Let's talk about game prices

PostLet's talk about game prices by **Lex-Man** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:05 pm

Recently I've watched a couple of videos on game prices. One was arguing that games should cost $70.
What do you lot think. In reality I'm fairly ambivalent to the cost of games, I've got to the point where I just wouldn't buy the games and just wait for a price drop. That said it annoys me that there seems to this argument that games companies aren't making enough money, when they seem to make large profits each year.

Anyway these are the videos if you're interested.

Gemini73

I'll watch the videos later, but for now I'll just say I'm not that bothered about game prices. Sure I like a bargain and will actively seek them out, and if I'm unsure about something I will wait for a price drop, but if I really want a game I'll happily cough up full RRP.

7256930752

No problem with the price of a new game as they're cheaper than they were 20-30 years ago. It's pretty clear that something in the industry needs to change, the success of years of work being dependent on a few weeks of sales is pretty crazy. However, it's good for us as consumers as you can pick up 12 week old games for a pittance.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **Trelliz** » Wed Jan 31, 2018 10:53 pm

lex-man wrote:it annoys me that there seems to this argument that games companies aren't making enough money, when they seem to make large profits each year.

And avoid paying taxes on a massive scale:

As unpopular as it may be to some people, I follow Jim's line of reasoning; if games are literally unmakeable without season passes, lootboxes etc. then whoever says that is in the wrong business, either that or they're two-faced liars - like ubisoft saying it was too expensive to make women playable in asscreed Unity. Either their development is so bloated and inefficient that it was true or they were saying whatever it took to get people to shut up.

Publishers shoot themselves in the foot anyway with GOTY editions and things like that - why should I buy anything at full price, especially if whatever backend servers needed to justify lootboxes etc. might be shoddy at launch and when prices plummet so fast anyway. Forza 7 is already down to £20 in several places but i'm not getting it at all on principle. Given that GT Sport has given away tens of cars and some tracks for free I can't support spending £80+ for the "ultimate" edition of FM7, which won't include any expansions or post-car pass content anyway.

My days of paying full price for a game are long behind me. I can't remember the last time I got a game on release or paying more than £20. The PC and places like CDKeys have spoilt me, now I simply won't pay more than £15 for a game.

A good game is still a good game 6 months+ after release. It isn't like I have nothing to play so waiting for the price to tumble or going without a specific game really isn't a problem.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by KK » Wed Jan 31, 2018 11:12 pm

Launch is a joke but prices fall so fast these days that game prices are actually not something that bothers me whatsoever. In the past you’d have to either buy it second hand or wait for the Platinum release 1-2 years later. High-street was terrible, but mail order companies like Gameplay did lower prices faster.

Plus, you know, I’m older. I don’t give two gooseberry fools about playing the vast majority of stuff at launch anymore. But I have the same attitude with movies. ‘OMG, I’ve got to see this at the cinema’ has segued into ‘Ah, I’ll wait for the download...’

What I find rather hard to believe is if games are hard to make a profit on then why don't they simply all agree to spend less.
We've all seen plenty of great games made on a relatively tiny budget that are as good as the big money titles so nobody is forcing them to have 300 people spend 5 years making a game and then wonder why they can't make a profit.

I think the new Assassins Creed is a good example where they realised that flooding the market wasn't a good idea so elected to spend more time on development and as far as I know people are responding with positive reviews and good sales numbers.

Gemini73

The argument that games should be $70+ is arguably sound, however...

Publishers using overseas tax havens to save billions.

So that kind of kicks that argument in the nuts. Hard.

Witcher 3 is a good example of a great game made by a company with a clear vision and cost controls so they didn't need to sell completely unrealistic numbers to make a profit. They're now on solid financial ground for the next game without needing to resort to loot boxes and having DLC that was good value.

It's amazing more companies don't look at that example and see how it's done.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **Dig Dug** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 1:19 am

Peter Crisp wrote:Witcher 3 is a good example of a great game made by a company with a clear vision and cost controls so they didn't need to sell completely unrealistic numbers to make a profit. They're now on solid financial ground for the next game without needing to resort to loot boxes and having DLC that was good value.

It's amazing more companies don't look at that example and see how it's done.

I think those companies do exist. They just largely happen to be found in Japan these days with Nintendo, NamcoBandai and Arc System Works being the three that come to my head when I think of companies with a good model for efficient development and controlled costs.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **Moggy** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:11 am

While the launch price of games hasn’t really changed in 20 odd years, there are many more ways for publishers to get more cash out of people. Season passes can cost almost the price of the game, they have various editions of the game that ramp up the price and then they have microtransactions/lootboxes on top.

I haven’t bought a full price game for years now, I don’t have enough time to game like I used to and so am happy to wait and then pick up games for “free” on PS+/Games with Gold/EA Access or to buy them in sales.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **rinks** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:37 am

The way prices vary so drastically over time, games kind of are "pay what you want", if you're willing to wait.

Plenty of games I'll wait for a price plunge. But then others I'm willing to pay full price + season pass.

With independent games, I'm generally happy to pay launch price.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **Rax** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:39 am

I think games are overpriced, I couldnt imagine paying the RRP for any game, the only drawback to owning a Switch is how expensive the games cost. Maybe years of Steam sales and PC prices have ruined me but I honestly think games are entering rip off territory, I know theyre cheaper then they used to be and all that but the market for them is now huge but all this seems to have done is push budgets up, not make price more competitive.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **Dual** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 8:49 am

never spend more than 20 bucks on a computer game

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **Preezy** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 9:08 am

I've got a wish list on Amazon of all the games I fancy getting eventually, once they hit the £10 mark I'll normally bite. I'm happy to wait, I've got plenty to keep me occupied.

7256930752

Peter Crisp wrote:Witcher 3 is a good example of a great game made by a company with a clear vision and cost controls so they didn't need to sell completely unrealistic numbers to make a profit. They're now on solid financial ground for the next game without needing to resort to loot boxes and having DLC that was good value.

It's amazing more companies don't look at that example and see how it's done.

I know nothing about about the Witcher 3 devs but as far as I can tell it seems like they're a 'by gamers, for gamers' company. It makes me wonder if a load of the big devs are like the big companies I've been involved with in this country in that the people at the sharp end make up a tiny proportion of the staff with the bulk of the people made up of tiers and tiers of middle management that add nothing to the core business.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **<]:^D** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 11:18 am

i do find it odd that companies are essentially balancing on the one hand, pissing legitimate possible consumers off with lootboxes, early access etc, but they guess theyre making up for it by extracting a bit more $ from the idiots that bite?
i basically will never buy an EA or Ubisoft games again because they lost my trust completely over the last 5 years or so

I try to get £1 an hour or better, if I hit that I'm happy. Doesn't always happen, but then it depends on the game really. Monster Hunter World was £47 but I see that as great value for money when I know I'm going to play it for literally hundreds of hours.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **Dig Dug** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 3:33 pm

While we are on this topic what I find interesting is that it is centred around customers in the united states being unwilling to go beyond $60 for a game. I think this issue is a very american one right now as here in the UK our games already £50 new now which equivalent to $70. We already have put the prices up to this several times in the past, only with this generation those prices are no longer dropping over the consoles life like they did with the last few generations where £40 and then £30 would become the norm for new releases as the hardware aged.
So when it comes to this topic we're not who it is about. What it does do however is leave us with the full price + all the dlc, season passes, loot box systems etc which is especially why we've so quickly gone sour on them.

PostRe: Let's talk about game prices by **<]:^D** » Thu Feb 01, 2018 5:02 pm

i feel like we went through a bit of a golden age with ps1/ps2 generation with platinum and games being (iirc) no higher than £35/45 on release. i remember the outlier being the n64 which went for like £50-60.
now when i check in game shops the prices seem very high.

Let's talk about game prices

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