Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick has stated that the experience and quality of next generation games justifies an increase in their prices, but later stated pricing would be done on a “title-by-title basis.”
We previously reported how 2K Games revealed the RRP for NBA 2K21, $69.99 USD for the standard edition, possibly revealing the new industry standard for pricing PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X games.
Now, Zelnick spoke to GamesIndustry.biz ahead of the release of the company’s Q1 earnings. Zelnick was asked that would the fact Ubisoft stated it would not raise its prices this Holiday season for next-gen titles would “present a challenge for Take-Two in getting consumers on board with the extra cost.”
Zelnick replied that the increased cost was justified by the experience next-gen games could provide.
“There hasn’t been a price increase for frontline titles for a really long time, despite the fact that it costs a great deal more to make those titles. And we think with the value we offer consumers…and the kind of experience you can really only have on these next-generation consoles, that the price is justified. But it’s easy to say that when you’re delivering extraordinary quality, and that’s what our company prides itself on doing.”
When pressed if “he felt it was necessary for the rest of the AAA publishing industry to be on board for consumers to accept a price hike,” Zelnick stated “We just speak for ourselves. Obviously, we don’t speak for the industry and the industry naturally does not coordinate on these matters, to say the very least.”
“The pricing has to reflect the quality of the experience, and we aim to provide the best experiences in the business. And from our point of view, it’s an extremely modest price change given that prices haven’t changed for a very long time.”
GameIndustry.biz later updated their article, reporting that during an earnings call, Zelnick stated that pricing of next-gen games would be on a “title-by-title basis.”
Video Games Chronicle goes further with their report on the conference call. “We’re definitely announcing pricing on a title-by-title basis,” Zelnick answered when asked about next-gen pricing. He later stated his support for the greater quality of the games “demanding” an increased RRP.
“We’re applying this price point in the case where we think the quality not only supports it but demands it. Production costs have gone up greatly, but most importantly the consumer experience is more robust than ever before and I’m utterly convinced that NBA 2K21 will be nothing short of extraordinary so I don’t expect that there will be any concerns.”
Zelnick also reportedly stated Take-Two were planning to bring more existing games to next gen consoles.
Image: Wikipedia
