I'll go a step further and say only when it's been vetted and discounted on PC.

This will probably be the last time it ever happens. They're trying to get people to double dip, and plenty will, but the console install base isn't what it was when GTA V came out at the end of a generation. Plus we all know full well that the PC version will happen, whereas in yesteryear, we weren't sure.

I just don't have the patience to wait even more. I have a PS5, so why wouldn't I play it on release??

maybe I’m just burned out on AAA games

I know I am.

Are you seriously questioning whether there is any hype for GTA?

GTAV Online may have hindered Rockstar's goodwill for fans of the single player mode, but the Online mode rakes in cash.

RDR2 released in 2018 and is widely considered one of the best single player games with one of the best open worlds, strongly signalling to fans that Rockstar hasn't lost its mojo.

GTA VI is, unquestionably, the most anticipated game of the year. To suggest otherwise is to be insanely disingenuous on your part.

They are all from players who are against things Rockstar did with GTA and what it represents for the industry. But they are not representative of the whole market.

The article is right about the impact for small studios. On the timeline for the game I'm working on, we have a prediction for GTA VI release with a big question mark and we hope to avoid it.

The problem is not that all players will spend $100 on the game. The problem is that the majority of the press coverage, Steam traffic, streamer time, etc. will focus on the topic. Even if there is bad press around GTA, that's still attention that is not on other games.

Over time they realised that, while holiday windows or whatever have high sales, if there's a better or more popular game coming out then, yours will just be forgotten.

That said, most "industry specialists" are just glorified influencers, so take it with a grain of salt

They aren’t crowding into those windows because competition helps their sales, it’s because they expect the biggest shopping period of the year will result in more sales than they lose. And there’s a reason only the biggest titles release in these windows.

Capcom made the decision years ago to release in February/March because they know a November window will drown them.

Sure is a great way to stir the pot, that's for sure. This article raised my eyebrow so much I just had to share it.

I don’t know about that one. Games are expensive these days and if your game releases anywhere near the rumored $100 GTA 6, a LOT of people are going to have to choose one or the other, and it’s very unlikely that in most cases they don’t choose GTA6, literally the most anticipated video game of the last decade. Sure you can always buy the smaller game later, but a huge part of the sales of video games is the opening week, when all the hype around it has had time to come to a head, and you’re influenced by the fact that lots of other people are playing it.

Yeah good games will always sell SOME copies. But if you thinking that a game even releasing in the same month as GTA6 won’t have a permanent impact on that games sales, you’re smoking the reefer.

GTA5 is more than a decade ago,.

The older gemers may remember but there is a whole generation that has spung up since.

Edit: a quick look shows there were 1.7 billion people born between 1995 and 2007 i.e. born in the period that would have trurned 18 between 2013 and 2025.. This corresponds to 20% of the global population.

Yeah, the Witcher 3 release should have taught the game publishers this. CDPR delayed the launch by several months because the game wasn’t ready to ship yet. And the game was phenomenal, and received rave reviews pretty much across the board. Gamers were disappointed about the launch, but basically went “this game will be worth the wait.”

Was the $100 price ever confirmed? I thought it was just rumored?

Fun facts incoming!

Cost of "Mario 64" on release = $59.99

Development budget for Mario 64 = ~$1.56mil

Inflation adjusted Mario 64 cost in 2022 = $111.91

Inflation adjusted Mario 64 budget in 2022 = ~$2.91mil

Cost of "Elden Ring" on release = $59.99

Estimated dev. budget for Elden Ring = $100mil-200mil

Mario 64 units sold = ~12mil

Elden Ring units sold = ~28mil

These details are provided without comment. You do the math and decide whether the fact that prices haven't changed since 1996 might be the reason for some of the enshitification we continue to see.

And now for the comment:

Consumers are horrifyingly resistant to price increases for games. It is directly responsible for many of the shitty monetization models we've seen. Development budget continue to rise, even on indie games, while consumers pay less and less in "real money value" over time.

It's completely unsustainable and the very reason the "business types" get involved, forcing unpopular monetization schemes