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Today I ask another question that needs to be asked:
Are consolegames too expensive and can their price be justified??? What do you think???
I remember the good old days of my Commodore64, I'd shell out the cash for a game every week or too, back then it only cost £2.99 for a game on budget, and people rarely brought the highly priced newest games (£10), although I admit I brought one…Golden Axe… a cracking game from Sega. Even then games were starting to get pricey, with NES games being the most expensive. Myself I moved quickly from the C64 to a Commodore Amiga, games on this system could cost up to £30, but then the games came on DoubleSidedDoubleDensity Floppy Disks an expensive medium which loaded a lot quicker than a C64 Cassette tape. However it wasn't till the advent of the Sega Megadrive and SuperNintendo that prices rocketed. When Capcoms Streetfighter II game came out on the SNES people were paying up to £80 for it (More for the faster imported US version). Ofcourse Streetfighter II was one of the best games available at the time, it was also on a cartridge and so had no loading time… in terms of hours of fun this game certainly made up for its price. I still remember when the import version was on display at the local shop - which became jam packed with kids wanting to play this virtually arcade perfect conversion for free.
The price could then be partly justified by the media - Cartridges, much as the cost of PerfectDark on the N64 can be justified today! However with the latest machines (PS1, PS2, Dreamcast) using the cheap Compact Disc media can the price of the games on these systems be justified. Should we pay up to £40 for the latest games???? What do you think????
Are consolegames too expensive and can their price be justified??? What do you think???
I remember the good old days of my Commodore64, I'd shell out the cash for a game every week or too, back then it only cost £2.99 for a game on budget, and people rarely brought the highly priced newest games (£10), although I admit I brought one…Golden Axe… a cracking game from Sega. Even then games were starting to get pricey, with NES games being the most expensive. Myself I moved quickly from the C64 to a Commodore Amiga, games on this system could cost up to £30, but then the games came on DoubleSidedDoubleDensity Floppy Disks an expensive medium which loaded a lot quicker than a C64 Cassette tape. However it wasn't till the advent of the Sega Megadrive and SuperNintendo that prices rocketed. When Capcoms Streetfighter II game came out on the SNES people were paying up to £80 for it (More for the faster imported US version). Ofcourse Streetfighter II was one of the best games available at the time, it was also on a cartridge and so had no loading time… in terms of hours of fun this game certainly made up for its price. I still remember when the import version was on display at the local shop - which became jam packed with kids wanting to play this virtually arcade perfect conversion for free.
The price could then be partly justified by the media - Cartridges, much as the cost of PerfectDark on the N64 can be justified today! However with the latest machines (PS1, PS2, Dreamcast) using the cheap Compact Disc media can the price of the games on these systems be justified. Should we pay up to £40 for the latest games???? What do you think????
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Well the best thing to do at the moment is to go and buy it second hand, in most shops like EB second hand shops might have more choice though.
Another idea to buy cheap games is to buy online, maybe it's not the safest or fastests way to buy them but sometimes they are more cheaper than the shops.
Another idea to buy cheap games is to buy online, maybe it's not the safest or fastests way to buy them but sometimes they are more cheaper than the shops.
Why do Vids and DVD's not follow the same path... if I'm looking to buy an old film on DVD, chances are I'd have to pay full price...
Although this could be due to the MUCH shorter lifespan of computergames... people still talk about Elite... but would anyone go out and buy it for 15 quid?
This still doesnt explain why PC games drop in price, whilst console games retina their price for the lifetime of the machine? Is it because the spec of the machine doesnt change, and therefore the games lifespan is the same as that of the console, whereas PC games lifespan as as long as their popularity?
Although this could be due to the MUCH shorter lifespan of computergames... people still talk about Elite... but would anyone go out and buy it for 15 quid?
This still doesnt explain why PC games drop in price, whilst console games retina their price for the lifetime of the machine? Is it because the spec of the machine doesnt change, and therefore the games lifespan is the same as that of the console, whereas PC games lifespan as as long as their popularity?
I think if it's an online game, then the developers can name their own price, £40 and upwards, because those who get it first can get a head start in the online version and rule the arena. As time goes on, these games quite naturally drop in price because the goldrush for first place has subsided.
With other games, not played online, again £40 is reasonable unless you end up with a real duffer, but experience often tells you which games are bad and which aren't.
Alternatively, you can wait 3-6 months after the release of ANY game and buy it half price, or shop around the stores and the web and buy it half price a few weeks after it is released if you are so inclined.
So the price we pay is up to us. If we are the 'must have' type of gamer who must get the latest releases straight away, then be prepared to fork out, at least that way you are supporting the games industry and trying to ensure that future releases will be of the same if not better quality. For the rest of us, having a game a few months after release ain't all that bad, is it?
With other games, not played online, again £40 is reasonable unless you end up with a real duffer, but experience often tells you which games are bad and which aren't.
Alternatively, you can wait 3-6 months after the release of ANY game and buy it half price, or shop around the stores and the web and buy it half price a few weeks after it is released if you are so inclined.
So the price we pay is up to us. If we are the 'must have' type of gamer who must get the latest releases straight away, then be prepared to fork out, at least that way you are supporting the games industry and trying to ensure that future releases will be of the same if not better quality. For the rest of us, having a game a few months after release ain't all that bad, is it?
Computer developers dont have to spend 20million on a top name star either....
although I suspect that the price is sometimes used to cover the losses of less successful games...
However when you look at the number of new ocmputer games released eath month compaired to the number of big budget films...
although I suspect that the price is sometimes used to cover the losses of less successful games...
However when you look at the number of new ocmputer games released eath month compaired to the number of big budget films...
Shocking C3PO, but then there is some cost to game development, marketing, transport and so forth and of course Tax....although your point is taken that at this price the DVD games could drop in price, especially in the high street where they regularly try to sell you games at nothing but the RecommendedRetailPrice (i.e. with no discount)!
Theres also the argument that more money goes into making games today than before, this is a valid argument, however we also have to bear in mind that the Videogame industry is now worth more than the Hollywood movie industry, and Hollywood although also spending millions on most movies still manages to sell us the finished products at an affordable price (Most DVD movies can be picked up for only £20).
Also although you can argue a lot of money goes into the initial development of an original game, not as effort and so as much money goes into developing a sequel.
Also although you can argue a lot of money goes into the initial development of an original game, not as effort and so as much money goes into developing a sequel.
Your right it'd never happen... but as I said before whos reviews would you use? Nobody seems to think the same two things about the same game... Some people LOVED Star Trek : Voyager Elite Force... Other people hated it, Diablo2 got some pretty average reviews and some 'greatest games in the world' awards... who would choose which reviews reflected which price?
Grix Thraves : As long as your single... as soon as your g/f or wife spots a coputer mag with a skantily clad vixen on the front, questions are asked! :)
Grix Thraves : As long as your single... as soon as your g/f or wife spots a coputer mag with a skantily clad vixen on the front, questions are asked! :)
Another thing that annoys me is that prices of the PC versions of many console games although initially as expensive as their console equivalents always drop in price by about 50% only 6 months after release, this rarely happens with the console versions. Also the argument that there are more PCs, and so a bigger userbase doesn't hold true because only PC owners with the latest fastest systems can play the latest groundbreaking games.
er-no has a good point if the price of a game was related to the % it got in reviews then we wouldnt get annoyed when we bought a rubbish game because it was the cheapest one...what do you expect!, its just unfortunate that this would never happen...and certainly not in the high street, because if it did rubbish games would just be released without being given to the games magazines to review. Of course the games mags would also be given money to rate games higher. In principle its good, but I fear it would never work in practice.
er-no has a good point if the price of a game was related to the % it got in reviews then we wouldnt get annoyed when we bought a rubbish game because it was the cheapest one...what do you expect!, its just unfortunate that this would never happen...and certainly not in the high street, because if it did rubbish games would just be released without being given to the games magazines to review. Of course the games mags would also be given money to rate games higher. In principle its good, but I fear it would never work in practice.
It always has a nice picture on the front... I'll give you that... : )
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