Why are console games so expensive?

Lately, ive been buying every multiplatform game on PC rather than console, entirely because of the price.
I've been trying to get my head around why a console game costs so much more? Taking dark athena for example, play have it up for 39.99 console, and 24.99 PC - that's frankly a 'riddick'ulous(sorry) price hike. Are microsoft and sony really taking that big a cut from each sale or is this publishers being greedy since piracy isn't so rampant on consoles?
I dont know, can anyone shed more light on this for me?

Because Sony and M$ are operating a "loss leader" business strategy, where they lose money (initially) on the machine itself, but make it back, and then some, on the software that people inevitably buy for it. It's called the "razor and blades" business model.

As for Nintendo, well, they like money, and the market is more than willing to pay their prices.

Publishers fund development, so obviously taking a large cut of the profits is in their interest. Not always them being greedy, just needing to regain development costs. Then, as you say, MS/Sony/Nintendo will take a cut as well.

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Well given how quickly games go down in prices these days (first party Nintendo titles aside), you can't really complain

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LittleBigPlanet is £12.99 on Amazon and number 5 in their game charts, although I don't know if this price means LBP is a success or failure or a bit of both.

You can pre-order most console games for £30 quid. For the games that i don't need on day 1 i normally get second-hand from CEX for £15-£20 quid.

MCN wrote:Because Sony and M$ are operating a "loss leader" business strategy, where they lose money (initially) on the machine itself, but make it back, and then some, on the software that people inevitably buy for it. It's called the "razor and blades" business model.

true, i guess itd need to be quite a large amount considering how much sony lose per console, and the cost for microsoft to repair their defective lot.

Jazzem wrote:Well given how quickly games go down in prices these days (first party Nintendo titles aside), you can't really complain

heh god bless the economy :lol:

VenomUK wrote:You can pre-order most console games for £30 quid.

Really? link please!

spikey wrote:
MCN wrote:Because Sony and M$ are operating a "loss leader" business strategy, where they lose money (initially) on the machine itself, but make it back, and then some, on the software that people inevitably buy for it. It's called the "razor and blades" business model.

true, i guess itd need to be quite a large amount considering how much sony lose per console, and the cost for microsoft to repair their defective lot.

Jazzem wrote:Well given how quickly games go down in prices these days (first party Nintendo titles aside), you can't really complain

heh god bless the economy

VenomUK wrote:You can pre-order most console games for £30 quid.

Really? link please!

There is a £3 off at Game voucher in the bargains thread and coupled with Quidco and reward points that brings most £34.99 games well under £30 and £39.99 games down to around £31-£32.

Games are cheaper now than they've ever been, despite costing loads more to make.
I can't do the maths, either.

There are a few reasons
1) There's no platform holder to take a cut
2) They have to be cheaper because piracy is so rampant on PCs
3) Cheaper development, you don't need devkits or expensive debug units.
4) People have come to expect PC games to be around or less than £25, any more and people dont buy.

I buy games when they are cheap because I've stop buying them on the release date.

Buffalo wrote:Games are cheaper now than they've ever been, despite costing loads more to make.
I can't do the maths, either.

Just shows how ridiculously overpriced they've been historically, even factoring in the cost of manufacturing cartridges back in the N64/SNES days.

I remember when Fighter's Destiny was £70... :shock:

abcd wrote:I buy games when they are cheap because I've stop buying them on the release date.

Same here. With very few exceptions (in the last year I bought GTAIV, MGS4, Smash Bros Brawl and FIFA 09 on release) I tend to just wait until games drop in price before jumping in.

Although in saying that it does help that I've amassed a moderate backlog due to having very little time to play in the last 6 months in addition to the amount of cheap(ish) stuff attracting my time available on the downloadable services which means I'm not as eager as I once was to run out and buy games on release when I've got plenty to be getting on with.

I only buy games when they are £25 or below now I just cannot afford full price, I bought Dawn of War 2 the other day for £16.99 bargain and its only been out a few weeks.

Buffalo wrote:Games are cheaper now than they've ever been, despite costing loads more to make.
I can't do the maths, either.

True a £40 game back in 1994 would cost about £51 in todays money. And also think of wage increases, inflation etc....

I guess that PC games dont require fees to publish on that format. (In the case of third-party games)

In anycase, it isn't really a problem... If the PC version is cheaper and your PC can play it decently, there shouldn't be any real reason to buy the console version.
With the exception of Fifa (which frankly sucks on PC), the majority of cross-platform games tend to play better on PC, plus there are the bonuses of mods and unofficial extra content etc.

TravelJug wrote:I remember when Fighter's Destiny was £70...

If I remember rightly, Turok was about that price, too.

MCN wrote:
TravelJug wrote:I remember when Fighter's Destiny was £70...

If I remember rightly, Turok was about that price, too.

You remember correctly, DK64 was pretty expensive too.

I find console games pricey, but what confuses me more is how PC games are cheaper. I thought, if anything, a PC game would be most expensive, because of the sheer amount of testing you'd have to put a game through.

HrC wrote:I guess that PC games dont require fees to publish on that format. (In the case of third-party games)

In anycase, it isn't really a problem... If the PC version is cheaper and your PC can play it decently, there shouldn't be any real reason to buy the console version.
With the exception of Fifa (which frankly sucks on PC), the majority of cross-platform games tend to play better on PC, plus there are the bonuses of mods and unofficial extra content etc.

A lot of people would argue that they pay extra for items such as "achievements" and playing against people from their friends list.

Why are console games so expensive?

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