Famitsu Sales: Week 41, 2024 (Oct 07 - Oct 13)

[rapsuperstar31]

firebush03 said:

UnderwaterFunktown said:

I really can't see a world where the PS5 price increase in Japan will pay off. Sales are less than half what they were before and the software has always been where the profit is at anyways. I'm sure they're hoping it will stabilize back to what it was before when there's a little more distance to the price hike but I'm having a hard time seeing it.

i feel like the industry is starting to shift in such a way so as to prioritize selling hardware at a profitable margin over software. With ballooning development costs, it's no longer a safe gamble to pump out a game and expect profits: R&C:RA is an example of a game which never broke even despite selling nearly five million, FFVIIReBirth sold throguh 3mil in its first week yet still disappointed SquEnix, Concord generated virtually no revenue and stabbed an aggressive (speculated) $300mil into Sony's wallet.

The way Sony is likely looking at these figures is in the long-term. Eventually, consumers will "get over it" and become desensitized to the aggressive price tag. Sure, it's not looking good for the moment, but by the time PS6 releases at a price tag of $700(DE)/$800(StndrdE), consumers will have already gotten used to it.

That's assuming gaming continues the arm race. Gaming is dead in Japan outside of the Switch, PC, handheld/phones.  Will it die in other regions if the Switch 2 continues where the Switch leaves off and the Steamdeck keeps doing well?