"Why the end of the $60 video game is near"
polycounter lvl 11
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/why-end-60-video-game-near-181412574.html
Its basically talking about games like Angry Birds being only $1 and COD or BF being $60 yet theyre both fun games. People are finding cheaper games just as fun nowadays because development tools and platforms are so widespread.
I don't know about everyone else but I very seldom buy $60 games. Its just too much of a chunk for me, I wait for steam sales for almost all my games.
Thoughts? I know everyone here will be against it because in the end it means layoffs or lower pay and I dont blame them
Its basically talking about games like Angry Birds being only $1 and COD or BF being $60 yet theyre both fun games. People are finding cheaper games just as fun nowadays because development tools and platforms are so widespread.
I don't know about everyone else but I very seldom buy $60 games. Its just too much of a chunk for me, I wait for steam sales for almost all my games.
Thoughts? I know everyone here will be against it because in the end it means layoffs or lower pay and I dont blame them
Replies
While I do think the 60$ price tag is numbered, I don't think there will be a decline in demand for a meaty gamers game.
which is why this new Kickstarter trend is awesome.
The decline of Nintendo hardware sales look pretty bad for retail numbers but we all know how Nintendo was the only company reaping any benefit, 3rd party Wii developers suffered.
Linked article is dumb.
Short answer: on the surface, games will get cheaper.
Long answer: Not really. Segmenting games and selling those components individually will bring down the upfront costs, but high-end game experiences (Mass Effect, Halo, CoD) might even end up costing more in the future, even with the death of physical media/retailers. Marketing/business is not going to give those up.
Steam, XBL and PSN are already selling good quality games for $20 or less.
I'm not a fan of the 60 dollar pricepoint.
I think 40 max. 20 is a sweetspot.
the thing is if were giving people film like experiences i think a film like price tag and a film like length (for single player) is perfectly acceptable
journey was perfectly priced.
Now it has to be an exceptional game for me to buy it at that price, hence I have done more bargain hunting...
Two days ago I got a brand new copy of Borderlands collector edition for 6.22 (plus $4 shipping). No problem waiting a year plus for a game that i only want for the art style.
Got to love Amazon.
For example, if you go and buy a Hair-Dryer, it will look, work and do the same stuff as dryers did over the years, nuff said, same with cars.
Games, even something as basic as FPS has WAY too many variables. For example, is the SP solid? Does it teach something or is it tacked on? What about MP? Is it ranked? How are the unlocks? Does it have them or are they hierarchy event based? What is the life-time of the game? Coop? Is it mission based from SP? Can it be tagged with MP modes? How is the shooting mechanic? Do guns have recoil or not? Is it physics based or arcadey? Etc.
Their kinda like food to be honest, really hard to put into perspective, and with so many of them coming out which overlap in what they offer in terms of taste, it can get daunting.
Waiting a month or two and using google will answer pretty much all of those questions.
Actually, for me it's a hell of a lot harder to buy a good vacuum than it is to buy a good game.
I don't see the $60 game going anywhere. I think we'll see the $20-30 release games disappear before we see the $60 games gone.
Back to the original post. Yahoo article???
For me..I have a hard time keeping up with newer games $60 games. I'm so far behind on games...because games like skyrim, mass effect, gta, etc...are so involved and take so much effort to get through.
I, for one..would be more than happy to pay $30-$40 or a $30-$40 quality game. I still would like to have the occasional epic game, like a mass effect game..at a higher price point...but does every game I pick up have to be an epic, life stealing experience?
I feel like a lot of indie games are hitting that area of mid ranged, mid quality games right now, and it seems to be doing well for them.
SP=$30
MP=$30
So how would you price all the games that only have SP? 30 bucks for a Skyrim or an Arkaham City? I don't think so.
So there certainly a little of a conundrum here with what people want, use and enjoy vs. what publisher take from these numbers.
60$ games won't disappear, no way, but I wouldn't be surprised if with Kickstarters happening around alot, they end up making so that you 'donation' gives a nice discount to the 60$ price tag, this will also knock some sense into many Publisher and Developers (and I'm not really happy to say this, but ti must be said).
At that point, I'm not sure if big time publishers can make 60$ games anymore...
so the price should be depending on how much content I want see in that game.
if I want just casual gaming, then Im gonna play angry bird,
but if I want cinematic, epic storyline , top notch graphic experience, then I will play uncharted, MGS, bioshock which is usually 60$ price. ( but I rarely pay this price
if i want 2d RPG then I play old school style games in steam, usually between 5-10$.
if i want to spend more than 60, then I will play WOW or any kind of long run premium game ( oh yes someone actually spent more than 10.000 for some premium mmo or even so called casual facebook game).
one the best value I ever paid is minecraft
so yea I agree that nobody should set a standard price for games.
What people are really arguing about is not the price of games, it's the launch price. Which is entirely a value judgement and entitlement issue over when people "should" be able to buy things at the price they want which is totally irrelevant and completely subjective.
Unless we're talking Nintendo's franchises, in which case the price will stay exactly the same until at least 5 years later when it gets put into a classic series...
Incidentally, if you guys think 60 is high, down here in AU a brand new release game from your average store EB / JBHIFI can still set us back anywhere from $90 - $110. Which is absolutely rediculous considering the AU dollar is higher than the US and has been so at least since i left California ( 1 AU will buy about a 1.03US ) - The developers sure as hell dont get that extra 50 - 60 bucks so wtf AU.
I almost feel like telling every single person who shops in those stores here, that its possible to get exactly the same product delivered to your door for half that price online. Because I absolutely do not support any store that would sell me a product for twice what its actually worth just because they can.
The counter to my own argument is that I remember when a Ultima IV for my Sega Master System cost me $140 as a new release! So prices have definitely dropped over time.
Bottom line, I think 60 is too much to pay for even the best quality game. Its probably not too much to pay for a limited or collectors edition that comes with an art book and a few other bits and pieces however.
The reason I feel this way is because traditionally the developer doesnt get enough of that money IMO - I think from the average 60 dollar game a developer gets about 12 bucks or about 20%. ( Based on Pachters breakdown )
I would love to know how or even if that that scales when games drop in price, or how / if that changes for using steam etc.
I have a list beside me of all the games I've yet to play but will do once they've become cheap. LBP2, SMG2, Uncharted trilogy.
As for splitting prices on SP from MP, it would never work because games that are single player only will not only be unfairly effected but no studio is going to make an expensive campaign avoiding profit. A single player campaign like in BF3 might be everyone's cup of tea but it was dam expensive to make, developers need their wages for all those hours and that's why $60 is a fair price.
League of Legends is free. Completely. You sign up for an account, and get access to this awesome game. I've only played for a few days, but there is a ton of value and replayability. It has no single player. And it's been financially very successful. So why even bother with $30, $20, $10? I think some companies should really think harder about free to play. When I bought BF3, I knew for a fact I was only going to play multi. That's $60 for multiplayer... Now I'm playing LoL, for free, and having a better, more polished experience. Another cool f2p game is Jetpack Joyride on iOS. Really simple but polished game that I've sunk at least a couple hours into.
I used to be a bit down/opposed to free to play stuff. But over the last year or so I've played a bunch of f2p stuff that's been very worthwhile. I think $60 is way way too much.
but that 60$ price point will stop alot of less hardcore gamers... and sorry i dont have the memory or will to keep an eye out for the price to decrease. I will rather buy a game when everyones talking about it OR borrow it later if i remember to. rare that i buy an older game...and i think this goes for alot of the less-glued to computer people out there... how many extra people go and see avatar in 3d that wopuld really normally go and see that sort of film just because its the "buzz"
Everybody wants things cheaper/better/sooner. I bet if you asked anybody who lined up to pay peak price for MW3 on launch day if they thought games were too expensive most of them would say yes. Then they'd get to the register and pay $60 + tax for one.
"Too expensive" is the price that, above which, you're not willing to buy the game. So long as everyone is still buying games for $60 it really doesn't matter what they say about the price of games because their actions speak the real truth.
You may don't know about play.com, zavvi.com or other stores... but the fact is that i buy all my games from UK... and in they are the cheapest in the EU.
I bought COD MW3 for just 22 man... and with free shipping. And Deus Ex: Human Revolution Limited edition for just only 15 euros, and one month later of the release. Skyrim preorder 28, and if go on with games... i would not stop
I also have preordered 2 copies of diablo 3 for 60 euros. I have NEVER paid more than 32 euro for a game (retail).
Another thing I hate is the idea that all singleplayer games need X hours of gameplay and story, instead of just making an entertaining experience with no care of how long it is. This would cut development costs, assure the game is 100% fun (no filler), allow for lower prices without "devaluing" games, and for people like me would actually be more enjoyable and rewarding because they could actually finish it. Its hard to justify spending any money on a game if I know Im not even going to want to finish it just because its so long.
I think The Free2Play title is a curse. Sure its possible to make a good free to play model, but that is rare, so people feel like if a game says "Free2Play" its a bad game experience unless you pay, even if thats not really true. Even knowing that I still almost never try a free2play game even if it actually looks pretty good. A good example of this is that Hawken game, I almost completely lost interest when I heard it was going to be "Free2Play", even though I know nothing about what will actually be microtransaction. I would be much more interested if the game was available for for $10 or $15 or even $20, even if they also had some non gameplay effecting micro transactions. That being said, Im still a lot more likely to play a free to play game than something with a monthly fee, or even something that costs $60.
$60 is alot to ask for to a child at the store. $20 is really nothing. If 3 people bought the game at $60, 8-10 would probably buy it at $20 on release week. If youre in college or just moved out, $60 is missing a bill that month. So they usually just dont get it and forget about it over time. Adults 25+ will buy them but lets be real - the adult market is probably the smallest.
While I consider 'world exploration games' an exception to the rule; Skyrim did sell over 10 million copies. That's a lot of money even at 20 bucks.
And game stores like gamestop wont make as much profit at all. Not to mention the amount of pirating itll reduce. I have friends who pirate big games but own mount and blade, tf2, css, and GTA 4 when it was on the $10 steam sale.
So the way I see it its
$60
Less sales
More pirates
Less publicity
$20
More sales
Less pirates
More publicity
Not only that id really be interested if publishers fought over quality and price. Getting L4D for $60 just because of the sheer fact that its a game and games are all $60 is bullshit.
Thats like all sodas being $2, even the watered down crap.
Regarding the average of gamers if I remember correctly it was between 25-40. So it's adults with money the ones that are playing the most.
I want games to be cheaper, don't get me wrong, but at the same time I want developers to have good budgets and have the incentive to create better, original games. If all games being 20 bucks, mid size games will struggle even more vs the GTA's and the COD's.
Think about it. If they were 20 bucks. I would buy COD, Madden, GTA for 60 bucks but I don't have more time to play those games. So now all my game time is occupied by the triple AAA games. No room for Darksiders, for Warhammer, etc.
Actually
So nearly half of the customers are people that are tight on money, and theyre also the most social because of schooling. So lowering prices would cause more discussion and more sales, because its cheap to TRY now :P
If one game company decided to release their next game for $20 it would be a revolution. If the next COD game was $20 I would get it even though I hate COD with a burning passions since everything after WaW.
wat
I have never met someone over 25 that still plays games. They may own a console but its just in a closet.
the adults that think $60 for a VIDEO GAME (how it sounds to their ears) is ridiculous is higher than the adults that play the games themselves im sure.
I'm 26 ahhh!!! lol
I'm very surprised you find that rare. Every gaming community I have ever been part of has an average age of 28 on FPS games. Take a look at large clans like TAW, over 900 BF3 players, vast numbers of them over 30.
Back to the main subject though, I don't think your really considering the cost of making a game enough in making this point about certain games being cheaper. What about the over heads, license costs, wages on hours, fines for missed deadlines.
One of the first things I ever learned at uni is how little goes back to the developer from sales so undercutting other developers just doesn't work and comes with risk no one wants to take.
Sorry I don't get what you mean by "real life" lol.
I don't get how you are splitting it. Do you mean you don't know many people who play SP only games who are over 25?
26 or 28 is like a new doctor, I can't imagine them going home and playing call of duty :P I know it happens its just I never play games with my friends parents, but I have no problem playing games with 60 yr olds obviously. My arena partner was also 34 in WoW.
Personally I think the main thing with $20-$30 games is it provokes impulse buying from pressure and popularity.
Hell I own gta 4 for xbox and I also rebought it for pc during that $10 sale because I know a deal when I see one, and I wouldnt mind having it in my library. No matter the convenience, I refuse to buy COD again for easier access, because its still $60.
My mom is a 70 year old Korean woman, who wakes up at 6am, plays Ma-Jong with her friends, spends the rest of her day watches korean dramas, and even she knows what Call of Duty is.