Kady Sands, 21, started playing video games at three years old and has noticed that games are taking up more of her disposable income. The price point had “slowly climbed up over the years” and, with some games now costing more than £70, “it isn’t affordable anymore”. For Kady, games are more than just a hobby – she also uses them to drown out the noises of city life.
The Nintendo Switch 2, a hybrid portable games console, has sold more than 3.5 million units since its launch earlier this month, despite widespread debate among gamers about the £395.99 price of the machine and some of its games. Nintendo is by no means the only games company pushing its prices upwards, with Microsoft and Sony also increasing their console prices.
Kady has changed her gaming habits to keep costs down, looking for alternatives to the newest releases from big game developers. She said smaller ‘Indie’ titles gave her the “same amount of enjoyment” but were “much cheaper”. Nick Poole, CEO of UK Interactive Entertainment, said game developers were “always looking at ways to manage the cost of production”, which he said was “significantly higher than 10 years ago”.
Aspiring professional gamer Dirk Casinillo has noticed significant price increases for the latest flagship titles, saying “it’s almost as if things aren’t necessarily improving, they’re just becoming more expensive”. While gamers regret price rises for their favourite pastime, many appreciate the hard work that goes into making the games they love.
Nicholas Mayers, who hopes to design his own games in the future, described himself as “very passionate” about games, which he said he used as an escape. However, he admitted that buying new games had become “a very hesitant decision” as it’s become “quite unaffordable for a lot of people”. Many people are foregoing social activities to afford new game purchases and subscriptions, with some saying they don’t go on nights out or in-person social events due to the rising cost of games.
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