Take-Two’s CEO also talked about how consumers haven’t bucked the trend they started ($70 for a game instead of the $60 they used to charge) and had some thoughts on E3.
There was talk yesterday about Take-Two’s financial report, where they highlighted that they could have more groundbreaking games in FY 2025 and expect to make a lot of money from that, perhaps referring to Grand Theft Auto VI (supposedly scheduled for release in the current fiscal year, which began in April but got delayed). Still, other topics also came up during the Q&A. Strauss Zelnick, Take-Two’s CEO, received a question about whether there will be a mid-generation console update this time around, Gamesindustry reports.
According to Zelnock, a new model is likely to hit the market for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series. Still, it won’t significantly impact the publisher’s business (admittedly, its extent is impossible to predict, but there is already experience from the PlayStation 4 Pro and the Xbox One X). The Nintendo Switch will also be supported, despite the recent cancellation of the port of Marvel’s Midnight Suns to the platform. So is Microsoft up to something more substantial? But then, what will it be called, Xbox Series Y? So far, we’ve only heard rumors of the PlayStation 5 Pro…
He also talked about how the publisher hasn’t seen a massive backlash against the price hike (although it was Marvel’s Midnight Suns that saw a 33% price cut to $70 a month after release because there wasn’t a widely positive response to the game): “We do not see a pushback on frontline price. We’re seeing that consumers are seeking to limit their spending by going to the stuff they care about, blockbusters, or value, and sometimes it could be both. And the good news is we have a bunch of blockbusters and a wonderful catalog. The other news is we have a robust frontline release schedule, and without regard to price, there has been some pressure; as a result, if a consumer sees something interesting but not necessarily a huge blockbuster. We think that will change. This is a growth business, and this is a unique market, and nothing going on now is inconsistent with the view we outlined during the pandemic. We said at that time that we were benefitting greatly from people being at home due to an odd turn of events.”
Finally, he also said that he thought E3 was good: “We’ve always been a supporter of E3, and I think it served a great purpose as a show for the media, as a show for investors, as a show for distribution partners, and consumers who are avid about the business, ‘prosumers,’ if you will. That served a great purpose for us, especially when we had new products to show. And I think for some time, some of the large players in the business took E3 for granted and decided to step away from the show but still be in the publicity business at the same time and in the same location, which is problematic. You either have to support the show, or there isn’t a show.” He was referring to Sony and Nintendo, for example.
He said that E3 could still be the significant event it used to be, but it would have to serve everyone in the games industry. And that seems impossible.
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