Take-Two head wants hours played to factor into game pricing

GTA 6 will be worth the price of an Aussie home, in that case?

Take-Two head Strauss Zelnick has said that video game prices are too low, and that hours played in a title should factor into its overall cost.

“In terms of our pricing for any entertainment property, basically the algorithm is the value of the expected entertainment usage, which is to say the per hour value times the number of expected hours plus the terminal value that’s perceived by the customer in ownership, if the title is owned rather than rented or subscribed to,” Strauss told investors (via RockPaperShotgun).

If you’re having trouble parsing that statement, first, you’re not alone. From my understanding, Strauss suggests a game price is tied to the amount of hours you have, or intend to get, from the title. For something like Destiny 2 or Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, that’s potentially hundreds of hours of entertainment that he’d like for you to pay for accordingly.

“You’ll see that [the algorithm] bears out in every kind of entertainment vehicle,” Zelnick continued. “By that standard our prices are still very, very low, because we offer many hours of engagement, the value of the engagement is very high. So I think the industry as a whole offers a terrific price to value opportunity for consumers.”

It’s an interesting mindset, but one that’s flawed; I’d personally pay more for the likes of an Alan Wake 2 or even Assassin’s Creed Mirage, tight and focused titles that offer a full experience under the twenty hour mark.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean that the industry has pricing power, or wants to have pricing power,” Strauss added. “However, there is a great deal of value offered, and look, it’s our strategy here to deliver much more value than what we charge consumers, that’s always been our strategy.”

Take-Two’s next huge game will likely be Grand Theft Auto 6; we’re hearing more about that juggernaut in December.