Considering the fact that Video Games are a product (though strictly speaking they are also art, but I won't be going there) and gamers are customers/consumers I think this is a very relevant subject.

The Value of a Game

When one buys a game, they make sure that it's a good one (at least I hope they do). But what if this game is 5$, or what if it's 100$, how does this affect it's quality? Well the truth is, I think it does. In fact I think the price is a major characteristic while evaluating a game.

(the Binding of Isaac, an example of a good game that has a very, very low price)

I recently bought Deus Ex HR (The Augmented Edition) for 8 freakin euros. As opposed to the 60 euros price tag it has in retail stores here (and this is without the extra DLC). But sadly, and this is why I'm writing this blog, I think it's low price has allowed me to think of this game as a cheap one. So far I have not enjoyed it at all. And some how I think if I had bought the game for my ps3 (60 euros) I would have enjoyed it. Because the price determines how dedicated you will be to playing this game.

Is a game 10 bucks? Ok, I'll play it for say... 10 hours. Is it 60? Hell I'll play it for 500 hours. I'm not sure if you agree with me or not but I have definitely found this to be true. In this article, EA claims that Steam sales "cheapen intellectual property". Sadly, I think I agree. I think that if you sell a game far lower than it's worth, it will become associated with that price, changing it's value.

(Deus Ex Human Revolution, a critically acclaimed game from last year that is supposed to be pretty damn good)

I'm not kidding guys, I actually intentionally play a game more if it's more expensive to justify my purchase, is this post purchase rationalization? I dunno, but it's definitely a common bias. I sware people would play less COD if it's was actually what it should be: 10-20$.

The thing is, Deus Ex HR is a pretty cool game, it's pleasant, decent. But not impressive, not memorable, and has way too many flaws for me to enjoy it. And I think the low price at which I bought it cheapened it's quality. It made me less biased and I could actually identify it's flaws without having to stop to think: But I paid 60$, it must be good!

(Stormrise, a terribad game)

Another Example I give you is Stormrise, a down right terrible game. And the reason I bought it? Because I had never heard of it but it was the only RTS game I had ever seen for the ps3 (at the time), and it was 60$. Well, despite the 3.5 score I later witnessed after searching for it on GS, I continued to play it for maybe... 20-30 hours. Yes, I played utter sh*t for more than 5 minutes because it had a high price tag, I had to justify my purchase because otherwise it would be like admitting to a mistake.

Well, I'm guessing that not everyone suffers from the same condition, but I just wanted to put that out there to see if any of you guys feel the same.