Even if you wanted to take development costs out of the equation, games like Call of Duty, GTA, Destiny and Final Fantasy have all spent more than $100 million on marketing the games.
Do you think games are worth their current retail price?
- Thread starter AmenoKaji
- Start date
I do see the price for certain games being too high - take Call of Duty for example, where they release a new game yearly, but continue to charge the same price, as well as a ton extra with DLC and accessories. There is a point when the costs can become ridiculous, particularly if you're a console player, as you have these costs:
- Electricity
- Console itself
- Console accessories
- Network subscription fee (PSN/XBL)
- Game itself
- Game DLC
Problem with SWTOR however. SWTOR is a MMORPG and they typically have a high production value, and they always have a $15 sub model up until the last recent years where free to play has been a thing for customer retention with their micro transactions (thanks dlcs.) its general design was to make something that would not only accel beyond SWG but to kill World of Warcraft. it killed SWG and WoW still stands. Great game don't get me wrong but they pushed their cost that high in an attempt to not only dethrone the popular MMO at that time but to claim its multimillion dollar market and multimillion user base. Destiny on the other hand, no idea what's going on with that game but from what I've seen of it, I don't know how they spent so much making it because it looked dated. I'd actually have to look that one up..
100 million in marketing is an awful lot of unnecessary advertising costs today. I mean with google adsense ads, facebook ads, in addition to all the free advertising resources. Let me be more clear and what i am saying, Just because a company spent X amount of dollars to do something does not mean it was necessary to spend that. The problem is the high prices are also due to the fact these companies overpay certain people in the company under pay others, and waste money that we have to pay for. 100 million in advertising is a bit much especially if there is NO Television advertising, which few games do anyways.
Huge advertising budgets are absolutely needed for video games. The vast majority of people who play(buy) video games don't come to things like forums and video game websites. New information has to basically be forced on them.
If you know how much it takes for a game to be made, then yes, it's worth the price. Developers have to go through a lot of work and stress when making a video game, it's no easy task. And again, if you don't want to spend $60 bucks you could just wait a while until the price drops to $20, that way you can pay what you can for their effort.
I wouldn't say few games use television advertising. More and more games are using television advertising than ever before and video games have to compete with movies, sports events, etc for the consumer dollar.
At the end of the day, consumers have the option of voting with their wallets. If they feel like $60 is too much for a game, they won't buy it, forcing companies, at some point, to lower their price point.
Considering the amount of work that goes into the writing, developing, coding, marketing, and distributing of these games, I would say that it is definitely worth the money. True, it's a decent chunk of your paycheck, but these people need to eat as well. That being said, check the reviews of the game first before you buy, and always think about your needs before your wants. If you think it's worth it to wait until it gets cheaper, then do so.
For me personally, there are some games that I am fully willing to pay $60 to get on release day and others that I am more than happy to wait until the price drops. It is also worth mentioning that with Best Buy's GCU program which offers a 20% discount on all new games, even day 1, $60 releases can be purchased for $48.
No, I do not think that any game is worth $60. Is this to say I haven't spent that price? yes, I have. I understand that modern games require an incredible amount of work. A team of fifty could spend two years developing a game. Then there are costs of the soundtracks and other additional fees. But when a game has millions of copies and each one is $60.00 I think that they should not be so greedy with their profits. They should consider many of the people playing are either kids (teens) or blue collar workers, that aren't exactly rich!
Do you think that a movie ticket is worth $12 or a ticket or an NFL game, $150? Video game companies invest more than $100 million into developing, coding and marketing games, that is a huge investment and a huge risk. Not every game sells millions of copies and not every game turns a profit.
I myself bought Starcraft 2 and Bioshock Infinite at full retail price. I had been waiting for both of them and they were amazing. SC2 is a game I still play and it's given me countless hours of fun and frustration, so it was definitely worth it.
As for other games, some are worth, some or not. Just like the user above me said, not every game is successful, and that's ok.
As for other games, some are worth, some or not. Just like the user above me said, not every game is successful, and that's ok.
I think if it's a genuinely quality game then 35-40 should be the limit. Once you go above that, it's absurd. Console games are just over priced in my opinion. The Handhelds should be 15-20 Pounds because they're Novelty systems that won't be used all the time. If you're playing at home it will mostly be on Console or PC. I understand a lot of work goes into production, but let's keep it about the gaming and not about the money. If it's a great game then everyone should be able to afford it.
No. If it is a great game the company and people who made it should be able to live good lives, and have money to make their next project. That takes priority over people feeling entitled to games.
It's odd. A decade ago I remember happily paying $60-70 for brand new games. Nowadays I think the price of games is incredibly high even though they're the same price! I think I've been spoiled by Steam sales and the advent of more indie games. Why buy a $60-70 game when I could buy a game for a tenth of the price, and still have hundreds of hours of fun out of it?
It depends on long the game lasts. Games should be priced on the average amount of time it takes the average person to complete it.
Steam sales, Humble Bundles and other things like them are the biggest contributors to this problem.
