clarinetJWD said:
If you don't pay "Console Tax" games are the same price they've been as long as I can remember. Always $50 retail, ~$40-50 for new games actual price.
Syndef: don't know where you're getting that...N64 games were more than the current gen in a lot of cases, and Super Mario 3 was $60 new... PC Games have been $50 as long as I can remember.
clarinetJWD is right. I'm 28 and game prices have ALWAYS been about $50 for consoles, with the exception of the N64, which had TWO launch games, which were both $70. And Mario64 didn't really ever drop in price either.
NES games were $50 when new. $50 is how it has been for 25 years. Games have now increased their budgets to millions of dollars, yet the price of new games has not risen with the price of inflation.
Personally, I'll rent most games that I don't think I'll replay, like Bioshock or Mirror's Edge or most of the crap out there. I'll wait for games I'm interested in, but don't like the price point, to go down to where I'll pay for it. Like Soul Calibur IV is worth $30 to me. I'll buy when it's $30. Some games I'll pay full price for right away, like Fallout 3, because I knew I'd get my money's worth.
But the price point is going to be whatever we're willing to pay. We should ALL be complaining about 360 Gold Membership, because the other consoles and PC have free online services, but 360 still has them beat in install base and community. Steam is great and expanding, but it's still only on PC. PS3 has shitty online support, and Wii is almost nonexistent with it's online capacity. The 360 doesn't even have a web browser, but the other consoles do. Plus, we all have 3 years of Gamerscore, which is the only legacy that we have for all the time and money we've wasted on games. It means something, and I know it's hard for people to leave behind. (I don't care, but I know most people do)
But now the 360 has Netflix, so it's still going to be $50 a year plus your Netflix unlimited subscription, so for me, at $16.99 a month, plus $50 a year, I'm shelling out over $250 a year for my online privileges through Xbox. (yes, I got Netflix specifically because of NXE, and I complain, but so far I don't regret it)
All that so I can watch a few movies and have 11 year olds with high pitch voices scream racial epitaphs at me when I actually venture online. We PAY for this. Why? Because we have no other alternative. Video games used to be a refuge from social abuse.
This just shows you something, the price only falls when there's competition. Competition means the consumer wins. Price goes down, quality and standards go up. Wii has won this console war and the quality of Wii games has taken a dive. 360 still has the core gamers, and the price of being a core gamer has gone up because they don't have serious competition when it comes to the core gamers.
