If you are a gamer that buys new games from time to time, then you’ve certainly noticed that the prices have gone up like never before. Almost all of the biggest and trending games will cost you $69. But, what has caused this rise of these products on the market?
Below we will reveal and explain the reasons for this recent phenomenon with a brief mention and comparison with the prices in the years before.
Why Are the Game Prices Raising?
Since the ninth generation of video game consoles began in November 2020, we are noticing a significant rise in game prices. Although many of the less popular games or older releases can be bought for a smaller fee, almost all of the new and well-known titles come with a price of $69.99.
And these prices are just for the regular edition, while the deluxe and gold versions cost much more. Some of the popular games that came with a price of $69 upon release are FIFA 23, Hogwarts Legacy, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Need for Speed Unbound, Undead World, and many more.
There are various reasons for the increased prices, from ongoing inflation to longer and expensive development procedures. And these prices are the same, regardless of the device you use.
But, whatever the reason, it seems like this has become the new normal as the publishers are not interested in lowering the prices. It is interesting to note that smaller spin-off games are cheaper to buy, but yearly series such as NBA and FIFA is definitely going to be priced at the new asking fee.
The publishers aren’t interested in lowering the prices of the games that the fans are very much interested in. Many of them will buy it whatever the price, and a rise of just $10 wouldn’t be an issue for them. This is a well-known fact that all publishers know and practice.
A Comparison With the Previous Game Prices
Before the fall of 2022, the highest price required to purchase a game was $60. Nowadays, most of them are selling for $69 and some of them even come at a much higher price.
When the seventh generation hit the market, a price of $60 has become the standard for all popular and trending games on Xbox and PlayStation. At the same time, Nintendo undercut these new prices by charging $50 for its Wii titles.
However, with the release of the Wii U, which was part of the eighth generation, Nintendo also joined in on the $60 fee for its games. The $50 asking price was common for the earlier generations and was the baseline for a couple of years.
Since the launch of PlayStation back in 1995 (during the fifth generation) up to the appearance of Xbox, PS2 and GameCube (the end of the sixth generation) most popular games were priced at $50.
It is worth noting that simply comparing fees from 1995 and 2023 isn’t fully accurate, as the inflation must also be adjusted. Let’s make a more recent comparison. A game that was sold for $60 in 2019 would cost around $69 in today’s money.