Games

25 Jun

GTA VI $80 Price: Industry’s Consumer Test

hightechz.net0 CommentsGamesaaa games, consumer behavior, gaming industry, gta vi, pricing strategy

GTA VI's $80 Price Tag Is the Industry's Moment of Truth Rockstar Games just announced that Grand Theft Auto VI will cost $80 for the standard edition—a price point that, until now, lived in the realm of "special deluxe collector's" territory. No new console generation excuse. No groundbreaking technical leap that justifies the bump. Just a number that signals the gaming industry believes we've stopped asking "how much is too much?" and started accepting that the answer is whatever they charge next. This isn't about one game. GTA VI's pricing is a test. And how we respond will tell the…

05 Jun

Valve’s Steam Machine Could Kill the Console Era

hightechz.net0 CommentsGamesconsole gaming, gaming hardware, pc gaming, steam machine, valve

Valve's Second Shot: Can the Steam Machine Kill the Console? In 2015, Valve's first Steam Machine landed with a thud. The living room PC was expensive, confusing, and arrived in a market that didn't yet understand what it was supposed to be. Consoles had won the couch. But that was nearly a decade ago, and the game—literally—has changed. Valve is planning a summer launch for the Steam Machine, and this time it's entering a living room where PlayStation is abandoning exclusivity, Xbox is in a slow identity crisis, and the line between PC and console gaming has already started to…