$60 console games

[Joe Siegler]

Looks like the next generation of console games will have a price point of $60 (as opposed to the current $50). Evidence:

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/ads/shops/xbox360/

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/ads/shops/playstation3/

These lists of Xbox 360 games and PS3 games all show what I assume will be launch titles, at $59.95. I can't say I'm surprised by that.

Looks like I'll be waiting for the "discount bin" unless it's a mega uber title. $60 a pop is a lot of dough.

[Kristian Joensen]

Will you have to wait for the discount bin ?'

Won't you be getting the games for free ?

[JackpotDen]

not to be rude, but aren't you rich?

[KillerByte]

Console games over here are usually priced between £30-£40 ($54-$72). If the next-gen console games are priced closer to £50 ($90), based on the fact that publishers prefer to charge an almost $-to-£ ratio rather than convert the currencies properly, I won't be happy. I already feel that the current price is too expensive.

However, isn't this purely speculation at this point based on quotes from EBgames.com? Aren't they one of the main offenders for giving DNF release dates? http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

[Orochi Avlis]

Kristian Joensen said:
Won't you be getting the games for free ?


He gets free PC games.

[Kristian Joensen]

JackpotDen said:
not to be rude, but aren't you rich?



No I am not, what makes you think that ?

[Eddy Willson]

Kristian Joensen said:
No I am not, what makes you think that ?



I beleive he was refering to Joe http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[KillerByte]

Kristian Joensen said:

JackpotDen said:
not to be rude, but aren't you rich?



No I am not, what makes you think that ?



I think this question was directed at Joe. However, since he clicked on the Reply button in your post it looks like he's directing it at you. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/doh.gif

[K T Ong]

It's just too expensive.

I'm sticking to PC games, as I always did.

[Cerberus_e]

pc games will also be $60.
according to EA games http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Duoae]

WHAT?!! It's not like the quality of PC games is touted to suddenly jump like it's supposed to on the next gen consoles.....

[motionblur]

Joe3DR said:
Looks like the next generation of console games will have a price point of $60 (as opposed to the current $50). Evidence:

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/ads/shops/xbox360/

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/ads/shops/playstation3/

These lists of Xbox 360 games and PS3 games all show what I assume will be launch titles, at $59.95. I can't say I'm surprised by that.

Looks like I'll be waiting for the "discount bin" unless it's a mega uber title. $60 a pop is a lot of dough.


I can only repeat myself: PS2 games in Germany cost 60€ (~65$US) from the beginning. And PS3 titles - I asume - will be at 70€ maybe ... ?
Games are pretty cheap in the US compared to where I live. And for paying more we often get badly adapted PAL versions ... so I don't really feel upset about a 60$ price tag. I wished games were as cheap as in US or UK or ... wherever. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Joe Siegler]

JackpotDen said:
not to be rude, but aren't you rich?



Not in the least. I make far less than you probably think I do.

I get a good amount of my games once they've hit $20. And as was speculated before, yeah - I do get a lot of free games (both console & PC) from friends who work at other game companies. I don't get every game for free, only ones from companies I have some "connection" at.

But this thread isn't supposed to be about me. It's supposed to be about a new price point for console games, folks.

[Joe Siegler]

Duoae said:
WHAT?!! It's not like the quality of PC games is touted to suddenly jump like it's supposed to on the next gen consoles.....



It's more about recouping costs. Since games are bigger, more complex, and take more staff to complete, the cost is in higher games. That's partially why some PC games are now listing for $54.95, instead of the old $49.95.

That goes for PC games too - it's not a console exclusive thing.

[jimbob]

they are already selling AAA titles for 60 bucks here (console versions) so i gues they wil get another 10 bucks more expensive. glad to be a PC gamer. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Joe Siegler]

jimbob said:
they are already selling AAA titles for 60 bucks here (console versions) so i gues they wil get another 10 bucks more expensive. glad to be a PC gamer. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Again, don't think you'll get off cheap, just because you play games on a PC. The price issue will eventually get there, too. It's already started to an extent as I mentioned above with the $54.95 price point.

[Joe Siegler]

motionblur said:
I can only repeat myself: PS2 games in Germany cost 60€ (~65$US) from the beginning. And PS3 titles - I asume - will be at 70€ maybe ... ?
Games are pretty cheap in the US compared to where I live. And for paying more we often get badly adapted PAL versions ... so I don't really feel upset about a 60$ price tag. I wished games were as cheap as in US or UK or ... wherever. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif



Am I reading this right - you think that it's increasing just over here? I think it's pretty naieve to think it will increase here, and not elsewhere, too.

[jimbob]

Joe3DR said:

jimbob said:
they are already selling AAA titles for 60 bucks here (console versions) so i gues they wil get another 10 bucks more expensive. glad to be a PC gamer. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif



Again, don't think you'll get off cheap, just because you play games on a PC. The price issue will eventually get there, too. It's already started to an extent as I mentioned above with the $54.95 price point.

it might, but right now the console games here are signifficantly more expensive compared to the same PCgame versions. pcgames i can pick up for 10 or 20 bucks are still easily 30 to 40 bucks for console.

only thing that makes PC gaming more expensive are the hardware replacements, but even that beats getting a brand new Console every 3 years.

[Joe Siegler]

Console upgrades really aren't every three years, although this new cycle is heading that way.

Please don't turn this thread into Console vs. PC. That's a no-no topic, as it can't be discussed rationally.

And I'm pretty convinced the price point for PC games will go up, I don't think there's any doubt of it - it's just when.

[ZuljinRaynor]

Bad as it is, it's difficult for me to get games since it's a good 30 minute drive to a packed mall. And I have to choose the ones that my system can run. I still need to get a new system. And now the good games will come out; Prey, Quake 4, and Quake Wars.

$60 times 3... ouch.

[motionblur]

Joe3DR said:

motionblur said:
I can only repeat myself: PS2 games in Germany cost 60€ (~65$US) from the beginning. And PS3 titles - I asume - will be at 70€ maybe ... ?
Games are pretty cheap in the US compared to where I live. And for paying more we often get badly adapted PAL versions ... so I don't really feel upset about a 60$ price tag. I wished games were as cheap as in US or UK or ... wherever. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif



Am I reading this right - you think that it's increasing just over here? I think it's pretty naieve to think it will increase here, and not elsewhere, too.


No - I didn't mean that. Prices will of yourse be increasing over here, too. But in Germany consoles and games are from a price-tag point of view always one generation ahead of the US. You will be paying for the next-gen titles what I have been paying for PS2 games, for years. That's what I was saying http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Delicieuxz]

On the bright side, if games soared to $100 a hit, nobody would buy one except for what they truley felt was worth it and thus would filter out all the junk and generic productions could no longer exist. I hope.

[Gryph]

This was definitely expected. Good thing I don't really play too many games anymore. I just read about them. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[pjohnsonjr]

Joe you're right about the upping of the prices...

I'm just wondering when or if it will get to the point of being absurd or in the worse case, becoming inflated beyond what the rational and average consumer will pay.

I agree with you too on the fact that $60 is a bit of a stretch on the wallet, I like you will be doing the bargain bin fishing (just waiting along until that good game comes along to grab my attention).

The only good service I could get from any of the PS3 is that I have a PS2.. But why buy it to play games I can already play on a well capable PS2?

My first next gen system is going to be the Revolution for one reason, even if their price is at the level as their competitors, at least I can get acces to a catalog of older NES titles that I haven't seen or played in years. I figure those will probably be as much as charging for a mp3 download, if not alittle more.

[Tedades]

When HL2 was released in the Netherlands it was E65, but I got if for E55 (still a lot though).

Most XBOX and PS2 games are E60-E65 on release.
You can buy a gamecube for E80, but buying 2 games is way more expensive.

Thats why I pushed myself to like old games, VERY old games. They are only E1-E5, and they even run on my very dear old laptop.

But if DNF gets released, E65 wont be no problem.
Just like I bought HL2, those are games that are worth your money.

[Wamplet]

I average about 1 console game a year, so it's no big loss to me. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I'm sure PC games will go up as well, but I sure hope the quality and effort (that supposedly needs to be recouped) increases as well.

I play most of my games for several months (sometimes a year or 2), so 60 gold for a few months is still a pretty good deal to me. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I play very few games, so the ones I buy are ones I play a lot. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[KillerByte]

I'm just annoyed that we don't pay a fixed price for games. From the sounds of things, UK gamers get a poor deal compared to US gamers. European gamers are even worse off.

Why can't we all pay a price which is determined by the exchange rate rather than a simple $-to-£ conversion?

[Logic Bomb]

Game have always been too pricey for me due to a lack of a proper job but this figures. I wouldn't necessarily complain about the price btu i'll be buying more used games i'm sure.

- LB

[Little Conqueror]

JackpotDen said:
not to be rude, but aren't you rich?



You... you think that game companies will make you rich overnight? While I'm sure 3DR guys make enough to support themselves and their families, not everybody has a Ferrari that they can afford to give away.

[Joe Siegler]

Little Conqueror said:

JackpotDen said:
not to be rude, but aren't you rich?



You... you think that game companies will make you rich overnight? While I'm sure 3DR guys make enough to support themselves and their families, not everybody has a Ferrari that they can afford to give away.



That's certainly the truth - there's a misconception that EVERYONE who works at game companies is stinking rich. That's generally only the company owners and whoever is the person that comes up with something (like Todd Replogle and Duke Nukem).

[Little Conqueror]

Fortunately, and I read an article about this, game design is one of the most secure jobs as far as outsourcing goes. That's a small part of the reason I'm looking into it. Plus, it's an area I enjoy, so I'd do it for chicken feed.

Back on-topic, I'm not surprised that costs have risen. The cost of computer games and console games nowadays generally stay equal, and computer games have recently started to rise in price.

It's generally worth the money, but it's also worth the wait to let the price slide a bit before you buy it.

[Lengis]

I'll only get the games that I desperately want at launch, and that isn't too often. Games like Ninja Gaiden 2 I will want right away, but games like DOA 4 I can live without for a few months after it's price drops.

Simple money management.

[Little Conqueror]

Lengis said:Simple money management.



Exactly. Prioritize, and thou shalt save money on thy "B" titles.

[pjohnsonjr]

That misconception is why alot of people THINK they can hack it in the game industry. I'm still in college, I know I can't say I'm a industry insider yet, but I'm sure as hell am trying my damdest. It's almost like a pipe dream much like people thinking it's lucrative to get an NFL or NBA deal. What is failed to mention it takes a great deal of quality to make it into sports and making games, much like any other highly technical profession (technical being used here as a career that needs special training that requires no further learning beyond general education).

The reason I made the association with professional sports, is that alot of High Schoolers in a survey professed making games as a top choice, only behind professional sports.

It takes talent, and you're not going to strike the gold mine when you get into the industry either. My philosophy is I'm here to make games I never got to see or improve an idea I saw. I never have strived to be a filthy rich person (financial security is one thing, excessive money is another). I'd rather be the starving artist than the trendy bandwagoner.

I just felt like adding this because that misconception has diluted alot of peoples view on the game industry as a whole. I figure those who can't hack it or believe that the game industry is a get-rich-quick career usually get deterred. I'm in college I've seen plenty of people drop like dead flies off a cow's ass.

Just adding my two cents to the point of the 'immaculate misconception.'

But for now on I'll try to be on the topic of the increase of price of games in general http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif.

[maximan]

All this goes to show is that I'll be no longer buying new games. I refuse to pay more than $50 unless I get some kind of bonus.

[pjohnsonjr]

good example (derived from your avatar), I'd rather play the older Turtles games then the new ones, they just seem to cliché'd to what everything else is like when I played them...

[Duoae]

Joe3DR said:
It's more about recouping costs. Since games are bigger, more complex, and take more staff to complete, the cost is in higher games. That's partially why some PC games are now listing for $54.95, instead of the old $49.95.

That goes for PC games too - it's not a console exclusive thing.



I'm not sure i agree with the fact that games are bigger and more complex on the PC. Certainly games like Oblivion, Stalker, THE SIMS and Boiling Point take much more to make than smaller games such as Doom 3 (in terms of game assets at least), but the majority of PC games are already about as complex as they are going to get - with the exception of visuals. I really can't see that much of a need for inflated development teams.
With MMOGs and such i can see the need for a different and new pricepoint system, however they got one - monthly fees to buoy their coffers.

I can see your point for Console games, as i can see them becoming more complex in certain respects.... but there isn't really that much room for growth outside of a limited increase in graphical quality and gameplay mechanics. Again, games in general really aren't evolving that much. The only exceptions i can see to the general trend are games like Prey, and linear-non-linear games such as oblivion, stalker, boiling point etc. evoling not just in graphics, but also in gameplay - hopefully Duke 4 will be inventive in the interaction area.

Increasing a development team's size is a double-edged blade. Meaning on one side, increased cost, more difficult management and control and expected reduced turnover times on game. On the good side more can be done.... i'm struggling with the good side, but if there are more positives then please someone let me know.

The thing that annoys me about games at the moment is pre-ordering. I pre-order all the games i expect to be good.... and in "reward" i get a percentage knocked off. Thing is, i'm happy to be paying full price £39.99 (there has not been a price increase over here as you have mentioned in your post) but i want the game on the day of release - preferably without having to travel to the store to buy said game or run the risk of having it out of stock. So i blame the store owners for doing this kind of thing, meaning reduced income to both the software house and the publisher. It's also because of this action in the past that consumers today now consider games to be overpriced, because of these price reductions - even before a product's release.

I also don't like the way people pay full price for buggy and "unfinished" software. Ever since the internet became common PC game's relative quality has been reduced overall (i say relative because the games have become inherently more complex) and there are a myriad of "early release" stories floating around many games. The next round of consoles will all be online capable, do you think that this will "allow" publishers or software houses to release unfinished and buggy software only to have the game patched at a later date? For instance Xbox live is "free", an obvious channel to distribute patches and fixes.....

Sorry for the rant.... well, it's not so much a rant as i'm not really angry about most of the points.

[Logic Bomb]

Also keeping in mind inflation. Larger factor than most think.

- LB

[Water12356]

$50 is already pretty pricey for me, $60 is way too much. Im waiting for the price cuts from now on.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

Logic Bomb said:
Also keeping in mind inflation. Larger factor than most think.

- LB



Correct. The price of games has not increased with the rate of inflation.

[Imfamous]

The better N64 games were $60 when they came out, I believe.

[Logic Bomb]

As much as I hate to retort to you all, I really don't think this will stop most of you from getting the new games over time. It's a shock right now but honestly, as the better games come out everyone will have their favorites that they want on day 1. No one will want to wait a month or two to play those highly anticipated games. Sure the 10 dollar hike seems extreme now but when you see every game at that price point in a few years it'll be the norm and buying habbits will return.

This is just my prediction anyway.

- LB

[Duoae]

Logic Bomb said:
As much as I hate to retort to you all, I really don't think this will stop most of you from getting the new games over time. It's a shock right now but honestly, as the better games come out everyone will have their favorites that they want on day 1. No one will want to wait a month or two to play those highly anticipated games. Sure the 10 dollar hike seems extreme now but when you see every game at that price point in a few years it'll be the norm and buying habbits will return.

This is just my prediction anyway.

- LB



I agree, but why they haven't had a gradual rise in price over the years is beyond me.

[dreweth]

Umm...they have.

Some is outright, some is wrapped in Collector's Edition stuff.

World of Warcraft (Reg) $55
Doom 3 (Reg) $55
Halo 2 (Reg) $50 (Tin case) $55
Half-Life 2 (Reg) $55

A ton of the big name games are already over $50 on launch. There are budget games at $40, $30, and $20 as well. No reason to think these prices will never go up.

That's what kills me about people who complain about gas prices. Gas prices have NEVER been anywhere near the cost of inflation on everything else, same with milk. But you hear people bitch. Let it go.

You want games to improve at all? In any way? Then stop bleeding money from the devs. Inflation, combined with piracy makes it riduculous for small dev groups to cut a profit.

[Joe Siegler]

Logic Bomb said:
As much as I hate to retort to you all, I really don't think this will stop most of you from getting the new games over time. It's a shock right now but honestly, as the better games come out everyone will have their favorites that they want on day 1. No one will want to wait a month or two to play those highly anticipated games. Sure the 10 dollar hike seems extreme now but when you see every game at that price point in a few years it'll be the norm and buying habbits will return.

This is just my prediction anyway.

- LB



OF course it won't stop sales. It might shave some off the top from people that go $60!?! WTF!, and wait. But most will still buy them, but I suspect it might keep someone who buys 3 or 4 a year to 2 or 3. SOmething like that. I don't think game sales will plummet because of this, but I'm sure a few sales here and there will be lost over it.

And yeah, there will be some I'll get new right away. Like Burnout 4. And Project Gotham Racing 3. I'll be getting those on the 360. That's for sure.

[XPM]

To us Norwegians in here trying to explain to the Amerikanas (Headbangs to the offspring) that they shouldnt complain..


Worlds most expencive gasoline,cars and booze


and our games cost something lik 80 bucks or something.

[Scream]

It doesn't surprise me that titles for next gen consoels will be higher than current titles, but I would expect those prices to come down as they sell more consoles. $60 US is about what we were paying here for current gen games when the consoles were new, and now we pay about $50. I would expect the same trend with the next gen. In theory, an average launch title for Xbox 360 is going to sell less copies than an average game put out 2 years after launch, so they need to charge more initially to recoup costs.

I don't pretend to know much of anything about the rising costs of producing a video game, but it seems to me that the expanded market base should do enough to offset increased costs. Microsoft is talking about a billion people using the 360. Big number, and they may be overestimating, but even if they sell 1/10 that amount of units that's a hell of a lot more games sold than in this gen. If game developers are charging a whole lot more on the console side, I think it's unrelated to costs, and has to do with wanting more profits.

As far as PC games go, I would expect the prices on those to continue to rise because the market is shrinking and I'm betting will continue to do so. Less people buying PC games = higher prices for those who want them, which will further perpetuate the demise of that platform in the industry IMO.

[Riddlewire]

Well, allow me to be the one here who possesses an opinion on the far end of the scale.

I think it's suicide. This is a 20% price increase all at once. Not a 'gradual upwards trend'. I believe that sales at $60 will be abysmal and the publishers and retailers will have to make cuts almost immediately.

[DK2000]

Waiting for games to reach a special price level (like 20 Euro) has a special advantage: most bugs are gone and preformence issues may also sink thanks to the patches that were released in the meantime.

So why shouldn't you wait?

And I got HL2 for 40 Euros whitin the first week it was released in germany! Just need to look for it!

[Spyd]

motionblur said:
I can only repeat myself: PS2 games in Germany cost 60€ (~65$US) from the beginning. And PS3 titles - I asume - will be at 70€ maybe ... ?
Games are pretty cheap in the US compared to where I live. And for paying more we often get badly adapted PAL versions ... so I don't really feel upset about a 60$ price tag. I wished games were as cheap as in US or UK or ... wherever. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif


Its the same in Spain. The last cheap game I bought was HL2, and because I bought it via Steam. Even paying the currency exchange, it costed me lots less than paying for it in Spain.
That's why I love that DNF will be released that way too, I'll be able to save lots of cash while having the game the first day and without queues! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[Duoae]

dreweth said:
Umm...they have.

Some is outright, some is wrapped in Collector's Edition stuff.

World of Warcraft (Reg) $55
Doom 3 (Reg) $55
Halo 2 (Reg) $50 (Tin case) $55
Half-Life 2 (Reg) $55

A ton of the big name games are already over $50 on launch. There are budget games at $40, $30, and $20 as well. No reason to think these prices will never go up.

That's what kills me about people who complain about gas prices. Gas prices have NEVER been anywhere near the cost of inflation on everything else, same with milk. But you hear people bitch. Let it go.

You want games to improve at all? In any way? Then stop bleeding money from the devs. Inflation, combined with piracy makes it riduculous for small dev groups to cut a profit.



Umm... no they haven't. There is a world outside of America you know. And as for prices of petrol, we pay a lot more that you do.

It feels like games have been at the £40 mark here for at least five years. I bought FF8 at that price. When was that released?

*Looks on internet*
2000?!

So, yeah. Five years at and around that price point. There hasn't been a rise in the cost of a major game (not including collectors editions as they are exceptions) for years. In fact, i would go as far to say that it is as cheap as it was five years ago to buy games here. A lot of games - if you preorder them are around and below £30.

I also said that it was ridiculous that the companies (shops) sell at those prices because it drains money away from the software houses and publishers.

Read a post properly before you post next time. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif

[Nessus]

The amount of content and detail going into games is 10x what it used to be. Now you have to have a decent sized team or your game will be obsolete before its released. Add inflation into the mix and they were sure to go up. I remember several games in the 90's that used to go for $60.

[Simon Charles]

Joe3DR said:
And I'm pretty convinced the price point for PC games will go up, I don't think there's any doubt of it - it's just when.



It will increase, just like console games. We've already seen signs of that happening, and it's only going to get even more expensive.

In this generation, I've started to purchase only games that were used / discount, something that's become more and more like a viable solution for purchasing all games. It's not like old diskettes that could get damaged beyond repair. CDs are fairly resistant, and even a few scratches aren't all that bad. Plus you can just ask the salesguy to show you the disk. All my Cube games are used, and I've never had any problems with them. I accepted to get them used because some were starting to be 70-80$ canadian. That's close to the 60$ US mark. And for me, that price is unacceptable, considering how little replay value most games have nowadays. 15 hours of gameplay? No way.

I'll gladly pay good money for games like Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, Stalker or Oblivion because the world is vast and the replay value is great. You get lots of entertainement/hours for your dollar. But games like that aren't common.

Hopefully this pricing will escalate to the point where it brings the game creativity crisis to a point of no return, forcing developers and publishers to downsize teams and go back to the fundamentals : gameplay.

If enough people balk at the cost of new games, maybe then the movers and the shakers will finally listen instead of funding crappy sequel after crappy sequel.

[Parkar]

DK2000 said:
Waiting for games to reach a special price level (like 20 Euro) has a special advantage: most bugs are gone and preformence issues may also sink thanks to the patches that were released in the meantime.

So why shouldn't you wait?

And I got HL2 for 40 Euros whitin the first week it was released in germany! Just need to look for it!



Plus if you need to upgrade it will be cheaper as well.

Have actualy thought about stop getting new games for a year or two, then stay a year or two behind everyone else. Just think about how much you would save. Its just to hard to stay away from the latest goddies http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

[Geir]

gamers have a choice of buying a game or not. if it's $60+, it's still the gamer's choice. if you wasted your money, well, sorry but :


Duke Nukem said:
**** happens

[crunchy superman]

Meh. I remember Star Raiders for the 2600 being over $50 in 1982.

If a good game that I've been looking forward to for a long time is $10 more than it was in the last generation, then so be it. I think we can all agree that pretty much everything we saw from this last E3 was at least 20% more complex and time-consuming to develop than say . . . UT or RTCW or AVP2, right? All those were $50 titles, so why shouldn't these next ones be 20% more? Compare that to my Star Raiders example above and I don't think it's too much to ask.

Something else to consider: maybe now (for a while at least) PC games that are ported from consoles won't have to suck so hard and we won't feel so ripped off as is so often the case now.

[shiranui]

Joe3DR said:
That's certainly the truth - there's a misconception that EVERYONE who works at game companies is stinking rich. That's generally only the company owners and whoever is the person that comes up with something (like Todd Replogle and Duke Nukem).



Personally, Joe, I think you should be back-paid some serious royalties for you stellar voice-acting work in Duke Nukem II http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Back to the topic, Japanese PC game prices have always been $10-20 than American prices; I can undestand that for PC games which are mostly produced overseas. However, even console games - which are mostly produced here - are a little too expensive too($70-$80 for new titles).

[laffer]

This sucks http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
I'm gonna have to cut down quite a bit (I'd have to do that sooner or later anyway) as I often buy 4 games a month or so.. I've even bought more than that lately. I'm kinda addicted to collecting games, I need to stop http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hhg.gif

[maximan]

I bet this increases site traffic for sites like cheapassgamer though. When prices go up, I'll be checking there more often

[K T Ong]

I so rarely buy new games nowadays (say one every 6 months), they can raise the price to $100 a piece for all I care.

Video games somehow just aren't what they used to be anymore. So they are bigger and have more 'content'? Big deal. If quality is traded for quantity, then it's a bad trade off. Might and Magic 9 featured true 3D graphics and the rest of it, but I honestly enjoyed MM4/5/6 more. Likewise with UT as opposed to UT2k4. Newer isn't necessarily better.

[Hudson]

I have always said that I don't mind paying full price for a game if I felt it was worth my time and money. Some titles I would have actually paid more for if I had to.. while others weren't worth the disc it was copied on.

[avatar_58]

I usually don't buy many games new anymore anyway. I like to wait until they drop in price or hit the used pile at ebgames. Unless of course I'm dying to get the game.

[dreweth]

Duoae said:

dreweth said:
Umm...they have.

Some is outright, some is wrapped in Collector's Edition stuff.

World of Warcraft (Reg) $55
Doom 3 (Reg) $55
Halo 2 (Reg) $50 (Tin case) $55
Half-Life 2 (Reg) $55

A ton of the big name games are already over $50 on launch. There are budget games at $40, $30, and $20 as well. No reason to think these prices will never go up.

That's what kills me about people who complain about gas prices. Gas prices have NEVER been anywhere near the cost of inflation on everything else, same with milk. But you hear people bitch. Let it go.

You want games to improve at all? In any way? Then stop bleeding money from the devs. Inflation, combined with piracy makes it riduculous for small dev groups to cut a profit.



Umm... no they haven't. There is a world outside of America you know. And as for prices of petrol, we pay a lot more that you do.

It feels like games have been at the £40 mark here for at least five years. I bought FF8 at that price. When was that released?

*Looks on internet*
2000?!

So, yeah. Five years at and around that price point. There hasn't been a rise in the cost of a major game (not including collectors editions as they are exceptions) for years. In fact, i would go as far to say that it is as cheap as it was five years ago to buy games here. A lot of games - if you preorder them are around and below £30.

I also said that it was ridiculous that the companies (shops) sell at those prices because it drains money away from the software houses and publishers.

Read a post properly before you post next time. http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif



I don't have to be inclusive of Europe to contruct a post about gaming prices in America; and making a pompous post with implied insults at Americans isn't necessary, either. I get it, you think you're special. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo don't. That's why you get games later, at higher prices, and less games than Japanese and Americans do.

In actuality, it makes sense to assume, even if I didn't have the $ signs, that I'm talking about America, as it's the biggest Game market in the world! So, cram it.

[Karthik]

Cerberus_e said:
pc games will also be $60.
according to EA games http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif


You mean games made by EA will be 60bucks. I won't be surprised if they only Will Wright to make PC games in the near future.

[Duoae]

dreweth said:
I don't have to be inclusive of Europe to contruct a post about gaming prices in America; and making a pompous post with implied insults at Americans isn't necessary, either.




Pompous post? You said that i was wrong. However, i was talking about the game market that i am in. Therefore i was correct - you didn't read what i had written. Hence my annoyance. Nothing to do with being anti-american, just your inability to consider that i had been talking about somewhere outside of where you are talking about.

Let's take a look at where this came from:


Duoae
The thing that annoys me about games at the moment is pre-ordering. I pre-order all the games i expect to be good.... and in "reward" i get a percentage knocked off. Thing is, i'm happy to be paying full price £39.99 (there has not been a price increase over here as you have mentioned in your post)




Duoae
I agree, but why they haven't had a gradual rise in price over the years is beyond me.




Dreweth
Umm...they have.





Duoae
Umm... no they haven't.





So you don't have to be inclusive of the UK (i didn't even mention europe - we're not just all lumped in together, people pay more on the continent for games than we do in a lot of countries) to construct a post about gaming prices in America. However, you cannot refute a claim by someone else who isn't referring to prices in America in the first place.

Also, where are my implied insults against Americans? I can only see one against you.



I get it, you think you're special. Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo don't. That's why you get games later, at higher prices, and less games than Japanese and Americans do.
In actuality, it makes sense to assume, even if I didn't have the $ signs, that I'm talking about America, as it's the biggest Game market in the world! So, cram it.




What's all this about? Sounds more like you think that you're special and you hate either: A) me or B) "Europe".

[dreweth]

I see where the misunderstanding is. I replied to your statment about gradual prices, knowing that you are "across the pond", but mentioning price increases in America. I can see how you think I'm writing like I (incorrectly) would know the price hikes, or lack thereof, in the UK or Europe.

However, it is plain that I'm referring to price hikes in America. The biggest comsuming game market in the world. The baseline. A precedent set here in prices is going to affect prices elsewhere, given enough time. I pointed out that the precedent of rising game prices on triple A games have already been gradually rising.

Because I was not inclusive of Europe, or your UK, you assume my point was flawed. It was not. That's the pompous part.

[Tedades]

dreweth said:
I see where the misunderstanding is. I replied to your statment about gradual prices, knowing that you are "across the pond", but mentioning price increases in America. I can see how you think I'm writing like I (incorrectly) would know the price hikes, or lack thereof, in the UK or Europe.

However, it is plain that I'm referring to price hikes in America. The biggest comsuming game market in the world. The baseline. A precedent set here in prices is going to affect prices elsewhere, given enough time. I pointed out that the precedent of rising game prices on triple A games have already been gradually rising.

Because I was not inclusive of Europe, or your UK, you assume my point was flawed. It was not. That's the pompous part.



I got a map for you, the green part is Europe.
Map of Europe (Green part) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:LocationEurope.png)


And for any american that didnt know already,
The Netherlands has:
19% Tax, thats like 1/5 of everything you buy extra.
19% Tax on import + a extra fee, upon product cost + mail-cost (import in E.U.)
We pay like E30-E40 every time we buy gas.
(Check actuall prices from Shell over here) (http://www.shell.com/home/nl-nl/html/iwgen/app_profile/nl-nl_hoeveelkost.html)
School costs +/- E1.500 every year without books or anything,
and they want to make it twice that (E3.000)

And our politics now say we have to pay even more!
Good thing I don't work right now http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/dopefish.gif


Ontopic:

Game creation costs a lot, and devellopers have a real tight budget if they are not creating for a bigger develloper.
Thats why I like 3DR, they dont think about the money. Only about how DNF will look like when finished (and then the money they'll get).

1 Thing that bothers me is that fixed prices give a feeling about quality, if 2 games cost the same they share some quality value. But it doesnt!
I played games on the dreamcast that totally sucked, and they where as expensive as Shenmue (the game that really rocked).
This happens more with console games (PS2) then PC games, which sometimes vary in price.

[dreweth]

OMG! The UK is lumped in with Europe! Damn you Tedades!

How could you! I can't imagine such a world!

[avatar_58]

Oh joy, country wars http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gifI can do the same with Canada, and using your theory prove that we have more gamers than america. Size isn't the issue here...there are simply more people and more gamers in the states. I'm canadian and even I agree with that. Otherwise we wouldn't be calling it the "american" versions and I would be buying canadian copies http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

[Night Hacker]

JackpotDen said:
not to be rude, but aren't you rich?



You don't get rich by SPENDING money! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


All I own is a PS1, bought it used and all the games I have for it are also purchased used, the most I have paid for a game is $15CAN. I usually only pay $10.

I would have alot less games if it wasn't for Electronics Boutique! heh. Gotta love that store.

[John]

Joe isn't the one staying up late at night reading lines and lines of coding, so I don't think he is the most well payed out of all of the 3DR employees.

Although he is the one that maintains this website and keeps it running.

He is still well off enough to support himself and his family, however. And that's good enough.

[Duoae]

dreweth said:
Because I was not inclusive of Europe, or your UK, you assume my point was flawed. It was not. That's the pompous part.



I never said your point was flawed, you said that i was incorrect/wrong. You were incorrect in saying that, since the current trend of rising prices (the world over) is not linked to the fact that the prices have stayed the same for a long time over here. There was no pompous part of my post. The only thing i can evern consider to be pompous is your statement telling me i was wrong... and even then that's not pompous. I haven't seen any pompous statements in this thread as yet.... ([EDIT] see below)

Your point stands irrespective of what i was posting and vice versa. We were never talking about the same thing. However, i never tried to tell you that your point was wrong in the context that you were putting it in.



OMG! The UK is lumped in with Europe! Damn you Tedades!

How could you! I can't imagine such a world!




They didn't "lump" us in. We are part of the european continent. Map-wise it is correct, my complaint before was that rather than looking at what i was talking about you just lumped my country in with a whole load of others. It's like me lumping the US in with Canada. The UK is the only group of countries to use pounds sterling, i would understand if i had talked about €uros or something that is part of a larger multinational identity.

After much looking, the only slightly pompous statement in this thread is: [America is] "The biggest comsuming game market in the world."

http://www.video-games-survey.com/software.htm

Unfortunately there was no European "games software" comparison, and i had trouble getting reliable statistics (even though there was a link not so long ago to a games sales stats page somewhere here) for more recent years.

North America Console Software
US$5.35 bn
NPD
2002

North America PC Software
US$1.35 bn
NPD
2002

North America Games Software
US$7.25 bn
PUSH
2002

Europe Console Software
Euro4.6 bn
IDATE
2002

Europe PC Software
Euro2.5 bn
IDATE
2002

UK Console Software+ PC Software
US$1.6 bn
ELSPA**
2002

I think it's safe to say that it's pretty close as far as "games" markets go.

[Tedades]

dreweth said:
OMG! The UK is lumped in with Europe! Damn you Tedades!

How could you! I can't imagine such a world!



You would have UK and the counties that pay with Euro's, but refering to UK and Europe is like refering to America and the US.

[Karthik]

*sniff* *sniff* you guys forgot about Asia! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[Logic Bomb]

Isn't japan one of the biggest game consuming countries? Much smaller but I thought that per capita at least it's larger.

- LB

[Duoae]

Logic Bomb said:
Isn't japan one of the biggest game consuming countries? Much smaller but I thought that per capita at least it's larger.

- LB



If you follow the link there are numbers for Japan in the list - i just took them out as i wasn't comparing them.

[Reaper]

laffer said:
This sucks http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif
I'm gonna have to cut down quite a bit (I'd have to do that sooner or later anyway) as I often buy 4 games a month or so.. I've even bought more than that lately. I'm kinda addicted to collecting games, I need to stop http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hhg.gif


Haha, yeah. I look for the deals, but I still buy way too many games in a year.

That said, even top notch titles that I am very hyped about (DNF, Prey, Stalker, etc.) I will buy only when they come down in price. I still haven't bought HL2 and I was fairly excited about that.. still hoping they rip out authentication and bundle it with TF2.

[Tedades]

Karthik said:
*sniff* *sniff* you guys forgot about Asia! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif



Whats that http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

[Higher Game]

Games are stupidly cheap, when inflation is considered. I think all developers should get together and settle on a $70 price for most games. If it brings in more money to make more good games, then it should happen!

[Karthik]

Tedades said:

Karthik said:
*sniff* *sniff* you guys forgot about Asia! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif



Whats that http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


The continent with the most successful multiplayer games with more than 1 million suscribers per game unlike you guys whom only have less than 300,000 suscribers!

[Jeff]

That's pretty damn expensive. I had stopped by EB Games this afternoon at the mall, and there were some XBox and PS2 games at slashed prices. Maybe not plummeting, but they were lower than usual. SWAT 4 for the PC was $50 CDN (regular $60 CDN).

[Tedades]

Karthik said:

Tedades said:

Karthik said:
*sniff* *sniff* you guys forgot about Asia! http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif



Whats that http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


The continent with the most successful multiplayer games with more than 1 million suscribers per game unlike you guys whom only have less than 300,000 suscribers!



Asian people dont have 1337 3DR people creating DNF...
http://forums.3drealms.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Steve]

Shit. That's about $120-$130 NZ. I'm not paying that much! Console games here are already $110. PC games are around $90-$100.