The "General Games Chat" forum, which includes Retro Game Reviews, has been archived and is now read-only. You cannot post here or create a new thread or review on this forum.
I don’t buy videogames very often, which is why I try to buy the best games I can when I do part with my money. However I can’t help but feel that gaming is becoming an increasingly costly hobby. Every console owner has to buy games at some stage, because otherwise there would be no point in owning a console, it would become a waste of money.
I have been playing computer games for as long as I can remember. When I was playing my Atari back in its hay day, the games even back then could be quite expensive. But there was always a good few games in a price range I could afford, that’s why I loved that computer so much, because I could afford the games, and have a good selection of titles I could play.
Then I got my SNES, now I was playing with power, or so the ads would have you believe. This was my first console, but to this day I only have around 7 or 8 games for it, most of which I got from my birthday money, or part of Christmas, simply because the cartridges were expensive to buy. And considering most games are played by teenagers, who have no job, I cant help but think that gaming is sometimes too expensive.
It seems to me like companies are increasing trying to cash in on the consumers, with high prices and low competition e.g. mmm…. PS2. I don’t think I’m in a minority here. The prices of games never seem really reasonable to me, if a CD-RW costs about 70p how can costs for games escalate to as high as £40, come on companies, start to be a little fairer on our pockets, for your own sakes if not for ours.
Why do you think people buy pirate games, because you charge too much money!
I am also an owner of an N64, god those cartridges were killers, every launch game was around £70, and even the recently released Conkers Bad Fur Day had an RRP of £60, come on Nintendo, why do you think N64 sold less than hoped? Luckily the gamecube will use optical discs, which should make them a little more affordable.
However its not just games that this problem crops up. I paid £90 for a Game Boy Advance, yeah nice graphics and portability aside, most of the release games were rehashed versions of SNES titles, I can get an emulator for free which will play the same games.
The worst thing is that there is nothing I can do about it, consoles play specific games, and if the company wants to suck as much money as the can from you, they will lunge at you with a straw. If I want to play games on my console, I have to pay the money the companies’ charge. There is no way around it, except by exploiting piracy, but that’s not what I want to talk about.
I suppose I want to see a happy medium in prices, have more budget titles for example, the playstation had a few good games in their platinum collection, but £20 made them still a bit out of reach. As for Nintendo and their players choice titles, well £30 for games which had been out for years, cheaper than the new games, but I would have to rob a bank to afford that.
Is it really so hard to take a slight drop in profit to see the customers happy? I’m sure more people will buy your console if you have more affordable games.
So, to sum up. Companies try to make products appeal to the populace who have a disposable income, and fair play, you want to make money from them. But try to spare a thought for those of us who don’t have a disposable income, we may make up more of your customers than you think.
Thanks for reading. CM :)
I have been playing computer games for as long as I can remember. When I was playing my Atari back in its hay day, the games even back then could be quite expensive. But there was always a good few games in a price range I could afford, that’s why I loved that computer so much, because I could afford the games, and have a good selection of titles I could play.
Then I got my SNES, now I was playing with power, or so the ads would have you believe. This was my first console, but to this day I only have around 7 or 8 games for it, most of which I got from my birthday money, or part of Christmas, simply because the cartridges were expensive to buy. And considering most games are played by teenagers, who have no job, I cant help but think that gaming is sometimes too expensive.
It seems to me like companies are increasing trying to cash in on the consumers, with high prices and low competition e.g. mmm…. PS2. I don’t think I’m in a minority here. The prices of games never seem really reasonable to me, if a CD-RW costs about 70p how can costs for games escalate to as high as £40, come on companies, start to be a little fairer on our pockets, for your own sakes if not for ours.
Why do you think people buy pirate games, because you charge too much money!
I am also an owner of an N64, god those cartridges were killers, every launch game was around £70, and even the recently released Conkers Bad Fur Day had an RRP of £60, come on Nintendo, why do you think N64 sold less than hoped? Luckily the gamecube will use optical discs, which should make them a little more affordable.
However its not just games that this problem crops up. I paid £90 for a Game Boy Advance, yeah nice graphics and portability aside, most of the release games were rehashed versions of SNES titles, I can get an emulator for free which will play the same games.
The worst thing is that there is nothing I can do about it, consoles play specific games, and if the company wants to suck as much money as the can from you, they will lunge at you with a straw. If I want to play games on my console, I have to pay the money the companies’ charge. There is no way around it, except by exploiting piracy, but that’s not what I want to talk about.
I suppose I want to see a happy medium in prices, have more budget titles for example, the playstation had a few good games in their platinum collection, but £20 made them still a bit out of reach. As for Nintendo and their players choice titles, well £30 for games which had been out for years, cheaper than the new games, but I would have to rob a bank to afford that.
Is it really so hard to take a slight drop in profit to see the customers happy? I’m sure more people will buy your console if you have more affordable games.
So, to sum up. Companies try to make products appeal to the populace who have a disposable income, and fair play, you want to make money from them. But try to spare a thought for those of us who don’t have a disposable income, we may make up more of your customers than you think.
Thanks for reading. CM :)
GasMask wrote:
> Get a paperound!
No way, paper rounds are crap (no offence if you have one), ive got an application form for asda, they are currently recruiting.
> Get a paperound!
No way, paper rounds are crap (no offence if you have one), ive got an application form for asda, they are currently recruiting.
I own 8 PS2 games, and i've only ever paid full price for GT3 (had to be done). I just buy them 2nd hand from Yahoo Auctions - they've all been in perfect condition and the most i've paid was £20. I even got one still in its plastic wrapper!
Why spend £35-40 when you just have to wait a month or two and you can get two for the price of one?
Why spend £35-40 when you just have to wait a month or two and you can get two for the price of one?
10. organise
> the burgulary of your house, and claim you had 50 games on the
> insurance.
My friend threw his CPU down the stairs and claimed insurance and got a better one!
> the burgulary of your house, and claim you had 50 games on the
> insurance.
My friend threw his CPU down the stairs and claimed insurance and got a better one!
Get a paperound!
Or buy pc games, I picked up Driver for £9.99 and Resident evil 2 for £7.99. BARGINS!
Get your Nintendo 64 games second hand, from a mate, buy them off SR or try to make your own ;>
If you get n64 games from shops you will pay a load, Remember Lyletwars64? (spelling wrong i know) with rumble pack in the shops on release it was £80+ Jesus i could buy n64 with about 5 games for that now!
Or just wait for GC and the games WILL be cheaper than cartridges. They better be otherwise I am sending my men round to N64 HQ
Or buy pc games, I picked up Driver for £9.99 and Resident evil 2 for £7.99. BARGINS!
Get your Nintendo 64 games second hand, from a mate, buy them off SR or try to make your own ;>
If you get n64 games from shops you will pay a load, Remember Lyletwars64? (spelling wrong i know) with rumble pack in the shops on release it was £80+ Jesus i could buy n64 with about 5 games for that now!
Or just wait for GC and the games WILL be cheaper than cartridges. They better be otherwise I am sending my men round to N64 HQ
Games are expensive due to the developemt costs. The newest games are using the latest technology and advanced programming and TIME that justifies the costs.
My top tips to game on a budget.
1. Enter competitions. a free game is the cheapest way to get it.
2. Enter all competitions. if you win a lawnmower, you can sell it and get some more games.
3. keep check on your own catalogue. sell games that you do not play anymore.
4. wait for a month after release. people get bored of their games quickly. you can pick up secondhand bargains.
5. scan swap ads. check out the games sections of www.webswappers.com
6. buy a dead machine. Megadrive and Snes games are available for 1-2 pound each.
7. be on the blag. only write letters to mags that offer games as prises. blag your way into trade events as a journalist and get tester games
8. rent games. some games arent worth £40, but you want to play them anyway? rent them.
9. have the same console as your best mate. then you can get games between you
10. organise the burgulary of your house, and claim you had 50 games on the insurance.
Hope this is of use to someone. (if you do the last one, youve never heard of me, right)
(unless you want a job done... :P)
My top tips to game on a budget.
1. Enter competitions. a free game is the cheapest way to get it.
2. Enter all competitions. if you win a lawnmower, you can sell it and get some more games.
3. keep check on your own catalogue. sell games that you do not play anymore.
4. wait for a month after release. people get bored of their games quickly. you can pick up secondhand bargains.
5. scan swap ads. check out the games sections of www.webswappers.com
6. buy a dead machine. Megadrive and Snes games are available for 1-2 pound each.
7. be on the blag. only write letters to mags that offer games as prises. blag your way into trade events as a journalist and get tester games
8. rent games. some games arent worth £40, but you want to play them anyway? rent them.
9. have the same console as your best mate. then you can get games between you
10. organise the burgulary of your house, and claim you had 50 games on the insurance.
Hope this is of use to someone. (if you do the last one, youve never heard of me, right)
(unless you want a job done... :P)
jd99 wrote:
I tend to be low on cash most of
> the time but still find ways to fund my gaming habit.
As am i, i have to use a funding procedure called "a lone from my mum", to buy a lot of my games, i still owe her £15 from my GBA purchase :(
I tend to be low on cash most of
> the time but still find ways to fund my gaming habit.
As am i, i have to use a funding procedure called "a lone from my mum", to buy a lot of my games, i still owe her £15 from my GBA purchase :(
Ha, I did a topic about this the other day except it was more irrate, one-sided and threatening. Games and all things related to it are expensive. It seems to me that the prices have increased over my lifetime but I think this is primamrily due to the fact that as we get older we want the best and newest games straight away. When I was younger Spectrum, Sega Master System and Mega drive games were never that expensive as they probably all came out of bargain bins.
I suppose that in the games developers defence the price of games is high in order to make up for the millions of pounds that go in to making a high quality game. I tend to be low on cash most of the time but still find ways to fund my gaming habit. Buy games second hand as much as possible and sell any that have been untouched on your shelf for a month or more.
I suppose that in the games developers defence the price of games is high in order to make up for the millions of pounds that go in to making a high quality game. I tend to be low on cash most of the time but still find ways to fund my gaming habit. Buy games second hand as much as possible and sell any that have been untouched on your shelf for a month or more.
I don’t buy videogames very often, which is why I try to buy the best games I can when I do part with my money. However I can’t help but feel that gaming is becoming an increasingly costly hobby. Every console owner has to buy games at some stage, because otherwise there would be no point in owning a console, it would become a waste of money.
I have been playing computer games for as long as I can remember. When I was playing my Atari back in its hay day, the games even back then could be quite expensive. But there was always a good few games in a price range I could afford, that’s why I loved that computer so much, because I could afford the games, and have a good selection of titles I could play.
Then I got my SNES, now I was playing with power, or so the ads would have you believe. This was my first console, but to this day I only have around 7 or 8 games for it, most of which I got from my birthday money, or part of Christmas, simply because the cartridges were expensive to buy. And considering most games are played by teenagers, who have no job, I cant help but think that gaming is sometimes too expensive.
It seems to me like companies are increasing trying to cash in on the consumers, with high prices and low competition e.g. mmm…. PS2. I don’t think I’m in a minority here. The prices of games never seem really reasonable to me, if a CD-RW costs about 70p how can costs for games escalate to as high as £40, come on companies, start to be a little fairer on our pockets, for your own sakes if not for ours.
Why do you think people buy pirate games, because you charge too much money!
I am also an owner of an N64, god those cartridges were killers, every launch game was around £70, and even the recently released Conkers Bad Fur Day had an RRP of £60, come on Nintendo, why do you think N64 sold less than hoped? Luckily the gamecube will use optical discs, which should make them a little more affordable.
However its not just games that this problem crops up. I paid £90 for a Game Boy Advance, yeah nice graphics and portability aside, most of the release games were rehashed versions of SNES titles, I can get an emulator for free which will play the same games.
The worst thing is that there is nothing I can do about it, consoles play specific games, and if the company wants to suck as much money as the can from you, they will lunge at you with a straw. If I want to play games on my console, I have to pay the money the companies’ charge. There is no way around it, except by exploiting piracy, but that’s not what I want to talk about.
I suppose I want to see a happy medium in prices, have more budget titles for example, the playstation had a few good games in their platinum collection, but £20 made them still a bit out of reach. As for Nintendo and their players choice titles, well £30 for games which had been out for years, cheaper than the new games, but I would have to rob a bank to afford that.
Is it really so hard to take a slight drop in profit to see the customers happy? I’m sure more people will buy your console if you have more affordable games.
So, to sum up. Companies try to make products appeal to the populace who have a disposable income, and fair play, you want to make money from them. But try to spare a thought for those of us who don’t have a disposable income, we may make up more of your customers than you think.
Thanks for reading. CM :)
I have been playing computer games for as long as I can remember. When I was playing my Atari back in its hay day, the games even back then could be quite expensive. But there was always a good few games in a price range I could afford, that’s why I loved that computer so much, because I could afford the games, and have a good selection of titles I could play.
Then I got my SNES, now I was playing with power, or so the ads would have you believe. This was my first console, but to this day I only have around 7 or 8 games for it, most of which I got from my birthday money, or part of Christmas, simply because the cartridges were expensive to buy. And considering most games are played by teenagers, who have no job, I cant help but think that gaming is sometimes too expensive.
It seems to me like companies are increasing trying to cash in on the consumers, with high prices and low competition e.g. mmm…. PS2. I don’t think I’m in a minority here. The prices of games never seem really reasonable to me, if a CD-RW costs about 70p how can costs for games escalate to as high as £40, come on companies, start to be a little fairer on our pockets, for your own sakes if not for ours.
Why do you think people buy pirate games, because you charge too much money!
I am also an owner of an N64, god those cartridges were killers, every launch game was around £70, and even the recently released Conkers Bad Fur Day had an RRP of £60, come on Nintendo, why do you think N64 sold less than hoped? Luckily the gamecube will use optical discs, which should make them a little more affordable.
However its not just games that this problem crops up. I paid £90 for a Game Boy Advance, yeah nice graphics and portability aside, most of the release games were rehashed versions of SNES titles, I can get an emulator for free which will play the same games.
The worst thing is that there is nothing I can do about it, consoles play specific games, and if the company wants to suck as much money as the can from you, they will lunge at you with a straw. If I want to play games on my console, I have to pay the money the companies’ charge. There is no way around it, except by exploiting piracy, but that’s not what I want to talk about.
I suppose I want to see a happy medium in prices, have more budget titles for example, the playstation had a few good games in their platinum collection, but £20 made them still a bit out of reach. As for Nintendo and their players choice titles, well £30 for games which had been out for years, cheaper than the new games, but I would have to rob a bank to afford that.
Is it really so hard to take a slight drop in profit to see the customers happy? I’m sure more people will buy your console if you have more affordable games.
So, to sum up. Companies try to make products appeal to the populace who have a disposable income, and fair play, you want to make money from them. But try to spare a thought for those of us who don’t have a disposable income, we may make up more of your customers than you think.
Thanks for reading. CM :)