Analytic Dreamz: Notorious Mass Effect - "CEO OF GTA STRAUSS ZELNICK THINKS GAMES SHOULD BE PRICED BY THE HOUR!??"

Episode Date: January 13, 2024

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/AnalyticThis episode dives deep into the heated debate surrounding video game pricing.Did GTA 6's publisher just fuel the fire on game prices? Strauss Zelnick's recent comments about "per-hour value" have ignited controversy. Join Analytic Dreamz as we dissect the claims, analyze the economics, and weigh in on whether premium games truly offer their buck's worth. From expansive open worlds to replayable narratives, let's unpack the complexities of video game value and challenge the very equation that defines it. This is an episode for passionate gamers, budget-conscious players, and anyone seeking to understand the evolving landscape of interactive entertainment. Tune in and let the debate begin!Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

You know, peer pressure is one thing, but the pressure from the internet is a whole other. I mean, you could be the CEO of one of the most successful gaming publishing companies of all time and still have to clarify comments because of your words being misinterpreted. Not theirs, but yours being misinterpreted. being misinterpreted into something that now it has blown up bigger than they even thought it was going to be in the first place. Now, what am I talking about with this segment, right? Take 2 CEO Strauss Zeldnick, I believe is how you say his name, has clarified some statements because the internet has been put in that pressure on them, right? I would say, deservedly so, but when you read further into his clarifying statement,

It makes sense and it makes you wonder why people took his words like that in the first place as Strauss Zelnick said that he didn't suggest games be priced at a dollar per hour because that was the whole controversy people were saying that he was implying that games should be priced per hour and with GTA on the horizon set to come out early 20th 25, a lot of gamers heard that statement and quickly became triggered because guess what, you're not going to take one of the most anticipated games of all time and implement one of the most aggressive systems as far as generating revenue in the detriment of our pockets, right? Obviously, free to play games like Fortnite gets away with certain things being. from the shop and certain micro transactions being expensive because guess what and certain game pass being a subscription based because guess what the game is free but in the gaming industry if something

is priced at 70 dollars we shouldn't have to pay 15 dollars here 15 dollars there just to get a extra character i'm talking to you midnight suns there's a reason why i ain't finished that game but that's another discussion for another point so people give you a product and at its full price you pay at least 70 for the next gen right but now people want to put game pass into it people want to put d oc that should have been in the game so so much stuff adding up to get to a price that i think strauss is talking about that a priced at a price per hour is just insanity right so basically he clarified his statements because everybody came at his neck for it and it was like hey we're not going to stand for this right so he came out and clarified his statement is basically saying that he values entertainment of course

and says that the value of it well no no so basically he said the value of entertainment is determined by the expected usage calculated as the per hour value multiplied by the expected hour plus terminal value. So basically the $70 pricing cap led to a post-launch monetization strategy and games like GTA Online generating substantial revenue through micro-transactions.

So he is saying that he believes games offer a good enough value considering the length, pause, in depth of the experience, another pause, challenging the notion of pricing games by the hour. So that's him clarifying his statements about the dollar per hour comment, right? And then we got into going, well, and then he got into going. That's not even a sentence.

Anyways. And then he explored, he expounded further, saying the correlation between gameplay, hours, and perceived value, highlighting that longer quality games tend to perform well in sales. man, you telling me high quality games is well received by his consumer? Could have fooled me. That's crazy.

In what world would he have thought the opposite? Is he trying to throw shots to somebody? I don't know. But anyways, obviously, GTA should know that if you put out a quality game, you would get your return in revenue

because GTA is one of the most successful games of all time. But anyways, economic factors, including the rise of consumer prices and the popularity of alternate entertainment options impact how gamers perceive the value of a premium price video game. So Zeldnick's perspective was focusing on the importance of recognizing the value of longer form entertainment

when consumers are conscious of their spending habits. So that's where the whole dollar per hour came about. He was basically just talking about the different ways, is that consumers are conscious about their spending habits. And he just really wanted to emphasize certain things that the algorithm expects from the entertainment usage and showcases how the $70 price tag is a interesting one. So he wasn't suggesting that we use it. He was just bringing up how, based on the algorithm and the entertainment,

usage, the price should be this. And that's all he was pointing at. He wasn't like saying, oh, we're going to do it. He's basically bringing up different metrics. And as somebody who calls myself analytic dreams, I can respect somebody looking at the analytics in a certain way and saying, hey, this is what it's saying, but we're offering this. So that means we should get this out of it. But for him, it was just purely a litmus scale, is that you say it, to compare to what their current model is in the correlation. So anyways, at the end of day, he emphasized the importance of recognizing the value of logger for him entertainment, which I already said.

So that's it. So that's the whole gist of the situation. That's how he cleared it up. I don't know if that was confusing for some. But for me, I think it makes sense. He was basically just bringing that up as an example on how the algorithm sees it. But it was never an offering of how they're going to. price their games so with that being said click my link tree in my bio let me know one of my

social media's what do you think about take two interactive CEO strass zelnick coming out and clarifying his statements about games being priced at dollar per hour and what are your takeaways about about his comments