Resistance 3 starts Sony's version of the online pass

[RedRooster]

$60 isn't bad at all. In the old days, we'd buy one of those and it'd last us 6 months.
Now, with my short attention span, I need to be buying one game a week and if I'm paying $60 per shot that's gonna add up quick. I like the $10 games also, that I can play for 2 hours and sell/give away.

 

[DirthNader]

$60 is expensive?

...

these new games have hundreds of people working on them, and take MUCH longer to create than they used to.

Whether it's a good value or not does not change the fact that, because of their higher price relative to other consumable entertainment media, video games have left the door open for a thriving used market.

Used book, DVD, and music sales don't force the same competition upon their retail markets because the price points are low enough that there's no real demand for a used market. At least not enough demand for a national-level chain to exist and thrive.

Hell, GameStop tried the used DVD market and gave up.

 

[purbeast0]

Whether it's a good value or not does not change the fact that, because of their higher price relative to other consumable entertainment media, video games have left the door open for a thriving used market.

Used book, DVD, and music sales don't force the same competition upon their retail markets because the price points are low enough that there's no real demand for a used market. At least not enough demand for a national-level chain to exist and thrive.

Hell, GameStop tried the used DVD market and gave up.

video games have ALWAYS had higher peices relative to other consumable entertainment media, from the beginning of their time, yet the video game industry is bigger than ever in the current state. not really sure what you were trying to get at.

and there is a HUGE used book market out there.

 

[Dravic]

$60 is expensive?

and you are TOTALLY 100% in the minority if you think $60 is expensive, because the video game industry is pretty much at it's peak currently.

You've been conditioned to accept it (along with thinking 10-12 hrs of game play is long). Some SNES games were very expensive, if you happily payed $70 for a cart game in 1994, then your perspective is the one that's off.

When you walk into a game store, and ~50% of there retail space is dedicated to used games, that aint by accident.



Its also mostly at these used game stores that the retail price for new games comes down the fastest. Go walk into Best Buy or any other retail consumer giant and you'll see games still at original msrp 6+ months later. It likes buying a dvd-burner at newegg ($25) or best buy ($60). One moves more product and has a niche for that product. Remove the niche these game stores thrive on, and see if they have any pressure to reduce msrp on a game anytime soon.

 

[Raduque]

I think you're misunderstanding. I'm not talking about Amazon.com the retailer themselves, I'm talking about the Amazon marketplace. Scroll down the page, and you'll see that you can actually buy WET for $18.98 new from a seller with a 99% positive rating as well. Those are the kinds of places I was talking about.

And I would've had to wait for it. Pay $3 more, plus shipping, and wait several days. I paid less, took it home that same day, and was playing within minutes of walking through the door.

Also, I'd be curious to hear what you traded in and what the full credit given was. Unless it's a super in-demand, hyped game, Gamestop trade-in credit is usually a joke. Much more profitable to just sell online.

I traded in 9 games, 2 Xbox360 (GTA4 and an NBA game) 7 PS2. I got between .25 and $3 for the PS2 games, I think $17 for GTA4 and I'm not sure how much for the NBA game. But, I traded in on a day that was "Extra $10 for every 3 games you trade" so I got $30 just from the sheer amount of games I traded. I ended up with $60-something in credit.

And selling online is ok, if you don't mind being screwed by Paypal fees and the wait to transfer the money into your bank account. To each their own, though.

 

[JackBurton]

I like this trend, and for anyone complaining about, it will only get worse for you. I'm actually hoping downloadable games are the main distribution method for the next gen consoles. So if you want to talk about completely killing the used game market, there you go.

And yes, I would much prefer that model. I don't buy used games, and I don't sell the games I already own, so this works out perfect for me.

 

[Sulaco]

And I would've had to wait for it. Pay $3 more, plus shipping, and wait several days. I paid less, took it home that same day, and was playing within minutes of walking through the door.

I just used that to show you that it indeed wasn't the $23 you quoted ,but could be had for cheaper. That's just one game.
Without a doubt, you will find vastly better deals on used (and new) games through sites like Amazon's marketplace, than even the best Gamestop deals. That was the point. For every one deal at Gamestop, there are dozens better on Amazon (or similar).
Yeah, you have to wait a couple of days though. The shipping is a wash since it's usually no more than $3, and you don't pay tax like you do at Gamestop, so that's moot.

I traded in 9 games, 2 Xbox360 (GTA4 and an NBA game) 7 PS2. I got between .25 and $3 for the PS2 games, I think $17 for GTA4 and I'm not sure how much for the NBA game. But, I traded in on a day that was "Extra $10 for every 3 games you trade" so I got $30 just from the sheer amount of games I traded. I ended up with $60-something in credit.
And selling online is ok, if you don't mind being screwed by Paypal fees and the wait to transfer the money into your bank account. To each their own, though.

You're worried about being screwed by PayPal fees, yet you got $0.25 for some games?

To each their own, indeed.

 

[zerocool84]

Worked there for four years.

The employees only do what they have to, and I don't think I would ever get angry at one for it. Corporate, though, is worse than any other corporation I've ever worked for. They treat their employees like total shit and use nothing but fear tactics to motivate them. It's a shitty, shit place to work and they deserve to fail as a whole. One of their pushes recently-ish was for DLC, since that was money they never saw. Any time someone brought up a DLC card I let them know how they could alternatively buy it so that Gamestop didn't get any money from it

Fuck you, Gamestop.

You just sound bitter. I worked there when I was 18 and it's just like any other low paying retail job.

 

[HeXen]

.Pfft, my Donkey Kong cart for the Intellvision was $50.

$42.99 on release. Mis recollection or some store saw you comming.
But yes typically many games from 77-93 did range from $39.95 all the way up to $79.00, seemed dependant on the game more than the platform, that included PC.
I know cause i still have all the old Magazines and was looking at advertisements not too long ago for various platforms and games.

But $60 too much today?...no way, considering the fact that you get TONS more content and playtime, lets not forget the inflation ratio, they kept it pretty darn cheap.

Here's some prices for the kids out there who think todays games are crap and cost too much,

Cloud Master for the Sega MS..$51.99
Phantasy Star 2..$89.95...don't ask me, thats what it says it retailed for
Shinobi for Nintendo (Tengen)...$54.99
E.T. Atari 2600....$39.95
Jawbreaker for C64 (diskette only)....$73.00...theres quite a few titles that price too. Like Frogger $84.50 on C64...stupid
Red Lightning for Amiga/Atari ST/IBM...$59.95 <...this is 1990 mind you

C'mon now, $40 for ET, Frogger on cassette is $84.50!!!....people today should definitely not complain about any modern crappy game costing $40-$60, cause at least its not ET crappy.

 

[Rage187]

$42.99 on release. Mis recollection or some store saw you comming.

It was Sears. They had the cart displayed in the glass incases showcase like those used or jewelry.

I was 6 or 7 and it was birthday and Christmas money I had saved up. My mom likely kept the change. I'll remember that when it's time to pull the plug.

 

[purbeast0]

i remember i bought marble madness on SNES for $50 with money from my first communion in 2nd grade. it was at a baseball card shop too heh.

that game has like 4 levels too... $50 for 4 levels. think about that.

 

[Thraxen]

Of course, virtually all games were $50 just last generation, I think that's why people complain a lot this generation. Also, many of those older games were pricey due to the prices of solid state storage. Personally, I'm fine with the prices of games given the increase in devepment costs, I just think online passes are BS.

 

[Sulaco]

$42.99 on release. Mis recollection or some store saw you comming.
But yes typically many games from 77-93 did range from $39.95 all the way up to $79.00, seemed dependant on the game more than the platform, that included PC.
I know cause i still have all the old Magazines and was looking at advertisements not too long ago for various platforms and games.

But $60 too much today?...no way, considering the fact that you get TONS more content and playtime, lets not forget the inflation ratio, they kept it pretty darn cheap.

Here's some prices for the kids out there who think todays games are crap and cost too much,

Cloud Master for the Sega MS..$51.99
Phantasy Star 2..$89.95...don't ask me, thats what it says it retailed for
Shinobi for Nintendo (Tengen)...$54.99
E.T. Atari 2600....$39.95
Jawbreaker for C64 (diskette only)....$73.00...theres quite a few titles that price too. Like Frogger $84.50 on C64...stupid
Red Lightning for Amiga/Atari ST/IBM...$59.95 <...this is 1990 mind you

C'mon now, $40 for ET, Frogger on cassette is $84.50!!!....people today should definitely not complain about any modern crappy game costing $40-$60, cause at least its not ET crappy.

I posted this in another thread awhile back about insane game prices, but these are actual ads from Next Generation Magazine in 1996 and 1997 I have in my collection I scanned to prove how much some of these old carts cost back then.

...it got cut off, but that last pic has Toy Story on the SNES, in 1997, going for $80.

Crazy.

 

[Rage187]

I posted this in another thread awhile back about insane game prices, but these are actual ads from Next Generation Magazine in 1996 and 1997 I have in my collection I scanned to prove how much some of these old carts cost back then.

...it got cut off, but that last pic has Toy Story on the SNES, in 1997, going for $80.

Crazy.

But wait, does that ad say you get a snes plus KI for $80? That's a steal. Of course they had to make that up in the carts.

Same with the N64. the system is $150. That made paying for the games a lot less painful. Sony and Microsoft should take note. Charge me $150 for the system near launch and I won't complain about $60 games.

They have an uphill battle now. I can get some amazing games on my iPad for $1. $3 gets me console quality games. I love to see how they are going to compete next gen.

 

[zerocool84]

They have an uphill battle now. I can get some amazing games on my iPad for $1. $3 gets me console quality games. I love to see how they are going to compete next gen.

You need to play better console games.

 

[Rage187]

You need to play better console games.

Meh, I'm sitting on a 48k gamer score; I play enough quality console games. The quality of mobile games is pretty damn amazing for an industry that didn't exist a few years ago. They have nowhere to go but up.

 

[Thraxen]

Meh, I'm sitting on a 48k gamer score; I play enough quality console games. The quality of mobile games is pretty damn amazing for an industry that didn't exist a few years ago. They have nowhere to go but up.

They aren't even remotely close yet though. I mean, the mobile platforms are great for games like Angry Birds, but anything deeper usually feels very cheap. For example, I appreciate the fact that I can play a Diablo clone like Dungeon Hunter on the go, but compared to Diablo itself it's worth about the $5 they charge for it. It's just a pale shadow.

And look at a title like Infinity Blade that people like to hold up as an example of a great mobile game. That game sucks. It's literally a 15 minute on rails game with some cheap ass mechanic where you're basically expected to fail to beat the boss the first couple of times through so that you have to play through the game several times to actually beat the game. Just a cheap way to extend a very short game. The graphics look nice for a mobile game, but I found it immediately disappointing that the Epic Citadel demo was free roaming but the final product was a short on on-rails game. And that game isn't even 99 cents, they want $6 for it. So if they do truly eventually compete on a quality level with home games we'll see how the prices hold up at that point.

However, there are a small handful of exceptions. I did just pick up NBA Jam during the 99 cent sale EA had this last weekend. It plays extremely well and is definitely a much better value than the retail console version of the same.

 

[Anubis]

Resistance 3

a game Anubis will not be playing

 

[BenSkywalker]

Overall, this type of move is good for the developer/publisher part of the industry and really not that bad for most consumers. Only those that buy new and quickly sell their titles and those who only buy used titles are going to be impacted, and even then the difference isn't that much(a few dollars here or there). Honestly considering the concern the used market is for the industry as a whole, if this is the solution then I'll take it. Much better then ending up with the nightmare PC gamers face with their DRM.

But yes typically many games from 77-93 did range from $39.95 all the way up to $79.00

The N64 launched in '96 and many of its' games were $79.99(I was managing an electronics store at the time).

Same with the N64. the system is $150.

The system launched at $199 and held that price for a while.

 

[Thraxen]

Honestly considering the concern the used market is for the industry as a whole, if this is the solution then I'll take it. Much better then ending up with the nightmare PC gamers face with their DRM.

This actually seems worse than most PC games in many ways. Yeah, the crap they put up with on single player games is often worse, but when taking about online games I think the passes are worse in most cases. The most annoying PC DRM usually have some sort of install limit with the keys, but it's almost always higher than 1. These online passes are essentially tying your game a single system. You wouldn't even be able to play the same game on two systems in your own home without buying an additional pass.