Electronic Arts Weighs In On Next-Gen Game Price Hikes For Xbox Series S/X And PS5
However, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen finally decided to wade into the fray during the company's earnings call this week. And given his comments, it appears that EA is receptive to raising prices if the industry starts trending that way. "We've always said games are getting more expensive. The experience is getting deeper. The time that people are playing games is getting longer," said Jorgensen. "One might argue that that might require a higher price point over time, but we'll address that as we get closer to more games coming into the next-gen console transition."
That still isn't a firm commitment to raising prices, but we think we know where this will end up going. "What I default back to is, let's stay focused on the excitement of what we can do with new games and price will follow that. We'll figure that out," Jorgensen continued. "I don't want people to read into that—'we're going to raise prices or not.' We don't know that yet. What we do know is we're going to be able to do a lot more things with the new consoles."
Jorgensen is trying to be diplomatic, but Sony recently indicated that the "value is obvious" when it comes to next-generation games on the PlayStation 5. And Take-Two has been the ringleader when it comes to price hikes, as the next-generation optimized versions of NBA 2K21 have already been slapped with a $10 price hike. It should be noted, however, that the there is a huge jump in graphics quality for the Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 versions of the game versus current-generation consoles.
Here's what Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two Interactive CEO, said over the summer:
We deliver a much, much bigger game for $60 or $70 than we delivered for $60 10 years ago. The opportunity to spend money online is completely optional, and it's not a free-to-play title. It's a complete, incredibly robust experience even if you never spend another penny after your initial purchase.
What do you guys think about price hikes for next-generation games from Take-Two and potentially from EA? After all, many developers -- including CD Projekt Red with Cyberpunk 2077 -- aren't charging extra for enhanced graphics and capabilities. Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.
