Spider-Man 2 developer weighs in on game length vs price debate
"I feel confident in saying that it's worth it."
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 released today, with a storyline that developer Insomniac has said will take, on average, about 15 hours to complete if you just stick to the main story missions. If players decide to delve deeper, and complete side missions and collectables, that gameplay time could be extended to around 40 hours.
When it first came to light that Spider-Man 2's main story could be wrapped up in a relatively short amount of time - especially when compared to the likes of this year's Baldur's Gate 3, which can take players literal days to complete - some felt that Insomniac was asking too high a price for its sequel. Here in the UK, Spider-Man 2 is £69.99 for the standard PS5 edition. If players want to upgrade to the digital deluxe version, it will set them back £79.99.
Many have argued that game length should influence the retail price of a product, and therefore Spider-Man 2 should be priced lower than what is essentially £70. Insomniac's creative director Bryan Intihar has weighed in on this, and said that Spider-Man 2 is absolutely "worth it".
Intihar told BBC Newsbeat that Insomniac was aware of this debate about price and game length, but for the Spider-Man 2 team it was all about the quality of the final product.
"For us, it really comes down to the experience we want to deliver with the quality we want to hit," he said. "Obviously, there's a certain level of, 'hey, someone's going to spend this much money on a game', so we want to give them the experience that's worth it."
Intihar closed by saying that "no matter how long" Insomniac's game is, it is the developer's job to make sure that "it's worth that money, it's worth that investment."
As a general point of interest, Marie from our guides team is currently on the last story mission, and she has recorded about 17 hours so far. She has not been searching for the collectibles or doing any side missions. She is also, properly in love with the game.
In the meantime, don't worry if you do zip through Spider-Man 2 quicker than you may have expected. Insomniac has said there will be more content coming, including a New Game Plus mode, further down the line.
According to Insomniac's director of community and marketing James Stevenson, the developer hopes to get this particular mode ready and out "before end of year." We will update you when we hear more.