Resident Evil and Street Fighter publisher Capcom responds to games industry talk about raising the prices of PS5 and Xbox Series X games. One publisher, 2K, has confirmed that NBA 2K21 will be more expensive on next-generation consoles but few others have revealed their plans.
Speaking during an August investor question and answer session, Capcom revealed that it does not have "a set policy" at this time. However, the company plans to "consider" its approach and will look at the strengths and weaknesses of a next-gen price hike while also looking at "industry trends" surrounding the subject.
Capcom's answer comes in response to a wider industry conversation about whether video game pricing is sustainable or not. In June, former PlayStation executive Shawn Layden spoke critically of triple-A game budgets, saying that the industry needs to have a think about what gamers really want from the titles they play. Layden also suggested that the industry needs to "reevaluate" its pricing model as not to price some creative and talented developers out of the market.
Earlier this month, God of War game director Cory Barlog also spoke in support of more expensive next-gen games. Barlog said that raising the price of games would help to deal with the "cash grab" microtransactions seen in some games. While some games, like NBA 2K21, are expected to be more expensive and feature microtransactions, logically, gamers and developers would be able to make a better argument against these in-game purchases if the price of the games increased.
If more PS5 and Xbox Series X game price increases are being planned, then it's unclear when they'll be officially announced. The NBA 2K21 publisher may have been the first to go but it's unlikely to be the last. Last week, Activision also commented on next-gen price increases, confirming that it would reveal its plans "soon" but didn't say just when soon would be.
Ubisoft has teased a next-gen price increase for its games too. Last month, Ubisoft confirmed that its holiday 2020 games would all be priced the same, meaning that fans shouldn't expect to pay more to buy games like Watch Dogs Legion and Assassin's Creed Valhalla on PS5 and Xbox Series X. However, the publisher was careful to note that it hasn't confirmed plans for games released after holiday 2020, suggesting that games like Far Cry 6, which has an early 2021 release date, could be more expensive on the new consoles.
Capcom has only announced a couple of games for next-generation consoles. One of these is horror title Resident Evil Village, or Resident Evil 8 as fans are also calling it. The other is a strange new title called Pragmata. More information about the company's next-gen pricing will likely come with more information about these games.
Source: Video Games Chronicle