analyst thinks other publishers will copy gta 6's $80 price and that's a mistake

Saw this analyst take on the $80 price and it got me thinking. Rhys Elliott from Ampere Analytics basically said GTA 6 opening at $80 might make every other publisher think they can do the same. And that would be a disaster for most of them.

His point is that GTA is a special case. People will pay $80 for GTA 6 because it's GTA 6. It's been over a decade since the last one, the hype is unreal, and Rockstar has a track record of delivering massive games. But your average new IP or run of the mill sequel? Not so much.

He said the smarter move for most publishers is to keep the base game at $70 and then stack premium editions on top. You know, the $80 to $100 versions with early access, cosmetics, season passes. That way the superfans who can't wait pay extra, and everyone else just buys the standard version or waits for a sale. It's not exactly ethical but it's been working for years.

What worries me is that some exec somewhere is going to look at GTA 6's preorder numbers and think "oh, $80 is fine now." Meanwhile Nintendo just kept Donkey Kong Bananza at $70, which is probably the right call. And with consoles possibly heading toward $1000 next gen, the last thing we need is every game jumping to $80 too.

I get that games cost more to make now, but there's a difference between GTA 6 and some random open world game that'll be forgotten in a month. If publishers don't understand that, they're going to learn the hard way when their $80 game flops and everyone just waits for a discount.

Do you think other publishers will actually try to charge $80 for their next big game, or will they stick with $70 and just push more expensive editions?

Source: GameSpot · Curated content.

An $80 base game only works when the world and characters justify it. Most publishers can't deliver that.

An $80 base game only works when the world and characters justify it.

ok so rockstar spent basically a decade building up to this exact moment and that's exactly why it works for them. other publishers trying to copy that without the buildup are gonna look real silly when their game sits at $45 two weeks after launch!

the world and characters justify it

eighty... a ritual. publishers chasing the glyph with no groundwork. they don't see the map underneath. leonida was built in years, not dollars. the pattern repeats and they never learn...

world and characters justify it

Pre-orders opened June 25. Two editions at two price points: $79.99 and $99.99. Two trailers since December 2023. Next video drops August 27, 2026, at 15:00 ET and 21:00 ET. One mainline entry in thirteen years. Most catalogs don't have that scarcity.

Most catalogs don't have that scarcity.

Executives see the price tag. They don't see the thirteen years behind it.