Xbox responds to $70 next-gen game pricing: ‘Customers will decide’

4.2
Xbox head Phil Spencer has responded to news that some next-gen games will raise their price on next-gen consoles, stating that he believes “the customer will decide what the right price is for them.”

Last month publisher 2K announced that the next instalment in its NBA 2K series will cost $70 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and other game publishers are reportedly also considering raising their game prices on the next-gen consoles.

Asked about the news by The Washington Post, Spencer reportedly would not comment on how much Xbox’s first-party games will cost, but stressed that games come at a larger variety of price points than ever before.

“As an industry, we can price things whatever we want to price them, and the customer will decide what the right price is for them,” Spencer said.

“I’m not negative on people setting a new price point for games because I know everybody’s going to drive their own decisions based on their own business needs. But gamers have more choice today than they ever have. In the end, I know the customer is in control of the price that they pay, and I trust that system.”




All of Microsoft‘s first-party games will support Smart Delivery and be available via its Game Pass service.

On Smart Delivery, the initiative that allows customers to buy a game once and unlock it on multiple platforms, Spencer suggested it was a way for users to pressure publishers into providing better value from their games.

“With the ability to name things [like Smart Delivery], it allows our customers to ask questions of publishers,” Spencer said. “It’s a set of expectations customers should have for content.”


As reported by VGC earlier this month, Xbox has told developers that they cannot charge players to upgrade their current-gen games to Xbox Series X versions as DLC, as an alternative to its free Smart Delivery scheme.

According to publishing sources with knowledge of Microsoft’s next-gen policies, companies working on cross-gen games have been encouraged to offer both current and next-gen versions at no additional cost, either via Smart Delivery or through their own schemes such as EA’s Dual Entitlement.

However, developers and publishers who choose not to support Smart Delivery can still offer owners of current-gen games a discount on purchasing a second next-gen version of the game on the Microsoft Store. Theoretically, third-party publishers could also charge for physical game upgrades via their own schemes, such as via retailer promotions.

So far all games publicly announced as offering a next-gen upgrade, including FIFA 21, Cyberpunk 2077, Destiny 2 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, are doing so free-of-charge.



Posted:
Related Forum: Xbox Forum

Source: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/xbox-responds-to-70-next-gen-game-pricing-customers-will-decide/

Comments

"Xbox responds to $70 next-gen game pricing: ‘Customers will decide’" :: Login/Create an Account :: 5 comments

If you would like to post a comment please signin to your account or register for an account.

Mario350Posted:

im not ok with paying 110$+ for new games lol are they insane at 100$ i can just upgrade my pc, its bad enough paying 93$ for one game i cant see someone in canada mainly in quebec paying 400$ for a couple games+600$ for the said consoles, thats just insane.

what they do in the us messes what they do in canada so 70$ usd for a game is gonna be 90$ here now, unless i misunderstood and its only affecting americans, either way i know alot of americans who arent gonna pay that price because thats just a stupid price period, but eh its only a 9$ difference if they price the games to 69.99$ that is.

if its a completed fully functional with all its content in the game no dlcs needed and no micro transactions then im ok with the 100$ price tag

THQPosted:

OGTrey079 I don't care about paying $70 for a game if it's actually a completed game that isn't meant to target customers with micro transactions afterwards. The sports games should be the last ones at $70 though. It's a game that comes out each year with no major change for most part in year to year span.

I was coming here to say just that. Sports games are what I mainly buy, and the hard truth is especially for my player in 2k is you buy the game then everyone also buys 50$ of VC to get their player up to actually compete. It is the most busted shit ever and I will now no longer buy these games because it is ridiculous at how much they expect from players for the same game every year

OGTrey079Posted:

I don't care about paying $70 for a game if it's actually a completed game that isn't meant to target customers with micro transactions afterwards. The sports games should be the last ones at $70 though. It's a game that comes out each year with no major change for most part in year to year span.

DanielPosted:

What so we have to pay like $500+ for the console then another $70 for the games, Nobody is going to pay that i wouldn't of thought anyway. If you wanted 4 games thats $280 i can't justify that especially after paying like $500+ on the console, Id urge people to get a PC sooner than an Xbox.

ifconfigPosted:

No customer is going to accept the $70 price tag. Period.