The rising cost of video games

Matt, Brendan, Chris and James gather around their respective mics to discuss the biggest industry stories of the past week.

Once again, we've refrained from commenting on the ongoing stories of abuse and harassment as we don't feel the podcast is the right forum for this discussion. But you can find our in-depth coverage through the links below.

• Ubisoft's Maxime Béland resigns amid abuse allegations
• Nintendo condemns abuse as allegations spread across Smash Bros. community
• Evo CEO dismissed, event cancelled amid accusations of misconduct and abuse
• Ubisoft to restructure its editorial team in wake of abuse allegations
• IGDA criticizes industry for ignoring harassment allegations
• Leaders, members, sponsors depart top WoW guild amid assault, abuse allegations
• EA urges employees to come forward with experiences of abuse

The main discussion this week follows 2K Games' revelation that NBA 2K21 will be priced at $69.99/£64.99 -- $10/£5 more than the current gen versions.

With IDG Consulting expecting more publishers to follow suit, we discuss the implications of a price hike for AAA games, whether it can be justified in a series so divisive over its use of microtransactions, and what this means for lesser-known and new IP trying to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with $70 established hits.

You can get your daily dose of news, insight and analysis at www.gamesindustry.biz

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