Games are too Pricey?

[Dave]

I say this because I work in a supermarket as a team leader in the field of video games and technology. With Christmas coming up, I expected Microsoft and Sony to go nuts and have games come out as discounted prices. I didn't expect it of Call of Duty because it is going to sell and has sold at full price since it was released. However, I have been thinking about it and thought to myself that if Call Of Duty is indeed the paradigm of what is a great game this Christmas, how can it be justifiable that all the other games developers charge full price as well. I am of the impression that Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is and will be the biggest seeling game of the holiday period and it would make more sense to reduce the price of games that are not on the same standard.

However, I am not dumb or naive. I know that developers will claim that the game they have put out has had the same amount of work attached to it and they deserve to get paid as much as those who made Modern Warfare 2. The thing is though, they have promised us that the price of video games would drop as the recession took it's toll and home entertainment became more and more prevalent. So far, in my professional opinion, this is not the case. Far from it. In fact, we recently received an RRP statement from Microsoft and Infinity Ward to tell us to resell Modern Warfare, the original for slightly MORE than the new release. I was just shocked. It just seems that games developers are taking the piss now and are taking us all for saps. I don't know but I am quite annoyed that we have been promised cheaper games only to be hit with more expensive ones.

 

[Lee]

Games used to be £70 thereabouts for the NES and Megadrive, it was the point where you'd only get one game a year as a whole. Now people get new games as much as monthly, mostly four or five times a year. Gaming isn't too expensive, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than it was. The companies need to make their money somewhere and they're not making it off the hardware.

 

[Dave]

Games used to be £70 thereabouts for the NES and Megadrive, it was the point where you'd only get one game a year as a whole. Now people get new games as much as monthly, mostly four or five times a year. Gaming isn't too expensive, it's a heck of a lot cheaper than it was. The companies need to make their money somewhere and they're not making it off the hardware.

That may or may not be true but it is still no excuse for broken promises and lies on the part of video game publishers. It's fine to say that 10-15 years ago that things were more expensive but how is that even relevant to what we are getting today? Take laptops for example. Not even 5 years ago, you were talking over £1000 for a crappy laptop that most people would take now if you were giving it to them for free. The distinction between them is that when things are mass produced and the material to make them gets less expensive, those saving should be passed on to the customer. My laptop, that I think is pretty good was £450 and that is perfectly reasonable for something like that. However, considering that American are getting their games for $40 at times, I can't help but feel slightly ripped off. Now, I am not blaming it on Americans, far from it.

The thing is, games can be mass produced and for smaller fees than ever before. I'll tell you exactly what it is, it's companies trying to squeeze every possible penny from you instead of having the games coming out at reasonable prices. If they sold them for £30, they would still be making a profit, make no mistake. The would also get more sales and to me it just looks as though they are being greedy and trying to extort us.

 

[Blade]

I don't think gaming is that expensive, to be honest. Not to the point where I'm not willing to pay for a new game if I want it. I think that the price of these things should come down to utility, as in how much satisfaction and such you get for them.

Look ay DVD's. Over here, a new DVD in Xtra-Vision is about €15-€20. Assuming it's a one disc movie. Whole Seasons of TV shows can cost up to €75, depending how much is in them. But a new release movie will be about €20.
Now, a newly released game costs about €60 euro on average here. And considering how much more enjoyment we get out of a great game compared to a great movie, I think it's pretty fair. A great game can be 5 - 30 times longer than a movie, and is usually much more entertaining. So, I think compared to other media, the price of games is pretty fair. And not just in the enjoyment we get out of it, but considering the cutting edge technology that modern games are made with, I really can't complain, to be honest.

 

[One Punch Doug Crashin]

for the most part I think that games have gotten a little too pricy. for example in MMO's you have to actually buy the game first then purchase a subscription for it. why should I have to pay $50 then $20 for a monthly subscription? same thing with console games. the majority of console games are $60+tax a lot of people can not afford the $60.. if games were lets say $40 like they were back in the day then people wouldn't complain.