The video game industry is regularly the subject of controversy and debate. Hardware, onboard technology, subscriptions, and even game quality are all topics of debate for the public and industry players. Lately, a major consumer issue has emerged as a major topic of discussion. We're referring to the price of video games, the increase of which has raised eyebrows for many. But a former PlayStation employee is speaking out to set the record straight.
"I don't think all games should be sold at the same price"
Usually, it's the price of consoles that excites the gaming community. We saw it again not so long ago with the PS5 Pro. With a price tag approaching a thousand euros, the console wasn't exactly a unanimous success before its release. This was reminiscent of the PS3 in its day...
This time, it's no longer the hardware that's at the heart of the debate, but rather the software itself. After rumors surrounding the potential price of GTA 6, it's finally Mario Kart World that's setting the stage. The game will be released at €79.99 digitally and €89.99 physically. Compared to its Clair Obscur or Mafia The Old Country games at around €40-50, these figures aren't going down well with the public.
The Kyoto firm subsequently defended itself against this pricing policy. In fact, it will adjust prices according to the games, their depth, and their lifespan, among other things. A former PlayStation employee seems to agree with this position. Indeed, Shuhei Yoshida, former president of the independent branch of Sony Interactive Entertainment, recently spoke about these issues on Critical Hits Games.
I don't think all games should be sold at the same price. Each game has a different value or a different budget. I am convinced that it is up to the publisher—or self-publishing developers—to set the price of their product based on the value they think they will get from it.
Shuhei Yoshida, for Critical Hits 2.0
Yoshida also puts the rising prices of video games into perspective in relation to the growth in the cost of living in general. In his view, it's "almost too late" in this context to hope that industry professionals will reconsider the pricing policy. Therefore, he believes that even at €70 or €80, the price is acceptable for "excellent games." Finally, he encourages players to take responsibility. For him, as long as they "carefully choose how they spend their money, they shouldn't complain."
Source: Critical Hits 2.0.
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