Take-Two: $40 iPad games possible
"Robust" titles would sell at higher price.
Grand Theft Auto publisher Take-Two can see a future where it could viably sell full $40 games on tablets.
Whereas iPad games currently sell for only marginally more than the pocket change demanded for smartphone titles, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick believes that meatier games could be profitable on the format at a much higher price point.
"I don't see why not," he told Forbes. "Tablets are ubiquitous. And tablets are a great game platform. And it's the right sized screen. And you use the tablet to have an engaging experience.
"So if all of that's true, I don't see why we wouldn't be able to sell a robust product for the same price point. The reason the price point is currently lower for an iPhone app is it is used for five minutes, and not for a hundred hours."
However, Zelnick was less enthusiastic about the smartphone market for big-budget titles.
"We tried Chinatown Wars for the iPhone, and we're thrilled that we did it, and it was creatively successful. At the price point for which we can sell on the iPhone, it is not going to be economically meaningful.
"At the end of the day, we are interested in creating economic value, and what we intend to do is make something and sell it to millions and millions of people, and sell it at a high price.
"You don't want to spend lots and lots of money to make something you are going to sell to a small amount of people at a low price."
