GTA, NBA 2K Owner Says Players Are Ready For $70 Game Price Increase
Strauss Zelnick, the CEO behind Grand Theft Auto and NBA 2K owner Take-Two Interactive, stands by the decision to increase the cost of certain games to $70 as he believes players are ready for the price hike. Last summer, Take-Two subsidiary 2K Games announced the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of NBA 2K21 would cost $70 at launch.
As the popular sports title became the first game to receive a next-gen price increase, the industry at-large made room to discuss the topic more openly. There were those who argued such a shift was inevitable, given that $60 games have remained the norm since the mid-2000s. (Inflation, of course, is worth mentioning - $60 in 2006, amounts to roughly $75 in 2021.) To some, the $10 hike seemed especially warranted when considering how much more expensive AAA games cost to make compared to 15 years ago. Others countered by pointing out how predatory microtransactions in countless AAA games have already allowed publishers to squeeze more money out of consumers. Regardless, it doesn't appear as though Strauss Zelnick's opinion will change anytime soon.
During a discussion at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference, transcribed by VGC, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick was asked to share his thoughts on the response to NBA 2K21 price increase. He doubled down on his original stance: "We announced a $70 price point for NBA 2K21, our view was that we’re offering an array of extraordinary experiences, lots of replayability, and the last time there was a frontline price increase in the US was 2005, 2006, so we think consumers were ready for it." With regards to whether or not other Take-Two titles will similarly cost $70, Zelnick said these decisions will be made on a "title-by-title basis." The CEO added that Take-Two's goal is to ensure its customers more value than what' they're charged for to guaranteed the buying and playing experience are equally positive.
This discussion as a whole is still quite divisive, and could very well remain so throughout this new console generation. Opinions on Take-Two's role in the matter are especially unlikely to shift in the near future, considering the microtransactions that flood NBA 2K, as well as previous issues concerning unskippable in-game ads.
Apart from Take-Two, few AAA publishers have similarly raised prices on their products, with Sony Interactive Entertainment counting among them. All PlayStation 5 exclusives published by Sony will bear a $70 price tag, the company confirmed ahead of the console's launch. Demon's Souls served as the first big example, while next month's Returnal - a second-party game from Housemarque - will also charge players an extra $10. Which other companies may follow suit presently remains a mystery.
Source: Video Games Chronicle