Namco Bandai: Video games are too expensive

Namco Bandai Partners VP Olivier Comte has said that the industry must work together to address falling software sales by changing the way games are priced and sold. Speaking to MCV at the publisher’s recent Level Up showcase in Barcelona, Comte said they are trying to come up with new business models to support retail sales. “I feel all the big video game companies need to join together in a worldwide summit to discuss the future of our industry. I think we have to pull our thoughts together, “If you compare [games] to music, music has two ways to make money – sales of disc, which is decreasing, and concert tickets, which are increasing so  there’s another source of revenue for the artist. Film has a similar situation, there is the disc and the cinema. “Games just have one model, the sale of the product either as a box or a digital download. So we need to think about how we can develop a secondary business model.” He also added his thoughts on the price of gaming and what can be done about it. “I am convinced that in the future we must change the price of video games – they’re too expensive for the audience. With the cost of development and the retail margins, £40 is a fair price [to us], but for the consumer it is too much. “From September to December there are three new blockbusters every week, and consumers just can’t afford to buy all that. “A good price of a game should be around £20 – but for this price we can’t make a ten to 15-hour adventure. So for £20 we should offer consumers four to five hours of gameplay, then after that we can make additional money with DLC.” This is obviously a sore subject for consumers and the publishers themselves, so let’s hope it’s one they can figure out soon.

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