I am MAD because PC Game Prices are NUTS

[bgcpen]

Steam FTW!

 

[darkewaffle]

New games have always been expensive. I remember paying something like $60 or even $70 for every new N64 game I wanted.

The production company has less influence on retail pricing than you might imagine. They set an MSRP which is, as the name says, a suggestion; even if the MSRP of SWToR was $19.99 a retailer would be a fool to not take advantage of the potential margin there. A retailer can price it however they want practically, but they're there to make money; not to give you a break. There's no reason to price cut on big name new games because the demand is so high and you'd basically be throwing money away by offering it for less; further, price cutting too early or significantly is going to result in back and forth pricing wars as retailers vie for business, which might allow for individual sales spikes but is overall self-destructive.

People sell things for the prices that people are willing to pay for them. You don't like it, don't buy it.

Further you seem to be intertwining "games are more expensive in country Z" with "games are too expensive overall" and attributing "foreign games are expensive" to "corporate greed"; neither of which are particularly valid.

 

[gorcorps]

Steam only makes games cheap when they are on sale.
In general for typically 350 days of the year or more, they are the same or more than if oyu buy a boxed retai lcopy.
If you only want to buy games during the tow weeks of sales for the particular game you want, it can be cheaper, but since the OP seems to be complaining about new games recently released, chances are he doesn't want to wait a year for a sale.

Are you unaware of their daily deals? Their midweek deals? And of course, the weekend deals? There's almost always something on sale. Not brand new AAA games, but there's a lot of good deals to be had year round. Holiday/Summer sales are obviously the best, but you're just being ignorant if you don't think the rest of the year has good deals too.

 

[Ausm]

When I think about how much money I've given Blizzard over the past few years I cringe.

That being said, I still think it is the cheapest form of entertainment. I get a ton of hours of entertainment for relatively low amount of money.

^^^

 

[HardcoreRobot]

i will only pay retail for games i really really want. then i dont really care because i am guaranteed to get my moneys worth. other than that, steam deals FTW

they only charge that much because people will pay it. dont pay it if you dont feel its worth it. guarantee you that price is going to drop. also guarantee you there are plenty of awesome games at affordable prices right now as well.

 

[thespyder]

So we have this awful problem of developers jacking up prices to cover the huge amount of money they have to inject into advertising, over 50% of the budget for games like modern warfare go on marketing, it's just a way to secure return on investment because advertising campaigns are financially safer that uncertainty of building a good game and it standing on its merits.

Yeah, not getting what you are saying. First it is an "Awful problem" that the Developers are trying to cover their own costs??? Would you prefer that they DON'T cover their own costs?

Then you say that the devs are "Jacking up" prices, yet the cost of video games over the last 20 years hasn't even kept up with the cost of inflation. So even though it costs more to make a game today, you are actually getting MORE GAME than you did 20 years ago for comparitively less money. Not really seeing how that is "Jacking up" prices.

As for Modern Warfare and the cost of marketing, i put that down to really cheap to develop rather than unreasonably high marketing costs. No story to speak of. Same basic engine and design as previous versions but with a paint-lift. Grind it out quick and then market the heck out of it to the seething masses. it is a simple formula.

 

[Jabberrwocky]

Whenever I read a post trying to justify stealing games via torrent, I think of this blog post and related The Oatmeal comic:

Heavy Hangs The Bandwidth That Torrents The Crown
http://ihnatko.com/2012/02/20/heavy-hangs-the-bandwidth-that-torrents-the-crown/

While the post relates to a movie, I think the reasoning still applies. Here is an excerpt:

"The world does not OWE you Season 1 of “Game Of Thrones” in the form you want it at the moment you want it at the price you want to pay for it. If it’s not available under 100% your terms, you have the free-and-clear option of not having it."

 

[alent1234]

Whenever I read a post trying to justify stealing games via torrent, I think of this blog post and related The Oatmeal comic:

Heavy Hangs The Bandwidth That Torrents The Crown
http://ihnatko.com/2012/02/20/heavy-hangs-the-bandwidth-that-torrents-the-crown/

While the post relates to a movie, I think the reasoning still applies. Here is an excerpt:

"The world does not OWE you Season 1 of “Game Of Thrones” in the form you want it at the moment you want it at the price you want to pay for it. If it’s not available under 100% your terms, you have the free-and-clear option of not having it."

i can understand DRM and locking down to specific stores. but if i buy a dvd/blu ray there shouldn't be any reason why i should have to buy a shady semi legal program to rip it so i can watch it on a mobile device

 

[Dankk]

Then you say that the devs are "Jacking up" prices, yet the cost of video games over the last 20 years hasn't even kept up with the cost of inflation. So even though it costs more to make a game today, you are actually getting MORE GAME than you did 20 years ago for comparitively less money. Not really seeing how that is "Jacking up" prices.

This is correct.

I know it's already been pointed out once or twice in this thread, but just to be clear: The price of video games has actually decreased over the past few decades.

If you count inflation, AAA-quality SNES titles in 1992 cost ~$80. Nowadays, most PC games are under $50 at release, and console games are only $10 more. We also have insanely cheap Steam sales today, whereas 20 years ago we didn't.

 

[gorcorps]

This is correct.

I know it's already been pointed out once or twice in this thread, but just to be clear: The price of video games has actually decreased over the past few decades.

If you count inflation, AAA-quality SNES titles in 1992 cost ~$80. Nowadays, most PC games are under $50 at release, and console games are only $10 more. We also have insanely cheap Steam sales today, whereas 20 years ago we didn't.

Yup. People will always bitch though.

 

[Lonyo]

Are you unaware of their daily deals? Their midweek deals? And of course, the weekend deals? There's almost always something on sale. Not brand new AAA games, but there's a lot of good deals to be had year round. Holiday/Summer sales are obviously the best, but you're just being ignorant if you don't think the rest of the year has good deals too.

Just because SOMETHING is on sale doesn't mean the game you want is on sale, which was my entire point.
I don't give a damn if they have 50 sales if I don't want any of those 50 games.
Hence why I said 2 weeks of the year, because for any given game, it's potentially going to be on sale for 2 weeks. 1 week at Christmas, 1 weekend, 1 midweek and then maybe thanksgiving or similar.

Just because they have sales on some game or other doesn't mean the games you want are cheap, it means some games are cheap(er).

My current Amazon.co.uk pre-order list (will probably cancel some, just want to make sure they are reasonably inexpensive if I do decide to get them by pre-ordering while I can):

Diablo 3: £22.43 ($35.23)
Hitman Absolution: £20.83 ($32.73)
Mass Effect 3: £23.33 ($36.65)
Borderlands 2: £23.33 ($36.65)
Aliens: Colonial Marines: £20.83 ($32.73)

Full legit UK retail boxed copies from Amazon.co.uk directly.
Keep your Steam "deals".

 

[alent1234]

Just because SOMETHING is on sale doesn't mean the game you want is on sale, which was my entire point.
I don't give a damn if they have 50 sales if I don't want any of those 50 games.
Hence why I said 2 weeks of the year, because for any given game, it's potentially going to be on sale for 2 weeks. 1 week at Christmas, 1 weekend, 1 midweek and then maybe thanksgiving or similar.

Just because they have sales on some game or other doesn't mean the games you want are cheap, it means some games are cheap(er).

that's horrible, it's almost like a retail store

why would the top sellers go on sale? the whole point of sales is to push product that isn't selling well

 

[Lonyo]

that's horrible, it's almost like a retail store

why would the top sellers go on sale? the whole point of sales is to push product that isn't selling well

My point was that Steam is only cheap when things are on sale, and things aren't on sale very often (the things you WANT that is. There always being something on sale doesn't mean anything if it's not something you actually want...) The entire rest of the time they are the same or more than other places, therefore Steam basically isn't cheap unless you want to wait and hope.
In which case everywhere is cheap if you wait long enough.

My original post was making a joke about using Steam because it's cheap, because Steam isn't cheap, especially in Europe where the OP is.
It's ridiculous that digital distribution is so shit given it's "the future".

 

[ShreddedWheat]

If you buy when they first come out you are going to pay alot regardless if PC or console. I think PC game prices are fantastic if you wait awhile (6 months to a year). Play older games and wait for prices to fall I haven't paid over $ 15 or so in years. Most of the time $ 10 or less

 

[thespyder]

My point was that Steam is only cheap when things are on sale, and things aren't on sale very often (the things you WANT that is. There always being something on sale doesn't mean anything if it's not something you actually want...) The entire rest of the time they are the same or more than other places, therefore Steam basically isn't cheap unless you want to wait and hope.
In which case everywhere is cheap if you wait long enough.

My original post was making a joke about using Steam because it's cheap, because Steam isn't cheap, especially in Europe where the OP is.
It's ridiculous that digital distribution is so shit given it's "the future".

I think the point being made in reciprocal to yours is that Steam has a lot of sales. And that most things (other than AAA "New" titles) go on sale multiple times during the year. In fact it always seems that there is SOMETHING good on sale from Steam.

If you are dead set on buying something at release, then you are making a choice. And if you can find what you want at release for less than Steam, Great. And you should definitely go that way. But to completely discount Steam as higher prices, when the vast majority of their titles routinely (not occasionally) are sale priced cheaper than retail stores seems a bit off.

Perhaps you aren't aware of how often the deals happen on Steam?

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

You can pick up ME3 for 20% off at GMG. Activates on Origin. Use the code TAKEE-ARTHB-ACK20 at checkout. Works on the deluxe edition.

 

[Zenoth]

I still remember paying $90 CAN (including taxes) for Killer Instinct (SNES) when it was still new (same release week). Well, granted, there was the Killer Cut music CD included in it which I definitely payed within the price. But anyway, race cases aside generally speaking most games I remember buying brand new (usually near their release date) on my N64 (for example) would cost me anywhere between $50 to $60. That's Canadian Dollars remember, and that was during the early and mid 1990's, not to mention that back then the US Dollar had a much higher value, so in USD it might have been something like $40 to $50, it was still expensive anyhow. The point is that yes at least cartridge-based games at the time were just "as expensive" as most brand new games today for both the PC and the consoles, regardless of the medium (CD, DVD, or even just digital). It hasn't changed much really, the prices are about the same for most cases, with some exceptions here and there (World of WarCraft for instance, or at the other end of the spectrum, those smaller digital-only Indie type games that only cost $20 or $30 at release).

There's a few things to consider though...

Nowadays (and since a few years) most game's prices for the PC specifically end up reduced significantly in usually a short period of time. Be it the digital version of even the retail version. Take... say... RAGE for example, released on consoles and the PC, a console port. It's on Steam, and retail for the PC (by retail for the PC I mean you can go at a store and pick up a physical copy, regardless of what you need to do online to activate it or whatever). In a VERY short period of time, the PC version went from its initial and expected price of what... $60 it was? To... what $40 now? And that's excluding Steam-specific week-end deals or such special/limited price reductions on top of the permanent price reduction regardless of sales. Can you expect such price reductions for newly released console games? I mean... take a PS3 or a 360 exclusive title (even Wii if you want), but a recently released one (as an example), and tell me if its initial price of $50 (example) would end up being $30 or $40 BRAND NEW (not second-hand, if that's even possible anymore to start with) under a period of say... just a month. Can you normally expect that to happen for retail console games nowadays?

I only own a Nintendo Wii myself with Skyward Sword, but that's it. I could be wrong (correct me if I am) but I do know that my cousin occasionally rents 360 games and he always tells me that prices for new 360 games are anywhere between $60 to $70 (CAN Dollars), and that finding a 360 game brand new (recently released, say just a few months old at most, or at least under a year after release) UNDER $50 is extremely rare, unless you can somehow find it second-hand, or buy it from Mr. Joe on eBay, or rely on Steam for sales, but then when it comes to Steam we no longer speak of console games. I'm not sure... I think it's a question of perception based on any one's personal experiences rather than an actual view on the overall picture. Yes, some games are say... "more expensive" than others, sure, it happens now, it happened in the past as well. Maybe now the more expensive titles are indeed considerably more expensive than their equivalents of the past by a good margin though, perhaps that's the big difference? I mean, yes for example WoW can be expensive (not sure, just saying, I don't own it myself), but then again it surely has a crap load of content and you might be addicted to it (for good or bad reasons) and in the end have a game worth every bit of its value.

When I look at Steam and prices for PC games, even recent ones, for most of them, I feel lucky to be mostly a PC gamer myself. I RARELY buy new PC games at higher than $40 or so, very rarely in fact. And that's not exactly because I restrain myself in doing it, or because I'm "poor". It's just because by the time I am interested in buying the said game(s) often without being aware of it their permanent price was already reduced one, two or three times over the short period of time after their initial release's price. Yes, if I bought games ALWAYS at the very day of their release then sure, I'd always pay around $40, $50 or $60 for them... but then again, that's what I paid when I had my N64 (and my SNES, although back during my SNES gaming days my parents bought them). Generally speaking from what I can see myself PC game prices isn't nuts or "beyond" what it can be compared to from the past. I do mean generally speaking, but yes, there ARE some games that do surprise (well, their prices I mean) from time to time. You see one and you think "Jeez how did we get to this point?", but in reality it was pretty much always the case. In fact, I'd say that with the appearance of Steam alone most PC games prices are actually LOWER than they were back in the late 1990's or early 2000's (retail I mean, back then anyway). Thanks to Steam (Valve) and the competition, prices are usually not only comparable to what they used to be, but it hasn't necessarily been higher either, and it's usually lower over a short period of time as well.

The ONE thing that DID change however, without a doubt, is digital distribution, and the fact that you DO pay a "regular" retail-like price for a game that you downloaded even though there's NOTHING physical about it, but the price is the same as if you were also paying for a retail box, CD, manual instruction and the whole transportation and factorization process to send it physically on the store shelves. Now THAT part of today's gaming cannot be denied. I still remember back during the N64 days when in magazines you'd have editorials commenting on why N64 game prices were generally higher than PS1 or Saturn prices, and that it was because producing them was simply expensive because they were cartridges.

In retrospect and seeing what happens today... one might think that with the advent of digital distribution would be a way to circumvent all that physical and expensive production process, and that automatically it'd mean that digitally-bought games would be less expensive. But nothing has changed, digitally-bought games is just a means of getting it faster, you don't save money in the process for MOST of them. It's just... more convenient, but business-wise... yeah not much is changing. The distribution model changes but prices-wise? It's barely different, excluding the rare case scenarios.