[Stilton Disco]

It's obvious MS is doing it because of the tariffs I doubt Sony is going to eat the costs rather than pass it down to the consumers. $80 games for sure is coming now that MS and Nintendo are doing it too

The cost of everything everywhere has been going up since the lockdowns. I'm honestly amazed MS didn't insist on a price increase before now.

The globalisation killer app of outsourcing cheap labour overseas has been dead for a while. China stopped being cheap over a decade ago, and many, including China itself, started getting work outsourced from there to places like Vietnam.

However the complexity of what's required now means you simply can't find anywhere cheaper, because the few remaining cheap labour locations simply cannot make the complicated technological devices that previously could be slapped together by a few Chinese slaves on a conveyor belt.

Trumps Tariffs are accelerating the price increases, but they had already started anyway.

 

[Zog]

All games are now 80 bucks hahahahah yeah
... No thank you.

They need the extra money to pay the unemployment of all the laid off employees.

 

[Neil Young]

When's the last time you heard someone say "I just bought an Xbox Series X"?

 

[Epic Nemesis]

It's honestly such a mind boggling decision.

Step 1. Buy all these developers
Step 2. Release a streaming service and call everything your platform
Step 3. Release your games on your competitor's platform
Step 4. Price yourself above your competitor with no value proposition

 

[Zog]

It's honestly such a mind boggling decision.

Step 1. Buy all these developers
Step 2. Release a streaming service and call everything your platform
Step 3. Release your games on your competitor's platform
Step 4. Price yourself above your competitor with no value proposition

Number 4 is only true for awhile. Sony will also be raising prices.

 

[regawdless]

 

[FreddyFooker]

All games are now 80 bucks hahahahah yeah
... No thank you.

M$ want gamers to move to gamepass and game streaming, the best way of achieving that paradigm shift is by pricing ownership out of the market, its taking advantage of Nintendo's price points.

 

[cryptoadam]

Ps6 and Series XX will be 999$. Bookmark this post

 

[McHuj]

Ps6 and Series XX will be 999$. Bookmark this post

Maybe not that high, but I think $799 might be a reasonable expectation.

 

[Amorous Biscuit]

What makes me laugh is that MS directly address a reason for this change as the "rising cost of development".

Mother fucker don't you set the fucking budgets for these fucking games? Stop greenlighting mass market slop or trend chasing flops and do budget releases in the AA space with the insane amount of IP at your disposal. You bought near half the industry's big third party players and struggle to even show anything for it.

The brain trust at MS are truly something special.

Infuriating rationale behind the decision.

 

[Dacon]

Good, the collapse is necessary.

 

[Zog]

What makes me laugh is that MS directly address a reason for this change as the "rising cost of development".

Mother fucker don't you set the fucking budgets for these fucking games? Stop greenlighting mass market slop or trend chasing flops and do budget releases in the AA space with the insane amount of IP at your disposal. You bought near half the industry's big third party players and struggle to even show anything for it.

The brain trust at MS are truly something special.

Infuriating rationale behind the decision.

It's like charging your clients more because you spend too much on fast food every month and actually telling them that.

 

[TaySan]

Everything is going up except the paychecks

 

[regawdless]

Meanwhile, the games that grabbed and impacted me the most in recent years were:

- Jagged Alliance 3 which was like 45 bucks or something
- Witchfire for 39.99
- Clair Obscur Expedition 33 for 49.99

Large games with a lot of content, great gameplay, great design, great quality and well designed FUN.

Ok and Dragon's Dogma 2, which was a large full priced game tbh. But what I'm trying to say is that team size and budget don't necessarily correlate with quality and enjoyment.

Scale your projects accordingly, don't increase the price. Smaller to mid sized teams can create incredible games that sell well.

 

[FreddyFooker]

Everything is going up except the paychecks

As if by design

 

[teezzy]

Ps6 and Series XX will be 999$. Bookmark this post

Is Xbox really going to make another console? Id be legit shocked

 

[LtGoose]

Raising prices on video games makes no damn sense. Any company that thinks I'll pay $80 for a video game can chortle my bawls.

 

[Zog]

Raising prices on video games makes no damn sense. Any company that thinks I'll pay $80 for a video game can chortle my bawls.

Well, i think Switch 2 showed the game industry that many people WILL. We all know that the $80 games on Switch 2 won't be limited to Mario Kart World, third parties will surely get in on the action and you can expect the next Zelda and 3D Mario to be $80 games as well.

Nintendo fans were like: 'I need it, I'll pay anything for it' and the industry was watching.

 

[teezzy]

All games are now 80 bucks hahahahah yeah
... No thank you.

Hopefully the market will self correct

I dont even like dropping anything over like $35... unless its like some old rare ps1/ps2/xbox title

 

[Zog]

Hopefully the market will self correct

I dont even like dropping anything over like $35... unless its like some old rare ps1/ps2/xbox title

This is a self correction. They realized they could have been charging more and they corrected it.

 

[AJUMP23]

$100 on Xboxes seems steep.

 

[teezzy]

$100 on Xboxes seems steep.

Luckily everything is an Xbox now or whatever

 

[Nikana]

Luckily everything is an Xbox now or whatever

Omg...am...am I ...


Am I an Xbox....

 

[Dacon]

Well, i think Switch 2 showed the game industry that many people WILL. We all know that the $80 games on Switch 2 won't be limited to Mario Kart World, third parties will surely get in on the action and you can expect the next Zelda and 3D Mario to be $80 games as well.

Nintendo fans were like: 'I need it, I'll pay anything for it' and the industry was watching.

You just KNOW those greedy cunts at Square Enix are just salivating at the chance of charging 80+ for a Final Fantasy game.

 

[Concern]

The people will still buy overpriced shit no matter how much they complain. And that is where the problem will always be, FOMO.

You get what you deserve. Of course Sony will follow suit and maybe even pc. I have no faith in any of these companies.

I barely buy games much anyway these days since most are boring, politically correct wannabe, incomplete, low quality garbage these days on day one anyway.

 

[Mickmrly]

Well, i think Switch 2 showed the game industry that many people WILL. We all know that the $80 games on Switch 2 won't be limited to Mario Kart World, third parties will surely get in on the action and you can expect the next Zelda and 3D Mario to be $80 games as well.

Nintendo fans were like: 'I need it, I'll pay anything for it' and the industry was watching.

Many Nintendo games are worn $80 though. Few Xbox games, or PlayStation games, are really worth that much.

Nintendo releases a new game in a successful franchise, with some new gimmick, and it usually sells well with fans enjoying their time with the game. Xbox has good releases too, however they have a lot more mediocre releases that aren't really worth the cost to be honest.

Xbox has Age of Empires, Forza, Flight Simulator and now Call of Duty as well. These are respectable franchises usually worth $80. However, most of their franchises are rather mediocre and aren't worth it. In contrast, Nintendo has a slower first party release schedule, but usually produce high quality games that are worth $80.

Nintendo has a proven track record of quality games (some consoles have been less than stellar however). That is why their move to $80 games is not such a big deal. Xbox has had issues with the quality of their games for at least 2 generations now. With their recent track record, $80 games are far less reasonable.

PlayStation rereleases Last of Us over and over again and that isn't worth $80 either. However, they have the GOAT game Goodbye Volcano High in their catalogue, which would most definitely be worth $80… They are a mixed bag.

 

[Eneru]

In a world where everything went up in cost 10% or so - at least that's what it feels like for me - no wonder the console and game manufacturers are raising the prices. It's fucking shit but it is what it is I guess. What's even weirder is that they fired quite a lot of people at ms if I remember correctly to cut costs and they STILL raise the prices for the consoles. Pure greed it seems like. But it is what it is I guess.

 

[regawdless]

Now imagine Sony coming out with a new strategy:

- Maximum core team size 100 people
- the larger studios are being split into smaller ones under the leadership of the high achievers, giving them power and trust
- maximum dev budget 100m
- maximum game price 49.99

Result: more games, better games, less risk, better sales, Sony destroys the competition.

 

[Dreamlord]

I ain't paying these prices.

Even the new DOOM, I want it day 1, but I am not paying even the £52 it is on cdkeys.

I'll sub on GP for PC for the £1 teaser for 2 weeks, play for a bit for a taster, and then wait until it's down to under-£30 to buy it.

 

[regawdless]

I ain't paying these prices.

Even the new DOOM, I want it day 1, but I am not paying even the £52 it is on cdkeys.

I'll sub on GP for PC for the £1 teaser for 2 weeks, play for a bit for a taster, and then wait until it's down to under-£30 to buy it.

That's Xbox's strategy though. High gaming prices driving people into GamePass subs. Once there are like three Xbox games you want to play, you'll be happy to pay 20 bucks per months for a few months for GP instead of 240 bucks for all the games.

And then the next games come out and you stay on GamePass.

 

[Dreamlord]

That's Xbox's strategy though. High gaming prices driving people into GamePass subs. Once there are like three Xbox games you want to play, you'll be happy to pay 20 bucks per months for a few months for GP instead of 240 bucks for all the games.

And then the next games come out and you stay on GamePass.

Yep, and that's ok with me. I don't need to own (well, "own") every game. Most games I play only once and I'm done anyways. Once my new super PC arrives, I am subbing for a month to play Indy, Atomfall and a couple of others.

 

[regawdless]

Yep, and that's ok with me. I don't need to own (well, "own") every game. Most games I play only once and I'm done anyways. Once my new super PC arrives, I am subbing for a month to play Indy, Atomfall and a couple of others.

That's why I'm subbing at the moment. But the Xbox app is trash, sadly. If it was Steam quality, I think I'd be on GP all the time tbh.

 

[cryptoadam]

MS knows they have no chance against Sony and Nintendo. Might as well squeeze what they can. Whatever they do they aren't going to sell more than Sony and the Switch 2 is going to suck all the air in the industry over the next 6 to 12 months. Price cuts would just be throwing away money. Better to prepare fans for next gen prices now.
Which is ironic because MS was the most consumer friendly of all 3 companies. Free BC with free upgrades. Offering the cheapest console with the S for da poors. Day and date for all first party titles which includes all the IPs the spent billions buying with Acti and Bethesda. Heck they even put games on PC and other system so consumers can play wherever they want.
Yet consumers still rejected Xbox. So why do all this good will for almost nothing. Just start ripping off the customer base to at least make some fazools.

 

[Hardensoul]

 

[Zog]

So the tariffs on China are 145% (last I heard, changes all the time). What are the tariff costs on digital downloads?

 

[Hardensoul]

So the tariffs on China are 145% (last I heard, changes all the time). What are the tariff costs on digital downloads?

Tariffs still 145%. Just some goods have been reduced like PC/Tablet related goods. There are other exceptions. Negotiations are ongoing but for now no video game related goods on tariffs have been reduced.

As far as I know there's no tariffs on digital goods.

Edit: Basically goods that are designated essential are not subject to 145% tariffs and video games are not essential!

 

[Zog]

Tariffs still 145%. Just some goods have been reduced like PC/Tablet related goods. There are other exceptions. Negotiations are ongoing but for now no video game related goods on tariffs have been reduced.

As far as I know there's no tariffs on digital goods.

.. raising the price globally makes no sense if you are going to blame tariffs.

 

[Hardensoul]

.. raising the price globally makes no sense if you are going to blame tariffs.

It does if you willing to take the hit on certain countries and make up the loss in from other countries. Or what Nintendo is currently doing, price of console stay same but accessories are raised and some games $80 or variable pricing.

 

[Showdown]

So the tariffs on China are 145% (last I heard, changes all the time). What are the tariff costs on digital downloads?

Yeah I thought this was funny too. How exactly do tariffs equate to $80 games, especially if they're digital downloads?

 

[Hardensoul]

Yeah I thought this was funny too. How exactly do tariffs equate to $80 games, especially if they're digital downloads?

Tariffs wasn't in affect when $80 was announced, but they may come in play the longer the tariffs are in affect.

Don't be surprised, especially in US if prices go up again for games!