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You may think it a ridiculous idea, but it's one of mine and I do believe that the price that games and consoles are set doesn't really make that much of a difference.
Ok, so going against the basic economic theory that the lower the price, the more will be bought and sold, I don't think that price will have such an effect when it comes down to people choosing which console they want to buy - notably in respect to the X Box and Game Cube systems.
Think about it - if you want an X Box because you're interested in playing the games coming out on that format, then you're going to get that console - you won't get a Game Cube because it's over £100 cheaper, will you? If you care enough about the quality of gaming, then you won't mind too much as to how much you're going to pay. One point - the X Box has DVD playback features, whereas the Game Cube does not, therefore it's my belief that the price is justified.
If you're after a particular game, say Metal Gear Solid 2, and you see it (imagine we're a month or so in the future) at around £40, you then see a game like Blue Stinger on the Dreamcast for £5 - 8 times cheaper, so which do you get? MGS2 of course. Ok, so it's criminal to even consider making a comparison between those titles, but I hope that you see my point that the price of gaming doesn't really matter, that the cost of gaming hasn't gone up at all really, and the enjoyment derived from games these days is just getting better and better.
In fact, we're getting great value for money really - you can get Dreamcast consoles with a couple of games for less than the price of a PSone, a great deal for a top console, but it brings me back to the idea that the price is never right - if we don't want to buy something, we won't. Sega put the price of the Dreamcast down so much to try and keep it 'alive' in the world of retail, but people wanted the PlayStation 2 - it didn't matter that it was up to 3 times the price of the previous at one point in time - if the consumer wants something, it's usually for a reason other than because it's good value for money.
Anyway, just a snipet of what's circulating in my mind at the moment, people will probably disagree with me, but there are gaming moments that you cannot put a price on. I for one have never completed a game only to say - "that was worth the £39.99 I paid for it!"
Cheers
I'm back, for a while
Ok, so going against the basic economic theory that the lower the price, the more will be bought and sold, I don't think that price will have such an effect when it comes down to people choosing which console they want to buy - notably in respect to the X Box and Game Cube systems.
Think about it - if you want an X Box because you're interested in playing the games coming out on that format, then you're going to get that console - you won't get a Game Cube because it's over £100 cheaper, will you? If you care enough about the quality of gaming, then you won't mind too much as to how much you're going to pay. One point - the X Box has DVD playback features, whereas the Game Cube does not, therefore it's my belief that the price is justified.
If you're after a particular game, say Metal Gear Solid 2, and you see it (imagine we're a month or so in the future) at around £40, you then see a game like Blue Stinger on the Dreamcast for £5 - 8 times cheaper, so which do you get? MGS2 of course. Ok, so it's criminal to even consider making a comparison between those titles, but I hope that you see my point that the price of gaming doesn't really matter, that the cost of gaming hasn't gone up at all really, and the enjoyment derived from games these days is just getting better and better.
In fact, we're getting great value for money really - you can get Dreamcast consoles with a couple of games for less than the price of a PSone, a great deal for a top console, but it brings me back to the idea that the price is never right - if we don't want to buy something, we won't. Sega put the price of the Dreamcast down so much to try and keep it 'alive' in the world of retail, but people wanted the PlayStation 2 - it didn't matter that it was up to 3 times the price of the previous at one point in time - if the consumer wants something, it's usually for a reason other than because it's good value for money.
Anyway, just a snipet of what's circulating in my mind at the moment, people will probably disagree with me, but there are gaming moments that you cannot put a price on. I for one have never completed a game only to say - "that was worth the £39.99 I paid for it!"
Cheers
I'm back, for a while
There have been no replies to this thread yet.
You may think it a ridiculous idea, but it's one of mine and I do believe that the price that games and consoles are set doesn't really make that much of a difference.
Ok, so going against the basic economic theory that the lower the price, the more will be bought and sold, I don't think that price will have such an effect when it comes down to people choosing which console they want to buy - notably in respect to the X Box and Game Cube systems.
Think about it - if you want an X Box because you're interested in playing the games coming out on that format, then you're going to get that console - you won't get a Game Cube because it's over £100 cheaper, will you? If you care enough about the quality of gaming, then you won't mind too much as to how much you're going to pay. One point - the X Box has DVD playback features, whereas the Game Cube does not, therefore it's my belief that the price is justified.
If you're after a particular game, say Metal Gear Solid 2, and you see it (imagine we're a month or so in the future) at around £40, you then see a game like Blue Stinger on the Dreamcast for £5 - 8 times cheaper, so which do you get? MGS2 of course. Ok, so it's criminal to even consider making a comparison between those titles, but I hope that you see my point that the price of gaming doesn't really matter, that the cost of gaming hasn't gone up at all really, and the enjoyment derived from games these days is just getting better and better.
In fact, we're getting great value for money really - you can get Dreamcast consoles with a couple of games for less than the price of a PSone, a great deal for a top console, but it brings me back to the idea that the price is never right - if we don't want to buy something, we won't. Sega put the price of the Dreamcast down so much to try and keep it 'alive' in the world of retail, but people wanted the PlayStation 2 - it didn't matter that it was up to 3 times the price of the previous at one point in time - if the consumer wants something, it's usually for a reason other than because it's good value for money.
Anyway, just a snipet of what's circulating in my mind at the moment, people will probably disagree with me, but there are gaming moments that you cannot put a price on. I for one have never completed a game only to say - "that was worth the £39.99 I paid for it!"
Cheers
I'm back, for a while
Ok, so going against the basic economic theory that the lower the price, the more will be bought and sold, I don't think that price will have such an effect when it comes down to people choosing which console they want to buy - notably in respect to the X Box and Game Cube systems.
Think about it - if you want an X Box because you're interested in playing the games coming out on that format, then you're going to get that console - you won't get a Game Cube because it's over £100 cheaper, will you? If you care enough about the quality of gaming, then you won't mind too much as to how much you're going to pay. One point - the X Box has DVD playback features, whereas the Game Cube does not, therefore it's my belief that the price is justified.
If you're after a particular game, say Metal Gear Solid 2, and you see it (imagine we're a month or so in the future) at around £40, you then see a game like Blue Stinger on the Dreamcast for £5 - 8 times cheaper, so which do you get? MGS2 of course. Ok, so it's criminal to even consider making a comparison between those titles, but I hope that you see my point that the price of gaming doesn't really matter, that the cost of gaming hasn't gone up at all really, and the enjoyment derived from games these days is just getting better and better.
In fact, we're getting great value for money really - you can get Dreamcast consoles with a couple of games for less than the price of a PSone, a great deal for a top console, but it brings me back to the idea that the price is never right - if we don't want to buy something, we won't. Sega put the price of the Dreamcast down so much to try and keep it 'alive' in the world of retail, but people wanted the PlayStation 2 - it didn't matter that it was up to 3 times the price of the previous at one point in time - if the consumer wants something, it's usually for a reason other than because it's good value for money.
Anyway, just a snipet of what's circulating in my mind at the moment, people will probably disagree with me, but there are gaming moments that you cannot put a price on. I for one have never completed a game only to say - "that was worth the £39.99 I paid for it!"
Cheers
I'm back, for a while