"Somehow, $80 games have returned." Despite it seeming like we'd be getting a breather from $80 releases on every platform that doesn't start with "N" and end with "intendo," one analyst believes they will rear their ugly head again.
Speaking to GamesRadar, Mat Piscatella of Circana said that the game pricing world is "a little Wild West right now." We're seeing everything from $80 to $30 games make headlines, but Piscatella reckons this variability is coming at a time where publishers are trying to figure out a "sweet spot" for pricing.
"Publishers and developers are trying to find the sweet spot for their pricing strategy. And sometimes you think, 'Okay, we go for a higher price. We may not get as many people, but we know that the ones we get will be very enthusiastic and dedicated.' Or, 'Maybe we need to come out at a lower price and cast a wider net,'" he said. "I think everyone's just trying to figure things out in a market environment where the biggest competitor to any new game isn't the other new games launching in the release window like it used to be."
"It's Fortnite and Roblox and trying to pull people out of those, because that's the primary competition now, getting those 35% of active players on console that play Fortnite every week," Piscatella continued. Regarding the return of higher price points, Piscatella believes that publishers are aware some gamers will pay nearly anything to play a game they're super excited for.
"I know a lot of people don't like it, but people still buy these games at these high price points, so they're going to keep getting made at high price points for the right game that can do that. The market is what it is, and you can always drop the price of the game, but you can't really raise it. So we'll see what happens over time."