NBA 2K21’s next-gen edition was among the first games across the industry to carry a $70 USD price tag, a decision that drew a lot of comments online.
The higher price point was embraced and accepted by the playerbase, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick said on an earnings call, but it’s too soon to say if the company’s other next-gen games will also come with that premium price tag.
Asked if he felt it was the right strategy to charge $10 more for NBA 2K21’s next-gen edition, Zelnick said in no uncertain terms: “Yes.”
“In terms of frontline pricing for NBA 2K21, I think that worked out very much as expected. And as planned, it’s in a premium offering at the highest possible level, the title was built from the ground up for next-gen, so first title here that has been created that way,” the executive said. “And the acceptance by consumers has been nothing short of extraordinary.”
NBA 2K21 has sold in more than 8 million units, which is in line with previous entries in the series. Zelnick said he can’t say for sure if other games from Take-Two’s labels will also come with the higher price point, however.
“Now, we haven’t talked about pricing on other titles. So it would be premature to discuss that we’ll talk about that and title-by-title basis going forward,” he said.
NBA 2K21 was not alone in the sports market for carrying a higher price tag on next-gen. EA’s Madden NFL 21 and FIFA 21 also came with higher price points for their bespoke next-gen editions, but players on current-gen machines could upgrade at no extra cost. Outside of sports games, Demon’s Souls, Godfall, and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War all came with $70 price points on PS5 and Xbox Series X.
It was another huge quarter for Take-Two, with Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V continuing to be a bright spot. It has now sold 140 million copies and 2020 was its best-selling year since the game launched in 2013.
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