gaming on a budget...

pwarbi

pwarbi

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Registered
Mar 9, 2015
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With the price of next gen consoles and video games these days costing quite a considerable amount, then on top of that any subscription charges we pay as well, are people being priced out of playing video games?
I think the days are gone of kids being able to save up their pocket money to purchase games etc like I used to do years ago, now I feel the only ones that can afford to get into gaming are the people with jobs.
Are companies deliberately aiming the market now at the 20's and older age group rather than the younger generation?
 
I'm thinking either that, or they know that if they can get kids with allowances hooked on their products, they'll just ask their parents to pay for it. Its how I use to pay for my World of Warcraft account back during "The Burning Crusade" expansion. Doing chores around the house and stuff to earn some extra allowance to pay for my game each month.
 
I am not seeing a shortage of kids getting their gaming fix. Considering that having the coolest new gadget is still taking priority over food and cars and proper housing, gaming companies are still making a killing off of our entitled consumerism. They got us... Hook..line... sinker
 
While I think people do spend more than they should on games, I don't think I know anybody that sacrifices essentials to buy them. Well not yet anyway.

If the prices keep going up I'm guessing there will come a time where people have to decide, and hopefully they won't choose games over food!
 
Well this is where piracy comes in. There are a lot of people who download games for consoles and pc using torrent websites and so I don't think those who can't afford to buy a game legally is missing out much. Gaming companies have set such high prices because they know that parents will buy the games for their kids anyways because these days everyone wants to seem cool with the latest gadgets and games.
 
Rowe992 said:
Well this is where piracy comes in. There are a lot of people who download games for consoles and pc using torrent websites and so I don't think those who can't afford to buy a game legally is missing out much. Gaming companies have set such high prices because they know that parents will buy the games for their kids anyways because these days everyone wants to seem cool with the latest gadgets and games.
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The average of a gamer is 30. In fact, there are more gamers over the age of 36 than between the ages of 18 to 35 or under the age of 18. 29% of gamers are under 18. 32% are between the ages of 18-35 and 39% of gamers are 36 and older.
 
You can always just play indies and wait for the AAA games to go on sale...
 
I think there are just much more choices now so some are able to fill the need for practical prices while some are able to indulge with selling a luxury item. From what I understand Steam always has great sales where you could get games for very cheap so I don't think there's a shortage of cheap games, not to mention mobile games are everywhere and only cost a dollar or most of the time even free.
 
I have bought some games on the Steam channel, The cat lady was around $3.50 and also it was on special when I got it in April and now it is $11.99 and the game is real good and also Lego batman 2 was on special for $5.50 and now it is at $23.99 so the prices can go up or down at times and need to check. On the consoles games can be high or low depending on when they came out and maybe months before it get's cheaper and that is when I usually buy them or if it is something real good I would pay for it like Tombraider Origins and Tomb Raider Annivarsary when they first came out. I think some do budget and some do not do it especially when they have more money and also willl not get too worried to use the money for the games.
 
Gamefly was a great option for me when I wasn't in a fiscal place to buy new games that came out. I stopped using the service when I found myself working more than getting a decent rotation on the games per month. Before that though it was a nice way to get the newest stuff out there & test it before wanting to commit.
 
Uhh, even with the more expensive modern games, kids are still the largest percentage of playerbase of the most popular games. They would just ask their parents and get the stuff they want. You're thinking about the 90s, when parents weren't as liberal to their children and we would have to buy our own games, save up for them. That's just my opinion on the matter but ultimately, yes, games are getting even more expensive and cheapest way to be a regular games at the moment is to own a decen PC and play cheap/free games.
 
Where piracy is concerned, I don't think the game manufacturers help themselves really. They're making games more unaffordable to most so that's when people do resort to getting the games through other channels shall we say.
 
kofter128 said:
Uhh, even with the more expensive modern games, kids are still the largest percentage of playerbase of the most popular games. They would just ask their parents and get the stuff they want. You're thinking about the 90s, when parents weren't as liberal to their children and we would have to buy our own games, save up for them. That's just my opinion on the matter but ultimately, yes, games are getting even more expensive and cheapest way to be a regular games at the moment is to own a decen PC and play cheap/free games.
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I posted this earlier in the thread but kids are not the largest percentage of video game players. The average age of a gamer today is 30. 71% of all gamers are over the age of 18.
 
I don't think they're pricing young people out as much as maximizing their profit potential over multiple demographics now. Consoles are more expensive partially because of inflation but mainly because they do way more things. You can stream movies and tv on it and even buy music to listen to. When I was a kid, I had a hard time trying to convince my parents to get me the N64 because they saw no value in getting a new console when the old one worked just fine. In 2015, if I was a kid, I could point out that Mom and Dad get some use of it too through Netflix.

The used market and services like Gamefly sorta check the high cost of individual games as well. Honestly, e-commerce in general probably makes gaming a lot more affordable. It's probably way easier to get your hands on a used PS4 nowadays than it was to get a used PS1 back in the day.
 
pwarbi said:
With the price of next gen consoles and video games these days costing quite a considerable amount, then on top of that any subscription charges we pay as well, are people being priced out of playing video games?
I think the days are gone of kids being able to save up their pocket money to purchase games etc like I used to do years ago, now I feel the only ones that can afford to get into gaming are the people with jobs.
Are companies deliberately aiming the market now at the 20's and older age group rather than the younger generation?
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The gaming industry is going to do whatever possible to accomplish their goal, which is to make money. That being said, I think marketing techniques still target younger kids, especially with Nintendo Wii, 3ds, and similar gaming.

One way we save on gaming is trying out a new game before purchasing it. Our local library (yes, the library) has video games that can be checked out for free for one week. Sometimes we will also wait until a friend or family member is done with their copy of the new game and borrow it from them, and allow them to do the same.
 
Your right, and that was my point. They want to make as much money from a game as they possibly can, waiting for little Johnny to save up the money he gets from his paper round for 10 weeks, isn't going to work.

Instead, it's better for them to aim the games at the older generation, those with disposable income who can afford to buy the latest games as and when they come out. Unfortunately, that leaves little Johnny having to beg to borrow a copy or rely on birthdays and Christmas to be able to play a game he wants.
 
One thing that helps to game on a budget in this day and age is the multiple channels to buy new and used games from. Nowadays, you have so many different resources available to buy used games from whether it be Amazon, eBay, Best Buy, Gamestop, Gamefly, Craigslist, etc. The more options available to us as consumers, the better likelihood of getting a better deal.

Even if you only buy new games, the majority either go on sale within a few weeks or you can take advantage of pre-order programs such as Best Buy. Black Friday also helps when it comes to buying games at a steep discount and Steam is another alternative, too.
 
As long as there are kids, videogames will always be a source of fun, entertainment and action. I don't think we are going to see any slump as far as sales of games and gaming consoles are concerned. Yes, the prices might seem stellar right now, but it never stopped kids before in buying them. Besides, an old console can still serve its purpose, to give out fun and excitement to anybody who plays them. The videogaming industry releases videogames by the thousands every year, I don't think we will see them stopping anytime soon. Videogaming on a tight budget=old consoles.
 
Gaming really isn't that much more expensive nowadays than before. In fact I would say it's even more affordable than ever now, if we count all the insane sales games go on every other day on all the different platforms. It's actually a fairly cheap hobby if you get rid of the "gotta play it day one" mentality and just wait for the games to go on sale or for their price to drop. Well, the hardware is still expensive, but yeah, the games themselves can be pretty cheap.
 
I agree that if your willing to wait for a game to come out then you can get some of the games at sale price. For me, that IS what I do, but when you've got kids, and I have, they want the latest game when it comes out and I can see why to be honest. But if I don't buy it them, there's no chance they can save up themselves no matter what jobs they do to try and earn it.

When I was younger, I had a paper round and also worked at a car wash on a Saturday morning and everything I made, I saved and bought the latest game I wanted. These days kids can't do that due to the cost, that's all I'm saying.
 
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