Fears Lars Wingfors, Chairman of Embracer Group Possibility of raising game prices From $70 currently each Addressing the increase in development costsThis stifles the traditional market, which itself suffers greatly from competition from other sectors of the industry. The opportunity to talk about it was like an interview with Games Industry, where many interesting topics were touched upon.
Wingefors and Embracer were often in the headlines last year due to layoffs, the closure of several studios and the cancellation of projects, due to the failure of the Arab Fund to invest in the group, which left it financially vulnerable.
An inevitable solution?
“I’m not saying you can’t raise the price, but the fact is no one has tried.” The Embracer CEO explained, then added: “If we create a massive role-playing game, for example, with 100 or 150 hours of gameplay, that is very polished and has a unique experience, Will consumers be willing to pay more? If so, it is likely that more products of this type will come to market. But no one tried. We have discussed this, but are adhering to industry practices at this time. Will one company ever try to raise prices? That remains to be seen.”
The last price increase in the triple A range occurred in 2020, when it reached $70 / €80 and immediately became the subject of heated discussions, which addressed the issue of the uncontrolled increase in development costs and the stagnation of the market itself, with players who… They prefer to always stay stuck to the same games, like Fortnite, Roblox, or Call of Duty. Embracer launched several of its own AA shows, many of which failed, such as Outcast: A New Beginning and Alone in the Dark, the latter of which was a great investment but didn’t attract enough audiences, as Wingefors himself said.
“I think the video game industry faces the same problem as all other industries, with inflation and high development costs.” He continued by explaining, “It has been difficult to increase the prices of premium PC and console products. The price of these products has remained the same for many years, which means that the profit margin is lower, and in addition there is a higher cost in the end, when making large investments or gaming operations, You need to work with teams you trust the most, or with intellectual property you can control to get the full financial rewards.
Additionally, consumers have more content available to them than ever before. They like to immerse themselves in established intellectual property that they have already practiced in the past, which means it is difficult to convince them to try new things or new intellectual property. It is simply a challenge we all face. “It’s a reality we’ve adapted to over the past year, and we’ll continue to adapt to it.”
In fact, it seems that Embracer is not against increasing prices, but is waiting for someone else to take the first step. Maybe Rockstar Games with GTA 6, which we are actually talking about a different selling price compared to the standard price, given the volume of production. Moreover, Strauss Zelnick, CEO of Take-Two, the game’s publisher, said that in his opinion, the prices of the games are still too low compared to what they offer.
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