GTA 6 is likely to be an extremely successful game and will cost around 70 euros – but what is it really worth?
GTA 6 is casting its shadows: the first trailer will be released in a few weeks. While everyone is concerned about how well the game will turn out, the CEO of publisher Take Two is unsurprisingly also concerned about money
The man comes up with an exciting formula for how the value of a game is actually measured. In comparison, the pricing of the vast majority of games has so far been extremely conservative and lower than it could actually be.
That’s what it’s about: GTA 6 is without a doubt the most anticipated game of the decade. When and how exactly it will happen is not yet clear. But at least we now know that the first trailer will be revealed at the beginning of December.
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GTA 6 will probably be worth a lot more than we pay for it – but how can that be calculated?
Until then, Take Two CEO Strauss-Zelnick will talk about money: The rather unpopular debate about how much a game should or should cost is of course also a concern for those in the executive ranks. The boss of the GTA 6 publisher is of the opinion that The vast majority of games currently cost far too little.
Or, better said: that paid less for them than they are actually worth. But in some cases it was actually thought and planned that way. Above all, the statement naturally raises follow-up questions:
How can the exact value of a game be calculated? Strauss-Zelnick has the following idea:
“When it comes to pricing any entertainment property, the algorithm is essentially the value of the expected entertainment usage. That is, the value per hour times the number of expected hours plus the final value that the customer feels when owning the title when the title is actually is owned and not, for example, rented or subscribed to.
And you can see that happening in every kind of entertainment. If we take that as a basis, our prices are still very, very low because we provide many hours of employment. The value of employment is very high.
So I believe the industry as a whole offers excellent value for money for consumers. This does not necessarily mean that the industry has the power to set prices or that it wants the power. Whatever the case: a very good, valuable offer is being made here.”
(via: Exputer)
The time-value formula
Essentially, when we buy a game, we automatically attach more value to it than if we only play it as part of a subscription. Add to that the time we spent on it. The more time, the more valuable the game.
Of course, there is also the quality of the game, but that goes without saying: bad games don’t last that long. Titles like GTA 5 or RDR 2, with their huge worlds, tend to keep us interested for a long time and should therefore be considered valuable.
Take Two’s strategy: If you are now afraid that GTA 6 will be significantly more expensive, we can give the all-clear. The standard edition will probably hardly cost more than other, comparable titles. On the one hand, the publishers don’t have this power, as Strauss-Zelnick says. But on the other hand, this is also part of publisher Take Two’s plan:
“Our strategy here is to deliver a lot more value than we charge consumers. There have been very few price increases in this store. The price increase to $70, for example, was the first increase in many years after many generations. So again, I think we offer great value to consumers.”
When is GTA 6 coming? It will probably take quite a while. So far we only have confirmation that the title is in development. An official announcement including a trailer will come later this year. But a release could possibly only be in 2025 or even later, probably the end of 2024 at the earliest.
What do you think about Take Two CEO Strauss Zelnick’s calculation on the value of video games? How much would you be willing to pay for your favorite game, what is it really worth to you?
