According to UK high street retailer GAME, their PS4 FAQs suggests that games published by EA will be higher priced retail Xbox One and PS4 games with a price increase pushing the games from around £44.99 up to £54.99 in the UK. At present, a number of online retailers have a similar price for Xbox One and PS4 games listed, with a notice suggesting the price is estimated at this time and could change. However, with EA setting the standard, it’s likely other publishers will follow suit.  The price change could be for a number of reasons, although it’s unclear how much more development costs are for next generation releases in comparison to how they are today which could play a role in determining the sale price.

Looking beneath the surface, higher retail prices could herald the dawn of digital pricing being much more competitive compared to retail, with new releases staying at the current levels of £49.99 for new releases – but this is mere speculation at this stage. Its obvious there’s an ongoing transition towards digital mediums for gaming, – which is perhaps coming in as a hard sell – yet, when faced with lower pricing and ease of access, this is one way to break down some monetary barriers.  As of now there has been no indication of the pricing digital downloaded versions will command, but it’s expected that they should be lower due to reduced cost in manufacturing. The big issue is whether any savings are passed onto consumers via lower prices or through other incentives.

Quote from GAME FAQ:

“How much will PlayStation 4 games cost?

At present, the only publisher to confirm costs of their next generation games are EA, attaching a price of £54.99. No other game prices have been confirmed. We will of course update our listings as and when this happens. And if the price changes before release day, you will always pay the lowest price.”