Former PlayStation CEO Sean Layden is convinced that game prices should be constantly rising by at least $5 every generation.
The former PS exec believes that the industry would then better adapt to inflation, and players would be less outraged by sharp price hikes (better steadily a little bit). Sean Layden expressed his opinion after the resonant situation with Mario Kart World by Nintendo, which became the first game for €80.
For decades, the industry kept the price tag at $60, then —$70. But considering inflation, the price should have crossed $100 long ago, compared to 1999, says Leyden. That’s why a gradual increase would have been a logical step.
«Probably every generation they should have, like, baked in a $5 software price hike and make that the typical, ‘well every generation it’s another $5’ and you would have been up to $90 already by now», — Leyden said.
During his time at PlayStation, he wanted to implement such a strategy. According to his calculations, if the industry raised prices by $5 every time it switched to a new console generation, players would have gotten used to $90 by now, and the $80 price tag would not look like a shock (?).
Meanwhile, the new price of Mario Kart World has caused a wave of outrage in the community. Gamers are saying en masse that they are not ready to pay that much for a game — even if it is Nintendo’s flagship series. Many are also worried that this could open the door to a new normal, especially before the release of such expected blockbusters like GTA 6.
Personally, Leyden doesn’t see a problem with the huge price of a game, but believes that the only problem is that it jumps up and down. Therefore, his opinion is that gamers should be gradually accustomed to giving even more money to studios. But the former PlayStation executive’s tactics do not coincide with Sony’s — the company decided to increase the price of PS5 by 25% at once. With such prices, it is not surprising that users are very nostalgic for childhood games
Source: Tech4Gamers
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