Aaron Greenberg, marketing head for Xbox, said that pricing off next-gen games is super complex and assured that they would keep gamers first in their perspective.
Xbox is one of the most famous gaming consoles right now on Earth. Owned by Microsoft, it is having their new generation consoles right around the corner for release. Xbox series X and S are the new ones from Xbox. Fans are waiting for them due to improvements in performance and graphics. The company plans to introduce the consoles at affordable prices – series X at $499 and series S at $299.
Next-gen AAA titles: Need for the hike?
Next-gen game titles are going to cost a bit higher than their previous games. This became evident when 2K increased the price of NBA 2K21 by $10 for the next edition. Activision increased their titles by 10$ for premium titles. Premium titles cost about $60 for a decade till now. Game publishers have maintained the cost to attract potential consumers, but it seems that they will change now.
Could NBA 2K21's next-gen price increase be a sign of things to come for PS5 and Xbox Series X?https://t.co/Os3rZMNenl pic.twitter.com/eL6qzVa1Z2
— IGN (@IGN) July 2, 2020
PlayStation announced that they would increase their titles to $70, and the price hike is higher in some regions. So, obviously, Xbox is in the middle of the talk among gamers. They are discussing in online forums that whether Xbox will increase the prices for next-gen games.
Aaron Greenberg, marketing head for Xbox, recently participated in an interview with the Real Deal Xbox podcast. There, he faced the question of whether Xbox will increase prices for next-gen game titles. He answered that they always attempt to put customers first. He added that Xbox game pass and smart delivery would serve as tools for such plans of Xbox.
“Gaming pricing is a super-complex thing to answer because, in the old days, every game launched at one price, and that was it. But we launched Ori and the Will of the Wisps for $30, and Gears Tactics is a new title launching this holiday, and it’s launching at $60. State of Decay 2 launched at $40. So there’s not a simple answer to that except to say that Tactics we’re launching at $60,” Aaron continued.
It is noteworthy that Ubisoft released their games Assassins Creed: Valhalla and Watchdogs Legion for $60. Greenberg referred to this and said that he did not see an industry-wide increase.
Price hike: Is it inevitable?
Game research firm IDG recently conducted a study about game title prices. It noted that games’ prices had not been increased since 2015, even though other entertainment products like movies, music tickets increased.
A 10-dollar price hike would not meet the amount to which it should have been raised, to meet inflation and alleged high development costs.
The hike in in-game title prices would not affect much, according to analysts. Long-term gamers who know about the industry and markets would be happy to pay $10 more for their favorite games.
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