Horizon Forbidden West Price became a controversial issue as soon as the pre-orders became live. Now, the decision of the pricing has been retraced thanks to an intense response from the community. It certainly proves one thing, consumers can change the attitude of companies towards products. PlayStation was acting as if they have never mentioned free next-gen upgrades let alone the $10 upgrade. The situation is different now people have reminded Sony of their promise through the online backlash. Horizon Forbidden West Price is not an issue anymore since the company has said that the next-gen upgrade will be free. It shows that consumers can change a company’s attitude. Keeping Xbox’s Smart Delivery and PC stores in mind, what does this decision show us? Let’s discuss.
The Initial Pricing of Horizon Forbidden West
Horizon Forbidden West For PS4 $59.99
Horizon Forbidden West For PS5 $69.99
For PS4 and PS5 Digital Deluxe edition $79.99, Collector’s edition $199.99, and Regalla edition $259.99
(Note: At The Time of This Writing There is Still no Mention of Upgrade On The Normal Version of the PS4 in PlayStation Store but That Can Change)
Looking at these prices it was clear that there was no way for PS4 players to Upgrade to the PS5 version of the game if they purchase the normal PS4 version of it. According to the old prices, the only way to get a next-gen upgrade for the PS4 version of the game was though buying Deluxe Edition or any edition higher than that. According to the old prices, buying a normal PS4 Game version was not upgradable. You would need to buy the game again on the PlayStation 5.
The situation is different and the game now offers a free next-gen upgrade. It is totally free like Xbox Smart Delivery. Now digital Deluxe Edition and all others editions just offer digital items or some physical items depending on the edition.
All this makes the PS4 version a better deal because you can just pay $60 for it and then upgrade it to the PS5 version. Since the PS5 version of the game costs $70, you will be saving $10. You don’t have to pay 10$ which is the price difference between PS4/Xbox One games and PS5/Xbox Series X/S games. Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut offers a $10 upgrade which makes Horizon Forbidden West Price a better deal. Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut is not even a proper next-gen upgrade. It is just an optimized version of the PS4’s game.
Future of PlayStation First-Party Games
As per Jim Ryan “I also want to confirm today that moving forward, PlayStation first-party exclusive cross-gen titles (newly releasing on PS4 & PS5)–both digital and physical*–will offer a $10 USD digital upgrade option from PS4 to PS5. This will apply to the next God of War and Gran Turismo 7, and any other exclusive cross-gen PS4 & PS5 title published by Sony Interactive Entertainment”
It means that Horizon Forbidden West Price is exclusive to that game. Any other cross-gen release after Horizon Forbidden West will follow the strategy of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut. Players have to pay $10 if they want to upgrade their PS4 version of the game to the PS5 version. 10$ is the price difference between the games of the two consoles so PlayStation wants you to pay that difference. The plan is not as good as Xbox but at least there is an option and you don’t have to buy the game again.
The Cost of PlayStation
PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X both cost $500. However, in terms of game prices, PlayStation 5 is more expensive in the long run since you have to buy all the games. The current situation of Horizon Forbidden West Price is a normal occurrence on some Xbox and PC games.
The only subscriptions services on PlayStation are PS Plus and PS Now. None of these services offer new games and these are not even direct competitors of Game Pass. All of the Xbox’s First Party games along with some new games are available on the Game Pass on day one. That’s not the case for PlayStation though the quality of PlayStation first-party games is better. Now that Xbox has ZenMax which is the parent company of Bethesda games, Xbox Game Pass is a much better deal.
Verdict
If there was not an outcry from the community on the situation for Horizon Forbidden West price then everything would have remained the same. There are people who even supported this decision. However, such people are fanboys they will even support negative aspects of a company. Sony was thinking that gamers are going to buy everything that they throw at them even though PlayStation is losing most of its good aspects including exclusives. All this shows one thing, Sony and other companies are listening to what people have to say. The Horizon Zero Dawn Price change shows that consumers can change the decision of companies. It is good for all gamers.
