Video game prices - Pc Vs Consoles

I was a die-hard console gamer until last year when I decided to build myself a decent gaming pc for around 500 €, a bit suspicious because of Pc gaming being a hassle with driver issues and whatnot. Well, was I wrong.

Once I discovered services like Steam, G2A and Origin (to a lesser degree), I realized how easy it all was, but most of all, the prices! Long story short, in one year's time my Steam library grew to 42 games, spending 1/5 of what I'd have paid to get those titles on a console. It's so unreal for me to see games at such a cheap price that I've become addicted to those deals, I almost hate STEAM for that.

My question to you (more experienced gamers) is the following:

Why do console games not get such DEALS?

Perks of PC gaming, welcome!

The PC deals are very good at times, but from my experience it's usually only on older games. Every now and then you can get a few bucks off of a new title, but on Steam Sales for example, you won't get much more than 10% off on new games. There are good console deals to be had, you just have to look for them in different way. Target and Best Buy do a buy 2 get 1 free deal a couple of times a year. Best Buy has the GCU which gets you new games for $48. Also I am a Best Buy Elite Plus Rewards member and I get hundreds of dollars in gift certificates each year not to mention my credit card rewards that also get me Best Buy gift cards.

Steam sales were much more appealing when I stated building my library. But now that I have most of the older games I wanted, the Steam sales have been pretty meh.

I like physical copies when I spend my money so I'm not interested in cheaper digital games.

Also this...........I don't buy many console games full retail price at launch. Not that expensive really.

We'll G2A, Kinguin etc buy boxed copies from countries with cheap prices, open them up and mail you the code. I bought Dragon Age: Inquisition from mexican origin through vpn and paid like 30e instead of 60e so there's that.

@howmakewood: I did that with Titanfall and regretted it so much.

Good deal, just wasn't a good game.

I have 2 game rigs one is Alien Alpha I5 and one I builded couple of years ago. I did it for the hell of it because I can write them with job related for income tax. I still find myself to use my console rather than PC!

Deals are about the same. GTAV was what? $40.19 on sale on all platform. PC on get the attention because of the amount of old titles. They are a shit load of 99 cent games on PSN with PS classic. With Xbox there are none. Deals aren't that different. Sometimes new releases are $50 instead of $60 but that's far in between and is negated for GCU and Prime members that get 20% off all titles.

Between CDkeys and GMG, I don't think I have spent over 40 bucks for a PC game in a long time. DSIII/Division/Battleborn/Farcry/Xcom are like 30 dollars right now.

Consoles still rely on physical copies, if you want to save money you most likely find deals on the second-hand market. Gamestop is a total rip-off instead, but has some good deals on the hardware side (consoles/bundles).
Ebay and Amazon have some good deals every now and then, too, I recently got Metal Gear Solid IV for around €20 and it's a very old game.

I think Pc prices are also so low to successfully battle piracy which has plagued the platform for years, and more importantly, Pc gaming is not as crowded with kids as consoles are, and a more mature audience often has a different approach to their wallet and the value for what they're purchasing.

Also keep in mind royalities that producers have to pay to Ms/Sony/Nintendo.

I don't think Pc would be this relevant if they applied the same prices on games as on consoles, also considering how much it costs you to build a gaming rig; in fact one of the main reasons (at least mine is) to build a gaming rig is to be able to purchase games at a very low price, so I know I'll have saved lots of money in the long run. And I personally think that the cd-key market is huge. I mean, I recently purchased a package including all the Batman Arkham titles for around 15€: 4 games!

The other main reasons can be pretty much summed up as "freedom".

Don't console games always have deals? That's pretty much what the used market is for.

This ^

Btw, I got GTA V for $30 on nuuvem by changing my VPN..

@daious: I can get console games for $20 or less....physical copies.

I haven't spent more than $40 for a console game in a while as well. Between Holiday deals (Target, Amazon, Psn, Live), and if you just wait a month or two after release, they usually drop $20-$30 (Except Nintendo).

Other than older games (but then again, they're dirt cheap at Gamestop used), I feel like hunting new deals is the same across the platforms.

Console games have physical copies available at my library though.

On new games that aren't even released? Where? If it is easily accessible for users here, you should let us know. Is it an accessible thing that you can actually put on the pro-list on consoles?

Do you have any of those games I listed preordered for less than 40 bucks? The whole point is how cheap it is at launch and how much cheaper it gets afterwards.

I know Amazon is now offering preorders 20% off like best buy with their membership but that brings those preorders (to all systems) to 48 dollars +tax.

You can also view your history which tells you everything including how much time you spent gaming and how much money per hour you spent.

Here is mine: My average price per hour is $12.54 lol. Looks like most of games I bought were $10-$30 range..not bad. but I just don't really have the time everyday to play games and many just don't keep me interested enough to stay involved but obviously many here would probably get a lot more value for their games than I do

The great thing about digital is that if anything happens, like a house fire, theft..etc, your games are always available via logging into your account. If your PS4 games gets stolen, you're just SOL outside of getting a small fraction's value of a few bucks from your insurance. Then the disk swapping....I don't really care to go back, partly why I don't game on my PS4 much.

I don't think the Amazon or BestBuy thing really counts. You're paying annually for that.

Lowest I have gotten on new games, not preorders is a Buy two get one free deal from Target, stacked with three other promotions (Gift Registry for College, one for children, and a 5% off any purchase). Brought the total price for each game to $32 each. Rise of the Tomb Raider, Fallout 4, and Black Ops 3.

@polishkid99:

Those are promotions that appear only few times a year on games that are released versus having any game you can preorder for 30 bucks any time of the year. In addition, during holidays they run promotions to get them even cheaper with a discount code with less than 30. You don't have to buy multiple games at once to get the promotion, it is just their standard price.

The best sale on physicals go to Best Buy for all systems because their buy two get one free sale which stacks on their other discounts always works on preorders for the first 3 hours (they start at 3am, 90% of the time from the last 5 times it works on preorders). I got new games without tax for less than 30 dollars but again, those sales aren't the norm. Only best buy works on preorders (initially) plus Gift Registry for College, one for children technically need money to initially set up and use like GCU. You can also get a 10%+ discount through best buy by going to the postoffice and asking for their coupons for like 1 dollar.

You've never heard of home owners/renters insurance then.

yea once you know where to look you can save hundreds a year on games if you like to buy stuff when/close to when it comes out. I don't remember the last time I spent full price on a PC game, I think SOMA because I wanted to support the devs.

@daious: Yeah, those promotions spoil me for the rest of the year. I usually hold out until a physical game reaches $30 for me to purchase it now. I actually sold my 3ds because it made no sense for me to pay $30-$40 for handheld games that literally never go on sale, when I could get for example a brand new Fallout 4 for $32 through some kind of Holiday deal or online through cdkeys, etc.

I'm just saying that PC and Consoles get similar deals on brand new games throughout the year if you look hard enough. Yes, the Console ones are usually only around the Holidays, but they still exist. op stated "Why do console games not get such DEALS?"

Older games drop in price as well. If you can wait for them....you can save. Plus GOTY is cheaper and has all the DLC.

One of the reasons that Consoles are so bad is because of prices. I bought Witcher on release day for $29.99. I bought it again 1 month ago with the season pass for $39.99. I bought Diablo Exp for $14.99 a month or so after release. Rainbow Siege? $28.99 before the game even came out. I even pre-ordered the division for $29.99

It's pretty cool. Yes, my PC took about $1300 when I built it but that's 5 years ago and I save about $20 on every game i buy. Over that time, i beat my brother in all who tends to buy console games

Primary reason is the license fee paid to Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo etc per game sale. These fees are substantial and impact directly on the cost to consumer. PC being an open platform means they can do away with this. When you couple that with people who can't let go of physical disks (I mean really? Is there actually a reason for this these days? Especially with Steam library sharing) you are stuck in a market that requires shelf space, packaging and physical media which all adds to the cost.

Anyhow, welcome to PC gaming. I'm glad you found that it's nothing like the old days...I honestly have more trouble on console these days than I do on PC. The other bonus is PC games never really die, you can still play all of the classics alongside your new releases and all at a fraction of the price. Ahhh its good not to be tied to a brand.

I don't support G2A\Kingwin or other shady websites of the sort.

GMG is official reseller and almost always at least 20-25% off everything

I can literally get any PC game without spending a single cent but i just not into anything on PC and console exclusives are better imo despite the price difference between the two platforms

Yes, Pc gaming is the best platform to save money, but it all comes down to the games you want to play. I like platfomers and action-adventure games the most and I believe consoles are a better solution for me; Nintendo alone gets a big piece of the cake for me, even if their policy on prices is very arguable.

Ahahaha, thanks man this made me chuckle. Let's see you pirate an MMO....because you were alluding to the fact you can just pirate everything right? And you can't pirate on consoles...oh wait.

PC Gaming is cheaper than Consoles. In the beginning you spend more money on hardware but in the long run, you end up saving more due to dirt cheap games.

Which platform allows you to pick up AAA games for 2-3 dollars from time to time? If you are a "hardcore" gamer, who buys games a lot then you will save more by buying games on PC.

If you are "casual" who only plays 1 or 2 games per year then Console gaming will be more cheaper for you. And lol at "muh physical discs" excuse.

These people complain about PC being "too expensive" and then support 60$ "muh physical discs". Dem double standards.

You've never heard of reading then. Here I bolded it for you, sorry I don't have Fisher Price font. So I already mentioned that, you will not get the full value from your games.....been there. 22 games lost, $80 received from homeowners insurance. Expect worse results for renters less you want to risk fraud and claim some more stuff.

Ah so your assumptions are supposed to be taken as fact. You get the value of your property. Not a fraction of the value.

You're pretty cool

@Legend002: You can get GTA V cheaper than that on PC. Steam isn't the only place to buy the game.

G2A, Kinguine, CDkeyprices and many others are just as legit as GMG. Your paranoia doesn't discredit them.

@godspellwh: and that's another disadvantage of PC. Some many damn clients! I prefer a more united ecosystem like PSN or XBL.

Grey market codes,stolen credit cards\stolen keys. I'll pass.

http://www.polygon.com/2015/2/9/8006693/the-truth-behind-those-mysteriously-cheap-gray-market-game-codes

You buy the game from their website and they send you a key simple and easy

@godspellwh: Still several clients. Plus some sites are blacklisted.

Good more choices instead of being stuck with one crappy deal and there are plenty of legit ones never had any issue or even heard of a blacklist one

Why are digital Steam games often more expensive than the retail versions then? Wasteland 2: 40 Euro on Steam, 20 Euro on Amazon. Age of Wonders 3: 30 Euro on Steam, 15 Euro on Amazon. Dreamfall Chapters: 30 Euro on Steam, 20 Euro on Amazon. Endless Legend: 30 Euro on Steam, 20 Euro on Amazon. Just a couple of games I'm interested in. Tell me again why I would want them from Steam and not the retail version. Ah yes, those additional physical media costs. Digital all the way. It's totally not a rip off, lulz. I guess I have to wait half a year for a sale because Steam is a steaming pile of crap otherwise. By the way, the retail console version of Wasteland 2 is also cheaper than Steam and much cheaper if I want it used.

Console gaming is too expensive PC gaming is the only one that is reasonable

The list of games that I've always wanted to play but haven't yet is incredibly slim for me, so such deals are meaningless to me. I have very specific tastes, so when a game comes out that I'm interested in I purchase it day 1. Now with Amazon offering 20% off on all new games this has gotten even better.

Plus I like having ma physical copies.

I'm not trolling here. I've been considering selling all the gaming stuff I have. I looked at the stuff and started wondering how much I'd get for all if it. Just the things sitting right next to me is an easy $3000, and that is low-balling it. That doesn't even include any ps3/4/wiiu/360 stuff. Consoles, along with their games and accessorues, increase in value for the most part.

The chance of buying from a blacklist site is enough of a turn off. Plus a united ecosystem means a more organized service. All of my trophies, achievements, activities, friendlist and history are on one account. More option is not better in this instance.

I personally use Gameskeys4all.

A little anecdotal story. Ubisoft cancelled many keys sold through resellers last year, I lost access to Far Cry 4 (odd that it was only one game as I have several Ubisoft games). Ubisoft found out rather quickly that what they had done was illegal and the keys were re-instated within 2 days. The only banned keys that stood were from resellers (mostly on Ebay) who were found to have stolen them, of which there were, relatively, very few.

@GarGx1: pretty sure it wasn't illegal. People just got so upset that ubisoft re activated any keys that had already activated the game and cancelled the rest of the fraudulently purchased keys

In terms of digital prices, you can't beat PC (not very often anyway). But as a whole package (physical and digital), I find console gaming cheaper in the long run... especially because I can trade in my old games when I'm done with them.