As part of today’s roll-out of PlayStation 5 details, Sony has announced that some of the console’s launch games will retail for $99, a markup from the common $69 price point of recent generations.
Demon’s Souls, Destruction AllStars, and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition (which also includes a code for the remastered version of the previous game) will cost around $99 apiece when they launch alongside the PlayStation 5 on November 12. (Prices based on JB Hi-Fi pre-order listings.) Additionally, the standalone release of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is priced at $94 while Sackboy A Big Adventure will be $109.
“Our own Worldwide Studios titles will be priced from $US49.99 ($68) to $US69.99 ($96) on PS5,” Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan wrote on the PlayStation Blog, indicating that PlayStation 5 owners should anticipate higher-priced games moving forward.
This per-game price increase has been hinted at for the past several months. Back in July, it was announced that the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions of NBA 2K21 will cost around $99, while Ubisoft committed to sticking with the traditional $80 sticker price for the time being.
“We believe our suggested retail price for NBA 2K21 on next-generation platforms fairly represents the value of what’s being offered: power, speed and technology that is only possible on new hardware,” a 2K rep told Kotaku at the time.
The ever-increasing arms race of console development means the cost of making games for these machines will only continue to rise. On the other hand, much of the world is still reeling from the effects of the covid-19 pandemic, which in the United States specifically has led to record unemployment. It’s a tightrope walk of recouping costs while also trying to avoid pricing a large swath of consumers out of the hobby altogether.
PlayStation 5 will launch on November 12 for $749.95 in Australia (or $599.95 for the digital-only version).
Leave a Reply