Nobody is happy about the price hikes that are being introduced alongside Sony and Microsoft’s next-gen consoles, which release later this week, but there’s some good news: they could have been even worse.
In a story regarding the rise of video game pricing and its potential effect on a down economy, Bloomberg revealed that Sony was actually considering raising the costs of its premium games beyond $69.99.
No figure was provided in the story, but we’re guessing that executives were mulling the possibility of launching its biggest first-party titles, such as Demon’s Souls, at $79.99.
“Inside publishing houses, a price hike has been plotted and dissected by executives for years,” Bloomberg wrote. “They point to inflation, as well as the ballooning cost to develop triple-A games, as justification.”
“At one point, Sony discussed going even higher before settling on $70. Many of the game executives requested anonymity, apparently because they recognize the move is unpopular. In many cases, companies won’t acknowledge the fee increase, saying only that prices will vary by title.”
Pre-order listings for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S titles make it pretty obvious where we’re headed, however. While the PS5’s launch lineup only includes a handful of titles priced at $69.99 (Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Demon’s Souls, Godfall, and NBA 2K21), some gamers are convinced that publishers are merely taking things slowly to lessen the outrage of a higher pricing standard.