PlayStations’ brand-new hero shooter Concord has got off to an abysmal start, with less than 700 players jumping into the game on the launch day. Expectations for the title were already relatively low following its open beta period back in July.
While there’s no way to know how the title is performing on PlayStation 5 yet, one thing is almost certain: the game likely cost Sony millions in losses. With the PS5 price being hiked up once again, the company may be trying to recover all the money lost with the failed hero shooter.
Concord’s Failure Might Have Pushed PS5 Price Hike in Japan
Well, you might think that the PS5 price would be much lower than it was back when it was released in the middle of a pandemic and the massive semiconductor shortage. However, that’s not the case. Sony has jacked up the price of the console multiple times in the past, and now, Japan has been hit with another price hike.
Starting on 2nd September 2024, players in Japan will have to pay an additional $90 for the Sony console. Currently, there’s no mention of this price hike being put in place anywhere outside of Japan, but gamers are genuinely shocked.
WTF is even happening this console generation? https://t.co/qPOxuAA72n
— Destin (@DestinLegarie) August 27, 2024
It’s mind-boggling that this generation of consoles still hasn’t given us any games that could push their hardware to its limit. Even after four years of release, PS5 barely has any games, yet Sony is bent on increasing its prices every few months.
Some fans think that if Sony had actually given us good games, these price hikes would’ve made a lot of sense. However, it keeps bringing titles such as Concord. The company is now making Japanese gamers have to pay more, and it seems to do with their unwise choices.
Making up for the Concord loss 😭
— dirty (@theDirty__Bird) August 27, 2024
It’s not just the console; even PlayStation accessories will be slightly going up in price. According to Sony, the price hike can be blamed on the “recent challenging external environment, including the current fluctuations in the global economic situation, and the impact it will have on our business.”
Even though Sony has increased the PS5’s price in other regions, none of them have been hit as badly as Japan. It’s the second time Japanese gamers are getting a price hike in 2024.
The company has recently admitted that the hardware sales for the PS5 have begun to slump. In the past generations, this would’ve been welcomed with a price drop, but that’s not happening with this generation of consoles.
Concord is a Pure Disappointment
Sure, Concord‘s Steam reviews have been mostly positive, but there’s little to no interest in the game. Currently, there are only over 400 reviews on the platform, and according to SteamDB data, the hero shooter peaked at 697 players since its release on August 23.
“Pay me $8”: 1 Concord Dev Has Resorted To Drastic Measures Holding Feedback and Criticism At Random
When compared to industry titans such as Overwatch 2, which is one of the worst-rated games on Valve’s service, Concord falls apart. Despite the Blizzard title being absolutely hated by every single soul, Overwatch 2 still manages to pull around 55,000 players on a daily basis.
The low Steam player count is certainly a huge blow for Sony and PlayStation, given that the game was in development for eight years. Even though the developer has been ready to support the title for years, the low number of games could result in studio closures and layoffs.
Concord might be in for a terrible time if developers don’t manage to bring those player numbers up.
How do you think Sony and Firewalk Studios can improve Concord? Let us know in the comments.
