Take-Two Interactive CEO Strauss Zelnick is a pretty pro-consumer kind of guy. You have to be, if you want to successfully oversee publishers as beloved as Rockstar Games and developers as savvy as Gearbox. These are entities that people are used to getting what they want from — if not more than they ever dreamed possible.
As such, it’s not all that surprising that Zelnick holds an admirable viewpoint when it comes to microtransactions and DLC in his companies’ games. Recently, Mr. Zelnick spoke out on the subject, affirming where him and Take-Two as a company stand.
Virtual currency done right just further enhances gameplay and engages consumers with our brands. And when I say done right, we are not in the business of erecting toll booths along the way of gameplay. We’re in the business of delighting consumers. And when we design our virtual currency packs, we do it in a way that will make consumers happier, not sadder that they are engaged with our games. That is a different point of view than most of our peers in the business.
It’s almost comical when Zelnick phrases it the way he has: “we don’t aim to make consumers sad.” Still, that’s exactly what happens when I buy a season pass and only get one update out of it. If Take-Two can make efforts toward minimizing the amount of tears I shed each year, then they have my full support.
Zelnick emphasized that Take-Two’s strategy essentially boils down to offering good value, something he feels the company’s games have largely been able to accomplish.
We do it from the backdrop of delighting consumers. When we sell a consumer an add-on content pack, we want them to feel like they got more than they paid for, not less; and the message boards reflect that that’s true.
Take-Two and Gearbox have put out an impressive 12 content packs for Borderlands 2 since the game arrived in 2012, and according to Zelnick those packs have seen “good success.” I personally know folks who buy every single one without question, and I myself was afflicted with a similar DLC addiction for Fire Emblem Awakening. In short, it is indeed possible to sell gamers on every single pack if the value proposition is there.
Nearly half of Take-Two’s digitally delivered revenue came from “virtual currency sales” last year, so clearly the company has an idea of what it’s doing. I’m not sure I want every game to have a GTA Online-esque counterpart, but extending the average life of non-MMO titles, if done fairly, can only be seen as a good thing.
[Via: GameSpot]
