Strauss Zelnick, the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, suggested that consumers are “ready” for the price of the next generation game to rise to $ 69.99, as NBA 2K21 it will cost exactly that. This observation was made during the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference in March 2021, after Zelnick was asked about his opinion of the public’s reaction to the price increase of the game. To put it in context, the normal launch price for most 2K titles in the last two generations of consoles was $ 59.99. [Thanks, Video Game Chronicle!]
Here is Zelnick’s exact quote from the presentation, which VGC transcribed:
We announce a $ 70 price point for NBA 2K21, our vision was that we are offering a variety of extraordinary experiences, a lot of reproduction capacity, and the last time there was a price increase on the front line in the USA was in 2005, 2006, so we thought consumers were ready for that.
Take-Two Interactive owns record labels Rockstar Games and 2K, but Zelnick has not explicitly stated what consumers can expect in terms of game prices in the future. Instead, he said the ads would be made “headline by headline”. He acknowledged that the feeling of being overwhelmed can ruin an experience.
When NBA 2K21The company’s next-generation price increase was first announced in August 2020, Zelnick said the price was justified due to the value Take-Two and next-generation consoles offer consumers. NBA 2K21 it is notable because it was the first title of the next generation to have the price of $ 69.99 attached to it. The same game is also available for $ 59.99 on Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
NBA 2K21 it is not the only next generation title sold at that price. Some PS5 games launched for $ 69.99.
This $ 59.99 price is the standard retail price in the United States for most video games released on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Switch. This price was also an increase of $ 10 over the price of the new game from the previous generation.