones out there. But what's the closest PC-based substitute for Super Mario Odyssey or Super Smash Bros
Re: Sure, but kill microtransactions (Score:2)
Nah,
Blah, blah, blah... next gen.
Each generation offers the ability to increase the default product price with little push back.
There are inflation concerns, but mostly itâ(TM)s a way to make more money. Then people defend it.
Vote with your wallet.
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It actually isn't, they just keep buying celebrity voice actors and models to play in the game and in the ads. Have a mandate of "New blood only" and the budget will singularity itself.
you know sales projections must be dire... (Score:2)
...when the only hard thing sony and microsoft have to preemptively hype is the price hike
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I watched HeelvsBabyface (Youtuber) live stream the PS5(?) reveal and all the games for it. It was .. underwhelming and definitely not worth buying a console and the lock-in for.
It's not like it was back with the PS2 where it cost as much as a DVD player at the time so you basically got the console for free.
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...when the only hard thing sony and microsoft have to preemptively hype is the price hike
It's called managing expectations.
When you are confident about your product, it is much better for buyers to know what they are buying and for how much when you launch, rather than letting buyers be surprised by a price hike and made them hesitant.
Apparently, people who would balk at a $10 increase is not the target market for the consoles. Much better to let people know about the price hike months before the launch to get it out of the way, so nearing the launch the news would be talking about the console
Hike: Did they actually ? (Score:2)
the price hike
Are they actually hiking the price ?
From the blurb:
PlayStation 3 (the generation before that) launched in 2006, the Xbox 360 in 2005.
According to https://www.dollartimes.com/in... [dollartimes.com]
60 USD in 2006 would be a bit above 75USD in 2019 or 2020.
Yet the new price in 2020 would be ~70 USD.
The games *ARE* getting cheaper, just not *as cheap* as they would have w
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Super Mario Bros. 3 for NES was $50 in 1990. The Super Mario All-Stars 4-game bundle for Super NES including Super Mario Bros. 3 was $60 in 1993.
wrong movement (Score:1)
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I paid the same amount to see "Blank Check" as I would "Clerks" as I would "The Lion King". Even though they each cost a different amount of money to create.
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And in this display we have an example of Rectal Diction, speaking of shovelware and copypasta as if they were either artistic or complicated.
Any bloat brought onto the industry process which (like every other process on the planet) would optimize with time is generally self-inflicted.
Also as the market expands, the number of total people needed to socialize the cost of the Imaginary Property would trend downwards.
Sorry, "should".
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Yes, especially for a game like NBA 2K21 which is going to be largely the same as NBA 2K20 or whatever the last version was with some updated graphics and new player names. The basic gameplay won't change, the vast majority of the game code is already written and likely to only get minor tweaks at most.
On the other hand, EA sets an example? (Score:2)
Sure that game is more expensive.
But in a mysterious move, EA of all people has priced Star Wars Squadrons at just $40 - with no micro transactions, and with full VR support!
Sure it's not a next gen game, but at least it goes to show it may not all be headed up. Eventually the law of supply and demand will correct excesses in pricing... there are a LOT of games to be had now, and it's very easy to have so much to play currently you can just wait for something to go on sale later.
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That's because it'll be half a game.
This isn't new, there are lots of games released at half the usual RRP, it's because they're smaller games, or just F2P games without the F bit but with all the microtransactions required to make them even remotely playable.
Total War: Thrones of Britannia comes to mind, it was a much smaller Total War game in their "saga" line of sub-releases, therefore it retailed at £29.99 instead of the usual £44.99 for a normal Total War game.
I think you're rea
Storytelling? (Score:2)
Foregive my ignorance (I haven't played any AAA games for over a decade), but do sports games like NBA2k really feature storytelling?
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Recently, yes. A lot of the sports games nowadays feature a career mode that plays out like an RPG with your specific player that include conversations between games that affect stats. Madden features a full-blown narrative taking you from college up to the pros complete with fully-voiced characters and cutscenes chronicling your journey.
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I own (via bundles; I haven't ever actually bought one) a couple of NBA2K games and they're a horrific complicated mess that hide the gameplay behind a whole swathe of features.
There is indeed a career option in which you spend your time engaged in a badly written interactive video story instead of actually playing the game.
The worse thing of all is that the actual gameplay once you get onto a court is.. fucking atrocious. Seriously, it's meant to be a game, it's meant to be fun, and instead it's a complex
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Motor racing games offer the full gamut of realism, from full on arcade right through to 'so realistic the professionals use it to practice'.
They do have something of an advantage though that they're primarily simulating a very simple control system, so there's no real complication they can sensibly add within the game.
I'd love a football game that offered arcade level controls, all simple and straightforward, but that included the modern graphics, the motion captured ways of kicking a ball. Give us a contr
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I play on PC (Score:3)
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what it definitely isn't is cheaper
Hmm. I think things like Humble Bundle come into play here. Are there equivalents on consoles?
But I agree, the real difference between PC and console gaming is that I just can't get many of the games I like on console.
I've spent 32 hours playing Total Warhammer 2 in the past couple of weeks (according to Steam) and that's a major franchise that's never graced consoles.
Then of course there are game mods. Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord may well come to consoles but the PC version is still in development and
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A lot of this changed when steam added refunds. Before refunds were the haydays of steam sales. They would still have flash sales, routinely dropping things that normally were only on sale for 50% to 75%, and so on down the line. The cuts in discounts were also greater. However once refunds were added all publishers scaled back the percentage discounts on pc games. Theres many AAA and other titles you can find that had their all time historical low prices before this introduction and have never hit thos
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I don't game much as I used to and still use old hardwares. I just wait like a decade to buy them. ;)
Inflation happens (Score:2)
We all knew inflation would catch up even with AAA games. The more money that is created (for USA think that means borrowed from Federal Reserve, whether by banks of by the Fed buying government bonds, which is how government borrows money), the less the money is worth. Is anyone surprised? Have you checked the price of food or other items lately? Of course COVID-19 panemic related cost increases (screening, cleaning, etc) don't help prices either, but that is not the sole reason for prices going up.
Money i
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You NEVER want to live in economies where stagnation and deflation are the operant models. And for the past 2-3 decades, better than 95% of the USA have been living in a stagnant and, at times, deflationary existence. It shows in the repeated credit bubbles and other problems we've bounced between over time; someone living in a stagnant/deflationary economy has no chance to e
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I have found better returns than the stock market on investments by doing limited partnerships with local businesses (make sure to get the lawyers to do indemnity clauses, so you are not sucked into any lawsuits, and maybe even have insurance) than I do with stocks. Yes, for example, it may be boring that a local laundromat might buy a bunch of newer machines, but switching from coins to cards and hiring people to do laundry by the bag, to handle COVID and people dropping off stuff is something that will g
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That makes no sense to me. If I have $15000 in the bank and the evil witch from the economic dimension flies by on her broom and says "Your spending power is now $14000 because of inflation", how is that a good thing?
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Games don't spend multimillions(yet) on voice/acting talent.
Many of them do however contain far more voice and physical acting than movies. That the actors aren't costing as much as a major Hollywood star is probably a good thing.
Good luck with that (Score:4, Interesting)
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Games have inelastic demand. When someone is out of work, or is stir-crazy due to repeated lockdowns due to COVID, with all bars closed, they will pay for the AAA titles, regardless of price, because their friends on social media are sharing their user codes, and that it is something that takes them away from things for a bit. This is why Animal Crossing is selling so well, and people are paying $600 for a switch from a Birdbot scalper. Even someone unemployed is going to buy games because it is a way to
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Single purchase != full game anymore (Score:4, Interesting)
The publishers have even caught up on the "game of the year" editions, and would occasionally not include all the DLC, or include that as a single use code. We can no longer pay full price for a game, and expect an actual full game that would be ours for a long time.
For example, take Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege "Year 2 Gold Edition". They invented a new category of releases to bundle a DLC code with the disc. Or many Ubi games, even compilations with 10 year old games they would not include all missions (admittedly, some of those require playing the game to unlock points which is not such a bad thing).
Some others will just remove the full releases from distribution. For example, "Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition" is no longer published, but you can purchase the base game, and each individual DLC from the Xbox digital store.
Or the rather notorious EA Mass Effect "Trilogy", which does not include any DLC that was not originally free at all.
Overall it is becoming very difficult to keep up with your games, and still pay reasonable prices.
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Some others will just remove the full releases from distribution. For example, "Grand Theft Auto IV: The Complete Edition" is no longer published
https://store.steampowered.com... [steampowered.com]
Not only can you buy it, but it's currently on sale on Steam.
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Thanks, but I was looking for the Xbox version. It is not available on Best Buy, Target or other large stores. Amazon has it from third party sellers at inflated prices.
The base version is still available. Meaning I would either trust a third party seller, or get the base and separately purchase the DLCs.
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You cant really use rainbow six siege as an example. Its an ongoing game that gets a new set of DLC each year. You can buy that current years gold edition to get the current year plus a handful of past years. If you want everything at once for that year then the "gold edition" is not what you should buy and you should look at "ultimate". However you will not get the next years content, not sure if you are expecting to receive all content in perpetuity for a game that receives massive updates multiple tim
I don't think $70 it too much (Score:2)
While I don’t want to pay more for new games, and I find myself buying fewer new games, and instead I am waiting a year or two. I don’t really have a problem with this.
Gaming is still a pretty good value for the dollar, and $70 for many games will still be good.
$50 USD from 1990 is $98.08 in 2020 dollars. So new games has been well below inflation for decades.
The average movie ticket in 1995 was $4.35, in 2020 it is $9.11 (I pay $15 =/). That is more than 100% increase. Gaming has been about 20%
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Minor Detail (Score:2)
One thing not mentioned here is the $10 higher price for PS5/XSX version is for a unique new game engine, with the PC version based on legacy version that will share a code base with PS4/XOne(3). Obviously the latter has much larger install base to recoup development costs compared to the former. That said, plenty of the development is probably shared between them to a large extent, and of course EA doesn't charge less for each year's installment that recycles the underlying game engine with much less devel
Older Consoles For The (Cheap) Win! (Score:2)
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It's a good deal financially, but there's just one small downside... [xkcd.com]
DNAS error -103: Title not in service (Score:2)
Not to mention games' online multiplayer getting shut down before a user on the 5-year lag plan has a chance to experience it.
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Inflation (Score:2)
$59.56 in 2010
$46.82 in 2000
$35.27 in 1990
$22.33 in 1980
Nothing to see here. Move along.
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Except I've never paid those amounts for a full-price game (in my equivalent currency).
That's not quite true. Maybe one or possibly two, in the whole of that time (which covers my whole gaming life quite nearly).
35 for a game when I was in school.
20 for a game in my ZX Spectrum era.
However most Speccy games I bought back then were 0.99 or 1.99. 10 was an expensive one. 20 would have been off the charts.
PC games from the 90's - Between 5 and 10. 35 would have been absolute top-end. SNES games didn't cos
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Ironically NBA 2k21 is also equivalent to NBA 2k10 in both quality and gameplay. So there's *really* nothing to see here.
These sports titles are notorious for charging AAA prices every year for what is in some cases a game that is so poorly re-skinned that they occasionally leave the last years textures and even logo in the game.
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Why is this news? (Score:2)
Ten dollars more for a toy is next to nothing.
Shorter + Quality DLC (Score:2)
Better to deliver shorter more focused games, then sell DLC content packs to add levels, quests, areas, or whatever. As long as people keep paying for expansions, you keep creating more content. If no one cares about your game, you limited your investment.
Might be about time (Score:2)
Console games were for many many years overpriced, but natural inflation have made PC games very slowly catch up from their traditional $40 to now $60, so now they are on par, inflation can continue.
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Why is the first announced price hike ... (Score:2)
A game that is notorious for being nothing more than a cash grab, a reskin of the previous game.
No? (Score:1)
Release Unbroken Games Again (Score:2)
While the Internet-era adds online multiplayer, DLC, and bonus content, it allows developers to simply pick a release date and rel
Sorry Canada (Score:2)
Based on current exchange rate and sales tax, this will mean the games will be around $ 115 CAD, in many provinces. That hurts.
Myself, I’ll just start waiting until the games go on sale or just playing a generation behind.
To hell with consoles. (Score:2)
As a Humble Bundle Junkie [humblebundle.com] and a Steam user I see no need for a console, and I can load my system down with forward-compatible games for a fraction of what consoles cost.
I subscribe to the Humble Choice (formerly monthly) Bundle, and I typically come away from that with at least one title each month that is hot on both the PS4 and XBOX, significantly cheaper than if I had bought them on console, plus the others games that range from awesome, hidden gems to ick but I fluff up my library count none the less.
Please explain why Mr Executive (Score:2)
Why is a price hike necessary?