(Update) NBA 2K21 priced at $70 on next-gen consoles: could be the harbinger for an industry-wide price hike

Leave it to Take-Two

[Update: This might be the start of something bigger. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, research firm IDG Consulting notes that given the last time a price hike occurred was roughly 2005 ($60), we’re past due for one. IDG notes that a potential $10 increase will “only” be a 17% hike, compared to a 39% increase for film ticket prices or a 100% increase for Netflix subscriptions. Of course, that figure doesn’t take into account all of the extra monetization prospects of games.

IDG says that according to “their channel checks” more publishers are looking at a $70 price point, with the concession that “not every game should garner” that new MSRP. That said, once the floodgates open and the usual suspects (WB, EA, Take-Two) make their move, there’s probably no going back.]

A line has been drawn in the sand. Will other publishers follow? Stay tuned, as this coming generation still has a lot of muck to wade through (like you know, the cost of the PS5 and Series X).

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, NBA 2K21 will sport an MSRP of $69.99 on the PS5 and Xbox Series X: a $10 price increase over the respective PS4 and Xbox One editions. While the current-gen console versions of 2K21 will launch this September, the future generation will get their versions “this holiday season” at that new price.

2K Sports, owned by Take-Two Interactive (who in turn owns Rockstar, and many other pricey properties), notes that the $10 premium is due to the fact that the new editions are “built from the ground up” for next-generation machines. Although Take-Two is seemingly alone in this venture right now, the writing has been on the wall for some time. Multiple industry veterans have called for a price increase for a long while, with the $60 standard holding for far longer than a lot of people expected it to.

Of course, with the advent of loot boxes, subscription services for genres that traditionally did not have them (Fallout 76), microtransactions (especially in sports games) and DLC, a lot of the “standard retail price” was baked into that racket. It remains to be seen if further legislation will limit that increasing encroachment — or if players will end up getting hit with higher retail prices and micros to boot.

There’s still so much to suss out about this coming generation, but at least we have cross-play and cross-buy to look forward to.

NBA 2K21 price is $10 more expensive on Xbox Series X and PS5 [GamesIndustry.biz]