Why Video Games Need Not Be Expensive Over time, the price of video games has risen to $60 due to rising development costs and inflation. But, some people have argued that these games have to be priced accordingly because they are more costly than going out to dinner or watching a movie. Games must not be more expensive. Games do not cost $60, including everything. The $60 price is just one of the revenue streams today. Other streams include season passes, loot box purchases, microtransactions, and downloadable content. Video games like Overwatch, Battlefield, The Division, Destiny, and Call of Duty relied on different revenue streams. Game publishers increased the price to $80, they will still rely on loot boxes or downloadable content …show more content…
Activision and Sledgehammer Games offered credits for players to purchase loot boxes in exchange for real money. Most players buy the base game only, but many of them still buy the other extras. Some players are willing to pay $100 for a Deluxe Edition or a season pass. Thus, Call of Duty:WW2 was able to generate more money than its original price. In fact, its players pay for loot boxes up to now. Publishers take advantage of digital distribution to lower costs. Going digital killed the used game market. After the release of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the price of video games had increased. In February 2013, the share price of Activision cost $14.37, months before the release of the video game consoles. The publisher of video games was already a big name in its field. As of this writing, ATVI shares cost $70.19. EA, the publisher of Battlefield, shares were at $16.97. Today, it is at $126.02. The massive gains are attributable to digital distribution. The cost of selling the video games at retail is high. Publishers need to consider physical media and packaging. Also, they need to add in shipping and distribution costs. Retailers get a cut from the selling price. Reselling and trading used games also compete with new copies. Physical video game costs money to