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59.99 is becoming the new PC price point

Modular

Diamond Member
Jul 1, 2005
5,027
67
91
Which is utterly ridiculous. Steam has COD:MW2, Star Trek Online, and Assassin's Creed II for $59.99 each. Now granted, Star Trek Online is "on sale" for 49.99 at the moment, but it won't be when it's released.

This highlights an annoying trend towards PC gamers getting charged console prices without the royalty fees. This obviously is straight revenue for the developer. Add on all the DLC that's coming out and we have a recipe for $100+ for each game you want to enjoy.

There's the argument that the average game equates to a very low cost to entertainment value, but still, this isn't a trend that I like seeing.
 

KaOTiK

Lifer
Feb 5, 2001
10,877
8
81
Star Trek Online that is normally $59.99 is the digital deluxe version, they have a normal version that is the normal $49.99 normally.

While I don't agree with Assassin's Creed 2 price point at least they are giving the 2 DLC packs that are priced $10 each on consoles with it (still a rip imo).

COD MW2, there is a sucker born every minute and I'm sure some will come and post in this thread defending it.


But yeah, if publishers can see they can just charge $60 for the game or throw in a few turds of DLC and charge that I am worried too. But thankfully the indie scene has really come along as a great source of games at great prices.
 

BassBomb

Diamond Member
Nov 25, 2005
8,390
1
81
I loved when it moved down to 50 MSRP 40 sale

It has not been 60 MSRP for so long... :(
 
Oct 19, 2000
17,860
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This obviously is straight revenue for the developer.

The nerve of those damn developers!!! I say we bring them all to the courtyard and have an old fashioned hanging.

Seriously though, if you don't like the pricing, don't buy it until you do.
 

thegpfury

Member
May 23, 2006
123
0
0
I think it's ridiculous, but expected since people are getting used to paying $60 a game on consoles.
 

Adam8281

Platinum Member
May 28, 2003
2,181
0
76
It's more than I'm willing to pay, so I vote with my wallet: I wait to buy games until several months after release when they've dropped down to the $20-$30 range, I buy used, and sometimes I buy a foreign retail version off eBay.
 

Alex C

Senior member
Jul 7, 2008
355
0
76
I'd pay $60 for a really great game, but this stuff is over-hyped (IMHO) and not worth the price for me. I probably wouldn't buy them until they're down to bargain bin prices, so what they start at doesn't matter much to me.
 

NoSoup4You

Golden Member
Feb 12, 2007
1,253
6
81
I'll gladly pay any price for a game that I get a lot of enjoyment out of. I just eclipsed 100 hours in MW2, that's over four days of gameplay. Best $60 I've spent in a long time. I got a really sweet winter coat for $60 this winter... that was a better find but still, MW2 is pwnage sauce with raspberries on top.
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,675
146
106
www.neftastic.com
Star Trek Online is retailing for $39.99 at my local GameStop, and has been since about a week after launch. It launched at $49.99 for the retail edition, $59.99 for the "deluxe" edition.

COD:MW2 has been obtainable at $49.99 pretty much everywhere. I've even seen it on sale last week for $39.99.

AC2, not sure how much that was at launch. Didn't really care either.
 

Zenoth

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2005
5,202
216
106
I think it's ridiculous, but expected since people are getting used to paying $60 a game on consoles.

Even the $60 price point for console games is lower than it was before. I still remember paying $90 (including taxes) for the SNES version of Killer Instinct (black cartridge with Killer Cut OST), and $70 for Ocarina of Time on the N64 the very day of its release from my Toys 'R Us pre-order, granted, they were cartridges, and that was a long time ago, but still, it was the pricing trend that console gamers had to deal with, especially when cartridges were the only thing around until the Saturn and the PSX came along (the Sega CD doesn't count at all, prices were outrageous for Sega CD games).

As for modern PC games pricing, honestly, I don't have a problem with it, since I still have options, those prices aren't exactly forced on me, and contrarily to how it was back in the days I am patient enough to wait months if necessary until a game's price is lowered if I'm not sure about it, and then I'll buy it at a reduced cost, or better yet, I'll just buy the CD Key (for instance from DirectGameKeys and other such CD Key sellers) and then register the game (EA Store, or Steam, etc). Also we now have digitally distributed games, D2D, Steam, EA Sotre and such services, especially with Steam and the non-stop weekly or week-end specials we always get on it, which is certainly a plus that only Steam and a very few others offer on-line.

Lately the only game I've bought at full price was Mass Effect 2's Digital Deluxe Edition, and I sincerely don't regret it one single bit, despite the game's flaws, it's still a masterpiece and games with such production value aren't released often. The only other game I bought at full price before ME2 was Empire: Total War, and I regretted it, but I've been buying some of its available DLCs recently to "spice it up" and increase the variety of units in the game, which does help a bit, since I've played it recently and I'm kind of seeing it another way now, and those DLCs weren't any type of obligation, I made the choice and took the calculated risk to buy some of them and see if it would help increase the "value" of a product I never really liked but still bought at full price. I haven't even thought of "how cheap" it can feel like to "have to" buy DLCs to increase the replay value of any given game, since even that is subjective, some people are perfectly content with vanilla E:TW and probably aren't even aware of the available DLCs for it.

If I enjoy a game I won't mind about the price I paid for it. If not, I will still try to play it from time to time, and with some luck if the developer keeps supporting it via patches and/or DLCs and/or expansion pack(s) then perhaps it might make me change my mind about the "failed" game in my book, I usually try to keep my hopes alive. And, to conclude this, I can say that there are games I paid $20 such as Indie games, and guess what, they often happen to be quite better than $60 big budget gold-branded games out there, which again helps realize how game prices don't always reflect "how good" or "how bad" a game can be, and to repeat myself, a game's price is never imposed on the consumer, the consumer has alternatives, especially on-line, if the consumer is not patient and buys it immediately at full price and ends up being disappointed then I for one would be very easily tempted to point at finger at the consumer, and not "the price of the game".
 

EvilComputer92

Golden Member
Aug 25, 2004
1,316
0
0
This thread is idiotic. I can name you several PC releases that are 50. Bad Company 2. Bioshock 2. Starcraft 2. Left 4 Dead 2. Mass Effect 2. (talk about sequels)

It's not a trend at all. Just because a few developers know that fanboys will buy up their game, like MW2, doesn't mean PC developers are going to start shifting to $60 games.


The flamebait threads in this forum are just unbelievable. All we need now is another thread about DRM and the death of PC gaming.
 
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CPA

Elite Member
Nov 19, 2001
30,322
4
0
for PCs it's not that big of a deal since there seem to be many more sales and PC prices come down much quicker than console games.
 

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
Administrator
Nov 30, 2005
50,231
118
116
I haven't bought a game at MSRP in quite awhile! :)

This. I can't really bring myself to pay anything >$30 now and I've actually done well waiting for games to go <$30.

KT
 

gigahertz20

Golden Member
Apr 30, 2007
1,118
2
81
It's called eBay! New Aliens vs. Predator game $27, screw the $50 on the official steam store.
 

CurseTheSky

Diamond Member
Oct 21, 2006
5,401
2
0
There's so much junk coming out these days that I don't worry about the original MSRP. If everyone is still hyped up about the game 6-12 months after release, then I'll grab it (and usually $10-20 cheaper, too).
 

Elcs

Diamond Member
Apr 27, 2002
6,278
6
81
AvP and Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising - &#163;17 each (UK Pounds).

For the Americans here, thats $25-26 American Dollars.

Life is looking up :)
 

Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
6
81
OP: Maybe you should stop looking at Steam prices. They have never been good compared to other places unless there's a sale on.
 

james1701

Golden Member
Sep 14, 2007
1,791
34
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The Christmas sale is the best time to get the games, if you can hold off that long.
 
Apr 17, 2005
13,465
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The Christmas sale is the best time to get the games, if you can hold off that long.

their weekend and mid-week deals have been pretty good so far too. but i agree, wait to buy stuff on sale. i have paid full price for maybe 3 or 4 games in my whole life.