It’s solely been about two years or so because the online game trade started charging $70 for large video games as an alternative of the same old $60, attributable to sport improvement prices rising (and greed). This shift, understandably, didn’t go over effectively with gamers as the fee to remain up-to-date with trendy gaming continues to rise, however that may not cease Take-Two Interactive (the guardian firm of Rockstar Video games) from attempting to push it additional with Grand Theft Auto VI—one of many few upcoming video games that would most likely promote for $80.
In 2022, the period of $70 video video games started. Since then we’ve seen WB Video games, Activision, Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, and different firms start promoting their greatest, fanciest video games for $10 greater than the $60 price ticket that had been in place for years. The response to those elevated costs wasn’t nice, however video games like Name of Responsibility and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom offered effectively even with the upper price ticket. And in Take-Two’s newest earnings name, CEO Strauss Zelnick appeared to set the groundwork for costs going up.
As reported by Gamespot, when Zelnick was requested about how Take-Two decides what to cost for video games like Grand Theft Auto VI and Borderlands, he didn’t present any particular costs and as an alternative shared the writer’s pricing philosophy.
“Look, there’s extra content material always being made obtainable, and we actually purpose to ship nice worth at any given time,” mentioned Zelnick. “We’re so centered on delivering extra worth than what we cost. And that’s type of the rubric.”
He additional added that every time Take-Two establishes a sport’s value, the corporate needs to make it possible for it’s “excellent news” for gamers and that “the expertise vastly over delivers” in comparison with the worth level. “ That’s the objective,” added Zelnick.
If we glance again at current feedback from Zelnick, I’ve some critical questions on what he considers excellent news and good worth for shoppers.
Zelnick’s ideas on good worth and $70 video games
In August 2023, when followers criticized Take-Two for charging $50 for the great, however bare-bones Pink Useless Redemption and Undead Nightmare PS4 and Change ports, this was Zelnick’s response:
“That’s simply what we imagine is the commercially correct value for it,” Zelnick advised IGN after an earnings name.
“[Red Dead Redemption] was an incredible standalone sport in its personal proper when it was initially launched, so we really feel prefer it’s an incredible bundle for the primary time, and positively an incredible worth for shoppers.” I’d argue that $50 just isn’t an “correct value” for a primary port of a decade-plus outdated open-world Xbox 360 sport that, at launch at the very least, didn’t help 60FPS and eliminated all the net multiplayer modes.
In Could 2023, Zelnick additionally indicated that there wasn’t any client pushback on publishers charging $70 as an alternative of $60 on some huge video games, like Gotham Knights.
“What we’re seeing is shoppers are in search of to restrict their spending by going both to the stuff they actually, actually care about, blockbusters, or to worth, and generally it could possibly be each,” mentioned Zelnick.“And the excellent news is, we’ve a bunch of blockbusters and we’ve a beautiful catalog.”
All of this appears to counsel that Zelnick believes $70 video games work, shoppers don’t thoughts them, ports are value $50, and folks will purchase your blockbuster video games if they’re actually enthusiastic about them, even when they should handle their cash. That makes me marvel what Grand Theft Auto 6’s value will find yourself being when it launches in 2025.
If any sport can cost $80 (or extra) it’s GTA 6
Wanting again in any respect his feedback and Take-Two’s current historical past makes me marvel: Will Zelnick determine that GTA 6 is value greater than $70?
Will he take a look at one of the vital hyped video games in human historical past, the sequel to one of many best-selling video video games of all time, and a blockbuster open-world journey that can possible be large, and suppose “Oh gamers can pay $80 and even $90 for that!” I believe that’s an actual chance and if it occurs, I’d wager my subsequent lunch that he’d clarify on an earnings name that followers are getting a “nice worth” for that $80.
Positive, it appears foolish and even downright idiotic in 2024 or 2025 to cost greater than $70. We’ve seen numerous examples during the last 18 months or so of huge, costly video games failing to attach with gamers, critics, and fandoms, whereas smaller indie titles charging much less are exploding in recognition. I imply, one of many greatest video games in 2024 is Helldivers 2 and it sports activities a $40 price ticket. In simply the previous few months, Manor Lords, Grey Zone Warfare, and Content material Warning have discovered huge success on Steam and so they all price far lower than $70.
However Grand Theft Auto 6 is totally different. It’s the following entry in one of many greatest online game franchises on the planet, will possible have an enormous advertising push, and is the follow-up to GTA V and GTA On-line, among the most profitable items of leisure in historical past.
It additionally has an virtually not possible quantity of hype surrounding it, with gamers and followers going feral over tiny updates to Rockstar’s back-end servers. These similar folks make theories based mostly on birds in teaser pictures and observe down each piece of minimize GTA content material they will discover utilizing all types of strategies. These are followers who, if requested, would possible purchase GTA 6 at $80. And I believe there are many different folks on the market who would rapidly toss $80 to Rockstar and Take-Two if it meant they may play what is going to possible be the largest online game launch in 2025.
So actually, at this level, the one factor stopping Take-Two from charging greater than $70 (and providing shoppers a lot “nice worth”) is Zelnick and different executives taking a look at all this and deciding to not be grasping. And folk, I’m not holding my breath, particularly as video games price increasingly to make and take longer and longer to create. I believe if Zelnick and Take-Two imagine GTA 6 can succeed at $80 they’ll cost that and promote you a particular version for much more.
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