How much would you be willing to pay for Grand Theft Auto VI? The publisher believes that current game prices are too low, even after the fact that prices went up not that long ago.
The current consensus is that the benchmark price for video games is $70, but this is a tough sell for many gamers. This is particularly true when the market sees a flurry of high-quality releases in a short timeframe, forcing gamers to be selective and often precluding the purchase of every new release at its debut. Nonetheless, this consumer challenge is seemingly dismissed by the publisher of Grand Theft Auto VI, who opines that the pricing for games is “substantially below” what it should be.
Take-Two’s CEO, Strauss Zelnick, remarked in a recent investor briefing that the gaming industry’s offerings are too modestly priced when weighed against the entertainment value they deliver, pointing out a discrepancy in pricing scalability when compared to services like Netflix.
Zelnick suggests that a game’s price correlates with the entertainment per hour it provides, anticipated gameplay duration, and perceived value. He asserts that this pricing philosophy applies across the board in the entertainment sector, proposing that gaming delivers more entertainment per hour than movies do, despite a lower cost.
Zelnick points out, “The industry consistently delivers a superior ratio of value to cost for customers. We’re not necessarily looking to wield control over pricing, but our proposition is of extraordinary value. Our longstanding strategy has been to offer greater value than the price paid by our consumers.”
While the publisher stops short of announcing a hike in their game pricing, the implications are somewhat evident. Whether they will proceed to increase their pricing remains to be seen. But given the dedication of the GTA fan base, it’s likely that GTA VI could sell rapidly, even at a heightened price point of $80.
