The next console generation’s NBA 2K21’s quality justifies a $70 price tag, says Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick. The prices of next-gen consoles and games have been the subject of debate and speculation for months, with consumers worried game prices are going to hike up considerably. It wouldn’t be the first time in the industry’s history that prices increase, but the $60 cost for the standard edition of a newly released title has become both the expectation and the standard.
However, neither Microsoft nor Sony have divulged the price of the Xbox Series X or the PlayStation 5. Along those same lines, video game developers have been largely quiet regarding the possibility of increases to next-gen game prices, though, according to Phil Spencer, gamers will decide next-gen game prices with their purchases (or lack thereof). Regardless, without services like Xbox Game Pass, consumers would be forced to purchase any game they wished to play for the full retail price, unless they waited a few months or years after release for the price to decrease.
As the next generation approaches, however, Gamesindustry.biz reports that Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick says NBA 2K21’s next-gen quality justifies a $70 price tag. “There hasn’t been a price increase for frontline titles for a really long time,” Zelnick argues, adding that prices remain unchanged “despite the fact that it costs a great deal more to make those titles.” The CEO went on to explain that gamers can only have certain experiences by utilizing next-generation consoles, thereby justifying the price increase for NBA 2K21. However, Zelnick also clarified during Take-Two’s Q1 earnings call that the company would determine the price of next-generation games will be handled on a “title-by-title basis.”
Nothing is guaranteed in terms of prices for the next generation, though, it’s likely there will be price increases among major titles. While companies such as Ubisoft have claimed there won’t be any major price hikes for their games at the beginning of the next generation, that doesn’t preclude them from increasing prices later. What consumers need to remember is that these companies are still for-profit organizations, and their expenses are a major factor in determining what the retail price for their games will be so they can earn revenue and, thus, a profit.
The employees for these companies also need income, and if the companies go out of business because they refused to jack up prices out of some false sense of altruism, developers no longer have jobs and players no longer get their games. However, there is room for a middle ground, even in the business world. Increase prices too much, gamers will unify and boycott a game, many of them likely waiting until the title decreases in price over time before acquiring it. Not everyone can afford a $60 price tag at launch, and a $10 increase with the next generation may not seem like much, but those costs add up. It’s a touchy situation at best.
NBA 2K21 will be available for PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, PC, and Google Stadia on September 4, 2020, and come to PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2021.
Source: Gamesindustry.biz