This gen is expensive! What about next gen?

I've been gaming since the days of Atari 2600. I used to think, "wow" inflation has never really affected gaming. Gaming systems were always around the same price and games were around $50 for over 2 decades, but whathappened this gen?

• XBL might be hiking their prices past $50?
• Speculation that PSN may charge sometime in the near future
• Games Cost $60
• Endless gimmicks, attachments, controllers
• DL content, including $15 map packs

What do you think next gen will be like?

it will get more expensive unless consumers decide they won't pay such a steep price.

as time passes it will only get worse.

Does anyone remember the price of N64 games? They used to be crazy in the UK.

Until the consumer stops buying the products at their prices, companies will always try to get more money in any way, including raising prices. DLC prices will always vary, but if games go over $60 then I don't see myself buying new games at all anymore.

Vote with your wallet. Companies that support their products over time and give free (or reasonably priced) content are the ones that thrive. Valve, Bungie, and Blizzard come to mind. Valve is giving the Left 4 Dead 2 DLC free to PC users (360 users have to pay $7). Bungie gave Halo 2 map pack for free after a few months of being purchasable content. (They would probably be more generous now if they were not controlled by Microsoft). Blizzard is still supporting old games like Starcraft and Warcraft 3. Even as a subsidiary of Activision, Blizzard provides free patches and updates to their older games. Of course, they have a lot of new, optional fees in World of Warcraft, but most of that is service related such as name changes, etc. It does suck that they are going to charge $60 for Starcraft 2 though :(

Although plenty of people bought the $15 Modern Warfare 2 map pack, Activision will lose some goodwill in the process. They already showed a lack of support for the game by not using dedicated servers for the game on PC. Things like this, along with the internal Infinity Ward drama, make it seem that the game will not be supported once it is no longer profitable.

Companies have to look at much more than dollars and cents, especially when their products are targeted towards core gamers. These gamers tend to be much more informed than the average consumer.

i dont imagine that the prices will go much higher seeing as that if they do no one will by them and then they will lose profit. dlc will always vary

move to pc, $45-50 new games and usually free or reduced price for dlc.ferret-gamer

move to pc, $45-50 new games and usually free or reduced price for dlc.ferret-gamer

Another thing to consider this gen is the success of the Wii. It costs less than the other consoles and new games are $10 cheaper. This certainly helped the Wii take over the largest market share this gen.

i dont imagine that the prices will go much higher seeing as that if they do no one will by them and then they will lose profit. dlc will always vary

evilmaster2424

[QUOTE="ferret-gamer"]move to pc, $45-50 new games and usually free or reduced price for dlc.Fightingfan

honestly, unless you're buying DLC left and right, i dont see how this gen is all that more expensive than previous gens

although it kinda of feels expensive for me since ive finally begun to spend my hard earned money on games rather than mommy's money this gen :P

[QUOTE="Fightingfan"][QUOTE="ferret-gamer"]move to pc, $45-50 new games and usually free or reduced price for dlc.ferret-gamer

Developers need to stop making games with blockbuster movie budgets, that would help.

Ahh, you were fairly correct then swerved over the double yellow.

Pound for pound & dollar for dollar; gaming has never been cheaper. :o

Just Sayin. :P

I'm not happy about games bein $60 either, but in actuallity games are cheaper now than they used to be because of inflation.

honestly, unless you're buying DLC left and right, i dont see how this gen is all that more expensive than previous gens

although it kinda of feels expensive for me since ive finally begun to spend my hard earned money on games rather than mommy's money this gen :P

kidcool189

yeah lol you realizes just how expensive gaming can is when you start buying with your own money just one brand new game a month will cost you $600 for pc and $720 on the consoles each year not taking into account dlc which is usually free on pc raising the price diffrence between the 2 even further and lets not forgot pc has sales and discounts that your simply don't see on console games.

as time passes it will only get worse.

lespaul1919

[QUOTE="lespaul1919"]

as time passes it will only get worse.

Alias_nemesis

Yeah, sometimes I definately feel that the gamer gets the better deal. Like Oblivion being a 150 + hour game, I definately did get my money's worth. But I remember my mom paying $50 for atari, nes games and I didn't pay more than than $50 for my ps2 / xbox games. Now they're $60, and If activision had their way it would be $75+. So that scares me a little. thecreechxxx

One of the bigger myths in SW. Gaming has always been expensive period.

60 $ per game is still very expensive for me, i am very selective in my games this generation .... if games are even mor expensive the next generation, count me out , i will look for another hobby .

Games are far more complex now than previous generations. The greater the scope of a game (say Halo 3 or Fallout 3) the more the labor budget of a game rises. The more those big budget games sell, the more other big budget games will try and compete for market share. And it's clear that people want the blockbuster games. Unless people start to prefer lower budget games like World of Goo prices will only go up. The way games are sold will continue to change. This is why DLC is such a big deal now. Game publishers have to find ways to maximize the return on their investments while the costs of said investments continue to rise (or at least I assume they do).

Ive been gaming for 20 years and prices seem to stay about the same.

[QUOTE="Fightingfan"][QUOTE="ferret-gamer"]move to pc, $45-50 new games and usually free or reduced price for dlc.ferret-gamer

Starcraft 2...

[QUOTE="ferret-gamer"][QUOTE="Fightingfan"] ' Not anymore my friend, most console shared games are hitting 60 bucks as well.SgtKevali

Starcraft 2...

[QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

[QUOTE="ferret-gamer"] mw2, ac2, scc......... that is not most. and they are also from companies that are currently very disliked by pc gamersferret-gamer

Starcraft 2...

Yes, but it's a growing trend.

I'm not happy about games bein $60 either, but in actuallity games are cheaper now than they used to be because of inflation.unknown37

Agreed.

if games go any more higher thenwhat they are now consider gaming dead

were already getting ripped off becausethey dont release many games with as much content levels etc compared to n64 games such as perfect dark

so we arepaying enough already

and when xbox raises to 75 good bye 360online

no one would pay 75 just for a tv channeldedicated to microsoft - i think we already have three and they all talk about garbage ,,

we dont need another msnbc!

[QUOTE="ferret-gamer"][QUOTE="SgtKevali"]

Starcraft 2...

SgtKevali

Yes, but it's a growing trend.

move to pc, $45-50 new games and usually free or reduced price for dlc.ferret-gamer

i actually prefer it this way. I hated back in the days when i had to pay 75 bucks for genesis games :evil:

[QUOTE="ferret-gamer"]move to pc, $45-50 new games and usually free or reduced price for dlc.oldkingallant

I've been gaming since the days of Atari 2600. I used to think, "wow" inflation has never really affected gaming. Gaming systems were always around the same price and games were around $50 for over 2 decades, but whathappened this gen?

• XBL might be hiking their prices past $50?
• Speculation that PSN may charge sometime in the near future
• Games Cost $60
• Endless gimmicks, attachments, controllers
• DL content, including $15 map packs

What do you think next gen will be like?

thecreechxxx

This is why I hope 3d doesnt take off because the priceswillonly get worse from there. In fact it'll get worse if theres another major graphics leap in the console world thats why I hope the companies dont invest too much in graphics tech next gen.

We already pay gamers for 65 bucks every ps3 game you know

Videogames have always been expensive (for consoles)

I don't get where OP is coming from, unless he just started gaming last gen or this gen.

PS1 original price: $300

N64 original price: $200

Dreamcast original price: $200

game prices ranged around 50-70 dollars

On the contrary

When next gen comes, people will be able to buy masterpieces like Mass Effect 2, God of War III, and Uncharted 2 for $20 and PS3/Xbox 360s for ~$150. These games look good enough anyways, and if there are some very good motion control games, we got those to. Screw the next gen. It's not like we'll have to play PS2 graphics.

I think Sony learned a hard lesson when they launched the PS3 for $699. Only the most hardcore gamers/Sony fanboys or the super rich will run out day 1 and pay that kind of coin. Imo no matter the technology, whenever "Next gen" hits I think that we can all agree that $399 is the magic price point for a new console with the kind of capabilities of the PS3 or Xbox 360 and their follow-ups. I understand that these companies have to recoup their costs of making said consoles, but is it better to sell half as many consoles for $700 or is it better to make the price more consumer friendly at $400 and move twice as many systems? I can tell you that I will NEVER, EVER pay $700 for a game console. If that is what the XBOX Next and PS4 come out at, Ill ride the 360 until MS pulls the plug on it then!! $400 is my max for a system!

The cost is in relation to how much it is required to make a great game and how fast coders can push the tech. It took 3 years for UC2 to come out but only a little more than a year after Xbox to launch for Gears of war and other games that push the Xbox 360 to its upper limit.

IF the new consoles are that much more powerful then it may take that much more time adding to the cost and time it takes to develop a game.

It'll be more expensive, if so to the point of absurdity, I'll move to PC gaming.

The prices will not change. And if they do, it will just be a temporary rise. When people don't buy, the prices will drop.

[QUOTE="Fightingfan"][QUOTE="ferret-gamer"]move to pc, $45-50 new games and usually free or reduced price for dlc.ferret-gamer

I think Sony learned a hard lesson when they launched the PS3 for $699. Only the most hardcore gamers/Sony fanboys or the super rich will run out day 1 and pay that kind of coin. Imo no matter the technology, whenever "Next gen" hits I think that we can all agree that $399 is the magic price point for a new console with the kind of capabilities of the PS3 or Xbox 360 and their follow-ups. I understand that these companies have to recoup their costs of making said consoles, but is it better to sell half as many consoles for $700 or is it better to make the price more consumer friendly at $400 and move twice as many systems? I can tell you that I will NEVER, EVER pay $700 for a game console. If that is what the XBOX Next and PS4 come out at, Ill ride the 360 until MS pulls the plug on it then!! $400 is my max for a system!

NemeSyS-1

As for the TC... wrong on so many levels. The only people who think gaming is more expensive now are people who a) don't comprehend inflation and b) have just now started having to buy games with their own money. $200 for an NES in the mid 80's is the same as over $400 today. Most NES games (new) cost between $30 and $45. Or $60-$90 by todays standards. SNES games averaged $40-$50 (new), with some costing as much as $80. Adjusted for inflation, that's about $60-$130. N64 games typically ran from $50 to $80 new, or $70 to $110 adjusted to today's inflation rate.

So really, $60 for today's games is as cheap as games ever were, once you factor in how much the value of $1 has changed, and that's with games costing millions more to make than they used to.

Here's a chart with console prices and inflation:

http://curmudgeongamer.com/2006/05/history-of-console-prices-or-500-aint.html

And here's a link to an inflation calculator, provided by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics:

http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl