Take-Two CEO Addresses the NBA 2K21 Price Hike

Take-Two’s NBA 2K21 released on September 4, 2020. More than anything else, what made the news was the $10 hike in the game’s price for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S edition. Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick addressed concerns regarding this at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media, and Telecom conference.

Addressing the NBA price hike

When the publisher was questioned regarding their decision to increase the price of NBA 2k21, Zelnick responded, “We announced a $70 price point for NBA 2K21, our view was that we’re offering an array of extraordinary experiences, lots of replayability, and the last time there was a frontline price increase in the US was 2005, 2006, so we think consumers were ready for it.”

Zelnick gave us an insight into this strategy regarding the pricing of the games with an analogy of a person who goes to a restaurant, enjoys the food and service but receives an overpriced bill. Subsequently, no matter how good the food and service was, the customer will not return to the restaurant as it is overpriced.

Similarly he said, “We always want to make sure that consumers feel like we deliver much more than we ask in return, and that’s true for our current consumer spending as well. We’re an entertainment company, we’re here to captivate and engage consumers, and if we do that then monetization follows.”

Strauss further defended NBA’s price point saying, “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.”

Prices of future Take-Two Games

When pressed regarding the pricing of future Take-Two titles, Zelnick was more often than not a closed book. However, he did mention “We haven’t said anything about pricing other titles so far, and we tend to make announcements on a title-by-title basis, but I think our view is always deliver more value than what we charge, make sure the consumer has the experience and the experience of paying for it, both are positive experiences.”

Despite the price point, NBA 2k21 has sold more than 8 million copies. The hike seems like something the gaming community will have to adjust to. We have already seen the Playstation 5’s launch titles, Demon’s Souls and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition, both priced at $70. It will be fascinating to see if this pricing trend continues down the line.

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