In fact, if you take the prices of the ’90s and apply them to today’s inflation, we are still behind.

Game prices started to rise in 2020, but even if that hadn’t happened five years ago, former PlayStation president Shuhei Yoshida says there were multiple reasons why it was bound to happen sooner or later. In an interview with PlayStation Inside, he was asked about the price hike, which could normalize with the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2. According to Yoshida, no matter who moved first, the price increase was inevitable.

Yoshida says that inflation is real and significant, and the fact that gamers expect increasingly ambitious games alongside rising production costs is a combination that can only push prices higher. He added that to keep development costs in check while continuing to produce AAA games that audiences will buy, the industry is trying to diversify revenue streams. That’s why we see remasters, remakes, and PC ports, as they are easier ways to generate profits to fund new projects. Subscription services and GAAS titles (games-as-a-service) also contribute to AAA game funding.

The former PlayStation boss believes it’s essential to strike a balance between development costs and game pricing. Grand Theft Auto VI will clearly be a case in point (we wouldn’t be surprised if Take-Two charges $100 for it), but the recently released Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 proved that a small team with a limited budget can still release a top-quality game without compromising on excellence.

Not just Nintendo, but Microsoft will also raise game prices soon. While the company didn’t increase pricing when the Xbox Series launched, starting with this year’s holiday season, some titles will cost $80 (so expect this year’s Call of Duty to cost around that). The price of the Xbox Series X has also increased globally…

Source: WCCFTech, PlayStation Inside