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Speaking in the Virtual Economy Podcast, and caught by the keen eyes from VGC, Piscatella said that not only will customers not be reluctant to fork out $70 - they'll "happily pay" in order to enjoy games on next-gen consoles.
Now, it's pretty clear that they'll pay, since they'll have no other choice, but whether they'll be happy to do so may be a bit of a stretch. If you take a moment to consider regional income differences, you'll know what we mean.
One thing is for certain though - video game prices have been stuck at the same price points for the longest while. Which in itself wouldn't be an issue had the video game lengths, quality and development times not grown immensely during that period.
Piscatella, however, insists that this is not the real reason for the price increases. While he doesn't dismiss it as irrelevant, he insists that it's the demand that dictates these decisions.
"This is not different. If [publishers] want to make the case that they’re doing it because of X, Y or Z, I guess you could try to make that case, but when you look at the financial statements or the earnings reports, you can argue the other side. But ultimately, the market demand is the market demand", he said.
And when it comes to market demand, PlayStation 5 preorders are a pretty good indicator of just how hungry for next-gen devices customers are. Heck, Sony even had to apologise for retailers' mistakes, so Piscatella certainly has a point.
You can find the podcast here. Thanks, VGC.
