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- The former boss of PlayStation recently shared his thoughts on game prices.
- He said that the current game prices are too low and they should go up by every generation.
- Layden thinks that the prices are not increasing because everyone is too scared to lose traffic.
Increasing the prices of games has always been controversial. Nintendo recently increased the prices of its games to $80, which met with massive criticism, but the gaming giant didn’t bend a knee.
Similarly, Microsoft followed suit and announced its first $80 game. However, the backlash was too massive that it had to revert to the $70 price bracket so fans can be pleased, too. Despite the controversy, the former PlayStation boss believes $80 is still too low, arguing that game prices should increase with each new console generation.
Why it matters: While it’s true that development costs and timelines keep climbing, that’s often because studios overcomplicate projects. A game doesn’t need to be massive to succeed; if it’s short, high-quality, and marketed well, it can still sell strongly and turn a profit.
Shawn Layden, the former boss of PlayStation, shared his thoughts on the game prices in a new interview with Gamesindustry.biz. He said that game prices should increase with every generation, but no one does this because everyone is afraid to lose traffic and get backlash.
I think it’s because everyone’s afraid. No one wants to be the first one to raise the price, because you’re afraid to lose traffic. So what you do is you just end up eating into your operating income, your profit margin.
-Shawn Layden
Layden further noted that the the premium games have been costing the same money for past two decade while their development cost and time has been increased. He also took inflation into account.
Games should have increased in price with every new generation.
He went on to explain that keeping game prices the same while development costs soar inevitably leads to shrinking profits.
Layden compared the PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 4 eras, noting that selling 20 million copies of a $60 game that cost $10 million to make is very different from selling the same number of copies of a $60 game that cost $160 million to develop.
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[News Editor]
Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.
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