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[LectureMaster]

Capcom recently disclosed during a Q&A session that its first $70 AAA launch, Dragon’s Dogma 2, received a moderate reception from players and they are assessing future game pricing.

Q: Capcom released Dragons Dogma 2 for $69.99 and has seen the results; tell me about your strategy for pricing game software going forward.

A: This title was given a moderate reception from players and achieved 2.6 million units in sales as of the end of March 2024. Regarding pricing for future game releases, we will determine prices after carefully assessing user response and considering the rising cost of development.

This is interesting as I believe DD 2 was the largest steam launch for the company. I wonder what was their expectation for the game.

 

[StereoVsn]

Would it really sell that much better at $60? Sounds like they had unrealistic expectations for the game.

 

[Holammer]

I think negative press/word of mouth regarding the performance problems killed a lot of interest.

 

[T-0800]

Companies have only put their prices up because they put them on sale 2 months after release. They know those launch buyers will pay more so why not take it.

 

[nial]

Are Dragon's Dogma fans a very loud minority? I fucking swear a lot of them were selling this as an Elden Ring-caliber release.

 

[poppabk]

Would it really sell that much better at $60? Sounds like they had unrealistic expectations for the game.

I bet they are thinking - how much better would it have sold at $60, but also how much worse would it have sold at $80?

 

[Pejo]

I think post-launch word of mouth about various issues caused the low sales. $70 probably had little to do with it, but I won't say no to cheaper games.

 

[TintoConCasera]

Shit performance and DLCs up ass sounds more problematic to me than a +100 hours game being sold at 70$.

Are Dragon's Dogma fans a very loud minority? I fucking swear a lot of them were selling this as an Elden Ring-caliber release.

It had the potential to be that and better, but in the end all we got was more of the same when compared to the first game, with the same strong points and the same mistakes.

 

[Dthomp]

Not gonna lie, I'd have bought it at 60, I think 70 is highway robbery with the quality of games these days. It's just me being stubborn but that 10 bucks is where I draw the line

 

[mayham2199]

It had the potential to be that and better, but in the end all we got was more of the same when compared to the first game, with the same strong points and the same mistakes.

Yea this is pretty much what I've gathered from people who love and hate it. Which isn't such a bad thing because I did love the first game was raving about it to everyone at work. A week later I dropped it because while it's great there's something that was missing to keep me going. I'll wait for this one to go on sale and then grab it. Might actually wait for the PS5P and see if I can get some more performance out of it.

 

[deriks]

I don't think that lowering to 60 will attract that much people. Maybe for 40, but I guess I'm asking too much

 

[iHaunter]

Are Dragon's Dogma fans a very loud minority? I fucking swear a lot of them were selling this as an Elden Ring-caliber release.

Had Elden Ring level performance issues at launch.

 

[Sleepwalker]

The game looked nice and I was interested in it, but played it for a bit on a friends account and it ended up being not as interesting or fun as I thought it would be so I didn't buy it.

Don't worry capcom baby you will get my money when you release the next Resident Evil.

 

[StereoVsn]

I bet they are thinking - how much better would it have sold at $60, but also how much worse would it have sold at $80?

Totally could see them try.

 

[rhodesianshepard]

I genuinely think Capcom is just trying to be more pro-consumer here. DD2 was the only release of theirs in years that had any type of backlash, especially with the perceived P2W microtransactions. I don't think they want that type of reception again. I think they view it as bad for business

 

[balls of snow]

Huh I thought the game did gangbusters. Certainly buried Rise of Ronin on release.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Not gonna lie, I'd have bought it at 60, I think 70 is highway robbery with the quality of games these days. It's just me being stubborn but that 10 bucks is where I draw the line

Literally less than the cost of a value meal at McD or BK. Honestly don’t get this take at all.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

Don't release games with such dog(ma) shit performance. No reason a game that looks this mid should perform this poorly.

 

[Pelao]

I at least didn't buy it not because of the price, but because of the performance.

 

[JohnnyFootball]

I genuinely think Capcom is just trying to be more pro-consumer here. DD2 was the only release of theirs in years that had any type of backlash, especially with the perceived P2W microtransactions. I don't think they want that type of reception again. I think they view it as bad for business

Right....

 

[Fbh]

Well personally I'd be more inclined to buy your action RPG at full price if it didn't run like absolute shit on consoles. Uncapped framerate is even worse than properly locked 30fps (which as far as I know still isn't an option, as the locked mode has bad frame pacing)
For me it quickly went from a day one purchase to "buy for $15 at some point in the future on Ps6 or hopefully PC"

 

[Madflavor]

Are Dragon's Dogma fans a very loud minority? I fucking swear a lot of them were selling this as an Elden Ring-caliber release.

That's the part that threw me for a loop. Reviews and first week of launch, people were gushing about how jizz inducing the exploration of the game was. I wasn't sure if we were playing the same game.

Capcom recently disclosed during a Q&A session that its first $70 AAA launch, Dragon’s Dogma 2, received a moderate reception from players and they are assessing future game pricing.



This is interesting as I believe DD 2 was the largest steam launch for the company. I wonder what was their expectation for the game.

Maybe they expected better legs? The game had lots of positive buzz at launch, but overall word of mouth was pretty mixed afterward.

 

[fallingdove]

Are Dragon's Dogma fans a very loud minority? I fucking swear a lot of them were selling this as an Elden Ring-caliber release.

I was hoping it would be an Elden Ring level release. The original + Bitterblack was really fun and super unique for the time. A lot of fans wanted the decade-long hiatus to mean something; sadly the game was lack luster on a number of fronts and in some ways was worse than the first game.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Yeaaaaah, I don't think the price is why they didn't move more units.

 

[struggler_guts]

It just doesn't make sense to buy most games at launch nowadays.

Plus after Baldur's Gate 3, it's super painful to go back to robotic talking animations

 

[Giallo Corsa]

Literally less than the cost of a value meal at McD or BK. Honestly don’t get this take at all.

I honestly don't get the now tired
"but it costs as 1 X meal ! "/" It costs as 2-3 drinks ! "/ "I spend more for a beef tagliata at my local restaurant ! " type of excuse/defence force, people can decide where to spend their hard earned cash, yes ? It's not like we owe anything to anyone and it's not like all people have the same disposable income when it comes to games of all things.

Shit, it'd be like saying to someone who doesn't want to spend 80+K for a BMW X5 "well, it only costs as 2 KIA EV6s, I don't know why you make it out to be a big deal".

I mean, c'mon friend...

 

[T4keD0wN]

Good, keep them in check. Rare to see a company admit to receiving negative feedback, let alone react to it.

Literally less than the cost of a value meal at McD or BK. Honestly don’t get this take at all.

Uhm, wtf where, next to a royal palace or something? I went to the most expensive restaurant in my town yesterday, ordered the most expensive meal on the menu and paid 56euros for all 4 people.
Theres multiple hundred percent difference between the cost of DD2 and some fast food "meal"

 

[EDMIX]

lol nah.

Make a better game.

Imho $70 is pretty cheap, as I collect and buy many games easily, so my issue with DD2 had nothing to do with the price.
I don't think they are making some budget game to act as if cheaper is the answer.

Make a better game.

Tons of games release full price and move record units.

I at least didn't buy it not because of the price, but because of the performance.

annnnnd there you have it.

I don't even get why some publishers think they put out the perfect game and its the PRICE that is why you didn't buy, its like....what about everyone else? They are not the first or only ones to put out a $70 game to act as if the reception they got was solely based on price or something.

So I'd rather they keep the price the same and correct their issues, include mounts (as I have no clue why they'd ignore something like that in such a genre) and move on.

I've told tons of artist this before, they are always like "what if I make it for free or cheaper" ooooorrrrrr what if you just get better and sell it at what you see your real worth actually is?

If someone didn't want to pay you what you feel you are worth, that doesn't mean lower the price. Do better, work harder and market yourself more. Not everyone is making a choice like this solely based on price or something.

 

[GHG]

Honestly, on reflection it was just a moderate game as well.

 

[saintjules]

Would it really sell that much better at $60? Sounds like they had unrealistic expectations for the game.

I highly doubt $10 will make a change.

 

[Icymanipulator]

imo Wilds will do gangbusters at $70
Won’t hurt it at all

Also, Dragons Dogma is not in the same league as Monster Hunter.

 

[Punished Miku]

I skipped DD2. You're welcome everyone.

 

[Deerock71]

imo Wilds will do gangbusters at $70
Won’t hurt it at all

Also, Dragons Dogma is not in the same league as Monster Hunter.

I'm on board with both statements.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

Would have considered if the game had co-op instead of the pawn system. I know that's not what the series is, but that is what would have sold me on it.

 

[Coconutt]

I'm not spending 70 dollars for any game, makes no sense when games get price reduced within a couple of months.

 

[bitbydeath]

Would it really sell that much better at $60? Sounds like they had unrealistic expectations for the game.

Depends on the location $10 difference for US = breaking the $100 barrier for Australia. Which makes people question their purchase.

 

[Deerock71]

Depends on the location $10 difference for US = breaking the $100 barrier for Australia. Which makes people question their purchase.

 

[bender]

Should have made it $50. Save charging $70 for your flagships IP (SF, RE, MH).

 

[Švejk]

They ain't doing shit.. this is just typical pr lip service.

 

[justiceiro]

I don't get it, didn't they said they surpassed their target profit because the game did better than expected? I don't understand corporate talk at all.

 

[HerjansEagleFeeder]

I think negative press/word of mouth regarding the performance problems killed a lot of interest.

I think there's more people willing to buy a game for 60 that has a couple of technical issues than a game for 70 that has them. The higher the price, the lower the tolerance of players for bullshit and half baked software.

 

[chromatic9]

They could try $60, make it look like more of a bargain at launch or maybe they will only sell a similar amount at a lower price. You can't replicate launch excitement and with game launches so infrequent it's tricky to build up the data.

They might have realized the game and the ip is not top level so maybe the price should reflect the game's stature. $50 could draw more in or make it look too cheap and raise other questions, $60 might be the sweet spot for launch, depends on budget and quality they put in.

Back in the day of a £40 game in the UK, we had other console games of lower profile coming in at £35 and some at £30, some £28. The PC space was the same. They knew £40 wouldn't fly for their game and set the price accordingly.

 

[Randall365]

It was the reported PC performance issues that put me off - if you are reading Capcom.

 

[Lucifers Beard]

It was the reported PC performance issues that put me off - if you are reading Capcom.

It's still a fucking mess and hasn't had any proper fixes for ages. The last update added frame generation but that ain't fixing much.

 

[N1tr0sOx1d3]

Whodofthunkit, cheaper games means more sales!?

Embracer though believes the opposite…..let’s hit that $100!!

 

[Clear]

Don't release games with such dog(ma) shit performance. No reason a game that looks this mid should perform this poorly.

Compare it to Elden Ring and it looks a generation apart! Some of you guys need your eyes testing.

 

[Lambogenie]

Literally less than the cost of a value meal at McD or BK. Honestly don’t get this take at all.

You can keep saying that for each $10 though. Everyone's got different budgets.

If you're in Europe there is almost no reason to ever buy RRP. Capcom, Sega, and Namco games in particular. Never buy a Capcom game at full price, it'll be on sale in less than a month despite their consistent high quality games.

 

[BbMajor7th]

Man, the lack of accountability in game companies these days is exhausting. It wasn't the price point - we've had plenty of $70 games selling gangbusters. The game failed to improve on the original - it had lousy performance, repetitive design and a bunch of silly microtransactions so under-cooked that they could only hope to piss people off (even if they weren't all that bad). Figure out how to avoid those failures in the future rather than wondering if mediocre, frustrating games will sell better at a cheaper price point.

 

[Madserb2023]

Firstly, the game sold well and expectations these days are too high. Secondly, it's not Resident Evil or Monster Hunter, which are more popular. If Resident evil 9 was $70 it would still like likely sell 7 to 10 million copies. It would be like Nintendo wondering why Mario Golf isn't selling as well as Mario Kart. I would argue the sales for Dragons Dogme are pretty good for an obscure franchise.

 

[Angry_Megalodon]

Another company with ridiculous expectations, like Square Enix. DD has never been a mainstream top-selling game, 2-3 million sounds pretty good.