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A few days ago NBA 2K21 showed their covers and announced the different versions that will be available for both the current and the next generation. Beyond the dedication of Zion Williamson as a star of the basketball league, the news in this case was in the price of the version that will come to Xbox Series X and PS5: it will cost $ 69.99. New times, new prices.

In reality, the most likely - unfortunately - is that this price will be rounded up and taking us one or two figures in the case of the European market, where we have been hovering around the 70 euro barrier for a long time . Thus, it would not be surprising if we get used to spending this decade on big releases. And that is only basic; any special edition will also be for the pocket.

The case of 2K21 is also paradigmatic for what it will mean for the generational leap. Although versions for Xbox One and PS4 and their still embryonic older sisters are coming, the only option to buy the game once and get copies for both will be the Mamba Forever edition .

These 100 dollars of tribute to Kobe Bryant ignore the Smart Delivery System announced by Microsoft (Sony, at the moment, has not presented anything similar, although it is expected to do so) that will allow you to buy a game in the current generation and then take it with us to the next without paying again for it. Other developers such as EA, or CD Projekt Red (creators of the expected Cyberpunk 2077) have joined the Microsoft proposal. At least for the moment.

Are they the most expensive games?

22 years ago, in November 1998, launches such as Medievil or Tekken III cost between 7,490 and 7,990 pesetas, while others such as Tomb Raider III could reach 8,490 pesetas . That is, between 45 and 51 euros. The reduced versions in Platinum that arrived some time later were around 3,000 pesetas (18 euros). The PlayStation itself came out for between 22,990 and 26,990 pesetas, depending on the peripherals (about 211 or 248 euros). Pulled, right?

Actually, if we adjust the prices to inflation we find that the Tekken would cost approximately 69 euros, the third installment of the adventures of Lara Croft would go until close to 78, the price of a Platinum title would be in the environment of the 27 euros and the console would almost reach 300 .

It is not an exact science: the 60 euros that GTA V cost when it was released on Xbox 360 (2013) becomes 61 euros today, but the same price of Modern Warfare 2 in 2009 would be almost 70 euros today. Although the nominal price rises, we are not so far from the starting point. Another thing, yes, is that it is an important psychological barrier.

Goodbye to the physical

Another problem that, although not imminent, is close, is the disappearance of the second-hand market. Both Sony and Xbox are committed to their virtual stores and other alternative markets appear in the computer environment every time. This, together with the problems intrinsic to physical distribution (contamination, additional costs, delays ...) will make it less and less profitable and practical to go to a store to buy a game ... and then to sell it.

This move to digital will almost certainly end up prevailing in the generation that is about to arrive (we are talking about consoles, of course; on PC it has been the norm for a long time) and will lead by the hand of something that is already being successfully implemented: subscriptions.

Services such as Game Pass or PS Now allow you to pay each month to access a moderate catalog of games in which quality and relatively new titles are gradually entering. It does not seem very likely that the releases of other developers will arrive soon, but it would be logical that the games created by Sony and Microsoft began to appear there as a way to attract users to both their console and their platform.

Where is the money?

The industry is in a complex time when creating a high-quality degree takes years of work and development that is not so easy to convert into income. There is more competition, more demand and less margin for error. And besides, there are other options.

For a few years, micropayments have become an additional source of income that in some cases could be considered the main one. EA, for example, made almost $ 1 billion in the third quarter of its 2020 fiscal year; Penguins benefits from devastating criticism.

Precisely in NBA 2K20 almost all the reviews agreed in praising the game and reproaching the micropayments, a common tendency in a saga that got to make its players pay to change their hairstyle. In this latest edition there were more options, but the purchases are linked to surprise envelopes and casinos. And you know: the bank wins.

In general, the prevailing opinion among those who play is that anything that is an aesthetic purchase is permissible in free titles or with an important multiplayer component (there is the case, for example, of Fortnite), but forcing to pay for content, weapons or improvements in a game that has already cost its good 60 euros is frowned upon. We'll see what happens when they cost 70.

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