The video game industry has made the jump to $80, first with Nintendo and Mario Kart World, then with Microsoft and its price hike announcement that will kick in this holiday season. Could Borderlands 4 follow suit?

Publisher 2K Games and parent company Take-Two have so-far remained vague on whether they will go to $80, and Randy Pitchford has insisted the decision is out of his control. But, responding to one concerned fan on social media, Pitchford set the cat among the pigeons by saying that if you’re a “real fan, you’ll find a way to make it happen.”

Here’s the exchange:

“Randy, this game better not be 80 dollars. Don’t take that risk, a lot 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.”

And here’s Randy Pitchford’s response:

“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.”

As you’d expect, Pitchford’s comment has sparked a vociferous response.

    • coyotino [he/him]
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      416 days ago

      Just putting this out there: wouldn’t a multiplayer-focused game like Borderlands be relatively shielded from the lads out on the high seas? Sure fitgirl could hook you up for a single-player campaign, but who tf wants to play Borderlands solo?

  • Butterbee (She/Her)
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    2216 days ago

    Borderlands 3 felt like getting mugged by Randy Pitchford for 20 hours. I’m not a real fan.

  • @ZeroHora@lemmy.ml
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    16 days ago

    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 classic CEO fanfic… They also learn everything they need to be a successful businessman by selling lemonade in a stall

    You just ask for 🏴‍☠️ at this point.

      • @ZeroHora@lemmy.ml
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        315 days ago

        His father worked for the U.S. Intelligence as an engineer, I really doubt he had any financial problem that the “I found a way to make it happen.” is anything different them “I asked for daddy’s money”

  • Kami
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    1516 days ago

    People like this guy are completely fucking deluded.

  • @dax@beehaw.org
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    1216 days ago

    Yanno, I have always loved borderlands, but randy pitchford is an absolute fucking tool.

    I even bought one of the diamond editions that came with a physical damn loot crate and tons of goodies with BL3, so it’s not like I’m not a fan. But still, how fucking stupid do you have to be to say it like this? What a stupid jackass.

  • @Numuruzero@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    1116 days ago

    Whatever. I’ll do what any good PC gamer does and buy if it goes on sale for a 90% discount in a decade. Or I just won’t buy it because I’ll be too busy repairing my shanty/house boat. We’ll see how things shake out

  • @Sylvartas@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    816 days ago

    Does Randy even realize how much the industry’s landscape has changed ?

    First of all you’re in competition with your older games. BDL1 and 2 had soul and were good. BDL 3 is still ok (no idea about the pre-sequel but I heard it was the beginning of the downwards trend). Not to mention the literal hundreds (even thousands for some of us) of other good games sitting in our libraries. And the indie bangers consistently proving that we don’t need to pay 80$ and download a 200 Go day one patch to enjoy the medium in 2025. I hope this bankrupts Gearbox at this point.

  • @Kissaki@beehaw.org
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    715 days ago

    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.

    What is 80$ in 1991 worth today? calculateme says 190$ adjusted for inflation (in 2025).

    What about the minimum wage? dol.gov says $4.25, or $10.08 adjusted for inflation. Since 2009 it’s $7.25.

    7.25/10.08 = 0,72 or 10.08/7.25 = ~1,40

    80/60 = 1.33

    So we have a decrease in minimum wage by 30%, but an increase of product price by 30%.

    Is this correct? Does that make it 60% more expensive than his personal analogy from 1991?

    Man, the two-sided percent reference point is confusing.