According to Bloomberg‘s new report, the $70 price increase for next-gen games could have been even higher, and Sony had discussions about it in the months before PlayStation 5’s launch.
The publication reveals that “at one point, Sony discussed going even higher before settling on $70.” The information was shared by “game executives” requesting anonymity because they would know the matter is highly controversial, and the move of raising pricing is widely considered unpopular.
“Sony executives have been deliberating over a price increase for some time, said people familiar with the discussions,” adds the report. So, while the move looked sudden and was revealed only after the second big PlayStation 5 even this summer, it sure wasn’t a last-minute decision.
A Sony spokesperson commented on the report, claiming that Sony “is selling titles at launch for as little as $50 and the ‘biggest games’ for $70.” The higher price is “reflective of the growing development resources needed for these ambitious games.” This is the same idea expressed by Take-Two Interactive’s CEO Strauss Zelnick, the first publisher to raise next-gen games’ prices with NBA 2K21.
The $70 price for a next-gen game is a controversial move, but analysts do not believe it will harm PS5 and Xbox Series X|S games’ sales. On the other hand, Nintendo isn’t seemingly going to raise its prices; Microsoft is strongly pushing on Xbox Game Pass as a way for subscribers to save money.