wraggster
August 27th, 2013, 22:54
Independent retailers are urging Microsoft and Sony to keep the cost of Xbox One and PS4 games at or below the £50 mark.
Retail lists have pencilled in Xbox One and PS4 game prices as anywhere between £50 to £70. EA so far is the only company to confirm its next-gen video game prices, with RRPs for Battlefield 4 and FIFA 14 set at £54.99. Microsoft has also stated that all first party Xbox One games will retail for £49.99.
But indies say that consumers won’t stand for anything higher than a £50 price tag.
“Can publishers justify asking for twice the cost for what is definitely not twice the game?” said Gameseek MD Stephen Staley. “The current-gen pricing is just about acceptable: around £40 to £50. This isn’t the right economic climate to ask someone to pay over £50 for a game.”
Games Centre boss Robert Lindsay concurs: “Initial next gen owners aren’t going to be deterred by a £50 game. This has been the average price on console launch titles for years.”
Few retailers sell current gen games at the RRP of £49.99, instead selling them for around £35.
But ShopTo CEO Igor Cipolletta questions if this will be the case when Xbox One and PS4 arrive.
“The question is: Will retailers drop margin and sell at the same price as before?,” he said. “Or will the margin be higher for the next gen?”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/indies-ps4-and-xbox-one-games-must-cost-50-or-lower/0120495
Retail lists have pencilled in Xbox One and PS4 game prices as anywhere between £50 to £70. EA so far is the only company to confirm its next-gen video game prices, with RRPs for Battlefield 4 and FIFA 14 set at £54.99. Microsoft has also stated that all first party Xbox One games will retail for £49.99.
But indies say that consumers won’t stand for anything higher than a £50 price tag.
“Can publishers justify asking for twice the cost for what is definitely not twice the game?” said Gameseek MD Stephen Staley. “The current-gen pricing is just about acceptable: around £40 to £50. This isn’t the right economic climate to ask someone to pay over £50 for a game.”
Games Centre boss Robert Lindsay concurs: “Initial next gen owners aren’t going to be deterred by a £50 game. This has been the average price on console launch titles for years.”
Few retailers sell current gen games at the RRP of £49.99, instead selling them for around £35.
But ShopTo CEO Igor Cipolletta questions if this will be the case when Xbox One and PS4 arrive.
“The question is: Will retailers drop margin and sell at the same price as before?,” he said. “Or will the margin be higher for the next gen?”
http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/indies-ps4-and-xbox-one-games-must-cost-50-or-lower/0120495