Latest news with #Pitchford
Express Tribune
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Baldur's Gate 3 publisher criticices Randy Pitchford's $80 Borderlands 4, calls it gross
Michael Douse, publishing director of Larian Studios, has criticised Gearbox Software boss Randy Pitchford over his recent remarks on the pricing of the upcoming Borderlands 4, calling them 'gross' amid ongoing cost-of-living concerns. Pitchford sparked backlash after suggesting that 'real fans' would 'find a way' to purchase Borderlands 4 even if it launched at an $80 price point — a significant increase compared to typical game costs. He cited paying $80 for a Sega Genesis game 30 years ago as justification, a claim many see as out of touch with current economic realities. Douse, whose studio developed Baldur's Gate 3, called Pitchford's comment 'gross.' on social media: 'Inflation exists (we give inflation bumps for example to employees) and price increases can make sense, but saying 'real fans will find a way' is gross because it assumes your game is more important during a cost of living crisis than, for example, making it day to day.' He added: 'Real fans are people who love & understand what you do, keep track, and engage with your stuff regardless of how much they spend.' Inflation exists (we give inflation bumps for example to employees) and price increases can make sense, but saying "real fans will find a way" is gross because it assumes your game is more important during a cost of living crisis than, for example, making it day to day. — Very AFK (@Cromwelp) May 20, 2025 When asked whether Baldur's Gate 3 would ever have an $80 price tag, Douse said even if it did, 'we would probably not suggest people do whatever they can to buy it, lest they not be real fans.' Neither publisher 2K Games nor parent company Take-Two Interactive have confirmed the final price of Borderlands 4, due for release this September. However, Pitchford's comments have already stirred discontent among fans, with some resorting to review-bombing the Borderlands series on Steam amid concerns over new user agreements. The $80 price point, if confirmed, would place Borderlands 4 among the most expensive mainstream video games, prompting broader discussions about affordability and value in the gaming industry during challenging economic times.
Hindustan Times
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Borderlands 4 Randy Pitchford controversy: How much will the game cost? CEO's final verdict
Randy Pitchford, CEO of video game developer Gearbox Software, sparked controversy after claiming that a 'real fan' would pay $80 for Borderlands 4, which releases on September 12. The company, however, has not confirmed any pricing details, amid fears that the game will be priced as much as $80. On May 13, a fan tagged Pitchford on X to post: 'Randy, this game better not be 80 dollars. Don't take that risk, alot of gamers aren't gonna pay 80 dollars and feed this notion of constant increase of the price tag You are the CEO, you have some say with the price when it comes to your publisher.' The CEO responded by reminding the fan that it is 'not my call'. "A) Not my call. B) If you're a real fan, you'll find a way to make it happen," he said on X, platform formerly known as Twitter. He further detailed how he saved money during his high school days by working for minimum wage. 'My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen,' Pitchford tweeted. However, his comments did not sit well with gamers, who expressed frustration with Nintendo's price premium for Switch 2 titles. 'Dawg we are NOT paying $80 for a Borderlands game fully knowing you'll do multiple season passes that cost another $100 and you'll probably sell weapon skins too😭😭😭' one person wrote. 'That has to be one of the worst CEO replies from recent memory 💀' another one added. Following on from the controversy, Pitchford made another tweet: "If you want the truth, here it is." He attached a clip from the recent Borderlands 4 panel at PAX East, during which, when asked how much Borderlands 4 would cost, Pitchford replied: "I'll tell you the truth – I don't know." He further explained that 'we've got a competitive marketplace where the people that make those choices want to sell as many units as possible, and they want to be careful about people that are price sensitive'. "There are other folks accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there are tariffs for the retail packaging, and it's getting gnarly out there".
Forbes
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Gearbox's Randy Pitchford Responds To ‘Borderlands 4' Price Debacle
Borderlands 4 Gearbox Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford went extremely viral yesterday after a week-old tweet was passed around responding to a fan comment about a potential $80 price for Borderlands 4: 'A) Not my call. B) If you're a real fan, you'll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.' The tweet inspired hundreds if not thousands of takes about its tone-deafness, plus gaming outlet coverage far and wide. It comes at a time when consumer spending power is dropping and prices are going up, and telling people if they're a 'real fan' they can make an $80 price work did not go over well, to say the least. Many fans said the tweet had derailed promotion for the game out in four months, others said they wouldn't play at all now. I find this at least…somewhat dramatic, and I have my doubts a tweet is going to significantly affect Bordlerands 4 sales this fall. But that price might. Today, Pitchford addressed the tweet by posting an older clip where he was asked about a potential price. It's a much more nuanced take on the issue, though it certainly seems to indicate that $80 is in the cards. Though this time, he says things like how he wants to create a value that fans will be happy with at any price, and addresses the plain fact that the production cost of Borderlands 4 is double that of Borderlands 3. I am no stranger to off-putting tweets from Pitchford as I've had some dust-ups myself. But a poorly-put tweet does in fact represent a larger reality (as explained in this video) about ballooning video game costs, which is true. I remember when it was revealed that Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 had triple the budget of the first game despite using a barely larger version of the same city and a second hero that had already been created for a spin-off. This is certainly not to say that $80 is the right call. Consumer only just got used to the $70 increase from $60 a few years ago, and now this leap to $80, spearheaded by Nintendo and its Mario Kart World pricing, is irritating and exhausting when 4-5 games will now be the cost of an entire console by themselves. This is what's going to happen, however. The dam has broken. In a year and a half at most, you are going to see practically all AAA games priced at $80. There is fan theorizing about Borderlands 4 publisher Take Two trying to push that even further for the release of GTA 6, the biggest game of all time, seeing if they could get to $100 or more. However, this leaves room for smaller games and smaller studios to shine. The highest rated games of the year are $50 or under, including GOTY frontrunner Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 along with Blue Prince and Split/Fiction. So that's an opportunity there. It's a bad tweet. It also reflects an unfortunate reality that's coming no matter what. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
《邊緣禁地4》真的要賣80美元？執行長：如果你是粉絲就想辦法買下去
2K Games 旗下 Gearbox Software 開發中的新作《邊緣禁地4》（Borderlands 4），此前 Gearbox 執行長 Randy Pitchford 才表示不清楚遊戲該賣多少。但最近 Pitchford 卻被發現，先前回應網友關於《邊緣禁地4》的售價問題時，就表示：「如果你是《邊緣禁地》粉絲就會買」。 此前，一名玩家擔心《邊緣禁地4》的售價會高達 80 美元，在 Randy Pitchford 的 X（推特）留言，希望他們不要冒險，否則很多玩家不會願意花 80 美元買這遊戲，因為會助長價格上漲的風氣。並認為 Pitchford 是開發商執行長，肯定在售價上有一定的發言權。 但對此，Pitchford 卻不認同這說法，回應：「A) 這不是我能決定的。 B) 如果你是真粉絲，你就會想辦法買下它。我在 1991 年時，家裡附近的電玩店有一片 SEGA Genesis（Mega Drive）主機的《星際航艦》（Starflight），售價 80 美元，我才剛剛從高中畢業，在皮斯摩海灘的冰淇淋店打工，領最低的薪資，但我還是想辦法買到了。」 A) Not my call. B) If you're a real fan, you'll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen. — Randy Pitchford (@DuvalMagic) May 14, 2025 而 Pitchford 的回應卻不被網友們買單，有人嘲諷《邊緣禁地4》80 美元，但玩過這系列的都知道，後面還會推出季票，或是各種造型：「這絕對是近期最糟的執行長回應」、「我等不及看到這款遊戲失敗」、「別用通貨膨脹那一套，我們的薪水可沒有」。 緊貼最新科技資訊、網購優惠，追隨 Yahoo Tech 各大社交平台！ 🎉📱 Tech Facebook： 🎉📱 Tech Instagram： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 社群： 🎉📱 Tech WhatsApp 頻道： 🎉📱 Tech Telegram 頻道：
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Borderlands 4 Might Cost $80, CEO Pitchford says 'Real Fans' Would Buy It Anyway
Fans have expressed concern over a potential $80 price tag for Borderlands 4, and Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says 'real fans' would buy it regardless. Earlier in the year, the gaming market committed to its first $80 launch title with the Nintendo Switch 2's Mario Kart World. As more companies get on board with the potential pricing hike (like Microsoft and Xbox), fans have expressed concern that Gearbox's next title in the Borderlands franchise, Borderlands 4, will follow suit and also increase the game's base price to $80. The latest Borderlands 4 trailer can be seen below. Aside from Microsoft and Mario Kart World, so far other companies like 2K have not committed to the price increase outwardly. Notoriously outspoken Gearbox CEO, Randy Pitchford, has responded to one fan today in regards to the potential price increase. A fan on X (formerly Twitter) responded to Randy Pitchford's post promoting the announcement that Borderlands 4 is coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 with 'Randy, this game better not be 80 dollars. Don't take that risk, alot of gamers aren't gonna pay 80 dollars and feed this notion of constant increase of the price tag You are the CEO, you have some say with the price when it comes to your publisher.' Pitchford replied to that fan directly saying that it's not his call on the potential price increase, and continued with 'If you're a real fan, you'll find a way to make it happen. My local game store had Starflight for Sega Genesis for $80 in 1991 when I was just out of high school working minimum wage at an ice cream parlor in Pismo Beach and I found a way to make it happen.' Fans who responded underneath that statement were not happy, and fans feel the CEO has a 'lack of awareness.' Last week during a PAX East panel, Pitchford claimed Borderlands 4 is 'by far the biggest universe that we've built,' on top of a statement that refuses to rule out the price hike. According to IGN, Pitchford said during that same panel 'There's other folks accepting the reality that game budgets are increasing, and there's tariffs for the retail packaging. It's getting gnarly out there, you guys. Borderlands 4 has more than twice the development budget for Borderlands 3. More than twice. So the truth is, I don't know what the price is going to be.' Borderlands 4 is out on September 12, 2025.
