A discussion on the price increase in the industry
- Thread starter jman1954goat
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Frankly, if I'm unwilling to pay the day 1 price, I wait.
I know most games (Sony in particular actually) rapidly fall in price, from 30% off after 3-6 months to at least 50% off within a year.
Most things see their price increase over time, in particular things that are labor intensive to produce.
What really needs looked at is regional pricing and currency offsets, which can feel unfair.
I know most games (Sony in particular actually) rapidly fall in price, from 30% off after 3-6 months to at least 50% off within a year.
Most things see their price increase over time, in particular things that are labor intensive to produce.
What really needs looked at is regional pricing and currency offsets, which can feel unfair.
You make a great point here.
Yes. I do not care why they do or think as they do. And their choices has no bearing on me.
Same way they cannot force me to spend my money.
It all the ae thing.
They don't care about me, I don't care about them. The one thing we both have in common is that we both care about "my money". And fortunately for "me", I can choose when "I" want to give that money to them and how much of it I want to give them.
My knowledge just means I am not gonna be upset or feeling whatever when a company prices their product at whatever price they choose to price it. They have as much right to price their product at whatever price they want as much as i have a right to buy it at the price that I want.
There are tons of free/almost free games with infinite content, so even $50 is too much by that logic.
But I agree it sucks to pay a lot for short things, so I usually don't.
I mean I don't really have issue with people finding a game not worth the price.
What I disagree with is reviews grading games on their length. The last thing I want is for games to stretch themselves thin just to get a higher score. Not every game is better as a long game.
That said, I do agree with you that 70 bucks is pricey. Games shouldn't be this expansive.
Yeah it's great if you only ever want to engage with LTTP threads or basically just stop coming to places like Resetera or Twitter entirely.
That's only for now though. We're clearly moving away from that and every step taken we can see that being eroded away which means people are pushing for a future where they will have less power and rights because they've handed it all over to the companies. There is going to be a point where physical dies because people voted with their wallet for convenience and that option will no longer be viable for people who are price conscious.
I really can't deal with games in Canada being $103 after taxes. Doesn't matter how much money I have, that's too much for a video game - I mean I bought tons of games when they were $60, especially back in the days we got E3 preorder discounts. I've paid full price for *very* few games since prices went up for us in 2014/2015. I hung on a while longer for PS4 games since PSN didn't charge taxes in Canada but even that's ending in a few weeks. Sad thing is our dollar is creeping back up again but you know it's going to be ages if ever that we see them adjust prices back down.
But yeah, I wouldn't say it's pricing me out of games, but definitely pushed me out of the console AAA hype cycle which isn't the worst thing in the world. Gamepass and key resellers with preorder discounts (like Greenman) are keeping me alive on PC. Once in a while I'm ok with a more expensive console purchase, thankfully Switch games haven't bumped up to $90 here yet, only Monster Hunter would be able to get me for that price tag.
But yeah, I wouldn't say it's pricing me out of games, but definitely pushed me out of the console AAA hype cycle which isn't the worst thing in the world. Gamepass and key resellers with preorder discounts (like Greenman) are keeping me alive on PC. Once in a while I'm ok with a more expensive console purchase, thankfully Switch games haven't bumped up to $90 here yet, only Monster Hunter would be able to get me for that price tag.
Nintendo doesn't seem to really put their games on sale much like Sony and MS. People seem largely ok with it? Or have people just become resigned that thats how it is? :|
Not really? I come here every day and the newest game I played was Famicom Detective Club, that sadly nobody cares lol
Games have not been 60 dollars for a long time, micro transactions and dlc has been the name of the game for a decade. People saying games haven't increased in price at all are either delusional or dishonest. This is nothing more than capitalism seeking to suck up every last dollar they can to increase stock price which personally enriches the people at the top with their stock rewards. These companies are your not friend they do not need you to defend them.
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I Mostly agree with this. Number scores taking price into account is a can off worms I don't want to open (review scores are flawed as hell as is before the wild inconsistency of different Income level reviewers arbitrarily changing an already arbitrary Number.)
However while not affecting the Score I do think Value proposition and Length/Price Ratio is something that should absolutely be mentioned in a written review as the primary purpose of a review is to decide to Purchase or not.
Yeah, and threads on the latest Jim Sterling vids, the only journalist blasting the industry for its shitty practices, are always full of "I'm so sick of their negativity, waah"
We are completely fucked
If you're poor you're smart enough to budget and waiting is something that you're well accustomed to. Poor doesn't splash out on the new iphone, poor doesn't come here to tell us about their LG CX. Poor really ain't got time to spend on this site, and chances are they don't have a PS5 right now.
We bask in western decadence on this site. Someone posted a thread in OT the other day expressing dismay at how their digital watch wouldn't last more than a couple of days and I legit couldn't stop laughing. So entitled they can't even charge their own overpriced shit every night, I had to respond to someone recently saying "we" know what Prison feels like since we've sat through a lockdown or two. A lot of people on this site are neurotic af and often so far removed from reality that I don't even think the people here saying Poor really know what that means, let alone have truly felt it. People can't wait to tell us how good X game will look on their 2000 dollar TV, we sit here and argue over absolute minutia - poor people out here working days and nights fam. Poor people got more pressing things to deal with than whether or not their SSD is being truly utilised, poor people returning their PS5 because they broke as hell and couldn't afford it, not because of cross-gen bull. Tell me what you see more of on this site?
I'm sorry if you find that rude but it's how I feel.
Yeah, but people can sell these used games at a higher price too. So, not a big problem.
I don't think people are okay with it and really just resigned to that's how it is.
I try to look at the positive side. My gaming library has never been bigger or better. Yes it sucks the cost of brand new games went up by 10.00 but I can manage it easier as my backlog keeps growing and sales can be very good within a few months of release
That I agree with.
Reviews used to provide this info years ago. Back in the 2000s but sadly they stopped. They should bring them back.
Unfortunately no argument made in this thread will make an impact on their decision. We are a very small fraction of the consumer market and we don't represent the vast majority of the others, I doubt our opinions even remotely align.
If you're unsatisfied, or unwilling, or incapable of buying a game at $70 or $80. Just set a mental price for what you're willing to pay and wait for games to drop to that point. Although I do sometimes buy games at day one, on rare occasions, there's almost never any benefit to doing so. Most AAA games are released with plenty of issues that take weeks or months to address, if ever, and you're essentially paying to roll on a slot machine and on whether or not the title will be fixed soon enough or have decent quality to play at launch.
Stop caring about FOMO. Play whichever games you own or can afford and when a game you want comes down to a more reasonable price for you buy it and enjoy it with a more stable and higher quality patch.
If you're unsatisfied, or unwilling, or incapable of buying a game at $70 or $80. Just set a mental price for what you're willing to pay and wait for games to drop to that point. Although I do sometimes buy games at day one, on rare occasions, there's almost never any benefit to doing so. Most AAA games are released with plenty of issues that take weeks or months to address, if ever, and you're essentially paying to roll on a slot machine and on whether or not the title will be fixed soon enough or have decent quality to play at launch.
Stop caring about FOMO. Play whichever games you own or can afford and when a game you want comes down to a more reasonable price for you buy it and enjoy it with a more stable and higher quality patch.
I can't imagine buying Sony games here in Australia anytime soon. You could say 'buy them later when they get cheaper' but the truth is I probably won't. It doesn't really work that way, 'later' there will be even more competition for my time and money, not less. I'm really questioning my PS5 now. Seems a bit pointless
Dude this is really not the question. It's more a matter of what is the cost/benefit of each product.
People do make threads to complain sometimes, but yea R&C will be $30 before Mario Kart 8 is $50 msrp lol.
Wait if it's so cheap to get $70 games used, what is the big deal exactly?
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this Post you made was well written You could have expressed your opinion like this the first time but instead you choose to actively Mock me.
you can disagree with people without resorting to being mean. There's no need to tear people Down.
they way you talk to people matters.
Edit. If your first post was like the content of your second post it would easily lead to actual discussion. The way you made Fun of me in your first post Had no chance to lead anywhere positive.
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Not being able to afford brand new $70 video games shouldn't be your only source of mental well-being. If it is, there are bigger issues.
You are right, there are many, many more people worse off than the majority of people on Era.
But, I mean, why are you bringing up the plight of the supposed "true poor," (i.e. a concept that primarily exists to divide the working class) as a defence for why we should just allow things to become more expensive? It makes no sense.
I think it's fair to base your purchasing decisions based on the length of a game.
I don't think it's fair to expect every game to be 30+ hours.
The price, length, and quality of a game are three seperate things. Personally, I'm sick of these massive AAA games that feature 80+ hours of "content" when over half of that content feels like filler. These games are getting bloated precisely because gamers tend to make a fuss when a game is on the shorter side regardless of the quality of that game. And so publishers demand lengthier games, which raises the price of development, which increases prices and the severity of "micro" transactions... it's a miserable cycle that is really hurting game design. I would much rather play a fantastic 20 hour experience than a good 80 hour experience that loses steam halfway through. If budget is a concern for me, and it almost always is, I will wait for sales and pick my purchases carefully.
I don't think it's fair to expect every game to be 30+ hours.
The price, length, and quality of a game are three seperate things. Personally, I'm sick of these massive AAA games that feature 80+ hours of "content" when over half of that content feels like filler. These games are getting bloated precisely because gamers tend to make a fuss when a game is on the shorter side regardless of the quality of that game. And so publishers demand lengthier games, which raises the price of development, which increases prices and the severity of "micro" transactions... it's a miserable cycle that is really hurting game design. I would much rather play a fantastic 20 hour experience than a good 80 hour experience that loses steam halfway through. If budget is a concern for me, and it almost always is, I will wait for sales and pick my purchases carefully.
I honestly think the luxury of it all is being intentionally ignored at this point. If you point it out, then you're a corporate shill who's out of touch with reality.
If you can't afford, then I guess you're waiting or finding something else. FOMO is never a valid defense to this.
It's not up to reviewers to decide how much you should pay for a video game, especially using a flawed metric like hours of gameplay.
I am confused. Like, what is stopping you from talking on Era or Twitter? The fact you think this place and others is just day 1 stuff speaks volumes. I think you become happier when you stop worrying about being in the now. You start to accept it actually doesn't matter. You know who it ultimately matters to? The corporations who spend millions and millions to make you believe you NEED to have this thing or else you will be left out. Ya know, "the movie everyone is talking about!", "Best release of the franchise so far!", "Jaw dropping!"
I completely sympathize with the angst over game prices increasing but I think it tends to derail discussion about individual games in a similar fashion to that of port begging. The very subjective question of value at a particular price point even though games in the marketplace fluctuate significantly in price all the time due to regular sales and other discounts seems even less appropriate than spamming a game's general discussion over the hopes for a port.
Nobody likes paying more for anything. I get that, I am one of them but I also have no illusions about the elasticity of demand. Based on the early data, the market is going to absorb the price increase without batting an eye. Terrific. Or not. The market for the product is what it is and the vendors should and will endeavor to charge as much as the market will allow for their goods. This hobby has never been more popular than it is today, and that trajectory continues to steepen annually as gaming becomes an even bigger part of the entertainment pie.
Someone please correct me if I am mistaken but I remember paying $69.99 for Street Fighter 2 on SNES and that's because I went to Babbage's instead of Toys R Us where it was $75. It could be recall bias but I feel like, especially adjusting for inflation, that the price of games has not increased commiserate to development costs and the changes in purchasing power of today's money. The budget for SF2 according to the internet was around $2.5 million or close to $5 million in today's adjusted dollars (not sure if marketing is included). Today's AAA releases cost as much as 20 times the adjusted amount with hundreds of millions more for marketing for the biggest franchises.
This doesn't mean I don't feel for those feeling the crunch. I haven't bought an actual physical copy of a game in years but I used to trade in constantly in order to further my hobby. That option is going away rather quickly it seems with ubiquitous high speed internet. Cannot stress how important it was for my gaming as a student when I had so little cash that I knew down to the last cent exactly how much I had on any given day. I hope we find a way to replace the used game ecosystem so that others can continue to benefit from turning over their inventory. I am also curious how much is saved per copy via digital sales vs. physical as inventory risk has been almost entirely eliminated.
Someone please correct me if I am mistaken but I remember paying $69.99 for Street Fighter 2 on SNES and that's because I went to Babbage's instead of Toys R Us where it was $75. It could be recall bias but I feel like, especially adjusting for inflation, that the price of games has not increased commiserate to development costs and the changes in purchasing power of today's money. The budget for SF2 according to the internet was around $2.5 million or close to $5 million in today's adjusted dollars (not sure if marketing is included). Today's AAA releases cost as much as 20 times the adjusted amount with hundreds of millions more for marketing for the biggest franchises.
This doesn't mean I don't feel for those feeling the crunch. I haven't bought an actual physical copy of a game in years but I used to trade in constantly in order to further my hobby. That option is going away rather quickly it seems with ubiquitous high speed internet. Cannot stress how important it was for my gaming as a student when I had so little cash that I knew down to the last cent exactly how much I had on any given day. I hope we find a way to replace the used game ecosystem so that others can continue to benefit from turning over their inventory. I am also curious how much is saved per copy via digital sales vs. physical as inventory risk has been almost entirely eliminated.
Aint that the truth. Mario Kart 8 and Astral Chain still haven't dropped in price.
I'd rather play R&C for 100 hours over and over than CoD for 1 hour.
Value of a game is what you make of it, not what game length is written on a review.
My most played game ever is Tactics Ogre Let Us Cling Together at 300 hours. Pretty sure you can complete the game in way way fewer hours than that.
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Not really. I Don't think My FOMO is That high for most things.
Exceptions Exist for Example I Really needed to see Endgame and Last of US Part 2 for Spoiler concerns But those are Rare examples.
A vast majority of Media I consume comes after the FOMO window.
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People budget, save money, get gifted money. You wind up paying way more than 400 in games. If you buys 6 games @ $70, that's already more than you paid for the console itself. The prices are nuts AND it being a price hike in the middle of a pandemic exacerbates the problem.
Because you can't have meaningful discussions about games months after release, right?
Bing bang boom.
I'm not poor but I definitely can't buy all my games at full price. I wait for sales, somtimes more than a year or two, until it hits sometimes 50% or below it's original price. I have a big backlog anyway, so I have no excuse buying more new games when old games are still waiting for me.
$70 is the charge for FOMO. Marketing is all about creating FOMO. You don't need it day 1, but it's their job to make you feel like you need it day 1. But it much later when it goes on sale and get into a habit of it.
This budget response is weird. So you budget for a $400+ item that has other expenses like online play, but you don't budget for eventual necessary additional purchases to make the original $400 thing properly work?
Well you can either pay more to have it now, or wait and get it later for cheaper. This is true of many entertainment products. If you're having a problem waiting, well....
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Yes I am aware of how things work.
FOMO is about wanting to experience things with people which while nice sometimes is often the opposite of what I'm into.
I like discussing things after the fact so the Hot Takes cool off.