Capcom may raise game prices above $60 Standard, president cites rising development costs and stagnant pricing compared to other entertainment.
As one of the final wardens of the $60 standard edition game price, Capcom may be changing that sooner rather than later. During an interview at the Tokyo Game Show 2023, Capcom President Haruhiro Tsujimoto commented on the increasing cost of video game creation and how the pricing of games has not reflected the cost to create them appropriately. It’s worth noting that the well-received Street Fighter 6 has been released with an MSRP of $59.99, which is below the average price of standard edition versions of Xbox Series S/X and PS5 titles.
The interview at TGS 2023, reported by Nikkei (and Google Translated), has revealed the opinion of Capcom’s Tsujimoto at length on a variety of topics. According to Nikkei, Tsujimoto said, “Personally, I feel that game prices are too low,” he goes further with, “Development costs are around 100 times higher than they were in the days of the Famicom, but the price of software hasn’t risen so much.” As one of the last developers with a standard price tag of $60 (FromSoftware has also kept this price point), these comments may raise alarms among Capcom’s fans enjoying the lower-than-average price point.
Tsujimoto also went in on the talent aspect of game development. He said if wages are rising around the industry in game creation, then “the option of raising unit prices is a healthy form of business.” He goes on to refer to other popular forms of media, and how consumers haven’t fallen off although pricing continues to surge in many entertainment mediums, including movie theatres. Tsujimoto stated, “high-quality games will continue to sell well.”
It’s worth mentioning that during the reveal of the latest iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, Apple said the new devices would be capable of playing console-quality games, and TouchArcade has reported titles like the Resident Evil 4 Remake will make its way to iOS for the standard rate of $59.99 rather than a discounted ‘phone game’ rate.
While the Capcom President’s comments may worry the cost-conscious, there has been no formal announcement of a price increase on Capcom titles yet, so fans can rest assured that Street Fighter 6 is still $59.99 until further notice.
