Who will be second to jump?
Capcom is noncommittal about whether it’ll join publishers like Take-Two Interactive in instituting a $10 price hike for triple-A next-gen games.
During a recent investor Q&A session, Capcom was asked about its intended approach to pricing future games. “We do not have a set policy at this time,” Capcom said. “We will consider our approach having analyzed both our strengths and weaknesses while closely monitoring industry trends.”
Capcom’s response is aligned with the timidity most major publishers are showing on this topic. Nearly everyone falls into the “monitoring industry trends” camp publicly, unwilling to follow Take-Two’s lead and become the second face of rising consumer costs. Ubisoft, however, has committed to a $60 price tag — at least for this holiday season.
But once the first domino falls, it’ll be much easier for the second and third and fourth dominoes to fall. Eventually, any holdouts will feel foolish for leaving money on the table. Within two years, new entries in gaming’s biggest properties will cost $70. Anyone who’s “monitoring industry trends” is just waiting for the competition to take the PR bullet for them.
Capcom has joined the list of publishers ‘monitoring’ next-gen price increases [Video Games Chronicle]
