14 DAY TRIAL // Next-gen consoles are coming and some reports are already speculating that games for the new devices will be higher priced than titles for the current PS3 or Xbox 360.
Large retailer GameStop believes that a higher price will certainly be balanced out with bigger rewards from retailers for people who trade in their titles.
Games for current-generation consoles like the PS3 or Xbox 360 cost around $60/€60 and, while some companies believe that price point will remain the same once next-generation devices like the PlayStation 4 or Xbox 720 are released on the market, others believe that the normal price will jump to $70/€70.
Even if such a thing happens, GameStop CEO J. Paul Raines believes that gamers can still be tempted to spend money through different rewards, especially from retailers like GameStop that offer advantages for trading in games and sell pre-owned titles at a lower price.
"We think there's an opportunity there but that's really in the hands of Sony and Microsoft and Nintendo. Certainly, we're not waiting on that. We're selling more DLC and accessories so consumers can spend more on a title, but whether or not that title goes up in price or not, I think that's going to be a big debate in the next few months. I think publishers, if you ask them, wouldn't mind seeing a price increase," he told GamesIndustry.
Raines exemplified his statement with the recently released BioShock Infinite and how a fan can get an advantage if they trade in their copy after they're done playing it.
"The other thing is, pre-owned games make new games cheaper. If you buy BioShock from us, you know you're going to get 20-25 bucks for it after you finish it in a few months. That makes games cheaper for people and that helps pay for new games. So whatever you want to say on price points, you have to understand that pre-owned plays a role in that."
Despite initial reports, it seems that both Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox 720 will allow used games to be played on them.