Take-Two Interactive was the first publisher to announce that the in-house games on the next-generation Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles would be offered slightly more expensive than their current-gen counterparts. A decision that the company once again defended in the current annual report.
As the first publisher, Take-Two Interactive announced a few weeks ago that the in-house games on the two next-generation consoles of PS5 and Xbox Series X will be slightly more expensive than their PS4 and Xbox One counterparts.
While NBA 2K21 is offered on the current consoles, for example, at a price of around $60 US dollars or euros, the PS5 and Xbox Series X implementations cost almost $70 US dollars or euros. A pricing policy that those responsible for Take-Two Interactive defended in the current annual report.
The price increase of the in-house games is said to be due to the increased effort in the area of development.
Strauss Zelnick, President of Take-Two Interactive, commented on the following in an interview with GamesIndustry: “There hasn’t been a price increase for frontline titles for a really long time, despite the fact that it costs a great deal more to make those titles. And we think with the value we offer consumers…and the kind of experience you can really only have on these next-generation consoles, that the price is justified. But it’s easy to say that when you’re delivering extraordinary quality, and that’s what our company prides itself on doing.”
Zelnick further added the following: “We just speak for ourselves. “Obviously, we don’t speak for the industry and the industry naturally does not coordinate on these matters, to say the very least. The pricing has to reflect the quality of the experience, and we aim to provide the best experiences in the business. And from our point of view, it’s an extremely modest price change given that prices haven’t changed for a very long time.”
In an update later, Zelnick confirmed that the pricing of the next-generation games would be decided on a “title-by-title basis,” which means that not all PS5 and Xbox Series X games would cost the $10 price hike.
PS5 and Xbox Series X will be released at the end of this year.
