Are you willing to PAY for better PC games?

[BurnItDwn]

People pay hundreds to thousands of dollars on MMO's...

I'd pay $250 for a REAL sequel to Total Annihilation Core Contingency with none of the pathfinding problems of Sup Com games, and a bigger scale, and slightly slower game pace... with more levels of tech and less power difference between them, and no super uber crazy units that can destroy a whole base....


Also, I paid for X2, X3 Reunion, and X3 terran conflict, for the amount of fun I've gotten out of those games, I've considered buying copies for my friends, even if they hate sandbox type single player complicated games....

 

[vshah]

The real question is would you pay $150 for Freespace 3 if it ended up like a console port or it had 4 hours of single player play time?

no, i do believe i would go on a rampage if that happened.

 

[drebo]

People pay hundreds to thousands of dollars on MMO's...

I'd give my left testicle for an MMO that captured the spirit and joy and sorrow and pain and fun of pre-UO:R Ultima Online. Most fun I've ever had gaming were runs to Deceit worried to shit I'd get PKed or mining the mountains outside of Trinsic hoping to God no reds were around. But, hey, if I did get killed, it's not like stuff was unique or expensive and I could get new shit easily.

Best game ever.

 

[stahlhart]

I'd have gladly and happily paid $60 for the Black Mesa Source trilogy.

 

[paperfist]

What's wrong with PC games that I should have to pay more for them? I don't need a game made just for MY platform to love it.

 

[Monster_Munch]

I would pay $150 for a full length Halflife 3

 

[FallenHero]

I'd pay a shit ton of money for a fantasy MMO that actually played almost exactly like PnP ADnD. Or a Sci-Fi one based in the rifts universe that again, was very close to the PnP game.

 

[Ancalagon44]

That may be true, but you're assuming a static price for the life of the game which isn't how it works. The price starts high and the people who are willing to pay that do, and then various price cuts are made for several years until it reaches "bargain bin" sale prices. Everybody has a threshold on what they're willing to pay. By pricing at $50 immediately, they're missing out on the 10,000 people that would pay $120 (some may pay even more). If they started at $120 and dropped to $50 later they'd get even more money... and guess what? That's exactly how it goes with games, or really anything. You start high to nab the early adopters, and then reduce the price bit by bit to get the rest of your holdouts at their different desired prices. Starting at your lowest price and never changing it is a terrible, horrible business model... ESPECIALLY for games.

Thats exactly why collectors editions exist - they want to be able to charge higher prices to those willing to pay. Guaranteed they make a lot more money from a collectors edition than from a regular edition.

In any case, if an indie says his game needs to cost $120 to break even, he can get f*cked. That means his project management skills are as bad as George Broussards (maker of DNF). I support indie gaming, but I'm not paying more for an indie gamer just because his organizational skills are lacking.

In truth I think the high priced games will move from the PC to the console because thats where the money is. Indie games will become more prominent on the PC, and later large development houses like EA will task small teams with producing small games. Both the risk and cost is lower with that model, which suits the PC.

 

[Martimus]

I'd give my left testicle for an MMO that captured the spirit and joy and sorrow and pain and fun of pre-UO:R Ultima Online. Most fun I've ever had gaming were runs to Deceit worried to shit I'd get PKed or mining the mountains outside of Trinsic hoping to God no reds were around. But, hey, if I did get killed, it's not like stuff was unique or expensive and I could get new shit easily.

Best game ever.

Sounds like Eve, but in a fantasy medieval setting.

 

[JackSpadesSI]

I'd pay over $300 for a finished copy of Diablo 3 if I could have it today. Heck, I'd probably pay $60 if Blizzard shipped me a copy of whatever they have right now.

I want it, I want it, I want it! ;-)

 

[KeithTalent]

Nah, I would wait to buy it on a Steam sale, which is where I get pretty much all of my games these days. I can't really see myself paying more than $20 for a game right now.

KT

 

[HydroSqueegee]

the most i have ever paid for a game is $75. that was for Morrowind collectors edition. It was worth every penny because i played that one game for thousands of hours.

Biggest burn was Masters of Orion 3. Biggest waste of $50 and put me off buying high dollar games ever since. I wont pay more than $10 now a days. Hooray for steam and impulse sales!

 

[Wuzup101]

I try not to pay more than $20-30 for games unless I really belive that I will get a lot of replay out of them. I will pay the normal going $40-60 for games like starcraft II, CoD4 (simply because of the multiplayer that I got so much playtime out of), etc... I'll also pay a sub fee for MMO's provided the developer provide decent support and content. I played WoW in the past. I'm currently playing Rift (though I'm not sure if I'm going to keep playing it). I'm really chomping at the bit for TES:V / Skyrim and Guild Wars 2. I purchased Stalker:Clearsky a while ago with intentions to play it but wanted to play SoC first. I just bought SoC and the third one from buy.com for under $20 shipped for both of um. I plan to play them sequentially now.

Honestly, unless the MP is going to be "Epic" I don't buy shooters when they come out. If the MP isn't something I'm going to play... I'm not paying $60 for the single player for 10 hours of content... unless the game is made by valve... any half life related game will be purchased and I'm more than willing to pay full price!

 

[ImpulsE69]

The most I've ever paid for a "GAME" is $80 for Final Fanasy III (6) when it came out years ago. I thought that was highway robbery at the time, but that was a great game that lived up to the hype and had a shitton of hours.

Game standards have dropped considerably since then. Once companies started making the customers buy what were essentially betas (ala Quake 2?) I pretty much stopped paying full price for games.

I think the only game I've preordered ever was Starcraft 2 because really..Blizzards never let me down and I paid $39 i think for it.

That being said, the most I've spent on a game period is Eve Online because 4 years of subcriptions...

 

[mmntech]

I think the current $40-$50 price point for PC games is fair. I can't complain about the quality of the games like I used to. A lot of titles from the mid-2000s were buggy as all hell, and frankly weren't worth paying for IMHO. Thankfully that's changed, well unless it's an Ubisoft title. I refuse to buy their rubbish on principle.

I think console games are overpriced. Especially given the volume they move. I mean, why is the DS version of SMB still $40. It's five years old!

 

[lord_emperor]

If the game is "perfect" like you say...perfect in hours needed to complete SP, excellent and balanced MP, amazing graphics that could run on almost any computer from 2005 and up but would get something divine with an up to date PC, awesome and intuitive gameplay, credible voice acting, involving and engrossing story...did I miss something?

If this kind of game would be created, i'd pay 120 bucks for it.

Agreed and also impossible.

 

[Tom]

There's never been a better time to be a games developer. Getting a game to your customers has never been easier, with the internet, Steam, Amazon, Ebay..

Somebody comes up with a new idea, or awesome detail, they can make money.

 

[TraumaRN]

I paid $50 for Shogun 2 Total War last week and already put almost 20 hours into the game. I have a feeling I'll play it for at least 300 hours minimum. And considering I played Empire/Napoleon Total War for 500+ hours I consider all to be good buys.

And I'll have to agree with another poster I'd pay like $300 if I could get a complete modern remake of Freespace 1 and 2 and then of course Freespace 3. But it would need to have a single player campaign as long and in depth as the first two games. Which I figure would be at least 15-20 hours.

 

[RobertPters77]

I already pay full price for games. I buy games at release from steam because console games(unless platformers) suck.

The standards of the industry have gone down so much since the Millennium Gen consoles.

I miss the days of PC gaming superiority. All the best games for 'Adults' came out for the PC. Now every game is a watered down multiplat/consoleport designed to cater to the lowest common denominator of 10-15 year olds who spend mommy and daddy's money on map packs and in game items. And yews my fellow PC gamers are guilty of the same. Spending 1000$ of dollars on WoW and Tf2 hats.

Wtf guys? Some of you are spending your entire paychecks on in game goods!.

 

[H54]

OP:

Yes, I would pay $120 so long as the quality is there. The perfect game for me would be a flight simulator for the F-14A/F-14D with all of the realism and depth of a DCS title and the mod-ability of the IL-2 series.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

I'm a game developers worst nightmare. I NEVER buy a new release and usually wait a year to see if it's worth my money. By then, the games been patched, there is a decent amount of dlc and, the fan base has usually added some mods. I only care about a good game, the latest and greatest in graphics means nothing.

 

[etrigan420]

I've got a head cold like a motherfucker...and didn't read the OP in it's entirety...

but yes, I'd pay more for more / better content.

The problem is, there's only 3 ways to *truly* gauge a games "value" before purchase:

1. That which shall not be named here :ninja: Which I don't do because more often than not it's a huge pain in the ass...
2. Review sites...yeah...right...like *they* can be trusted to maintain unbiased opinions, and I get that...everyone's gotta eat I suppose.
3. The Official Demo. This is what chaps my ass. The Crysis 2 Demo...yup, I get that it was multiplayer and just got you accustomed to the interface changes and what not...hated it. Will not be buying this game until it goes under $20. Dragon Age II demo??? That thing almost made me want to bust out my DAO dvd's just to smash them with the +4 Hammer of Shitty Re-hash Justice. That utter shitty rendered "burnt out area" or whatever the hell you want to call it...looked like shit. The convo tree? No thanks. I will be buying DAII when it goes under $5...maybe

 

[cever89]

the most i have ever paid for a game is $75. that was for Morrowind collectors edition. It was worth every penny because i played that one game for thousands of hours.

Biggest burn was Masters of Orion 3. Biggest waste of $50 and put me off buying high dollar games ever since. I wont pay more than $10 now a days. Hooray for steam and impulse sales!

Oh man. I was so addicted to MOO2 and sooooo disappointed with MOO3. I too have really been watching those Steam sales!

 

[cever89]

I'd pay over $300 for a finished copy of Diablo 3 if I could have it today. Heck, I'd probably pay $60 if Blizzard shipped me a copy of whatever they have right now.

I want it, I want it, I want it! ;-)

I don't think I've ever played a Blizzard game I didn't like. Diablo II sucked up so much of my free time, and I gladly spent it. They seem to turn everything they make into gold somehow.

OK, I guess I'm a fanboy.

 

[cever89]

I'm a game developers worst nightmare. I NEVER buy a new release and usually wait a year to see if it's worth my money. By then, the games been patched, there is a decent amount of dlc and, the fan base has usually added some mods. I only care about a good game, the latest and greatest in graphics means nothing.

The only new releases I'll buy are Blizzard releases, since I'm quite confident that they will eventually iron out any bugs and/or balance issues. But then again, I don't have that much time to game these days, so if I'm going to invest any time, it had better be good.