Yesterday came the announcement that the original “Red Dead Redemption,” and its zombie-themed DLC “Undead Nightmare,” were being ported over to Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.
The result means the game would finally be playable on modern hardware beyond the Xbox Series X/S where the original Xbox 360 game is playable via backwards compatibility. Sadly no PC port was announced at the time, not any multiplayer capability.
In the hours since the announcement, the title has come under criticism for its price with a USD$50 price point – a steep cost for what is a straight port (not a remaster or remake).
Following a Take-Two earnings call, IGN spoke with company CEO Strauss Zelnick and asked why they priced the port the way they did. Strauss responded:
“That’s just what we believe is the commercially accurate price for it.”
It was then pointed out it’s not just the Red Dead base game but Undead Nightmare as well. Zelnick says:
“[Undead Nightmare] was a great standalone game in its own right when it was originally released, so we feel like it’s a great bundle for the first time, and certainly a great value for consumers.”
Zelnick didn’t mention a potential PC release, indicating both game release announcements and the decision as to whether to port, remaster or remake is entirely up to Rockstar Games:
“It depends on the vision that the creative teams have for a title, and in the absence of having a powerful vision, for something that we would do with a title, we might bring it in its original form, we’ve done that, and in certain instances we might remaster or remake, so it really depends on the title and how the label feels about it, the platform, and what we think the opportunity is for consumers.”
The talk of the high-pricing for the port comes as it has been revealed via VGC that Capcom’s recently announced “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” content inclusion in “Street Fighter 6” translates into a real-world price of $99.98 to acquire all the ‘Turtles’ content for the game.
The “Red Dead Redemption” ports come to Switch and PlayStation formats on August 17th.
