Scuttlebutt says that Grand Theft Auto 6, a game fans have been anticipating for over a decade, could cost $100. “What?” you might say. “That’s crazy! How could Rockstar Games be so greedy that they expect us to pay such an outlandish price for a game! I’m going to boycott the game to show that they can’t get away with being greedy!” That might be popular internet rhetoric, but will you actually boycott the game when it comes out, or will you cave in to fear of missing out?
The game’s price hasn’t been officially confirmed yet, but with inflation and tariffs affecting game and console prices, we shouldn’t expect it to be cheap. As GamesRadar reported, a marketing analyst predicted that the game could cost $100, and that prediction quickly went viral. At first glance, that seems outlandish, but as game companies have been quick to discover, gamers will pay high prices when they’re desperate enough to play a game – and people are definitely desperate for Grand Theft Auto 6.
For a comparison story, let’s look at the Nintendo Switch 2. When Nintendo announced that the Switch 2 would cost $450 and its flagship launch game Mario Kart World would cost $80 (and you could by a bundle of the console with Mario Kart World for $500), fans were up in arms. They protested online about how greedy Nintendo was and how they were trying to milk every last dollar out of their loyal fans.
But what happened when the Switch 2 actually came out? Not only did it become the fastest-selling console of all time, but there was a shortage at release, to where people who couldn’t secure a preorder had to wait weeks to obtain one. Moreover, a large majority of Switch 2 players bought Mario Kart World, either purchasing the bundle or buying the $80 version separately. They also quickly forked out $70 for Donkey Kong Bananza, another flagship game for the Switch 2.
Fear of missing out, or FOMO, is a powerful phenomenon. People want to play anticipated games, and they want to talk about the hot new games with their peers. People will buy Grand Theft Auto 6 no matter how much it costs, and Rockstar Games is fully aware of that. We can hope that the price tag will be reasonable, but we should also be honest with ourselves. We will want to play the game. In fact, many people are probably already planning ways to save that $100 even though the game doesn’t come out until May. Don’t announce a boycott unless you’re ready to face the Grand Theft Auto 6 FOMO.
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