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Is $60 too much for a game? That's a question that has been asked repeatedly over the last year as the next-gen market has taken shape. Nevertheless, one analyst doesn't think this price point is very sustainable, as recent price drops on some titles (like Madden, right) seem to indicate.
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(Link to GameDaily.com)
$60 is too much for a game. This I agree with wholeheartedly.
IAWTP
$60 games = lol
I should be an analyst.
i remember paying 80 dollars for some of the bigger snes games, so the sticker shock isnt that bad, i prefer chaper games, of course, but would any of you apes passed over gears of war because of its price?
QFT! Everyone bitching about 60 dollar video games obviously didn't own an SNES. Chrono Trigger, Star Fox, Mortal Kombat 2, I bought for about 80 bucks. Now that's expensive!Quote:
Originally Posted by frostwolf ex
nor did they live in Canada, as I remember paying $115 for street fighter 2 turbo on snes
Yeah, but that's Canadian (aka Monopoly) money.Quote:
Originally Posted by cka
What, no 1 mentions the games on the Neo Geo?
They used to cost a shitload back in the day... still are somewhat expensive for their age too!
I owned a SNES. $60 is ridiculous.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
The average game seems to be about 10 hours long, which averages out to about $6 per hour of entertainment. Not worth it unless the game has legs (like online multiplayer).
Bullshit. I bought Chrono Trigger for $92 after tax (among many other crazy expensive SNES games, but CT was the highest), and I still bitch all the time about the $60 price point.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
Meh. I will pay 60 bucks. I will pay 70 for CEs. Big shit
And we all pay the price (literally).
I am gainfully employed.
If you don't want to pay the price, don't pay it. Best way (only way) to have your 'voice' heard.
Bingo.
"And we all pay the price (literally)."
You guys waste 250 dollars on a Wii to water down gaming, I will waste 10 dollars more to get a game.
$40 is too much.
Where in the hell can you get a better deal than $6/hour of entertainment?Quote:
Originally Posted by SpoDaddy
WoW
The difference is those SNES games were needed to make the life force continue to flow though my body. A man can't live without SFII, ya know?Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
If you're content to pay that much for games then you're part of the problem.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
The problem is that the gaming industry is getting arrogant. They've found a lot of success lately and they think they can now get away with launching consoles that cost almost as much as PCs and raising the cost of games to an absurd $60 and making public statements telling people they'll want to get second and third jobs to afford it. Eventually it's going to cause consumer backlash and it won't be pretty.
Everyone bitching about $600 Blu-ray or HD-DVD players obviously didn't own a DVD player, because past precedents in pricing are still valid and comparable to newer technology and anything cheaper than how it used to be is a value.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
I had a first generation Toshiba DVD player.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stibbons
I paid $1200 for it.
I'm still going to complain about Blu-ray and HD-DVD though, but it's more because they're two competing formats trying to take over the same market and only one will win. I'm not going to pay those high prices for something that may very well lose the format war. DVD was worth the price because it was a fucking gigantic upgrade. Blu-ray and HD-DVD are nice, but are not the same as the VHS to DVD leap.
touche. I loved my MMO time because it saved me a ton of money.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowutopia
Come back to us.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshi
You know... I blocked off time on my work calendar to run out and grab Lost Planet Friday. If I have to walk past The Burning Crusade to get it, I'm going to drop $110 plus sub fees in a heartbeat.
My inner analyst tells me that $350 for Neo Geo AES cartridges are not sustainable.
Video games also sold a lot less copies in those days.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
More copies made and sold = less manufacturing cost. DVDs/CDs are also wayyyyy less expensive to produce than cartridges.
Now you can say that budgets are way up, and that's true... but the best way to offset that is to sell more copies by keeping prices low, not price higher and sell fewer. Notice how movies' ticket sales trend downwards as their average prices increase, but DVD sales trend upward as their average prices decrease. Same for comic books, single issues have increased and sell largely for shit, while TPBs/manga have gone down in price and are enjoying a noticable boom.
Jesus Fucking Christ, one more person quote me please, because I don't think it's been done enough in this thread yet. Bottom line, people are bitching about 60 dollar price video games, which really isn't a lot considering how "cheap" games have become in the Playstation era. Genesis games were around the 60 dollar mark, and SNES games were ridiculously overpriced. Hell, even a few N64 games were overpriced compared to similar platforms of the time. We've all went about ten years in the CD-format video game era paying mostly 20-40 (50 tops) for video games, and now it goes up 10 fucking dollars and everyone is getting sandy vaginaness. Shut the fuck up and stop whining. If you think it's too expensive don't buy ANYTHING! Nobody is forcing you to do a damn thing, and whining like bitches ain't gonna help you. Boo-fucking-hoo! Cry somewhere else.
Spo is the kind of guy who pays the door charge at the tittie bar, but then sits towards the back so he doesn't have to tip the strippers. $6/ hour is easily attainable.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshi
Agreed. People who bitch about people who bitch about the price don't understand this:Quote:
Originally Posted by Bacon McShig
Marginal Cost = Marginal Revenue = utility maximization (optimal market) The marginal cost of printing another DVD is like $1? Say $5....
So are most of us. Still doesn't make it right.Quote:
Originally Posted by Do You Like Erotic?
So are most of us. Still doesn't make it right.Quote:
Originally Posted by Do You Like Erotic?
I still feel as if, it's only the natural course of things for products to become more expensive. Ten dollars of a jump over the course of about 10 years really isn't that bad at all. Especially when, as others have said, games weren't capped before.
I was reading through Best Buy's Sunday paper catalogue and generally, you'll find the same games for 49.99 anyway during the weekend over there. Another thing is that we have cool inventions like tradeback value and pre-played games.
Besides, it will be a long time, with this generation, before there are so many great games on the market that we're buying more than one a month anyway.
Ten more dollars isn't really breaking me right now, and even though something getting more expensive does suck, if that money is going into more development dollars and is funding better, more engrossing games, then I'm not mad.
Okay.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
As consumers we can bitch about anything we want. And demand sets the marketplace. If I don't want to pay $60 for a game, I won't. If enough people feel the same way, the price will go down. Supply and demand, dude. Nothing justifies selling games for $60 in this day and age. I'm not about to sit and be quiet while game prices creep back up to SNES levels.Quote:
Bottom line, people are bitching about 60 dollar price video games, which really isn't a lot considering how "cheap" games have become in the Playstation era. Genesis games were around the 60 dollar mark, and SNES games were ridiculously overpriced. Hell, even a few N64 games were overpriced compared to similar platforms of the time. We've all went about ten years in the CD-format video game era paying mostly 20-40 (50 tops) for video games, and now it goes up 10 fucking dollars and everyone is getting sandy vaginaness. Shut the fuck up and stop whining. If you think it's too expensive don't buy ANYTHING! Nobody is forcing you to do a damn thing, and whining like bitches ain't gonna help you. Boo-fucking-hoo! Cry somewhere else.
You'e a douche, BTW.
It's great getting $4 credit for a game you bought for $40 2 months ago.Quote:
Originally Posted by Do You Like Erotic?
…that are usually $5 less than their brand-new counterparts.Quote:
and pre-played games.
I understand what you're saying. I guess I'm in a unique situation. I generally don't have a problem waiting it out anymore. When I used to work at a videogame store, seeing games everyday was torture, and all of my money ended up going right back into games. But these days, I generally do just wait, and I'll probably do the same thing with PS3 games, aside from the few that I *really* have to have enough to shell out the extra 10 to own, like VF5 and MGS4. For example, 3 months ago I got God of War, PoP: Twin Thrones, and GTA: LCS on PS2, and it was buy 2 used, get one free, and I paid about 39 dollars after tax for it.
IMO, if money is that important to you, then it's worth waiting for the price to drop. At least on the used version.
At your mom's house.Quote:
Originally Posted by Yoshi
Sorry, that was just WAY too easy. :D
Dyle, just use eBay. It's way cheaper. <3 it.
I'm guessing you're including taxes but I never saw it that high. Like most SNES games, I remember it being $70 CDN.Quote:
Originally Posted by cka
I've gotten A LOT better at that in recent years. Back in the day I had to have every game, day one. Nowadays, unless I'm 150% dying to play a certain title I can usually wait until the price goes down. Shit, most of the time those games I had bought day one would just sit on a shelf waiting for me to play them, anyway. It's such a waste.Quote:
Originally Posted by Do You Like Erotic?
Excellent use of the Mom Joke. :tu:Quote:
Originally Posted by Melf
I am buying a ridiculous amount of games :( I even got rid of Gamefly...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dolemite
And you're an oversensitive pussy, but thanks for trying to incorrectly label me. I know how hard it is for a lot of you to pay an extra 10 bucks for games, especially being that your parents were probably buying you all those expensive cart games back in the day. It's time to grow up kiddies.
lol, nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Stibbons
I paid $600 for a 2x CD Burner, and $16 for a single blank CD-R.
$60 is too much for a game.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
Well I bought almost all of my own games during the SNES/Genesis time I got a job when I turned 14 and I've had some kind of Job since. It doesn't change the fact that right now there are better things I can spend money on. In stead of paying 10 bucks more for the next 360 game I can put that 10 bucks towards buying the chick with her tits hanging out at the bar a drink. It has nothing to do with what you paid in the past for something. It has all to do with the perceived value. Personally like Dole unless I have to play something day one I wait till it hits how much I'm willing to pay for it.
Video games aren't the only thing I do. Between the 2 martial arts I do, chilling with friends, playing guitar, going to grad school, and about a million other things that all take a chunk of my hard earned cash, it doesn't leave much room to drop more money on games because developers feel they can charge more just cause it's a new generation. Hell there was a time when I was willing to pay 60 bucks for a game, and I did it plenty as I have quite a few import PS2 games I bought day one. I just do not feel that way any more.
Joke account, please move along....Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
Nintendo fans don't like chicks. Stop making shit up.
If the DVD industry had gone ahead and ratcheted up prices because they thought the market that was then paying $25-30 would bear it, they'd see a temporary revenue boom, but DVDs certainly never would have taken off to be the movie industry's greatest asset. After a few years, they'd have been another laserdisc.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
I remember a little over a year ago, Gamestop had mispriced a handful of upcoming Nintendo-published GC games on their release list, as $29.99 rather than $49.99. Many people declared that if they were that price, they would pick up two or three of those titles. When it turned out it was a misprint, most of those people ended up buying one or none when they came out. Yes, they made more profit on that one copy than they would on lower priced copies, but they could have sold 2-4x as many copies (probably more due to simple perpetualization trends). Additionally, it would greatly help in leveraging future installments of those franchises.
I'd reckon people would buy 3 times as many games on average if they priced around $30. Yeah, that means less profit for each copy sold, but more copies sold = more games selling well and less games outright bombing (which in turn means companies would be more open to experimentation, which is always good for gamers).
Seriously, WTF took TNL that long?Quote:
Originally Posted by Melf
My limit is around $30-35 for all but a few must-have-nows a year. Back in the day I didn't mind paying $70 for a SNES RPG because I had nothing else to spend money on and nothing else to do with my time. Now games have to fight with a wide array of demands for my time and money. But if you're a shut-in videogame nerdface, I can totally see why you don't mind spending $10/game more this gen.
Quote:
Originally Posted by burgundy
Yup yup. I paid $70+ for Phantasy Star SMS. That was awesome for a 14 yr old to be able to afford that much for a game
Shorten the games (1-2 hours playtime is fine with me) and lower the price.
lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
Exactly. I'm able to pay $60 for a game, but that doesn't mean I'm willing.
Also, if companies need more money, how about some stringent policies concerning what gets released? 25 years later and we are still seeing games released on par quality wise with ET. Gears is a great game, I'll gladly pay $60 for it. But they expect me to pay the same for Over G Fighters and Sonic? How much of a bath has Konami/Hudson taken on Bomberman for 360? Quit releasing crap that won't sell, and then pass the savings on to the customer.
If you actually practiced what you wrote about here, you wouldn't have written anything and would have noted that no one forced you to reply. Unfortunately, you replied.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
Sixty dollars is milking it for a domestic game release. $45-50 is about right. Game development costs may have increased, but these are not cartridges. Look at movies- production costs of movies have gone up, but you pay less for DVD movies now (usually below $25).
How hard paying that extra 10 bucks would be is not the whole point. We'd appreciate it if that extra 10 dollars a pop could stay in our pockets. I've turned some games down because I thought they would be good for $50 but not worth $60.Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDen
Games could go up another $10 in the next generation. How would you like PS4/Xbox 720 games to be $70? Welcome back to SNES territory. Look at PS and Saturn- they too had initial titles at $60, but this went down to $50 over time.
I remember the $70 price point. But I also remember the Sears/Canadian Tire/The Bay price point...Quote:
Originally Posted by NeoZeedeater
Speaking of...Quote:
Originally Posted by JiN-RaiDeN
Nope, but thanks for playing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stibbons
Actually, going by all laws of logic, rationality, and intelligence, yes.
Exactly!Quote:
Originally Posted by gameoverDude
I remember paying $59 for Beyond the Beyond. It was the only RPG at the time, so I took the dive. I later steered away from titles in that price range.
The industry will settle down and the prices will probably start hitting the $40-$50 range soon. Unless it's some huge RPG or a game with a ton of money sunk into it (MGS4), I have a feeling that smaller developers will bring in those budget titles and the industry will be forced to lighten up. I wouldn't doubt that 2K games will start to set a mark, by under-cutting EA on it's sports titles, much like they did on the PS2 and Xbox.