Story Highlights
  • The $70 price has become standard for modern AAA games, and Capcom has joined the trend recently.
  • According to the publsiher, the response to Dragon’s Dogma 2 was moderate after this price tag.
  • It states that the price for future games will be carefully considered.

Development costs in the gaming industry have surged in recent years due to inflation and the increasing resources required. Rising costs have compelled developers to raise game prices from $60 to $70, a change that fans have not been too happy with.

Capcom recently disclosed during a Q&A session that its first $70 AAA launch, Dragon’s Dogma 2, received a moderate reception from players.

Why it matters: It is pretty evident that consumers generally dislike price hikes, but developers need to remain profitable to continue producing high-quality games, making such increases necessary.

Dragon's Dogma 2
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Was Tarnished On Day One By Its Poor Performance and Microtransactions

Capcom also discussed pricing for future games.

Regarding pricing for future game releases, we will determine prices after carefully assessing user response and considering the rising cost of development.

-Capcom

Dragon’s Dogma 2 sold over 2.5 million copies in its launch month and exceeded 3 million by late May. The game was also Capcom’s biggest Steam Launch. However, the team does not seem satisfied with these figures.

This suggests Capcom might not entirely shift to $70 games as believed previously. The publisher could potentially maintain the traditional $60 price point or find another middle ground.

Capcom’s president, Haruhiro Tsujimoto, previously mentioned that game prices are too low relative to development costs, noting that these costs are about 100 times higher than during the NES era.

However, evidence has already proven that the new $70 price tag has affected the gaming industry. Multiple people have voiced their opinions online, stating that they fear buying a $70 release due to concerns that the game will not deliver.

Dragon's Dogma 2
Dragon’s Dogma 2 Was Well Received Overall

This wouldn’t have been a big issue in the past, but since unfinished games and cash grabs have become such a trend recently, consumers are extra careful of the titles they spend money on.

Both perspectives are understandable. Consumers are cautious about their spending, while developers need revenue to cover the substantial costs of modern game development.

This is why we are hoping for a solution that will maintain stability in the gaming industry and ensure balance, where both consumers and developers will be happy. It will be interesting to see how Capcom strategizes moving forward and what pricing model it will adopt in the future.

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Avinash Jaisrani
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