NPD analyst Mat Piscatella believes that next-gen games will sell “pretty well” at the $70 price point despite consumer complaints.
Speaking at a recent Virtual Economy podcast (via Video Games Chronicle), Piscatella argued that people who buy video games during launch period are willing to pay a premium and that market demand for premium games does exist. He also said that those who aren’t able to pay full price for a game have other options including subscription services and free-to-play titles.
“There are so many options and entry points into gaming – the really low cost options for people are there; free-to-play games, subscription spending – they’re all there, there should also be more options that are more higher or premium or even ‘luxury’ tier for certain types of games,” said Piscatella. “You can always bring prices down but it’s important to get adequate return for the investment. I know a lot of people are going to get mad about it, but the games can be worth more than they’re currently being priced at.”
Interestingly, Piscatella doesn’t seem convinced that the $10 increase is entirely due to rising development costs.
“If [companies] want to make the case that they’re doing it because of X, Y or Z, I guess you could try to make that case, but when you look at the financial statements or the earnings reports, you can argue the other side,” he continued. “But ultimately, the market demand is the market demand. You have been paying a premium for years to play a game on day one.”
What do our readers think of Piscatella’s comments?
[Source: Virtual Economy via VGC]
