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Video Game Prices Are ‘Very, Very Low’ For What They Offer, Says GTA 6 Publisher Take-Two

I think, in a thread based on a quote from the guy who runs the company that makes GTA, it is appropriate to discuss GTA.

Strauss Zelnick is not putting out those statements based on Baldur's Gate 3, it's based on his own game.


Weird then that he said "video games" are too cheap rather than "our game."
 

Evil Calvin

Afraid of Boobs
Considering most games:

1. Are sold digitally....no need for production costs, shipping costs, 3rd party costs
2. USUALLY the games are not finished....years of patches, updates...etc..
3. Games will still be loaded with microtransactions and 'in your face' selling and storefront promotion
4. Games are $75 minimum...with tax. If you want extras, play early, deluxe......then prepare to pay $100+

So, no.....fuck you!!
 

winjer

Gold Member
I would say that games have never been more expensive.
- We rarely get a full game. Frequently they cutout content to make DLCs, micro-transactions, special editions, pre-order bonus, etc.
- A lot of paid games, also have micro-transactions or loot-boxes, to gate access to content. Forcing the consumer to pay more.
- We no longer own the games we buy, we just lease them. This is especially true with the rise in digital sales.
- At any point companies can take out portions of a game, like the multiplayer, or the soundtrack, or even content in some GaaS.
- Not only we have to pay with money, but we also have to pay we our data. Most companies now have telemetry to mine user data. At best is just how we play the game, at worst it goes into personal detail.
- Every big publisher has a f****** store and launcher. And they all want to start with Windows, and have a helper service or two. And require user data, and online verification every time we launch a game.
- A lot of games just pad out play time with repetitive tasks, that often fell like work.
- With digital, companies no longer have to print covers and manuals. Make the casing for games. Shipp them around the world. They don't have to pay a percentage to the store, to the importer, to the warehouse, etc. They just pay a handful of engineers and some servers.
- Most games are released in an unfinished state. So most of the time we are not even getting a game, we are getting an alpha version, with the vague promise, that one day, maybe, it will be fixed.

Edit, another point added.
 
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Eiknarf

Banned
Fair is fair, but also in the name of fairness, for every single bug one encounters in this, inherently interactive piece of entertainment, one should be compensated with a decent amount of those money back.
Yup
I was just gonna say something like this

If you want to charge $80 for a AAA game… Then so be it.
But If you want to charge $80 at launch and its not ready … or it needs patches and it’s got bugs and glitches etc , then, every person who has a file on their console should be given a digital store credit (that’s the only credit I could see happening. If you bought a physical copy, Best Buy or Amazon or GameStop could not give you any money back. It’s up to the developers through PlayStation/xbox)
 

Eiknarf

Banned
Keep in mind, rockstar games announced that they are going to post massive ads on the biggest and most expensive billboards in the country in NYC and Cali etc So that’s where the price hike is going
 

nikos

Member
Been saying this for years. The value you can get out of a video game is insanely good for the cost. While everything else increases with inflation, the cost of gaming has pretty much stayed the same. You can even get new releases below retail on PC.

$50-70 for a game is nothing when you consider the price of anything else. Even if I play a game for a few hours, I usually feel like it was worth it. Going out costs way more for most activities. I've always compared the cost of gaming to drinks and that gap keeps closing, as they pretty much cost $20-30 now.
 

leo-j

Member
That’s why a ps5 is still $499 and a switch is still $299 , totally expect nexgen to be even more expensive.
 

Alebrije

Gold Member
Stupid CEO , these days basically you buy a broken product at 70 bucks...all games need patches after release..just imagine buying at 100 a game like Redfall or Lords of the Fallen.

The more hight they are the less in touch with costumers. And the metric he uses is stupid because these days you do not own the game speacially a game like GTA, basically you pay 70 for a rent.
 

manfestival

Member
While I agree with the concepts especially when comparing to other entertainment platforms and bang for buck. Well, I can't think of a counter argument but just gonna say no because... I want my games to not be any more expensive.
 

poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
I would say that games have never been more expensive.
- We rarely get a full game. Frequently they cutout content to make DLCs, micro-transactions, special editions, pre-order bonus, etc.
- A lot of paid games, also have micro-transactions or loot-boxes, to gate access to content. Forcing the consumer to pay more.
- We no longer own the games we buy, we just lease them. This is especially true with the rise in digital sales.
- At any point companies can take out portions of a game, like the multiplayer, or the soundtrack, or even content in some GaaS.
- Not only we have to pay with money, but we also have to pay we our data. Most companies now have telemetry to mine user data. At best is just how we play the game, at worst it goes into personal detail.
- Every big publisher has a f****** store and launcher. And they all want to start with Windows, and have a helper service or two. And require user data, and online verification every time we launch a game.
- A lot of games just pad out play time with repetitive tasks, that often fell like work.
- With digital, companies no longer have to print covers and manuals. Make the casing for games. Shipp them around the world. They don't have to pay a percentage to the store, to the importer, to the warehouse, etc. They just pay a handful of engineers and some servers.
The guy has a point but they have been making a LOT more than the base price on their games for a long time.
If you want to charge above the standard rate then you need to commit to all content being available for that base price, with no micro-transactions, no season passes, no pre-order bonuses. Maybe you can have paid single player story DLC but nothing should be tied to that DLC beyond the extra story content.
 

Shubh_C63

Member
Such an egg and chicken problem really.

In conclusion, I ain't paying. Either adjust quality or minimize risk by being innovative.
 

Eiknarf

Banned
So after all this talk and discussion (which is great, by the way), does this mean Take-Two is definitely going to charge more than $69.99 for GTA6? Or are we speculating
 

kiphalfton

Member
VXCJfGi.jpg

"GUYS YOU DONT UNDERSTAND!
I NEED MORE MONEY! I'M WORKING AT A LOSS HERE, I'M ALMOST BROKE " 😢

High end escorts are expensive.
 

Bkdk

Member
Really depends on what games people are buying. Unless it’s full blown open world with non linear story, great graphics, good character design options with robust mod support, then 70 dollars is worth it, otherwise it’s not.

Edit: If rockstar keeps up with their quality with gta6, then I’m sure people would still be buying despite them selling for 80 or even 90 dollars, ff7 rebirth could do 75$ too if they are offering 100 hours of great gameplay, for many other games though, no way, certainly won’t even buy it for anything over 50$.
 
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BootsLoader

Banned
Been saying this for years. The value you can get out of a video game is insanely good for the cost. While everything else increases with inflation, the cost of gaming has pretty much stayed the same. You can even get new releases below retail on PC.

$50-70 for a game is nothing when you consider the price of anything else. Even if I play a game for a few hours, I usually feel like it was worth it. Going out costs way more for most activities. I've always compared the cost of gaming to drinks and that gap keeps closing, as they pretty much cost $20-30 now.
50 or 70$ is more than enough when the game makes the development money in one day. Also most of the games are unfinished.
 

raduque

Member
I do agree somewhat. Hundreds of hours of entertainment. Possibly thousands if you get really invested in MP. For a one time fee of 70 bucks is a steal.
I mean, I paid $1/hr for Diablo 4. I played it for around 70 hours. Some of my friends played it a lot longer, got well under $1/hr out of it.
 

Eiknarf

Banned
If current gen games go up in price because of this clown, are all you gonna speak with your wallet and NOT buy at launch???

I know GTA6 is rumored to have a $125 collectors edition

But I’m specifically talking about base games
 
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SmokedMeat

Gamer™
How about publishers are pocketing more money than ever before on each game sale.

No retailer cut on digital
No manufacturing and shipping costs on digital
Increased base price
Pricing tiers for base, deluxe, and special edition
Season Passes
Microtransactions

Don’t bother optimizing your game

Thanks to online, you no longer have to ship a finished game. Just apologize.

Remaster your old games because your current teams aren’t as good

*coming soon!* AI cost savings
 
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WitchHunter

Banned
How about publishers are pocketing more money than ever before on each game sale.

No retailer cut on digital
No manufacturing and shipping costs on digital
Increased base price
Pricing tiers for base, deluxe, and special edition
Season Passes
Microtransactions

Don’t bother optimizing your game

Thanks to online, you no longer have to shop a finished game. Just apologize.

Remaster your old games because your current teams aren’t as good

*coming soon!* AI cost savings
Instead of whining, why not buy shares in these publishers? So you would also get some "reimbursement".
 

Hudo

Member
I also don't get why he's the one talking. His fucking company is hard carried by GTA, if it wasn't for that IP, Take Two would've been "Embraced" already. Like, dude, you have essentially just one pillar on which your whole organization rests upon and instead of trying to fix that, you go out and deliver some extreme bullshit takes.
 
Then why did the gaming industry rather rapidly eclipse all other forms of entertainment in revenue?

Maybe the price is exactly right.

His bank account and yearly revenue imply otherwise. Evidently, he won't be satisfied until he gets... max payment.

Horatio-csi-3A-miami-356119_283_400.jpg


YEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
 
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ByWatterson

Member
This is 100% correct and not even arguable. The value proposition for AAA games is way out of line with inflation, history, hour-per-dollar metrics, and game budgets.

As core gaming maxes out its potential population of about 300-400 million people, either game prices or microtransactions must increase, or budgets must precipitously decline (which gamers, frankly, refuse to stomach). Better-made games cost more and take more time. Expensive games need higher prices or post-purchase monetization. More profitable games need lower budgets or bigger audiences. It doesn't make sense to complain about all of the following at once:
  • Prices
  • Microtransactions
  • Lack of creativity/risk-taking
  • Buggy games released too early

Cheap-to-make games routinely cost $60-70, nearly thirty years ago (see below - Doom 64 and Turok for $75 at TRU!). Something's gotta give.

think-video-games-today-are-expensive-look-at-1996-v0-5gu2g0kq5w9a1.png
 
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Dr. Wilkinson

Gold Member
It depends on the game. But overall this is correct. For the amount of gameplay you get for your money, games have never been cheaper.

TotK is the “most expensive Nintendo game ever made”, but like its 300 hours long and it took 7 years. Like, you get what you pay for. 🤷‍♂️
 
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Minsc

Gold Member
Given you could get games for free from EGS or just find some collection of 10+ semi old strategy games for $5-20 that offers 2,000+ hours of gaming, yeah, it's really always been a hobby that could be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be, and just as rewarding or disappointing on either side.

Plus you can't even really get started on PSN+ or Game Pass - if you actually totaled up the number of hours those services got you from the games they offered, it'd be what in the 100,000s?
 
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Prekk

Member
Insane profits paired with hollywood accounting.
Shitty overhyped games everywhere.

Extreme greed.

I can't wait for the next video game crash.
The industry needs a reset.
 
same people who took down the amazing GTA decomp project which was vastly superior to the "remastered" ports in every way. The decomp project that was infinitely better than a one put out officially by a studio, so pathetic.
 
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Metnut

Member
I don’t mind games creeping up to $80-$85 if that’s what it takes for AAA single player stuff like Baldur’s Gate 3 to be made. If prices go up and we are stuck with GAAS, I’ll probably just find something else to do.
 

MMaRsu

Member
I would say that games have never been more expensive.
- We rarely get a full game. Frequently they cutout content to make DLCs, micro-transactions, special editions, pre-order bonus, etc.
- A lot of paid games, also have micro-transactions or loot-boxes, to gate access to content. Forcing the consumer to pay more.
- We no longer own the games we buy, we just lease them. This is especially true with the rise in digital sales.
- At any point companies can take out portions of a game, like the multiplayer, or the soundtrack, or even content in some GaaS.
- Not only we have to pay with money, but we also have to pay we our data. Most companies now have telemetry to mine user data. At best is just how we play the game, at worst it goes into personal detail.
- Every big publisher has a f****** store and launcher. And they all want to start with Windows, and have a helper service or two. And require user data, and online verification every time we launch a game.
- A lot of games just pad out play time with repetitive tasks, that often fell like work.
- With digital, companies no longer have to print covers and manuals. Make the casing for games. Shipp them around the world. They don't have to pay a percentage to the store, to the importer, to the warehouse, etc. They just pay a handful of engineers and some servers.

Gamers let all this happen while sitting idly by and purchasing the latest games, and defending the biggest MTX scams.

Blame them, not the publishers.
 

Arsic

Loves his juicy stink trail scent
Sure. A game like dota 2 could offer thousands of hours of play at no cost.

Let’s be honest though. The majority of games these days are not finished , predatory FOMO money schemes , and can take a year plus to be feature complete.

Hell even games that launch early access are rip offs.

It’s very rare to get an Elden Ring except maybe this year of 2023.

Games like armored core 6 & lies of p I would happily pay more to experience, but sadly the games that cost more somehow are usually turds.
 

Hero_Select

Member
noone is making you spend all your budget on gigantic game. and even then GTA V has sold 157+ million units excluding all the money made from micro-transactions
 

winjer

Gold Member
Gamers let all this happen while sitting idly by and purchasing the latest games, and defending the biggest MTX scams.

Blame them, not the publishers.

Gamers have some blame for accepting most of this crap, with little contention.
But the majority of the fault still remains with the publishers.
Let's blame the scammers, not the victims.
 
I would say that games have never been more expensive.
- We rarely get a full game. Frequently they cutout content to make DLCs, micro-transactions, special editions, pre-order bonus, etc.
- A lot of paid games, also have micro-transactions or loot-boxes, to gate access to content. Forcing the consumer to pay more.
- We no longer own the games we buy, we just lease them. This is especially true with the rise in digital sales.
- At any point companies can take out portions of a game, like the multiplayer, or the soundtrack, or even content in some GaaS.
- Not only we have to pay with money, but we also have to pay we our data. Most companies now have telemetry to mine user data. At best is just how we play the game, at worst it goes into personal detail.
- Every big publisher has a f****** store and launcher. And they all want to start with Windows, and have a helper service or two. And require user data, and online verification every time we launch a game.
- A lot of games just pad out play time with repetitive tasks, that often fell like work.
- With digital, companies no longer have to print covers and manuals. Make the casing for games. Shipp them around the world. They don't have to pay a percentage to the store, to the importer, to the warehouse, etc. They just pay a handful of engineers and some servers.
- Most games are released in an unfinished state. So most of the time we are not even getting a game, we are getting an alpha version, with the vague promise, that one day, maybe, it will be fixed.

Edit, another point added.

You should get a different hobby.
 

Braag

Member
If I made millions upon millions every year, I too would find the price of games extremely low. I mean $70?? Millionaire me wouldn't even pick up $70 from the side walk,let alone dirty my hands with physical money.
 

midnightAI

Member
Did most of you just fall for PSU clickbait? I only read the paragraph that was what Strauss said and he says gamers get good value for money? he doesnt say anything about it being 'too low' (ie. should be higher)?

"We want to ensure our experience is first class, and the nature of the experience is not just the quality of what we offer, it's what you pay for it," Zelnick continued. "Everyone knows that anecdotally. So that's how we look at it. There have been precious few pricing increases in the business. The price increase to, for example, 70 dollars for certain frontline products [in 2022] was the first price increase for many years after many generations. So I think we offer terrific value to consumers."

And he's not wrong.
 
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