59.99 is becoming the new PC price point

[Mem]

AvP and Dawn of War 2 Chaos Rising - £17 each (UK Pounds).

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

Life is looking up

I got Mass Effect 2 for £19.99 thats $30.
Stalker CoP Retail version was £17.99 (less then $30) ,I disagree about 59.99 as the new price point.

 

[Mursilis]

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.

:thumbsup: That's the way I play. I usually only pay ~$10 for a game, rarely more. Really, what between my limited free time these days and the sheer volume of product the PC gaming industry has produced in the past several years, the whole industry could easily take a 5 year hiatus and I would be fine - such is my backlog of released games I'd still like to try, not to mention games I could be happy playing again.

 

[Modular]

I love the people getting angry at this thread.

I haven't bought a game at retail in a long time either, and I generally buy games when they are way below their initial sale price. That being said, a trend is a trend. I don't see any PC games (full length, retail versions) selling initially for less than $49.99 (which is the generally agreed upon sale point for a new release). I do see, however, more games being released at 59.99 than ever before.

That my friends, constitutes a trend in rising PC game prices. It doesn't matter if you are someone like me (and many others) who waits to pay less for the game. The initial price point is rising. No if's and's or but's about it.

This isn't a bait thread, it's a discussion. For those of you who can't separate emotions from discussion: this thread isn't for you.

 

[mmntech]

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).

Yep, I remember paying $70 for Sonic & Knuckles back in 1994. That's about $94 in today's money. The Phantasy Star games for Genesis regularly went for over $100 back then.

PC gaming is a different animal than console gaming since they have to combat higher piracy rates, lower adoption rates, and competition from cheaper systems. Therefore, you have to price games more aggressively than their console counterparts.

 

[sandorski]

Yep, I remember paying $70 for Sonic & Knuckles back in 1994. That's about $94 in today's money. The Phantasy Star games for Genesis regularly went for over $100 back then.

PC gaming is a different animal than console gaming since they have to combat higher piracy rates, lower adoption rates, and competition from cheaper systems. Therefore, you have to price games more aggressively than their console counterparts.

Also take into account Inflation and Games are Cheaper(more affordable) then they were in the 90's. I Paid approx $90 for Civilization when it first came out(don't recall year--early 90's) which would be approx the equivalent of $150-200(edit--hmm, not sure as to the accuracy, don't recall the Rate of Inflation) these days.

$59.99 is cheap.

 

[JoshGuru7]

Also take into account Inflation and Games are Cheaper(more affordable) then they were in the 90's. I Paid approx $90 for Civilization when it first came out(don't recall year--early 90's) which would be approx the equivalent of $150-200(edit--hmm, not sure as to the accuracy, don't recall the Rate of Inflation) these days.

$59.99 is cheap.

I agree on both points. We've had just under 3% inflation since the early 90's, so $59.99 today would be around $35.99 back then.

As for the pricing differences (or lack of differences) between PC versions and console versions, I'm confused why people keep bringing up supply side pricing. Every game is a substitute good, and developers face the market strictly as price takers. Let's say you found a huge diamond in your backyard. Would you be obligated to price it based on what it cost to acquire it (supply) or what other people are willing to pay for it (demand)? What if you had spent 6 months digging up a bunch of plain dirt instead?

 

[Lonyo]

I love the people getting angry at this thread.

I haven't bought a game at retail in a long time either, and I generally buy games when they are way below their initial sale price. That being said, a trend is a trend. I don't see any PC games (full length, retail versions) selling initially for less than $49.99 (which is the generally agreed upon sale point for a new release). I do see, however, more games being released at 59.99 than ever before.

That my friends, constitutes a trend in rising PC game prices. It doesn't matter if you are someone like me (and many others) who waits to pay less for the game. The initial price point is rising. No if's and's or but's about it.

This isn't a bait thread, it's a discussion. For those of you who can't separate emotions from discussion: this thread isn't for you.

I just visited Gogamer.com.
Mass Effect 2: $41.90 (+shipping)
Bioshock 2: $41.90 (+shipping)
AvP: $39.90 (+s)
Star Trek Online: $42.90 (+s)

I can buy all 4 games for under $174 shipped.
At this apparent $50~$60 new price point, they would be $200~$240. Not seeing it myself.

CoD MW2 is $49.90 and Assassins Creed 2 is the only one above $50 at $55.

 

[Elcs]

I got Mass Effect 2 for £19.99 thats $30.
Stalker CoP Retail version was £17.99 (less then $30) ,I disagree about 59.99 as the new price point.

CoP is £15 or $22.50 on Steam

We're getting pretty good deals in the retail market.... Steam disappointingly seems to be reserved for holiday deals.

 

[Regs]

Some games are cost a lot to make.

 

[Via]

I actually remember paying $54.99 for games I wanted right away, not $49.99.

I've been out of the release day buying for a while.

 

[TBSN]

I used to only buy games that I was REALLY excited about at MSRP, which was generally $50. But $60? I can't bring myself to buy anything at that price even if I'm looking forward to it.

 

[quadomatic]

One of the beauties of PC gaming is that I rarely even pay $50 for a new game. Great sales come around so often.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Inflation. We used to buy awesome games for 39.99 when they came out. Not anymore.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

The trend has begun, it has.

 

[Niku]

I love the people getting angry at this thread.

I haven't bought a game at retail in a long time either, and I generally buy games when they are way below their initial sale price. That being said, a trend is a trend. I don't see any PC games (full length, retail versions) selling initially for less than $49.99 (which is the generally agreed upon sale point for a new release). I do see, however, more games being released at 59.99 than ever before.

That my friends, constitutes a trend in rising PC game prices. It doesn't matter if you are someone like me (and many others) who waits to pay less for the game. The initial price point is rising. No if's and's or but's about it.

This isn't a bait thread, it's a discussion. For those of you who can't separate emotions from discussion: this thread isn't for you.

You are correct. That would indeed be a trend. What i am seeing though is that most people in this thread aren't seeing these $60+ prices. If i saw these prices you are describing, i would be concerned. But you've always had a few companies releasing games priced higher then others. is that a trend? maybe, but it started 6 or 7 years ago.

Seriously, whats up with people responding with instant anger on the internet? I don't get it.

 

[Lotheron]

I'm actually surprised it took this long...

 

[Mem]

I love the people getting angry at this thread.

I haven't bought a game at retail in a long time either, and I generally buy games when they are way below their initial sale price. That being said, a trend is a trend. I don't see any PC games (full length, retail versions) selling initially for less than $49.99 (which is the generally agreed upon sale point for a new release). I do see, however, more games being released at 59.99 than ever before.

That my friends, constitutes a trend in rising PC game prices. It doesn't matter if you are someone like me (and many others) who waits to pay less for the game. The initial price point is rising. No if's and's or but's about it.

This isn't a bait thread, it's a discussion. For those of you who can't separate emotions from discussion: this thread isn't for you.

Actually nobody is getting angry if you read the posts, just members pointing out the real facts that PC prices are lower then the 59.99 in thread title,now if I was paying console prices for games then thats a whole new ball game .

 

[Inspector Jihad]

I love the people getting angry at this thread.

I haven't bought a game at retail in a long time either, and I generally buy games when they are way below their initial sale price. That being said, a trend is a trend. I don't see any PC games (full length, retail versions) selling initially for less than $49.99 (which is the generally agreed upon sale point for a new release). I do see, however, more games being released at 59.99 than ever before.

That my friends, constitutes a trend in rising PC game prices. It doesn't matter if you are someone like me (and many others) who waits to pay less for the game. The initial price point is rising. No if's and's or but's about it.

This isn't a bait thread, it's a discussion. For those of you who can't separate emotions from discussion: this thread isn't for you.

no one is angry...its just that this isn't really much of a discussion. 2 or 3 games were released at 60 bucks. thats it.

 

[Modular]

This thread is idiotic.

The flamebait threads in this forum are just unbelievable.

close this stupid thread.

You weren't that bad, but you called my thread stupid :cry;

 

[exar333]

I spent $60 as a kid on NES/SNES/PC games; $60 is worth less now and you (argueably) get more game for the $$$.

Not that bad in my opinion.

 

[shortylickens]

Fail.
59.99 has ALWAYS been the price point. Its just that most of us know enough to wait until the game comes down before we buy.
And since Target and Walmart know we wont normally buy at 59.99 they often mark it down the second it goes on the shelf. But the MSRP has been 60 bucks for a long time now.

Console lovers are way too easy. Thats why the industry loves them so much.

 

[kalrith]

I haven't bought a game at MSRP in quite awhile!

Same here. I can't remember spending more than $35 for any PC or PS3 game (besides the GHWT band kit for PS3) ever. I much prefer the $20-30 range even if I have to wait a year or two to find it for that.

 

[aigomorla]

its all because of the extra cost in non working DRM's!!

:X

 

[coloumb]

/shrug

MSRP does not necessarily mean you are forced to buy it at the price. You wouldn't pay MSRP for a new car now would ya?

I think the only people who pay MSRP for a video game are those who either can't find it cheaper [ebay] or will die unless they have the game on the day it's released.

 

[zerocool84]

I spent $60 as a kid on NES/SNES/PC games; $60 is worth less now and you (argueably) get more game for the $$$.

Not that bad in my opinion.

I don't think we get more for our money. We get a lot less. Too many companies replace multi-play for a good single play experience which is sad. I love multi-play but gone are the days of epic single play 20-30 hour games. FPS's are all 8hrs tops and the few RPG's that get released are so consolized it sucks.