Whatever the launch price of the new Grand Theft Auto is this November. Be under no illusions that this cannot be the way forward for the rest of the industry. With less people buying day one and more gamers with the intention to battle backlogs and look for great deals. The idea that every other publisher or game studio could even contemplate the idea of matching GTA is something that is nonsensical. It just doesn’t work based on the ideals of how gamers are now managing their gaming habits.
We’re already at a point in the industry where growth is stagnant and game productions are through the roof. The only games that are able to get away with it are your most popular franchises. So if you’re a studio or platform holder even thinking you can take on that GTA pricing no matter what it ends up being this November.
Think again, because most gamers will not have it. There are actually few that can. And when pricing for games becomes the centre-piece of the story. You do find that this negatively impacts the majority of the response towards your platform. As the Nintendo Switch 2 found. You have a basic idea of what can happen when games are put on a pedestal.
It’s the fans that decide themselves when a game may not warrant the increase. A lot of gamers look at the production levels and the franchises themselves and how engaging they are. That’s ultimately what gets them deciding if they want to put money down on a game.
It has to make sense. That’s why in my opinion Game Pass and PlayStation Plus could take an even bigger role in the future to fill the gaps where games are not making back what was put into them. It’s really the only way. Because when you get gamers playing. No matter how they play, they’re playing and that’s a ‘win’.
If you can make back just a bit through people playing that game. It’s just another way that platforms are going to have to differentiate themselves to meet the demands of modern gamers. To get them engaged again, while learning from your Korean and Chinese developers that have been on top form of late.
Anything else is just burying your head in the sand and hoping the problems will go away. Spoiler. They won’t.
Written by Craig Clark
From gaming industry headlines to all things Manchester United and entertainment, Craig covers the stories everyone's talking about — alongside his own published works.