Take-Two CEO: Xbox Series and PS5 Game Price Hike is Due to Higher Production Costs - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 15 September 2020 / 989 Views
With the next-generation of video game consoles around the corner, there is a divide from publishers and developers on the cost of games on the new consoles. Some have decided to launch the next-generation versions of their games for $10 higher at a launch price of $70, while others are keeping their games at $60.
Video games increased from $50 to $60 around 15 years ago when the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles launched.
Take-Two Interactive is one of the publishers that decided to increase their games on the Xbox Series X and S, and PlayStation 5 to $70 and CEO Strauss Zelnick in an interview with Protocol has defended the price hike.
"The bottom line is that we haven't seen a front-line price increase for nearly 15 years, and production costs have gone up 200 to 300%," said Zelnick. "But more to the point since no one really cares what your production costs are, what consumers are able to do with the product has completely changed.
"We deliver a much, much bigger game for $60 or $70 than we delivered for $60 10 years ago. The opportunity to spend money online is completely optional, and it's not a free-to-play title. It's a complete, incredibly robust experience even if you never spend another penny after your initial purchase."
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.
