Take-Two Interactive made waves a few weeks back when it became the first publisher to announce a $10 price increase for games on next-gen consoles. Rather than the accustomed fare of $60 that has been commonplace for years, Take-Two revealed that NBA 2K21 on PS5 and Xbox Series X would retail for $70 instead. Now, it sounds as though this pricing model may not be consistent for the publisher’s future as a whole.
During Take-Two’s recent quarterly earnings call, CEO Strauss Zelnick explained that the next-gen price increase may not transpire for every game in their catalog. “We’re definitely announcing pricing on a title by title basis. I would just observe, there hasn’t been a frontline price increase for a very long time, although costs have increased significantly,” Zelnick said to justify the company’s decision to bump up the price. “But most importantly, we believe we’re delivering the highest quality titles in the business.”
Zelnick went on to add that the level of replayability that games are met with nowadays is another reason why he feels comfortable with prices going up for PS5 and Xbox Series X titles. He finished by also adding that this price increase hinges on Take-Two “continuing to deliver amazing experiences, and that’s our strategy and our goal.”
Even though Zelnick and Take-Two as a whole seem to not be committing to $70 price points as a whole just yet, it doesn’t seem likely for the company to go back to $60 values instead. The only way such a thing might end up coming about would be if Take-Two sees that sales for next-gen games at this retail value are drastically coming in lower than expectations, which probably won’t be the case. Time will tell if Take-Two ends up walking back this new price increase, but I wouldn’t personally hold out too much hope.
As for NBA 2K21 specifically, the game is set to launch alongside both the Xbox Series X and PS5 later this holiday season. Those who buy the Mamba Forever edition of the game, which retails for $100, on current generation platforms will then be able to upgrade for free to next-gen consoles later on.
The post Take-Two Says PS5 and Xbox Series X $70 Price Point Will Go on a Title by Title Basis by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.