Returnal’s Toughest Enemy Is Sony’s $70 PS5 Price Tag - Forbes

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Returnal

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Returnal, by all accounts, is a great game if punishing difficulty paired with fantastic visuals and gameplay are your kind of thing. There’s some debate to be had about the game and its save states, or lack thereof, but it’s been well received by critics and fans alike.

And yet, I can’t bring myself to buy it.

For me personally, I’m already on the fence about Returnal given that it doesn’t sound like its extremely long runs would really be for me, even though I can respect the genre. It’s the kind of game that for many may spark the question “is that really worth $60 to me?” But now, in 2021, we have to ask ourselves…is it worth $70?

In the face of Microsoft putting all its first party games on Game Pass, Sony has pushed ahead with this idea that all of its own PS5 games are going to have a $70 base price, a $10 increase over the previous industry standard of $60.

While yes, you can make the argument that some games like Horizon Forbidden West or God of War 2 or whatever Naughty Dog makes next will probably be automatically “worth” $70, on the other side of the coin you can see how this price point has hurt in other ways.

Godfall debuted at $70, which I mean, if you’ve played it, seems utterly absurd.

Godfall

Gearbox

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MLB The Show 21 not only expanded to Xbox Game Pass for “free,” but it left Sony’s PS5 version looking goofy by comparison at a $70 listing price.

Now a game that many may be unsure about in a tricky genre as a new IP, Returnal, is priced at $70, where if this was an Xbox-published title, we all know it would be free to play on Game Pass. But it’s a much tougher decision for that asking price, and many will want to wait for a sale, if they ever get around to it at all.

It’s not just me thinking this, as early reports show that Returnal is starting out slower than other PlayStation exclusive titles. Sure, part of that may be availability and the fact that it’s a new IP, but this price point is likely feeding into that as well.

Returnal

SIE

There has always been something of a debate about whether all games should be $60 across the board, given the varying lengths and quality of titles that are all priced the same. Some games have gone lower over time, but now Sony has created a situation where now it’s all $10 higher and an even tougher proposition. Yes, you can say that inflation should mean game prices should be even higher than this by now, and yet Sony is effectively the only one pushing hard for this price point outside of a few other select series, and Xbox is literally running in the opposite direction with its Game Pass offerings.

I’m sure Returnal will be just fine in the end, but I do think for this game and many others that aren’t Sony megahit IPs, that price point is going to continue to be an entry barrier many will not get past.

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The Link Lonk


May 03, 2021 at 09:00PM
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Returnal’s Toughest Enemy Is Sony’s $70 PS5 Price Tag - Forbes

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