Capcom is one of the few publishers that has not yet raised the prices of its AAA titles to $70. But it seems that it will not be long before it joins other companies in increasing the cost of its games.
In an interview with Nikkei, Capcom’s Haruhiro Tsujimoto talked about increasing the prices of its upcoming titles. The exec claims that it’s a wise decision due to the increasing cost of game development. Tsujimoto also thinks that Capcom’s games are too cheap at their current price point.
“Personally, I feel that game prices are too low,” Tsujimoto said. “Development costs are around 100 times higher than they were in the days of the Famicom (NES), but the price of software hasn’t risen so much.”
He adds, “There is also a need to raise wages in order to attract talented people. Given that wages are rising across the industry as a whole, I think the option of raising unit prices is a healthy form of business.”
Most publishers have started to charge $70 on its games in the past few years, but not Capcom. It still hasn’t changed its pricing model even with big games such as Resident Evil 4 and Street Fighter 6. Capcom’s recent titles still retain the $60 price point.
Tsujimoto also talked about how the current economic climate affects video game sales. He believes that the high price point has more to do with the lower game sales than the economic climate.
“Business confidence and high prices have little to do with the games industry,” Tsujimoto said. “Just as the recession doesn’t stop people from going to the cinema or going to their favourite artist’s concert, high-quality games will continue to sell well. Even during the Lehman Brothers collapse, games sold well.”
Stock prices for Capcom hit an all-time high in May and have been steadily on the rise since. During its most recent earnings call, the publisher said that it had sold over 41.7 million games in the previous 12-month period.
Capcom’s Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak and Resident Evil 4 were recognized in the most recent Japan Game Awards. The Monster Hunter expansion won the Grand Award and received an Award for Excellence alongside Resident Evil 4 remake.
Speaking of Monster Hunter, the series will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in March. Many are hoping that Capcom will announce a new title in the series in the coming months. It will make sense for the publisher to release a new Monster Hunter title next year given that both Street Fighter and Resident Evil had new games this year.
