GAMING NEWS – Take-Two’s CEO says Rockstar could have priced GTA 6 far above $80 given the extraordinary demand surrounding the game. Strauss Zelnick argues that even at that price, buyers will receive substantially more value than they pay for.
Marketing for GTA 6 is expected to accelerate soon, and Take-Two appears highly encouraged by the response already surrounding Rockstar’s next blockbuster. During the company’s latest earnings call, Zelnick described the pre-order figures to date as outstanding and said the studio made the correct choice by settling on an $80 entry price.
Zelnick still considers GTA 6 a bargain at $80
The executive repeated his view that modern AAA releases are effectively less expensive than games used to be when their enormous amount of content is taken into account. Nintendo pushed the $80 standard into wider use last year, and many players were unhappy to see GTA 6 adopt the higher price point as well.
According to Zelnick, however, the unprecedented excitement around Rockstar’s game left the company with several viable pricing options. His comments suggest that demand might have remained strong even at a steeper tier, but Rockstar ultimately chose a figure it intends to justify as a bargain once the complete experience reaches players.
“Given the hype around the title, we could have made any number of other pricing choices. But our focus is on delivering way, way more value,” Strauss Zelnick said.
Take-Two expects the game to deliver far beyond its price
The CEO went further than simply calling GTA 6 good value. In his assessment, describing it as a bargain will eventually look like a “gross understatement.” Take-Two is therefore presenting the higher-than-usual price as only a fraction of the value Rockstar expects the game’s scale, content and overall experience to provide.
That position is certain to frustrate players who already object to the industry’s latest price increase. Previous polls nevertheless indicated that a portion of the audience would have accepted a price as high as $100 for GTA 6. Strong demand for the Ultimate Edition also demonstrates that many customers are already prepared to spend more than $100 on the release.
GTA 6 is consequently positioned as the largest launch in the gaming landscape by a considerable margin. Take-Two’s message is that Rockstar did not pursue the highest price the market might tolerate; instead, it selected a level intended to make the finished product’s value appear even more substantial when it arrives.
Source: Tech4Gamers
