Overpriced Games

[Cay]

Some games today are awfully overpriced for what they're worth. Some that come to mind are Aliens: Colonial Marines, ARMA 3, and games like that. Do you agree? Post your thoughts here.

 

[pkmin3033]

Nearly all games these days are overpriced, in my opinion. I realise that high street retailers need to make a profit because otherwise they'd go out of business, but I personally refuse to pay over £40 for a console game or over £30 for a handeld game. I only partially subscribe to the idea that you should pay less for games that take you less time to finish - quality is not measured in quantity, and there are things like replay value etc. to consider - but I don't think you should ever be paying more than half the RRP for a game with a 10 hour story mode. The maximum RRP itself needs to be lowered by at least £15. When most AAA titles have overpriced DLC and season passes and what have you charging us full RRP for an incomplete game is absurd.

Kotaku UK wrote a very interesting article some time ago about why we pay what we pay for games that I found quite interesting, though. I can see the conclusions reached, but as a penny pinching consumer I don't have to like it, and I will NEVER accept digital store pricing. Retailers charging full RRP, I can understand. Online stores? Fuck off, you greedy bastards.

 

[JJ Styles]

Believe it or not, Pokemon Black and White (1 and 2) are still being sold in some of our stores and they are still almost the same price as any of the Gen 6 games. I'm not exactly sure why and much of the services that were featured in Gen 5 are already long gone.

Also, blame F2P gaming.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

It goes with how the gaming industry operates now.
People will buy AAA games just because they are AAA. So developers will obviously abuse it and set up price not equal to the content.
It will get even worse in the next generation imo. Until people stop buying instead of complaining, nothing will change.

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

Evolve is a prime example of video game pricing gone wrong. Essentially, through the games microtransactions, you pay $180 for a "complete" game. Might as well change "micro" to "macro" in the case of these ingame transactions....

 

[Keiran]

I remember paying $60 for N64 games back in the 90s, so I don't feel most games are overpriced today since they're all in the same price range they were 20 years ago. I think the problem arises when a game has a lot of its content locked behind DLC and microtransactions.

 

[Killua]

cof cof black ops 3 cof cof arma 3 cof cof

 

[Necrum]

A large part of the reason that games get such a high cost has nothing to do with developing the game, but with advertising the game. A large chunk goes toward advertising, something that is easier and also less necessary now with the advent of the Let's Play and social media. Prices remain so high because the standard has been set and so the companies can get away with continuing to charge so much, even if the cost is no longer true. It's evil and a large part of why I mostly buy games by indie devs and PC games, which tend to have a more reasonable pricing.

 

[Professor_Jared]

EA's Star Wars Battlefront, because it's essentially an unfinished game that they're charging a ridiculous 60 bucks for, and milking the hell out of with even more overpriced DLC.

 

[Mr.Prinz]

Do you know "The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct" that game with Daryl Dixon? No? Thank god.
This game was the worst thing I've played in the past years and is still being sold at a high price (40€).

 

[Eden]

The way I see it is if I get about half of what I spent for the game in hours (so basically $2/every hour) then I consider it money well spent. However that having been said, buying a game for full price ($60) almost always feels like a gamble.

 

[Yukari]

I feel like most triple A games don't really have enough content to justify a $60 price tag. I don't really play them much at all anymore, but... The stories I've heard. :/

 

[Alex]

The industry has grown so much, and kids are able to convince their parents to buy games no matter what the cost... so the demand is there, and so is the money to pay for it... why not slowly drive the price up? And that's exactly what's happened over the past twenty years or so. I think it's too much to be charging $70-$80 for the latest AAA titles. It's too much.

It's why I like Steam and computer gaming tbh. Steam spoils me with deals I can't resist.

 

[Klippy]

Gotta agree with Marz. Can't see myself returning to console gaming ever again. I'm barely even touching my Wii U these days, despite loving it. :( PC gaming is just vastly superior and with sales so frequent, it's hard to justify any other gaming lately.

 

[Firebolt]

In Australia, almost everything is overpriced, so you kinda get used to it :P However, the biggest thing that has pushed me away from console gaming (I only own a 3DS and a laptop; no PS3/4 or X360/1) is that you pay full price for a quarter of the game. It's like a meme I saw; 10 years ago, when you bought a game, it's like buying a burger with meat, lettuce, tomato, cheese, the whole lot! DLC was like the mustard and ranch sauce on top. These days, when you buy a game, it's like you bought the bread and maybe some meat, and you get the tomato, lettuce, sauce, etc. in the DLC, which you pay extra for. I don't have a problem with paying full price for games (after all, they're only improving in terms of graphics and complexity, so it costs more to hire people to do the job), but what I hate is paying full price for something and then paying almost just as much on DLC just to enjoy the game. That's the quickest way for me to ditch an entire franchise completely.
EDIT: Pay-to-win is pretty bad too IMHO, especially the gambling sort where you might get the item that makes you better than everyone else.

 

[Satoshi Ookami]

It's like a meme I saw; 10 years ago, when you bought a game, it's like buying a burger with meat, lettuce, tomato, cheese, the whole lot! DLC was like the mustard and ranch sauce on top. These days, when you buy a game, it's like you bought the bread and maybe some meat, and you get the tomato, lettuce, sauce, etc. in the DLC, which you pay extra for. I don't have a problem with paying full price for games (after all, they're only improving in terms of graphics and complexity, so it costs more to hire people to do the job), but what I hate is paying full price for something and then paying almost just as much on DLC just to enjoy the game. That's the quickest way for me to ditch an entire franchise completely.
EDIT: Pay-to-win is pretty bad too IMHO, especially the gambling sort where you might get the item that makes you better than everyone else.

Here, at your service =D

 

[Firebolt]

Here, at your service =D

That's the one! I should've just done a quick Google search :P

 

[Candy]

Overpriced games is the only reason I resort to piracy for AAA games on the PC.

They're just waaayyy too much.

 

[El Héroe Oscuro]

Overall though, I have mixed feelings about game prices. Do I feel like $60 is a lot for a single game that may or may not be good? Sure. However, if you're patient enough, price drops and sales tend to offset that opinion of mine as you can generally pick them up for $30 down the line. It's all a matter of how patient one can be imo.