Analyst Mat Piscatella Says $70 AAA Games Are Selling Well For ‘Affluent’ Groups, But Rising Costs Push Others To Free-To-Play Titles Like Fortnite

Speaking on the Delayed Input podcast, Mat Piscatella of Circana has observed how spending patterns are changing among different consumer types, noting that more ‘affluent’ groups are willing to fork out for $70 AAA games like Ghost of Yotei, while others are finding free-to-play and and mobile offerings a more attraction prospect.

Because of changes in the marketplace, for example, things becoming more expensive particularly in everyday spending categories like food and housing… there’s been a separation in the spending patterns of folks. The people who are more affluent, they have more money, they’re continuing to spend as if prices haven’t really changed. They’re spending more, getting less, and they just keep going, because they’re in a position where they might not even realize the prices have gone up in some areas.

Related Content — Upcoming PS5 Games 2025: The Best PS5 Games Coming Soon

The analyst describes some of this behaviour as “quiet inflation,” where more affluent types don’t really pay much attention or are aware of the rising costs of products including consoles. “People just don’t realise because they’re not paying attention,” he said. Consumer who fall into this category have “no problems spending $70 on Ghost of Yotei, spending more on a PS5 than they would’ve, or buying a Switch 2.”

On the other hand, people who are struggling to pay rent or having to cope with rising costs of everyday essentials like groceries are transitioning to games such as Fortnite and Roblox, which are free-to-play.

Rising development costs in recent years have resulted in a number of major publishers, including Nintendo, to charge $79.99 for its flagship titles such as Mario Kart World. Even hardware has been impacted by price increases, with Sony having bumped up the cost of the PS5 earlier this year.

[Source – Delay Input via GamesRadar]