Capcom Reveals Plans For Pricing Review As It Slaps A $70 Price Tag On Dragon’s Dogma 2
Capcom recently made history when it slapped a $70 price tag on Dragon’s Dogma 2 which now holds the record as the company’s most expensive game. Don’t expect it to hold on to the title for long though, as Capcom is currently looking to review its pricing policies in line with rising development costs.
“Industrywide development costs are rising, and we are considering a price review as one option,” said Capcom. “Ultimately, we intend to take a thoughtful approach in pricing our games while ascertaining .”
Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto previously hinted at the possibility of a price review when he said that it would be healthy for the industry to increase video game prices as the current retail prices were “too low.”
“Development costs are about 100 times higher than during the Famicom era, but software prices have not gone up that much,” he said. “There is also a need to raise wages. Considering the fact that wages are rising in the industry as a whole, I think raising unit prices is a healthy option for business.”
Tsujimoto is also confident that gamers will still buy video games even with a price increase and the ongoing recession. “Just because there’s a recession doesn’t mean you won’t go to the movie theater or go to your favorite artist’s concert. High-quality games will continue to sell,” he argued.
In addition to reviewing its pricing policies, Capcom says that its also prioritizing the streamlining of its development process and enhancing its productivity. Sony senior vice-president Hiroki Totoki echoed Tsujimoto’s sentiment, saying that PlayStation Studios can benefit from cutting development costs.
It looks like $70 games will be be the norm pretty soon which means that Monster Hunter fans awaiting the release of Monster Hunter Wilds can probably expect to pay roughly the same amount if not more.
