Game prices are too high???

OK I understand why they were raised around the time the new consoles launched starting with when the 360 came out. At that time production cost for games on a new platform was very high and whatever the case may be. That was 2006!! we're now halfway towards 2012 and you want to tell me that production cost for games still hasn't dropped since then? I mean what the hell is going on?

I got to thinking about this after all the chatter and talk about sony's new psn pass thing and how people feel about having to pay extra for buying a game used or else they miss out on getting to play it online.

I understand both sides of the arguments for the people who buy games (us consumers)and for the people who sell games (publishers/devs) but why are games still $60 for goodness sake. Don't even get me started at prices for handheld games. That one is a crime that should get people arrested for buying handheld games at $40.

$40 should be the price of new console games at the point we are now this far into this console cycle. I kow it wouldn't be fair to the devs/publishers that are making games now but the fact that at this time the number of consoles out there would have off-set the fact that the people who released their games earlier in the console cycle had a much smaller userbase to sell games to.

This upcoming holiday season for instance, there are so many games coming out that no matter how you cut it there will be games that will suffer and lose out on sales not because people don't like the game but because at most people can afford to buy 2 new games and at max 3 before it starts to get ridiculous with how much you are spending. If games were $40 then a person that would at most buy 1 0r 2 games may buy 2 or 3 now or even 4.

Handheld games should be no more than $20-25 maybe $30 in the worst case scenario which is one of the reason why I never got into handhelds in the first place.

Devolpment costs have continued to rise as the team size has ballooned this gen

Nope they seem fine to me...

And if you buy used some sort of extra 'Pass" seems like a good idea business wise.

No complaining here.

Aussies pay $99 for new games and our exchange rate is on par with the American $.

Production costs don't lower, they only get higher and higher.

They are too high.

Which ironically has resulted in developers and publishers receiving less revenue thanks to people turning to cheaper used games and dare I say, piracy.

But at the same time I completely understand why they are priced as such.

Making a blockbuster game nowadays requires as much capital as making a blockbuster movie. It's quite insane really.

So let me get it straight gamers want:

• Low prices.
• Used games.
• Better graphics.

In reality what would publishers/developers make then?

Yes TC you think they're too high. This is your opinion and everyone has an opinion.

I have to say in my opinion they are a bit too high and I don't like the fact that now if I buy certain used games I have to pay to play online. Usually I just wait for price drops on new games now.

I think American prices, are raising

in the past us canadians had to pay more, and now they are equal

who do you think you are, tc? I'M the hyphenated Demon 'round these parts, and this forum ain't big enough for the both of us!

and also, I agree; $60 for a game is too much.

I think American prices, are raising

in the past us canadians had to pay more, and now they are equal

gamer-adam1

Dont you guys just riot and loot when things dont go your way? I say loot gamestop!

Hell yes. But you can buy all games new at $20. It's only a matter of time. However there are a lot of impatient people out there. lol. Too bad for them. Or really I should thank them. Because if everyone was like me prices would never drop. So thank you.LOXO7

i feel the same way, i know dev costs are increasing but its not like game length and content are increasing either, especially when we get DLC galore this gen.

Yes they are too high. Even the best games aren't worth $60. I can afford them all if I wanted them, but the VALUE you get most of the time doesn't add up to the inflated costs.

OK I understand why they were raised around the time the new consoles launched starting with when the 360 came out. At that time production cost for games on a new platform was very high and whatever the case may be.

demon-returns

Hardware cost have gone down since, but production cost continue to rise as expecations continue to raise, and they will continue to rise as gamers continute to expect more from games.

if you are complaining i don't believe you have ever compared prices with other hobbies and pastimes.

fallout and oblivion have hundreds of hours of playtime and cost $60.

where can you find that kind of value in entertainment anywhere else?

maybe head candy novels that cost $8 and take a few days to finish and cable tv but that is about it.

That was 2006!! we're now halfway towards 2012 and you want to tell me that production cost for games still hasn't dropped since then? I mean what the hell is going on?

demon-returns

[QUOTE="LOXO7"]Hell yes. But you can buy all games new at $20. It's only a matter of time. However there are a lot of impatient people out there. lol. Too bad for them. Or really I should thank them. Because if everyone was like me prices would never drop. So thank you.PurpleMan5000

Hell yes. But you can buy all games new at $20. It's only a matter of time. However there are a lot of impatient people out there. lol. Too bad for them. Or really I should thank them. Because if everyone was like me prices would never drop. So thank you.LOXO7

Like the person below you mentioned, prices only go down once a gmae stops selling. Why do you think Gamestop is still charging a ridiculous amount for a game like black ops close to a year after release even with the next COD around the corner.

As for people saying whatever else, the last game I bought new was mass effect 2 and that was last year Jan, so its definitely been a while. I have the patient to wait prices out. In fact I have like 4-5 games I haven't even stared yet and if I decide to play and finish them can probably go a whole calendar year without having to buy any more new games.

who do you think you are, tc? I'M the hyphenated Demon 'round these parts, and this forum ain't big enough for the both of us!

and also, I agree; $60 for a game is too much.

Sword-Demon

well..............I'm your son!!! Dad where have you been all this time. Where were you to teach me the ways of the "hyphenated demon"?

That's whyI game on PC, where there is Steam, D2D, and Gamersgate. Also, ebay is your friend for console games.

http://store.steampowered.com/

[QUOTE="demon-returns"]

That was 2006!! we're now halfway towards 2012 and you want to tell me that production cost for games still hasn't dropped since then? I mean what the hell is going on?

nethernova

Prices HAVE dropped. $60 today is less than $60 was in 2005. According to the US board of Statistics and Labor, $60 in 2011 is equivalent to $51.86 today. Actually, $60 for a new-release game in 2011 is probably about the cheapest console games have ever been in the US. $40 NES games in 1985 would be over $80 today. N64 games commonly retailed for $79.99, which would be over $100 in current rates.

?? Um. Well. This is how it is. But here is an example. A launch title on the PS3 called Lair. It took forever to reduce the $60 price tag. Years. That's rare for what I see. GTA:IV dropped to $40 in six months. In my experience.

LOXO7

I can't comment on Lair, but if it really did take forever to drop, it's the exception, not the rule. Just look at all the Nintendo games, and COD. A publisher isn't going to say "Wow, this game is selling like hot cakes! I guess we've made enough money, so let's just lower the price so we don't profit as much."

[QUOTE="Sword-Demon"]

who do you think you are, tc? I'M the hyphenated Demon 'round these parts, and this forum ain't big enough for the both of us!

and also, I agree; $60 for a game is too much.

demon-returns

well..............I'm your son!!! Dad where have you been all this time. Where were you to teach me the ways of the "hyphenated demon"?

Yes TC you think they're too high. This is your opinion and everyone has an opinion.

clr84651

oh ok... sorry I thought the prices were too high folks. Maybe I'm just a little crazy from this hot summer heat. Some times it affects the way a person thinks you know.

Prices are fine, and hopefully they even increase a bit to $70 soon. That way everyone is happier. publishers and devs get what they want, gamestop gets what they want, and we get what we want by paying more. every one is happy!!! :D

[QUOTE="demon-returns"]

[QUOTE="Sword-Demon"]

who do you think you are, tc? I'M the hyphenated Demon 'round these parts, and this forum ain't big enough for the both of us!

and also, I agree; $60 for a game is too much.

Sword-Demon

well..............I'm your son!!! Dad where have you been all this time. Where were you to teach me the ways of the "hyphenated demon"?

Dad..... sometimes it's better to not ask questions for which answers you don't wanna know. Mom is..... mom was..... hmmm not sure how to say this (starts crying) :cry:

if you are complaining i don't believe you have ever compared prices with other hobbies and pastimes.

fallout and oblivion have hundreds of hours of playtime and cost $60.

where can you find that kind of value in entertainment anywhere else?

maybe head candy novels that cost $8 and take a few days to finish and cable tv but that is about it.

Riverwolf007

[QUOTE="Sword-Demon"][QUOTE="demon-returns"]

well..............I'm your son!!! Dad where have you been all this time. Where were you to teach me the ways of the "hyphenated demon"?

demon-returns

Dad..... sometimes it's better to not ask questions for which answers you don't wanna know. Mom is..... mom was..... hmmm not sure how to say this (starts crying) :cry:

Yes games are over priced. I tend to wait until games drop to $30 or less before picking them up unless they are the really special ones I want. For example this year. I will buy Guild Wars 2, Diablo 3, and Battlefield 3 at full price. Every other game will wait until they drop in price. Prices of games is one thing having me thinking of holding off on the Vita so that when I do get one, I have games that are in my price range. When I get the PS3, I will start with all the cheap older good games like Resistance 1, Uncharted 1, MGS4, things like that.

development costs have risen. that said, they need to either ****ing deal with it or draw up a budget that doesn't require them to win a gameshow.

Go on steam and you'll think otherwise.

Best solution inolves price drop and steam sales.

Game prices are the same as always, in some cases lower then in the old days. If you think otherwise you are too young to remember.

[QUOTE="LOXO7"]

?? Um. Well. This is how it is. But here is an example. A launch title on the PS3 called Lair. It took forever to reduce the $60 price tag. Years. That's rare for what I see. GTA:IV dropped to $40 in six months. In my experience.

PurpleMan5000

I can't comment on Lair, but if it really did take forever to drop, it's the exception, not the rule. Just look at all the Nintendo games, and COD. A publisher isn't going to say "Wow, this game is selling like hot cakes! I guess we've made enough money, so let's just lower the price so we don't profit as much."

Some games back in the SNES days/ SEGA days were at the 75 dollar marker which is 1990's money. Hell even the games mostly were at the 59.99 marker. I think people go to used to the PS1/PS2 days of the 30-40 dollar games and even 20 bucks.xXDrPainXx

hehehehehe not for pc gamers 8) (steam sales)

You don't always have to buy brand new games right? I'm fine waiting a couple months for the price to drop. The Mass Effect games are some of the best games this gen and they are dirt cheap now...just wait a bit.