Take-Two: 'We think consumers are ready for $70 games'

Rockstar and 2K Games parent company Take-Two Interactive hints more $69.99 games are on the way, but doesn't say which titles will get the price hike.

A major criticism of the new PS5 and Xbox Series X generation is pricing. Next-gen games now cost $69.99, and everyone from Activision, Sony, and even Square Enix are raising prices. Take-Two Interactive was among the first to charge $69.99 for its annualized NBA 2K21 sports game, and this trend should continue for other titles from the publisher.

In a recent Morgan Stanley conference, CEO Strauss Zelnick re-affirmed the publisher's stance on the price jump. Zelnick says consumers were prepared for the $10 increase, but not every game would cost $69.99; just the ones that provide tremendous value and replayability (like, say, Grand Theft Auto V's upcoming next-gen version?).

"In terms of pricing, we announced a $70 price point for NBA 2K21. Our view was that we're offering an extraordinary array of experiences and lots of replayability. The last time there was a frontline price increase in the U.S. was in 2005-2006. So we think consumers were ready for it," Zelnick said.

"We haven't said anything about pricing other titles so far. We tend to make announcements on a title-by-title basis. Our view is to always deliver more value than what we charge, to make sure both the experience and paying for the experience are positive for the consumer.

"We all know anecdotally that even if you love a consumer experience, if you feel you were overcharged for it, it ruins the experience and you don't want to have it again. If you go to a nice restaurant and have a great experience and a great meal, but the check is double what you think it should be, you're never going back.

"We always want consumers to feel that we deliver much more than we ask in return. That's true for recurring consumer spending as well. We're here to activate and engage consumers, and if we do that, monetization follows."

These comments mirror those made by Zelnick in August 2020, where he defended the price increase due to NBA 2K21's wealth of optimizations and unique performance values on next-gen hardware.