- The former PlayStation boss, Shuhei Yoshida, knew that the cost of the games would increase “sooner or later”
- Yoshida says that inflation and production costs are the cause, so the more expensive games were inevitable
- He does not know if the Rockstar games would increase the price of Grand Theft Auto 6But thinks that “a balance must be found between production costs and game prices”
The former leader of Sony Interactive Entertainment, Shuhei Yoshida, said that the recent increase in the cost of games “would occur sooner or later” due to inflation and production costs.
In a new interview with PlayStation inside, Yoshida was asked about the increase in game prices, especially with regard to Nintendo Switch 2 games, as Mario Kart Worldwhich will now cost more than $ 80, and if it thinks that it will affect other studios and publishers.
The boss of the former Playing explained that he predicted that the rise in prices would eventually occur, mainly due to the inflation and the cost of resources, but did not think that Nintendo would be the only one to launch it.
“I think it was going to happen sooner or later, maybe not Nintendo, but it was going to happen,” said Yoshida. “We live in times of contrast, where inflation is real and significant, but people expect that games that are more and more ambitious and therefore expensive to develop to cost the same cost. It is an impossible equation. Everything in video games today is more advanced and more technologically demanding than ever, and therefore requires more resources.
“Each publisher or manufacturer fixes the price of its games, of course, but ultimately, the heart of the question lies in production costs. And that is why industry players are so eager to diversify their income, in order to continue to produce AAA games that the public buys before anything else.”
Last week, Microsoft increased the prices of its Xbox consoles and accessories, with certain first party games that should be released at $ 80 later this year. Elsewhere, Sony recently increased the prices of its PS5 consoles.
Although there is a very obvious change in the industry, Yoshida does not know if studios like the Rockstar games would consider fixing the price of Grand Theft Auto 6 higher, but that “a balance must be found between production costs and game prices”.
“So I don’t know if Rockstar will jump at the opportunity to set the price of GTA 6 At 90 euros or more, to speak with your motto, but the situation is as follows. And we could even add platforms and subscription games as a service, which, while providing enormous full -fledged income, also helps finance AAA throughout the line.
“In any case, a balance must be found in production costs and game prices. GTA 6 will obviously be an example, but if you take the example of Clear obscure: shipping 33The game is just as phenomenal visually, despite the fact that the team has only thirty people. This is one of the ways to follow, I think, because you can make excellent games with stricter teams and budgets without compromising quality. “”
