Tell us what you think video games should cost
Think $60 is too much for a video game?
You’re not the only one. In fact, CNBC says high prices are responsible for the latest slump in game sales, and not the downturn in the economy, because the prices didn’t come down when the economy did.
A report posted at CNBC’s website explains a little where that pricing originated, why it persists and notes too that game retailers are held in check from offering discounts because said discounts are considered a sign of weakness by the market.
Incidentally, all the major console makers cut the prices of their systems this summer to boost market share, for fear the sour economy would dent profits.
So, what do you think? Are you happy with the way games are priced? What do you consider a fair price for a new game?
The reason I own a fraction of ps3 games compared to ps2 is due to price. Of the games I do own, only 3 have been purchased at the $60 price. All the others have been used or mark down, and even those games are overpriced.
$40 for a new game would be easier to take, especially when the last few games like COD4 & 5 and Killzone 2 seemed to follow right a way with more map packs, which meant more cash. Then you have a game like SOCOM that was unfinished and released for all intents and purposes as a beta. $60 down the drain for that pile that still isn’t working after a year.
Some Games are worth the $60 others certainly are not, with increasing demands for complex content and greater interactive experience the costs of development increase - however the ridiculous advertising budgets games are blowing through is also having substantial impact on price.
Think $60 is expensive ? look at subscription based games (MMOG) after paying $30+ for box and then add in the $10-15/mth subscription fee and you are paying upwards of $125 for a game - and mmogs continue to grow so maybe price isnt the issue but the fact that there havent been many good games released this year - btw Call of Duty modern warfare is setting pre-order records at $60+.
Lets not forget subscription fees are a choice of the consumer. It isn’t realistic to add that in as a cost since not all platforms require it. You make a good point regarding advertising budgets.
I think the 60 dollar tag on new PS3 and 360 games is a little crazy. For the longest time new games have been 50 dollars. Why the sudden 10 dollar bump? Wii games are still 50. PC Games are still 50. All these multiplatform games are 60 bucks and then I see the PC game for 50 brand new and I wish I had the computer to run it.
The only good thing that could possibly come out of digital distribution is the drop in the price of games. Since they don’t have to worry about actual physical distribution and all that comes with it, they should be able to lower the price substantially. Of course, we’ll see if they do or not.
I guess one question is how long does it take you to finish the game? How many hours do you put into it? If it takes 20 hours, can you say that it was worth 3 dollars an hour?
$60 per game, if you play it over and over again, is really not that much money. Yes the initial hit seems like it is, but over the life of the game it isn’t.
If $60 is too much, just rent it. I once rented Hitman 3 for 15 days, payed a total of about 20 bucks, finished it, and returned it.
Video game buyers are savvy consumers. No longer are they just kids begging their parents to buy a game because it looks cool, or teenagers with allowances to blow on misconceived notions. Most gamers are adults, or at least savvy teenagers who have been burned by bad purchases in the past.
Some games are worth $60. Many are not. When a game ships with multiple bugs making the game almost unplayable (MLB 2K9, I’m looking in your direction), it certainly isn’t worth more than paper weight. The other issue is that many games forgo the solid single-player campaign for a more robust on-line experience. The drawback is that for a year subscription to say, XBOX Live, you have to commit another $60 - $80 depending on the deal you get. And before you PS3 owners get excited, don’t think that you didn’t pay for that service up front in the initial price of the console.
I would probably buy more games if they were priced lower, because there is a cost benefit analysis that each consumer performs before buying the game. If a game is light on content but looks like it might be worth, say, 10 hours of gameplay, it might be worth $30 to give it a try. However, if that same game is $50 or $60, I’m going to pass.
Developers should not get hung up on making their game sell at $60. Rather, they should make a good game and sell it for what it is worth. If it is truly worth $60 (COD 4), units will sell. If it’s not, it won’t. If it’s worth $30 and they put there in the beginning, people will buy it.
@ElfShotTheFood
I totally agree you with. And if you’re on the fence about buying that video game, why not just rent it first. If you enjoyed it and intended to use it for longer time, 60 bucks wouldn’t be that much.