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To your question about why the current gen version will not be affected by inflation: We don't know that it hasn't been. BF2042 on PS4 is being powered by virtually the same hardware as 2013's BF4. One would expect as tech gets older and developing on the platform becomes more cost efficient that prices would go down to reflect that. In truth this is likely a $49.99 game in today's market but because of inflation it remains at $59.99
There's also the matter that aside from sharing the same name the current and last gen versions are fundamentally different with the last gen getting only 64 players and less detailed graphics. The PS4 was great for its time but it is significantly less capable than current gen and higher end PC's. From a marketing perspective it doesn't make sense to charge the same price when the PS5 version is simply a different and better game but with a smaller user base. With the current gen you have a large, established base of players so you want to get it into the hands of as many people as possible so you can get them into season passes.
There's nothing unethical about charging more for the PS5 version. PS5 development costs are higher than PS4 and it's, objectively speaking, a different and better version of the game. Eventually prices have to go up and it just makes sense to have that transition occur during a transition to a new console period as people can make the mental connection between better looking/performing games and price.
As far as backward compatibility, it's just too much a of a pain to be done likely. The maps and graphics and likely a lot of other code related stuff is markedly different between last and current gen. Capability wise, current gen has A LOT more in common with PC than it does last gen. For EA it comes down to "Do we * the PS5 version to make it compatible or do we try to harness all the power we can from the new hardware which is what people buy a new console for to begin with?"
There's simply no way they could get away with the former.
@rainkloud Again, you're using "people" I wasn't confused to your response, I was confused to how it was prevalent to my initial post because you clearly were directing it at others by using the using the generalised "people" instead of "you" as if it was me personally, which I proved.
To not not get too semantic, you state numerous times "current gen" when you actually mean "last gen" we are currently on the 9th generation of consoles being the PS5 and Xbox X|S, the 8th generation of consoles being the PS4 and Xbox One is the last generation. Nevertheless, it is and astute point that the inflation to production costing on last gen could actually be being reflected by the price remaining the same, honesty though this inflation argument is somewhat pedantic, region based inflation is more of a cause for concern, I'm English and the price of this game is £69 which would mean the USA would pay $97 for the standard version.
However, I'm not making an argument as far as charging the same price for all versions on all platforms is reasonable, what I was stating is that: why is the current gen console version only seeing this notable increase: if it is an overall more content packed and polished product then why isn't the increase spread in smaller percentages across all standard versions for all platforms. Understandably they want to get the game to as many players as possible on last gen to increase profits so a lower price is more appealing, but even last gen players should be concerned because presumably they plan on upgrading to the current gen at some point and will have to pay again unless they buy a gold edition pre-emptively, these are all profit based decision as oppose to consumer satisfaction ones, which is unethical in my mind.
Next, I fully understand that with each console iteration there is a mark up in price, but I disagree with your case based on the fact that other publishers/developers are not doing this, they're still providing overall better optimisation for current gen versions whilst releasing an all inclusive game that has the compatibility on both generations for the same price. This is, once again, a marketing choice EA are the only ones currently adopting which could set a dangerous precedent, this is without going back into the EA/Dice's acknowledgment that compatibility between last and current gen is plausible but not included unless you buy two separate versions of the game, which is included in the gold edition for an extra £30, so I'm not taking note of the whole speculative "backward compatibility, it's just too much a of a pain to be done" argument because if they wanted to they could, whether or not it would impact how they "harness all the power" they can is based on assumptions and speculation which you're giving them the benefit of the doubt for.
At the end of the day, nobody can really justify the price increase prior to actually purchasing and seeing for themselves: influencers, official media releases, BETAs will never give a complete picture and that's my point that, my initial post maybe didn't convey it as well as it should've but in my mind the price increase is based on nothing physical other than promises of optimised/polished gameplay for the current gen. which isn't a justifiable reason for having current gen only be subject to this notable increase, which I personally don't think is unwarranted to scepticism. We'll leave it at I'm being a 'pragmatic pessimist' and you're being a 'idealistic optimist', neither of which have a negative connotations and its a good topic for debate regardless, but I guess we'll agree to disagree.
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