Analysts: Next-gen games won't cost more to buy
With next-gen games demanding even-better graphics, many are openly wondering: how much will next-gen games cost? Thankfully, we won't be entering the era of the $70 game--at least based on analyst predictions.
Games jumped to a $60 standard when the industry transitioned from the PS2 era. With next-gen games demanding even-better graphics, many are openly wondering: how much will next-gen games cost? Thankfully, we won't be entering the era of the $70 game--at least based on analyst predictions.
"I don't think the publishers have the collective will to charge more," Wedbush Securities' Michael Pachter said. "My guess is that $59.99 will be the price point."
In a new feature on GI.biz, numerous analysts chimed in on what they think will happen in the coming year. "The $59.99 price point in the United States for next-generation games are unlikely to change," EEDAR's Jesse Divnich said. He believes that an increasing focus on DLC will keep retail prices down, while still increasing revenue. "I'd expect publishers to keep the $59.99 price point intact, but expand on their digital offerings with more in-game content and expansion packs," he concluded.
IDC Research's Lewis Ward also agrees with his colleagues. "I'm not projecting that the PS4 or next-gen Xbox will raise the typical 'AAA' game disc to $70," he said, saying that publishers will reserve higher sticker prices on fancy collector's and limited editions.
Sony's Jack Tretton recently stated that games will be priced "up to $60," suggesting that the platform holder is also uninterested in raising the average price of games in the next-gen.
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Andrew Yoon posted a new article, Analysts: Next-gen games won't cost more to buy.
With next-gen games demanding even-better graphics, many are openly wondering: how much will next-gen games cost? Thankfully, we won't be entering the era of the $70 game--at least based on analyst predictions.-
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I used to pay full price for games, but in the past 5 years, I've been paying less and less...from $40 down to an average of $5-$10. The only exception was Skyrim, where I splurged the $60.
With DLC's being so frequent and common, in excess of 8 DLC's for some of my games, I'd be a fool to pay full price on a game anymore. That, and I prefer waiting until ALL the DLC's are released, then buy everything at once so that I can actually have the "full" experience on my first playthrough, since I usually don't do multiple playthroughs with story based games, with the exception of Alpha Protocol.
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Development costs have just shrunk with x86s adoption. So many tools are already available for PCs, this is a huge win. Once we get third gen titles, those engines will be quite primed for PC adoption.
Less money to develop for the new platform and easier ports larger audiences. Seems a very big win for Sony and consumers.-
No, they did not. Next gen development costs will increase by virtue of the increase in visual fidelity possible on the lowest common denominator platform. If you're a studio/publisher that has been doing lead development on consoles, your content creation costs will jump substantially in order to meet the higher bar.
On the flip side your graphics engineers will have slightly less heartburn from getting data to fit on PS3 SPUs, but their job with respect to performance optimization will still exist under a different guise. Tim Sweeney agrees: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2012-11-13-epic-expects-next-gen-game-costs-to-double-
I disagree, with the new consoles coming graphics will still be behind PC graphics and the price of PC games has relatively stayed the same for the past couple of years. The tools are already there, and for console quality graphics, the tools have been around for the past ten years. 99% of the gamers using a console are going to be limited to 1080, so anybody saying otherwise is miking the system for money. Can you really blame them? Nah, they are there to make money. I just despise when they sugar coat it.
Besides... Epic studios? LOL. Like I'm going to believe anything they sputter out. I think you all (Not poster I'm responding to) are in for a shock when you see the graphics these consoles are going to be putting out are minimal if not equal what the PC has been having for ages. As a PC gamer I'm happy the devs are finally entering the century we PC gamers have been in for the past 13 years. They have a ton of catching up to do. Hopefully the coding will be better optimized.
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