Multiple publishers have recently started charging $70 for their games, and now Sega may join those ranks.
According to a newly translated Q&A transcript from late April, Sega president Haruki Satomi and SVP Koichi Fukazawa were asked about a potential price increase. The pair said they would “review the prices of titles that we believe are commensurate with price increases,” while also “keep an eye” on market conditions.
Thus far, the Japanese developer has priced its games at the once-standard price of $60. This practice has continued up to fairly recently for titles such as November 2022’s Sonic Frontiers and this February’s Like a Dragon: Ishin!.
Each publisher has used a particular game to serve as the test pad for the $70 price; Microsoft used Redfall (which is also on Xbox Game Pass), Nintendo used Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and so on. The pair note that these increases have mainly been for “triple-A game titles for consoles,” which may make PC games exempt.
Upcoming big, mass appeal games from Sega include Like a Dragon 8 in 2024 and (eventually) new installments for Sonic or Persona. So if any game from the developer were to start the $70 price point, it would likely be a mainline entry from one of its key franchises.