Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the first Capcom game priced $70, but it sounds like there’s more to come.
In a financial results conference call Q&A summary, Capcom responded to a question about the company’s video price policy that also pointed out $69.99 had become the norm for triple-A video games across the industry.
“Dragon’s Dogma 2, which is scheduled for release this fiscal year, will be priced at $69.99,” Capcom replied. “Industrywide development costs are rising, and we are considering a price review as one option. Ultimately, we intend to take a thoughtful approach in pricing our games while ascertaining user feedback.”
That very much suggests $70 will become the standard for Capcom video games, as it has become the standard for so many other triple-A video game publishers. It seems reasonable to expect Monster Hunter Wilds, due out at some point in 2025, will cost $70 — or perhaps even more.
News of a potential price review comes as little surprise, given comments made last year by Capcom president Haruhiro Tsujimoto. Speaking at the Tokyo Game Show, Tsujimoto said he thought the price of video games were “too low”, and that increasing the price of video games would be a “healthy option” for the industry.
“Development costs are about 100 times higher than during the Famicom era, but software prices have not gone up that much,” Tsujimoto said. “There is also a need to raise wages. Considering the fact that wages are rising in the industry as a whole, I think raising unit prices is a healthy option for business.”
Tsujimoto went on to argue that an economic slump wouldn’t prevent people from purchasing pricier games. “Just because there’s a recession doesn’t mean you won’t go to the movie theater or go to your favorite artist’s concert. High-quality games will continue to sell,” he said.
Rising development costs and increasing development schedules are two of the hottest topics within the video game industry right now. As huge layoffs devastate developers, the triple-A business is seen as under threat, with fears of a market crash. This week, Sony boss Hiroki Totoki suggested PlayStation Studios can do more to cut development costs. In its remarks, Capcom echoed those comments, saying: “we see the streamlining of development and enhancement of productivity as priority issues and are continuing to address these on an ongoing basis.”
Speaking of Dragon’s Dogma 2, Capcom wouldn’t be drawn on its expectations for the promising role-playing game, except to say “we consider this game to be in the million-selling class.”
Similarly, Capcom wouldn’t divulge its sales target for Monster Hunter Wilds, but did suggest it’s targeting outselling Monster Hunter World, which is Capcom’s best-selling game of all-time with a huge 19.60 million sold. “In general, we create titles with the intention of surpassing the performance of previous titles in a series,” Capcom said.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.