
Take-Two on PS5 and Xbox Series X Game Price Hikes: Reflects the Quality of the Experience - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 05 September 2020 / 2,021 ViewsTake-Two Interactive previously announced they will be increasing the price of NBA 2K21 on the next generation consoles, the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, from $59.99 to $69.99. This has led speculation that the price of all games will be increased to $69.99 for the next generation, however, Ubisoft has stated they plan to keep the price of their games at $59.99 for at least through this fall.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick has spoken with GamesIndustry about the price hike for NBA 2K21 on the next generation consoles.
"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," Zelnick said. "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."
"We just speak for ourselves," he added. "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."
Zelnick was also asked that with the weaker economy due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic if there would be a slower start to the next generation consoles than previously expected.
"[It's] very hard to call it, and historically, we've never tried to," Zelnick said. "We will make our titles available on the best platforms that are out there. We expect great things from these consoles, we of course are going to be supportive, and we've already said that we have NBA 2K21 coming for the new generation and that we have Grand Theft Auto 5 coming in fiscal 2022 for next-generation consoles. We haven't made any other announcements, however."
Zelnick did add that the pricing of next generation games will be done on a "title-by-title basis." This suggests not all of their games will be priced at $69.99 on the Xbox Series X and PS5.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
After all the micro transactions shenanigans, Fuck off Take Two. Garbage company, up there with EA.
I have no problem with a $10 price increase for AAA games. However, my already high threshold for full price game purchases (game has to be great, basically, otherwise I'll wait) is going to probably get even more strict.
Are the updates they’re referring to upgrades to the in game casino?
Sure it does
Since when does copying and pasting the same game every year mean a price increase for next gen?
Is it just me or does this guy on the NBA2K21 banner kinda look like the actor Will Smith ?
Also, I strongly disagree with Strauss Zelnick about the pricing.
Even if game prices havent increased in years, and even if development costs have gone up by 200%, so did
the number of games they sold.
Going by T2s own numbers and taking Red Dead (2) as an example, the first one sold ~ 14m and the 2nd one did 29m
And the NBA 2k series sold ~ 2m in both '09 and '10 while in '18 and '19 it sold 10m and 9m.
So why do they need a higher price again?
First generation sports games rarely impress me. I also don't think I bothered downloading the free 2k20 that was available awhile back on ps+
If the price is going to be based on the quality then NBA 2K should be sold for 10 USD just as they are a year after release.
And this is what they pay top dollar for... A CEO that can regurgitate corporate bullshit.