GTA 6 should be priced by hour value, says publisher.
Those hoping the speculation and leaks would dissipate after Rockstar Games officially unveiled the GTA VI trailer were wrong; more information than ever is now surfacing regarding game details from fellow fans, while even Rockstar itself believes games should be priced “per hour”.
Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick isn’t concerned about offending fandoms with his recent comments suggesting video game prices should be set according to “per hour value”, or the hours of gameplay you receive upon release of an AAA game (which typically cost PS60-PS70 upon launch). Such an move would only increase gaming’s already prohibitively costly nature.
Zelnick noted, in regards to pricing entertainment properties, “basically the algorithm for pricing any entertainment property is calculating its expected entertainment usage value; which in other words multiplies per hour value times expected hours plus perceived ownership terminal value perceived by customer when title actually owned instead of rented or subscribed for. You’ll see this pattern throughout all kinds of entertainment vehicles – our frontline prices remain extremely affordable as we offer multiple hours of engagement.”
That is an indelicate way of suggesting gamers should pay more for games like GTA VI; yet these controversial comments from Zelnick can only cause more heartache among GTA fandom who’ve waited 10 years. He went further, explaining that such an unfair pricing system cannot easily be reached: “That doesn’t necessarily imply the industry wants or even has pricing power, yet there’s great value being provided here.
PC gamers preparing to experience disappointment while also needing to purchase consoles are now grappling with price worries over this highly anticipated title. Unfortunately, we won’t know exactly how much this highly-anticipated game costs until its close to release – for now we await early December when we may finally witness its trailer!
