Former Sony Boss Shuhei Yoshida Doesn’t Think Gamers Should Be Complaining About the Price of Games, and I Think He’s Missing the Point

The former Sony Big Boss is back again with another hot take, this time around, centered on game prices and whether or not gamers should be voicing their concerns about them. Speaking with Critical Hits, Shuhei Yoshida basically sounds like a guy who was running a company for a number of years and did great things while at Sony. So, while his comments aren’t surprising, I do think he is missing a significant point of the criticism of pricing. But let’s get into what he said.

IT’S TRUE, yoshida, WE’VE GOTTEN REALLY LUCKY WITH THE PRICE OF GAMES

When asked what he thought of the increases in prices, Yoshida starts by saying:

“When you look at life in general, other products in price have increased, you know, way more than the game price. So, I think it was almost too late for the video game companies to start looking at the pricing structure.”

Okay, he’s not wrong here. Realistically speaking, we’ve done well to have held the line this long. I mean, I remember when the prices were going from $50 to $60, there was a bit of an uproar. Nothing like this, but it happened. And while the rest of the world watched as their beloved items increased in price to keep up with an ever-changing economy, despite stagnant wages and a terribly low minimum wage, our games stayed mostly the same.

And I agree with Yoshida when he says, “I don’t believe that every game has to be priced the same.” We’ve seen that recently with Mario Kart World being $80 but Ghost of Yotei‘s standard edition being $70. Both are big-time game franchises that Nintendo and Sony have decided to price differently for their own reasons.

BUT WE CAN STILL HAVE AN ISSUE WITH THEIR PRICING NOW

The problem comes with his other statement while answering the question: “As long as people choose carefully how they spend their money, I don’t think they should be complaining.” Here’s where I believe he got this completely and totally wrong. That quote ignores that people are complaining because they’re careful with their money. This isn’t a time for people to be particularly frivolous with their funds. And while I’m sure there are people who toss money in the furnace like they’re trying to keep a train running, I’d imagine many folks want to enjoy their hobby sensibly, along with taking care of their responsibilities.

This conversation likely isn’t something that will go away anytime soon. But comments like that aren’t going to help the discussion. I don’t care for the idea that people can’t complain about something they have an issue with. Asking folks to be measured in their criticism? Sure. Placing parameters based on a perceived need for them to do something a particular way? That’s going about it the wrong way. This is a worthwhile conversation to have. And it’s a good idea to listen to the people who are trying to spend their money carefully. Because at some point, it may start going somewhere else.