The latest gaming generation has introduced a number of features, but with all the new and shiny things comes a higher price tag. Some AAA game publishers have used this new generation as a springboard to increase the prices of games from $60 to $70. One of the companies leading the charge is Take-Two, who released NBA 2K21 for $70 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. During a conference call that took place earlier this week, Take-Two's CEO Strauss Zelnick reiterated the point of the price increase for major games going forward, saying, "our review 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."

While Take-Two seems to think that players are ready to accept the new MSRP for games, he also mentioned that the $70 price point won't apply to all future games published by the studio, as they plan to, "make announcements on a title-by-title basis" and that they "want to always deliver more value than what [they] charge."

Source: Morgan Stanley Technology Media & Telecom Conference (transcribed by VGC)

 

[Bladexdsl]

fuck off Zelnick!

 

[Owenge]

fuck off Zelnick!

"If you'll excuse me I have to go pirate something"

I now understand

 

[ghjfdtg]

You know what he is ready for? A strong kick in his fat ass. He can fuck off.

 

[MaxToTheMax]

Do you think he means "gamers" or gamers? I wonder if he is saying "Gamers" like 15-25 year old men who buy every sports title, or the market as a whole? Personally, I think the market will just price games at whatever Nintendo prices games, but that may just be me being a fan girl.

 

[the_randomizer]

Oh look, another out of touch, conceited prick of a game developer CEO. Big surprise there

Ready for 70 dollar games? Please, I'd rather admit to pirating than do that.

 

[Bladexdsl]

"If you'll excuse me I have to go pirate something"

I now understand

he can still go fuck himself this is why i pirate because of GREEDY stuck up pricks like him

 

[the_randomizer]

Yeah lol, like people are stupid enough to pay 70 dollars for a sport game Sorry but you played one sports game, you played them all. They're worth 30 dollars at MOST.

Take Two's CEO can piss up a rope.

 

[gamesquest1]

That's why I added that as an afterthought and focused on the PS3/X360 era, when the conditions were more similar to today.
SNES had a smaller userbase, but also the cartridges were a huge part of the game cost, they were a big chunk of hardware in themselves. A Blu-Ray costs next to nothing.

yeah, but even then digital only consoles and more end users opting(or more probable, not factoring in the long term costs of buying a digital only console) to buy digital copies no doubt would make up the difference between the 360/ps3 sales vs PS5, when you have less used copies floating on the second hand market you don't have to drop your price as quickly to compete, and if/when digital becomes the only option prices will pretty much remain stagnant, just as a quick example, lets take 2 pretty prominent releases from last year, one digital only Half life Alyx, one digital and physical, The last of us part 2, today if I want to buy either of those titles, with half life Alyx I would have to pay £55, likewise for TLoU2 digital I would have to buy the game at £55, but with the physical copy thanks to second hand copies existing a brand new sealed copy is £18, and a pre-owned copy is £14, now this generation has finally seen digital only console releases (excluding the very late to the game digital only xbox 1), so for an entire section of PS5 owners going forward when they want to buy a year old game they will have no choice but to pay the $70, the profits being made by never having to drop the price for an entire segment of the market would easily cover the difference seen by inflation, but as an added bonus for developers going forward with less second hand copies on the market due to many people having their copy locked to an account the price for a pre-owned copy will inevitably remain higher for longer and as such the cost for a new copy will be able to remain higher for longer too

no matter how you slice it, going forwards developers are going to be raking in a lot more profit per title than with previous generations, so this greed shown demanding people pay more initially despite the windfall of having certain users locked into paying a much higher price is worrying on how things will proceed as more and more people give in and start shifting to digital only releases

 

[pickinanameainteasy]

Ready? As in "knew this day was coming," then yes I am ready. Ready? As in "willing to pay $70," hell no I'm not ready.

 

[simon_peter]

lol as a European... games are 70€ (83$) already

 

[Dust2dust]

And that's just recent history. SNES games cost the equivalent of $120, and so on.

You're absolutely right! I paid a fortune on 16-bit games back then. $100 CDN on Strider for Genesis? Good game, but was it really worth $100?! And back then I didn't earn as much money as I do now. That's why I don't feel too guilty of acquiring games way more cheaply nowadays.

 

[x65943]

If the game pricing followed the inflation, games would cost $80 today. The $60 price tag for AAA titles was introduced in 2006 with the launch of the PS3/X360. Adjusted for inflation that's $80 today. $70 is a jump, but it's still not as bad as it could be.
And that's just recent history. SNES games cost the equivalent of $120, and so on.
Here's an article: https://techraptor.net/gaming/features/cost-of-gaming-since-1970s

That being said, most games do not justify a $60 price tag today, let alone $70.

There was some justification especially for the SNES games that had hardware improvements on the cartridge

Although sometimes I do go back and look at those old prices and really wonder how nintendo continued to sell expensive cartridge games in the ensuing CD era

 

[raxadian]

Definitely not for sports games, those drop on price so fast you only need to wait a few months to buy a new game to half price due to being used. That's why digital only games suck, you can't buy them used.

Also a lot of people buy games when they go at a discount.

 

[BLsquared]

No, we are not. Not unless it's an HD remake of Battle Network 1-3 as a single game. Nope.

There was some justification especially for the SNES games that had hardware improvements on the cartridge

Although sometimes I do go back and look at those old prices and really wonder how nintendo continued to sell expensive cartridge games in the ensuing CD era

The N64 didn't have loading times and was more powerful, I guess.

 

[raxadian]

Some HD remakes suck, I wouldn't pay the Grim Fandango Remake, the Earth Worm Jim remake or the Battletoads remake 70 bucks each. I would for the Ducktales remake, if it was brand new.

Edit: And the Alex Kidd in Miracle World remake definitely is not worth 70 bucks. For that price I can boot up my Master System and play the original, yeah I am that old.

 

[playstays_shun]

LOL, 'ready' and 'no choice' aren't the same thing

People will never be ready for $70 sports games that depreciate to $1-3 once the subsequent release comes out with a slightly updated roster.


though I find the $70 price point daunting, I still think the stranglehold on $60 Switch games remains more daunting

PS stuff (physical) still goes on sale quick often so... I will just wait more.

and in case of Switch, I've caved to going to Wally World sometimes for that comparatively sweet $50 price point. Since those almost NEVER go on sale across all avenues. OR waiting for some stackable deal for a used copy / second hand marketplace finds.

 

[raxadian]

and in case of Switch, I've relegated to going to Walmart sometimes for that sweet $50 price point. OR waiting for some stackable deal for a used copy / second hand marketplace finds.

Unfortunately Nintendo Switch games never go on Discount, not even the Digital versions. Nowadays if I can't get a Switch game used I don't bother.

 

[playstays_shun]

Unfortunately Nintendo Switch games never go on Discount, not even the Digital versions. Nowadays if I can't get a Switch game used I don't bother.

I've got lots of switch games used, beat em, and sell em again. Usually break even, sometimes even make a few bucks haha

I also just love collecting, and having a huge stack of box art.

Physical rocks!

I don't regret my digital purchases of MK8 Deluxe or Splatoon 2, since there are many times I want to hop into a game and not have to fumble around with a cart. Animal Crossing, eh... kinda wish I went physical. I'd probably still keep it for a rainy day before replay-ability really fizzled for me after the 35h mark,

Plus when it came out was the start of lockdown, and there was no way in hell I was going to go to a store when paranoia was at its height. It also generously came with a $10 reward zone voucher even for the digital version oddly, so I paid $50 day 1 without leaving the couch.

 

[SG854]

I often see topics like that brought up in regards to lots of things when it comes to prices not going up, but the reality is that sure a SNES game might have cost the equivalent of $120 in todays money, but its a lot more complicated that just exchange rates and inflation, costs of development have gone up too, but likewise costs of production and distribution have dropped dramatically, plus the consumer base is way bigger than back in the snes era, to factor in all the variables would be near impossible, one thing I know for sure is if take2 tried to charge $120 today they would no doubt go bankrupt within a few years and people would quickly find alternative football or basketball simulators to play that sure might not have the official names and branding but offer a similar or better experience for a lower price

truth is I'm sure they will get away with the $70 price increase, but that said it does open up the possibility of a PES style competitor to emerge and steal away their usual customers, honestly I don't follow football games at all, but a quick google showed Pro evolution soccer now has patches available for adding real team names and logos etc, I'm surprised more developers haven't opted to bypass the costs of licenses and just allow end users to just supply fan made mods that give fill that function for themselves

That's true digital downloads have went up. No need to pay for shipping, warranty on physical products, packaging, physical disc and material. And no need to go through a middle man like best buy or game stop. So production cost have went way down for the game makers.

Plus dlc and loot boxes have more then made up for those extra costs.

Many and I think most gamers today buy digitally.

 

[playstays_shun]

Many and I think most gamers today buy digitally.

Not so sure about that. I don't think retailers would be allocating shelf space to games if physical didn't sell fairly well

Plus any household with multiple consoles for their family, inherently knows what a DRM headache it is

One physical copy to go around, as needed, is a much more practical solution for these situations.