How do you personally determine "value" for your gaming dollar?

This is a good thread with exactly the kind of conversations we need to be having about the perceived value of entertainment. My response is low effort but it's to make a point.

Am I having fun with the game? Yes? Then I got what I paid for as soon as I finished the single player or once I'm satisfied with multi. That's regardless of hours, price, dev budget, publisher, physical or digital.

i have put 2k hours into Streetfighter V, a game that many people say was not worth full price. Can't beat the never stopping fun factor of fighting games tho, all the season passes were worth it for me

If I enjoy it, it's worth it. Nothing else really matters to me.

For me it's more about whether or not the game was worth my time.

Examples:

-Skyrim was not worth my time.
-Xenoblade Chronicles 2 was worth my time.
-Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was worth my time.
-Owlboy was not worth my time.

As one can see, the general length of the game has very little to do with how I value an experience. I think $$/(timeframe) is probably one of the worst valuation methods for me personally. It makes no sense.

Since I never buy used I determine my purchases for games I'm interested in at full price is how likely it will have a low print run since they will be very hard to find brand new and cost double/triple the amount later. With the exception of MHW (long time MH fan) I never buy AAA titles at full price because the trend of releasing goty/complete editions later on, they're a dime a dozen and easier to find at bargain bin prices. It also makes what I paid easier to swallow if a game I bought sucked or was mediocre.

Example: I bought game X at 59.99 was not that great, had low print, very hard to find and now expensive. I bought game Y goty edition for 19.99 which was great. In the end I paid $80 versus $120.

Vice versa: I bought game X 59.99 was great, low print, very hard to find and now expensive. I bought game Y goty edition for 19.99 which sucked. In the end I paid $80 versus $120.

I basically ask myself the question "Am I willing to pay this amount of money to play the game right now?"

Most publishers have created an environment where their games drop in price a few weeks after launch and they love throwing free* shit and cheap old games at you. So I have literally hundreds of dirt cheap games on one side and new shiny games that will be dirt cheap if I am patient. The games industry isn't the only one in how it treats its products as disposable but it's more predictable than any other.

It's mostly down to quality. The reality is that even most story-based games are probably on par or a better value than going out to see a feature film, so I don't think length of the game is that useful a metric (especially since it's easy to fine mediocre games that are artificially inflated in length.)

I value games in two ways. I really enjoy a tight quick story that I don't want to put down and I feel sense of accomplishment when I am done. The other one is where it has to a of quality content and I can always come back to it and find something new. Also don't want to be nickle and dimes.

I have also changed my purchasing habits this year. I almost never preorder a game because the discounts happen fast. I've become more patient and hype resistant.

I can't quantify the "value" of art/entertainment so it's all up to degree of personal interest and when I feel like playing something.

To be honest, I kind of don't. Like, yeah, I'll spend plenty of time with games I like, but I don't feel bad if I buy something I don't end up liking or even playing (though to be clear, I'm not going out of my way to get that stuff) because I feel like I'm supporting my industry.

1. Length of the game definitely does not dissuade me from buying stuff, I have a lot of "experience" type games like Firewatch, Edith Finch and Gone Home that I've played and enjoyed. However, it does dissuade me from paying full price for them unless they fall into category 2 below (and even then its a hard sell).

2. I'm much less likely to buy stuff on day one if its not a physical release; the only exception are for smaller digital titles that sell for 20 dollars or less (ex. Lumines, Celeste, Curse of the Moon), where the loss isnt as heavy. I bought Tekken 7 for full price at launch because the local Steam price was the equivalent of 35 USD. But 60 bucks for a digital copy is a no go.

3. Taking of from no. 3, a physical release is mandatory for any console title that's 30 dollars and above.

4. A multiplayer only game is essentially a no-go in 99 percent of cases. Overwatch is the only example I can think of where the game stuck with me, and even that has fallen by the wayside in favor of newer SP titles (its not even installed, iirc).

5. Price of other games: In a Steam sale environment, I'm not buying MGSV Complete for 15USD when I can get Shadow of War and Slay the Spire for the same price.

6. Likelihood of something going up on Humble Monthly: I have a 1 year sub, so Humble is a sunk cost. Though I wanted to bite on the PC version of NBA 2K18 given how low they're selling it for, it just screams bundle fodder to me.

Do I want it? Do have the money for it? End of Thought Process.

For me theres like a minimum number of hours compared to the price. But that qualifier is pretty low. Like, $20 for a 2 hour game is a no go until it's on sale but a $60 6 hour game may possibly reach the threshold. Multiplayer can be a substitute for those hours if it's substantial enough.

If it meets that baseline, then it comes down to if I willing to pay that price for the quality of the content or the amount I'll enjoy it.

I calculate the value of the game with the number of hours I would have to work to buy it. If that number equals or is smaller than the hours of fun I have playing that game, then it was worth buying it.

Obviously how much fun will the game be is the important part,, but I try to avoid paying full price for games these days. I'll probably get 7-8 more games this year, but I only have Dragon Quest XI and Smash Bros. pre-ordered currently. Almost everything else is a Black Friday or later purchase.

The last time I paid more than $20 for a digital game was when Mass Effect 3 came out. That's how much a temporary license is worth to me.

Also, how much content is currently in the game at the time I'm buying it. I like to play a game a lot, complete it, and then move on to something else, so I like having access to all the content immediately. If it's like how most fighting games are released these days, with half the content at launch and the other half drip fed over X amount of time, I usually just wait for the Ultimate/Definitive/Whatever edition before buying it.

As an example, I bought Injustice Legendary a few weeks ago and have been mostly playing as the DLC characters. If I bought it at launch I'd have no interest in paying extra for these characters and likely would've moved on to another game before they even came out anyways.

How much I think I'll like it I guess? If I really want to play it I'll just buy it on release, otherwise I'll pick it up some time further down the track if I still have an interest in playing it.

Mostly depends on if I'll play the game or not.

I've got a massive backlog so I look at whether a new release is something I'd rather play over all those other games or not, so it has to be something really good quality.
Length isn't something I factor into "value for money", in fact I'd prefer a shorter game that makes good use of its ideas then knows when to stop.

Filament Star said:

Length of game - It must have enough hours of gameplay for your dollar.

I seriously hope you guys don't do this.

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I do this. If a game doesn't have the gameplay and variation to sustain the fun for at least 10-15 hours, it's too shallow of a game for me.

How good is it? How long is it? How excited am I to play it? Most importantly, is it something I'm going to play now, or something I'm going to play maybe?

I have the bad tendency to buy games because I have some vague feeling that I'd like to play them some day, and they're cheap right now. But I've spent a lot of money on games I've never even started. I'd probably be better off just buying things when I want them than I would be buying everything I want when I see it on sale.

Quality of the game will determine if I buy it at all.

After that i have a rough length to dollar ratio. About $2 per hour. I'll wait for sales on any games I'm interested in but aren't long enough to be worth it.

I generally will buy my favorite games regardless, but my favorites would usually meet the length requirement anyway.

I do this less to manage my budget and more to manage my time. I already own more games than I'll ever play, I need to winnow the list down somewhere.

FreddeGredde said:

I do this. If a game doesn't have the gameplay and variation to sustain the fun for at least 10-15 hours, it's too shallow of a game for me.

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But there are plenty of games that don't NEED to be that long. Those might not be for you, but you see what he's getting at right?

If it makes me happy and zone out in my own world for several hours then I'm good. That's just about it.

I have no issue spending more than $60 on an open world game, because I know I'll spend hours and hours exploring and getting lost.

Not all games are like that, so it does kinda suck sometimes. I'll also buy games that I really love the concept of, and them when I play it, I realize I'm not too much of a fan. The Surge was one of these purchases that sounded amazing, but was meh to me.

I also buy most games digitally these days. Its sorta cheaper since I buy most games on sale sub $20 maybe a year or two later.

Shin Bobo Dakes said:

But there are plenty of games that don't NEED to be that long. Those might not be for you, but you see what he's getting at right?

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This is true, but it's also easy to wait for sales.

Did I like the game? If no, then I don't think a game was worth my money. If yes, game was worth it.

That's literally all there is to it. Doesn't matter if it was a 4 hour 60 euro game if I got an enjoyable experience out of it.

Gundam said:

Physical for me definitely is more worth the cost than a digital game. I don't buy digital games at any more than $20, except with the exception of like, Overwatch and Minecraft I think.

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I buy digital copies of multiplayer games, because I want to be able to have access to them whenever I want to play them, and don't like having to swap out discs for the many competitive games I enjoy.

For single player stuff, I couldn't care less. I'll buy digital or physical if it's cheaper. Also comes with the added benefit of being able to lend games to my friends and roommates when I'm finished them them (I'm not likely to return to playing Infamous: Second Son after getting the Platinum, for instance).

Do I like the product? If yes, it was worth it at retail or sale.

If not, it was not worth it and I won't force mysef to finish it to eke perceived value out of it.

I value my time. I just want to be engaged. There are very few times I can count that I've picked something up or gone to a show and come out of it feeling like I wasted money. Usually food.

Games, books, movies, other hobbies? Nah.

Keep me playing the game after the first hours

Fun gameplay. Even games light on content (Street Fighter V, Mario Tennis Ace) are absolutely worth it for me because I'll play them for a long time. I'll take something like that over bloated 300 hour long RPGs, personally speaking.

I don't even try to. If I want a game and I can afford it I'll buy it. I don't try to think about or justify my purchases because if I have to do that I shouldn't be buying it in the first place.

Shin Bobo Dakes said:

But there are plenty of games that don't NEED to be that long. Those might not be for you, but you see what he's getting at right?

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Yes, but we're talking about what we personally think here, and as you say, those are not for me. :) For me, it's the gameplay that matters, so in order to be worth my time, it NEEDS enough depth to last for a while.

Fun factor

If it looks interesting I buy it.

Filament Star said:

Length of game - It must have enough hours of gameplay for your dollar.

I seriously hope you guys don't do this.

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Everyone does this, which is why games are now endlessly long with padding

So a week ago i bought Until Dawn. The game is so short I dont think it was worth full price (60 bucks) at that time. Yes, it is very replayable heavy and also fun, but still for the first playthrough it was kinda disappointed.

So i realized something, for full 60 dollar price I focus so much on length. It at least has 50 until 60 hour gameplay. 40 or 45 is still tolerable.

For me it is a combination of quality and length of the game before i buy it. Bonus points if it is a rpg because i mostly play rpg's. The most impotant factor is applied while playing the game, which is the "how fun it is" factor.

If I want to play it I'm willing to spend full price, if I'm just interested I wait for a sale that's around 50% or more. I don't care about the actual value, just the percentage of the price I pay. I don't think I've thought about game length or content specifically when making a purchase in years.

Quality and the presence of single-player.

I have no issue with paying $60 for a game of any length if it's good. And while there a few exceptions, 99.9% of the time I'm not going to be interested a game that doesn't have single-player.

I don't even know anymore. Mainly games that keep my interest. I find myself shelving or just dropping games after playing a few hours anymore. Especially longer story driven single player games. Just feels more like work than something that's enjoyable.

Bring on Soulcalibur VI.

Value being how much effort went into the game, how good the quality of the game is, how long I can still stay interested in wanting to come back to keep playing the game and how much content they are giving me for my money.

Thats a pretty good general idea of how I feel.

I don't care about anything besides if the game is fun. I don't care the length or resale value or anything else.

I look at it like this:
Will I enjoy my time with the game? Yes. Do I already have other games that I've bought but yet to play to satisfaction (not necessarily completion)? No.

Ok, then I'll buy it.

I don't wait for sales and I don't buy things just to put in a backlog. I buy game and play it if I think I'm gonna like it. The most expensive game is gonna be 60 bucks. If I'm counting my dollars and worried that 60 dollars not being in my account will break me, or if I'm waiting for 15 dollar digital game to hit 7.50, then I'm either a teenager or I have more important problems in my life to deal with and I shouldn't really be playing many games.

Time + quality gameplay - hoop-jumping = value

GHG said:

Am I having fun? That's it. It's all that matters.

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This.

FreddeGredde said:

Yes, but we're talking about what we personally think here, and as you say, those are not for me. :) For me, it's the gameplay that matters, so in order to be worth my time, it NEEDS enough depth to last for a while.

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Depth and length are largely unrelated.

emag said:

Depth and length are largely unrelated.

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Maybe it depends how you define it. For me, gameplay depth is when you can play 20 or 50 hours and still improve, and there are still new things to learn and do. Shallow gameplay is when there isn't really anymore to it after just a few hours. So as I see it, it's very much related.

Not saying all games (or gamers) require deep gameplay though.

Will I enjoy the game enough to buy it at current price? If not then I wait until I see a lower price and my mind says i'll pay that. I usually don't pay more than $40 for games unless I really want it day one and I get 20% off. If Amazon does away with that then I'm done buying day one. Most games for me are not worth grabbing at launch unless it's Nintendo first party.

In those cases where I don't finish the game/feel satisfied with it I go with an arcade equivalent. If I get 1hour worthy of gameplay by each dollar that I spent, I feel that my purchase was worthy

Now, if I really loved the game I would not have a problem i I spend $60 for a 1 hour experience (this is an extreme case, since I don't want to spend $60 for only 1 hour of entertainment

If it's a game I want to play as soon as it releases - it's worth a full price.
If it can wait , i wait for a sale.

Quality of a game (well, if it was bad, I wouldn't buy it in the first place) and physical vs digital (wouldn't pay more than 10€ for just a bunch of 0s and 1s).

Quality, and nothing but quality. I look at enjoyment/hour, not total hours.