Namco Bandai VP: “Video Games – They’re Too Expensive For The Audience”

Speaking at the Level Up conference in Barcelona, Oliver Comte, Vice President and Head of Sales and Marketing at Namco Bandai Partners, made a refreshingly candid comment.

“I am convinced that in the future we must change the price of video games – they’re too expensive for the audience. With the cost of development and the retail margins, £40 ($60) is a fair price [to us], but for the consumer it is too much,” Comte said in an interview with MCV.

“A good price of a game should be around £20 ($30) – but for this price we can’t make a ten to 15-hour adventure,” Compte continued. “So for £20 we should offer consumers four to five hours of gameplay, then after that we can make additional money with DLC.”

OK, for $30 we get five hours of gameplay, but at $60 we get ten to fifteen? Never mind the math. What would you rather have a short game for $30 with downloadable level packs or a $60 game right out the door?