Prices of Games

[ZickyJackz]

They're rather pricey, but what can We really do? They got our balls in a vice.

 

[SenseOfTumour]

The amount of work needed to program a 2600 games probably goes into modelling a wheel or an NPC's eyebrow nowadays.

You've obviously never programmed for an Atari 2600. Those things only had a 1.19MHz processor and 128 bytes (yeah, bytes) of RAM. All sorts of hacks were needed to make anything even resembling a game. Cartridges started with a limit of 4k, but ways were found around that (bank switching).

Right now, sitting next to me on my desk is a HCS12C32 microcontroller kit, with 32k of flash ROM and 2K of RAM. Programming that to do anything useful is pretty hard with those limits (try fitting a TCP/IP stack in 2K of RAM).

Making games has become much easier, but not cheaper. But games ship an order of magnitude more copies now. The price of an individual unit is not a good measure of how how much work goes into a game; the studios set the price before they even start making the game.

At which point do you say it's too much? 60USD? 80USD? 100USD?

Over here in Australia, most games start at 99.95AUD, with PS3 titles at 109.95AUD. Many games are appearing for 119.95 now and that's just regular editions. Expect to pay at 30-50AUD on top of that for special editions.

the real question though, is if game dev/distribution costs were to go down significantly, how much of a drop in price can we really expect?

You're right, and I entirely admit my ignorance in terms of programming, I more meant that nowadays you need teams of dozens of people working for years to fill a DVD, when back then, while difficult, at least wasn't such a huge job. I agree with your point however.

As for if costs came down, I don't believe there'd be some massive price drop in games, however this isn't my usual cynicism, I'd hope that they'd keep the prices the same and use the profits to invest in more risky , more creative, and more 'niche' titles. At present, they're pretty much forced to knock out sequels and dumb action games to stay afloat.

 

[YouShouldDeleteThisAccount]

As a New Zealand gamer, I feel a big squeeze from the industry because of the prices. Everything has to be shipped here, and the currency exchange ain't so flash. It's made an even harder pill to swallow, because of how much of the money in a game sale DOESN'T go to the creators. I buy games to support developers dammit, not hyper-capitalist executives.

So, I largely buy things from Steam Sales, or I buy promising indie games. My next planned purchase is "Amnesia: The Dark Descent" an indie horror game from Frictional Games.

Speaking of which, if you liked Penumbra, check it out, looks awesome.

 

[Foxbat Flyer]

Prices have gone up, and that will push them toward pirating which puts the prices up more to cover the loss which makes more pirating and so on and so on... Im pissed off about it too, all the games i want are all still at release price after 4 months. Modern Warfare 2 is only AUD$10 less than release price and the first modern warfare is the same price!

 

[superbatranger]

Games where I live cost between 80 and 110 dollars. Makes my wallet cry every time.

 

[gamer_parent]

You're right, and I entirely admit my ignorance in terms of programming, I more meant that nowadays you need teams of dozens of people working for years to fill a DVD, when back then, while difficult, at least wasn't such a huge job. I agree with your point however.

As for if costs came down, I don't believe there'd be some massive price drop in games, however this isn't my usual cynicism, I'd hope that they'd keep the prices the same and use the profits to invest in more risky , more creative, and more 'niche' titles. At present, they're pretty much forced to knock out sequels and dumb action games to stay afloat.

oh don't get me wrong, I don't know much about assembly code either nor do I really know what programmers of the old had to go through to get a game out. (Though, I imagine the process is probably has a lot more freedom but a lot more tedium too)

 

[Dys]

$60 USD. If you don't like the prices, don't buy the product. If you still want it, buy used or save your money like the cool people do.

$60USD is considerably less than publishers/stores will ask if they think they can squeeze more money from you. In Australia, new games start at around $88USD, which is a bit rough when they can be imported (but, if you own a wii or xbox 360 not played) for around $65USD. Anyone else confused as to why core gamers in Australia feel a little hard done by?

 

[ScottocS]

After recently grabbing a PS3 (longtime and current PC player) It seems my money doesn't go very far when I decide what games I "WONT" be buying. I feel your hardship OP, but imagine living in AUS/NZ. We pay between AU $90-$120 for a brand new game, like stated before even up to two or three years after release.

Finally picked up Red Dead for PS3 the other day. Got it for under the RRP because of the EB "manager's pick" special. Love it when the price comes down even just $20 dollars or so.

 

[RicoADF]

I was looking at some prices of new games today, and I was surprised to see most of them up at CAD 69.99. Personally, I am ok with paying between 49.99 and 59.99 for new games, but 69.99 seems like way too much. I do understand people will buy them regardless, I am just curious when the price climb will stop. I also understand we are in the more advanced age of gaming and technology, so prices will be up a bit.

Just curious if any one else thinks this way, or if I am ranting all on my own haha.

What are the USD prices?

Aussie prices are $90-$100 for PC games and around $110 for consoles, so tbh quite complaining, thats cheap over here!

 

[MMMowman]

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha... (5 minutes later)... Ha Ha Ha Ha... you got to be kidding me right? Australian video games are DOUBLE that. Even with the exchange rate we pay way more than the rest of the world.

 

[dawdarsd]

Just wait before you buy - unless a game is a top seller it will drop in price within a couple of months max; probably before. It's rediculous how cheap current gen games are now. There's plenty of games I haven't played that are a bit older and which cost very little. I'll by them cheap and by the time I want some more games the newer ones will (hopefully) ahve dropped in price as well.

lol i bought the orange box like 3 years ago and now i remember there was once 70 percent off on steam

 

[SinisterGehe]

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha... (5 minutes later)... Ha Ha Ha Ha... you got to be kidding me right? Australian video games are DOUBLE that. Even with the exchange rate we pay way more than the rest of the world.

Well you have these people, what was hes name this old grumpy fella who wanted was it ban violent video games?
Yeah sorry for you guys at least you got sun.
We in Finland don't and when we do it is a problem.
In Finland all consoles/games/computer parts etc. That got something to do with Media/games been priced by changing $ to ? (take a note just the mark, not the value) And slapping few cheesy euros on top.

 

[PatrickXD]

PC games are very good prices, but the console counterparts, which often have worse graphics and less content, are up to double the price. (I'm looking at you, Gears of War)

 

[thom_cat_]

I just buy my games off Steam, so I get it much cheaper than buying the boxed versions. Game prices here in AUS are ridiculous.

 

[Continuity]

I was looking at some prices of new games today, and I was surprised to see most of them up at CAD 69.99. Personally, I am ok with paying between 49.99 and 59.99 for new games, but 69.99 seems like way too much. I do understand people will buy them regardless, I am just curious when the price climb will stop. I also understand we are in the more advanced age of gaming and technology, so prices will be up a bit.

Just curious if any one else thinks this way, or if I am ranting all on my own haha.

What are the USD prices?

Uk prices are about £3-£15 per game, assuming you wait a year or two and then pick them up in a steam sale. Some AAA titles will hold a higher price, maybe £25.

So for PC games, prices are actually down, so I'm not sure your theory "understand we are in the more advanced age of gaming and technology, so prices will be up a bit" holds water.

 

[Jenova65]

I get PC games, so they run about 40 euros for new releases, which is pretty good.

I still think that if they dropped the price 10 euros for everything they'd see a dramatic reduction in piracy. I have to buy used often because I just don't have the money for new.

I buy a lot of my games pre owned anyway, tbh, because there aren't many games I must have on the day of release (Mass Effect, Star Ocean, FF for example) Plus I love a bargain.

OT - I think if you compare the price of a new movie, from £11 - £20-ish in the UK for approximately 1 - 2 hours of entertainment the prices of games 'per hour's entertainment', value is pretty good at roughly £35-40 for a normal game and £50-70 for CE's. I paid £55 for Star Ocean CE and so far have had over 400 hours (and still playing) entertainment from it and not bored yet. It has given me more hours of fun per pound than any movie I have ever bought Also despite initial fears at the beginning of this generation of games consoles, games are roughly what they were on GC, PS2 and Xbox for new releases and GC were notorious for holding their value :-O

 

[irequirefood]

You should feel lucky you don't live in Australia. Brand new big games tend to go for $109.95-$119.95. And that's just the standard editions. Smaller games with be cheaper but usually only $20 at most. This is why I haven't been buying games lately, though my recent employment should see a rise in new games purchased.

 

[Altorin]

my EB games has used Alpha Protocol for 65 dollars.

I cried a little inside.

 

[aaron552]

The amount of work needed to program a 2600 games probably goes into modelling a wheel or an NPC's eyebrow nowadays.

You've obviously never programmed for an Atari 2600. Those things only had a 1.19MHz processor and 128 bytes (yeah, bytes) of RAM. All sorts of hacks were needed to make anything even resembling a game. Cartridges started with a limit of 4k, but ways were found around that (bank switching).

Right now, sitting next to me on my desk is a HCS12C32 microcontroller kit, with 32k of flash ROM and 2K of RAM. Programming that to do anything useful is pretty hard with those limits (try fitting a TCP/IP stack in 2K of RAM).

Making games has become much easier, but not cheaper. But games ship an order of magnitude more copies now. The price of an individual unit is not a good measure of how how much work goes into a game; the studios set the price before they even start making the game.

At which point do you say it's too much? 60USD? 80USD? 100USD?

Over here in Australia, most games start at 99.95AUD, with PS3 titles at 109.95AUD. Many games are appearing for 119.95 now and that's just regular editions. Expect to pay at 30-50AUD on top of that for special editions.

the real question though, is if game dev/distribution costs were to go down significantly, how much of a drop in price can we really expect?

I'd say none or next to no decrease. The publishers already have really high margins, if costs decrease, that means more profit for them.

 

[Mandalore_15]

$60 USD. If you don't like the prices, don't buy the product. If you still want it, buy used or save your money like the cool people do.

There's no need to be a sanctimonious ****. People are perfectly entitled to complain about the price of games, and well, anything... I'm sure you've probably bitched about the cost of petrol, public transport, cinema admission, etc. etc. But hey, if you don't like the prices you just don't buy the product, right? Cut the guy a break.