It was only about two years ago that the video game industry started charging $70 for major games instead of the usual $60 due to rising game development costs (and greed). This change understandably hasn’t gone down well with gamers as the cost of keeping up with modern games continues to rise, but that may not stop Take-Two Interactive (the parent company of Rockstar Games) from trying keep pushing it along Grand Theft Auto VI– one of the few upcoming games that could probably sell for $80.
In 2022 The era of $70 video games began. Since then we’ve seen WB Games, Activision, Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, etc other companies start selling their biggest, fanciest games for $10 more than the $60 price that has been in place for years. The reaction to these increased prices hasn’t been great, but games like call of Duty And The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom sold well despite the higher price. And in Take-Two’s most recent earnings release, CEO Strauss Zelnick appeared to have laid the groundwork for rising prices.
As reported by Gamespotwhen Zelnick was asked how Take-Two decides what fees to charge for such games Grand Theft Auto VI And border areasHe didn’t mention any specific prices and instead shared the publisher’s pricing philosophy.
“Look, more content is being made available all the time, and our goal is to provide great value at all times,” Zelnick said. “We are very focused on delivering more value than we ask for. And that’s kind of the rubric.”
He also added that when Take-Two sets the price for a game, they want to ensure that it is “good news” for players and that “the experience far exceeds the price.” “That’s the goal,” Zelnick added.
Looking back at Zelnick’s recent comments, I have some serious questions about what he sees as good news and value for consumers.
Zelnick’s thoughts on value for money and $70 games
In August 2023as fans criticized Take-Two for charging $50 for the beautiful but simple product Red Dead Redemption And Undead nightmare PS4 and Switch ports, that was Zelnick’s answer:
“That is, in our opinion, the commercially correct price,” Zelnick said IGN after a conference call.
“[Red Dead Redemption] “It was a great standalone game when it was originally released, so we feel it’s a great package for the first time and certainly offers great value for money for consumers.” I would argue that $50 isn’t a “real price” for a basic port of a ten-plus-year-old open-world Xbox 360 game, at least at launch 60FPS was not supported and all online multiplayer modes removed.
In May 2023, Zelnick also noted that there has been no pushback from consumers against publishers charging $70 instead of $60 for some major games Gotham Knights.
“What we’re seeing is that consumers are trying to limit their spending by either focusing on the things that really matter to them, blockbusters, or on things that they value, and sometimes it could be both,” Zelnick said. “And the good news is, we have a lot of blockbusters and we have a wonderful catalog.”
All of this seems to indicate that Zelnick believes that $70 games work, consumers don’t mind, ports are worth $50, and people will buy your blockbuster games if they’re really excited, even if they’re managing their money must. So I wonder what Grand Theft Auto 6′The price will be when it launches in 2025.
If any game can cost $80 (or more), it’s GTA 6
Looking back at all of his comments and Take-Two’s recent history, I wonder: Will Zelnick decide this? GTA 6 is worth more than $70?
Will he look at one of the most hyped games in human history, the sequel to one of the best-selling video games of all time, and a blockbuster open-world adventure that will likely be huge, and think, “Oh, players are going to pay $80?” “or even $90 for it!” I think that’s a real possibility, and if it happens, I’d bet the next time I had lunch on a conference call he’d be declaring that for that $80, the fans were getting a “great deal.” “performance ratio”.
Certainly in 2024 or 2025, charging more than $70 will seem silly or even downright idiotic. We have seen countless examples over the last 18 months
But Grand Theft Auto 6 is different. It’s the next installment in one of the biggest video game franchises in the world, will likely get a massive marketing push, and is the sequel GTA V And GTA Online, some of the most lucrative pieces of entertainment in history.
There is also almost impossible hype surrounding him, both among players and fans I’m wild about tiny updates to Rockstar’s back-end servers. The same people put forward theories based on this Birds in teaser images And Track down every piece of cutting GTA Contents You can find them using all possible methods. These are fans who, if asked, would probably buy GTA 6 at $80. And I think there are plenty of other people out there who would quickly throw $80 at Rockstar and Take-Two if it meant they could play what will likely be the biggest video game release of 2025.
So at this point, the only thing stopping Take-Two from charging more than $70 (and offering that much to consumers)Great value“) means that Zelnick and other executives look at all this and decide not to be greedy. And folks, I’m not holding my breath, especially as games become more and more expensive to make and take longer and longer to create. I think if Zelnick and Take-Two believe GTA 6 can be successful for $80, they charge it and sell you a special edition for even more.
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