Do Video Games Cost Too Much?

Europe-Nintendo writes "This past year I have noticed something that has begun to bother me constantly when on the look out for new games to play.
My problem with modern games is the pricing both long term and short term."

[Saaking]

Yes they do. I could buy a PS3 for what 5 games cost. Only AAAA PS3 exclusives should be 60 bucks all the rest should be 40-50 bucks.

[Sunny_D]

yes!

[kunit22c]

and thats why I love pawn shops.

[sunil]

i would love it if games where $45

[poindat]

Sure it would be nice if the prices were generally lower, but it's how long that they stay at those high ($50 +) prices that really bother me. Take COD4 for example: A 2 year old game that STILL costs $50 for the GOTY Edition.

What utter BS.

[Nihilism]

video game budget for a triple A game = $20-30 million.

Game's sold at $50 a piece, said game will sell over 2 million copies
(i'm underestimating for the sake of the example)

That's 100 million - production cost/manufacturing cost etc.

If we were to compare it to a AAA movie:

movie production cost of pirates of the caribbean movies/batman/terminator/trans formers etc

they all cost around $300 million to make, and GROSSED 800million to 1 billion. That's less profit as a %, plus the movie industry spents a ridiculous amount on advertising and the gross takings of a film are the value of the ticket sales ( and a larger % of that would go into maintaining the theatres etc than the % of the gross game industry cost as it's straight to stores)

So the game industry has a much greater turn around, games should be the price of a blu ray, if they were they would sell a **** load more as well, instead of choosing between game's A and B, they would just buy A,B and game C for the same price, can't go wrong...but of course with lovely chaps like bobby k in charge of pricing we would never see that happen

[Genesis5]

Most AAA games I will buy on day one at full price. I know the developer has spent the time and money to make a good game. Filler games or bad ports just start in the bargain bin it's the only way you'll end up in my games library.

Though I did like $59.99 better than $69.99 for most of the new games.

[yesah]

of course consumers will want games cheaper, but the fact is that the gaming industry is far less popular then say the movie industry whose dvds and blu rays you can get for 20-30. If as many people played games as they watched movies im sure the price would go down.

[Darkstorn]

@1.1-
I hate going into pawn shops because they're such intensely sad places. Everything in there is a product of poverty, disease, or foreclosure, and I can't stand it.
As for the topic, they do need to find a way to make $60 games come down in price. Developers should be getting a considerably larger share of the wealth, and the publishers should stop taking 60% cuts of the profits. Just halving the publishers' would bring games down $10 or $20 each. That would be well worth it, especially in a recession.

[ChozenWoan]

What the gaming industry needs is to return to The Three Tier Pricing chart.

Tier 1 ($50): AAA games such as UC2, KZ2, Demon's Souls
Tier 2 ($40): AA Games such as Prince of Persia, HAWX, Mirrors Edge
Tier 2 ($30): A Games such as "all movie based games!!!"

This would greatly help the sales of new IPs as they would not have to prove that they are worth just as much money than well established franchises. Also, $10s may not seem like much of a difference between $50 and $60, but it's a world of difference in a consumers mind. For some reason its as if we go into a store thinking to ourselves that we have $100 max to spend on gaming at one time. With games at $50 we know we can get two games with that $100 or just 1 $60 game, so we spend less on gaming than we would if they where just $10 cheaper.

This would explain why more gamers this generation have been purchasing used games. They have decided that instead of buying 1 game on Day 1, if they just wait a few weeks or months and they can get them for <$50. This is giving them that 2+ games for $100 deal that they are looking for. Plus they get a chance to get unbiased reviews from thousands of real gamers who already played the game, this helps them avoid the "Overhype" and invest in quality games.

Too bad that it appears that games are only going to get more expensive from this generation on. I just hope they don't fully return to their peak cartridge prices. I still remember when some rpgs used to cost $80-$100 USDs.

[mal_tez92]

Especially here in Australia where games reatil from $90 to $110 AUD. This is the USD equivalent of $83 to $101, a lot more than what people pay in the US.

[ZombieAutopsy]

Yea i always feel bad for Aussies you guys have the worst censorship in gaming history, you pay almost twice what we in the U.S. pay and you usually have to wait longer to get games, but at least from what i hear your country is beautiful.

[Nihilism]

i cancelled my EB pre-order for mass effect 2 and dragon age when i found out that they were $30 cheaper at game ( online price)

Dragon age:

EB= $129 collectors ED

GAME online= $99

Mass Effect 2:

EB= $109

GAME online= $89

:D and to think i used to get all my games from EB or JB hi fi ( although JB can be ok, they had dead space for $30 a while ago...GAME has it for $89 still, that's instore though, never go to a retailer GAME store, they only have one price: full price

[skatezero246]

in alot of cases yes but games like uncharted 2 I would be happy to spend 60 for def. the best game this gen for (me)

only using uncharted 2 as an example theres a few games on both ps3 and 360 that I think are worth 60

[villevalorox]

I would say it depends on the game. Something like GTA, Splinter Cell, MGS, Uncharted, Killzone, oblivion, Demon's souls and all them games that really give u bang for ur buck is worth $60 to me. But when you get something like Bionic Commando, Dark Sector, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, Beowulf and all them games that just don't even try to be amazing is only worth about 40 to me if that.. So it all depends on the game if you ask me. I woudl have bought demon's souls and uncharted 2 for $75 is i really had to, then again I would not buy 50 cents game for no more than $20..

[jcgamer]

all games ARE NOT created equal...lol...and they should be priced accordingly...i'm not paying $60 bucks for a game I KNOW will pale in comparison to top shelf games like MGS, Gran Turismo, GTA series, Uncharted, etc...Cooking Mama should be $FREE.99

lol :)

Uncharted 2 all day ;)

[kaveti6616]

Who decides which game is worth 60 bucks and which game is not worth it? I know the answer. The consumer decides that it is worth it when they pay for it. That's how business works. Every generation, the price of games goes up 10 bucks, and the analysts wait to see if the gamers will bite, and they do. They buy the games just the same, and so the consumers have already decided that the game is worth 60 bucks prior to playing it. After playing the game, the opinions change. People may have paid 65 bucks for Grand Theft Auto 4 thinking that it was certainly worth the price because it was going to provide them hundreds of hours of enjoyment as well as the fact that it is an iteration of one of the best franchises of the video game industry.

But afterwards, that gamer may have hated the game, and decided that it was not worth its initial MSRP price, and now thinks that he knows which games are worth 60 and which are worth 50. It's really quite stupid, because as soon as you paid 65 bucks to play the game you were letting the game industry know that it was okay for them to raise the price from the last generation. And the price may go up again next generation, and people will b!tch about it temporarily and then give in and buy the games, thus letting the industry know yet again, that after a little bit of convincing, we're always happy to bend over and let them take us for all we have. That's business 101.

[DanSolo]

Yes games are too expensive!

Personally I'd say £30 is the right price for a game. I paid £32 for Uncharted 2 and I have no complaints with that price. I also got inFamous for £29.99 on day one, and Killzone 2 for £32.99, both pretty fair prices. All of those 3 I got from shopTo.net in case anyone cares.
Today I got Borderlands from GAME and it cost me £39.99, that's the most I expect to pay for a game, although I don't complain about that, I still feel a bit of reluctance at parting with those extra beer tokens.

Anything over £40 is just taking the p!ss, i.e. MW2

[Pandamobile]

$50 for a PC game is fine with me. Where I live console games cost $20 more.

[dorron]

Definitely YES !

if games were 30 to 40€ I guess less people would embrace piracy.

[chak_]

I just wish europe wasn't scammed as it is right now :(

PC game (only play PC) are 75$ (50€) and console games 70€.

[Fishy Fingers]

Really, where do you live? In the UK, like most places, PC games are cheaper, say £30-35 fpr a new release PC title and £40-50 for the consoles.

Of course that's retail though, they can all be found a little cheaper online.

Personally, I believe if you pick the right games, ones you know will offer you considerable game time. Then your getting on hell of a deal, I used to pay £60+ for SNES games and the production time/cost between now and then cant be compared, it costs so much more to make a new, cutting edge game.

[tdrules]

blame it on sony, micrsoft and nintendo for charging royalties to every publisher

[buzzie24]

YES GAMES ARE GETTING WAY TO EXPENSIVE...BUT WHAT CAN WE DO EITHER PLAY THEM OR NOT.. BUT SERIOUSLY PS3 GAMES FOR 69.99 IS STUPID HERE IN CANADA,SOMEONE IS CASHING IN ....GREEDDY

[Counter_ACT]

£30 is a good price IMO, but £45 for games like MW2... they can piss right off.

[Scary69]

Yes they are expensive I didn't mind paying $50 but even then it was expensive for a game. At $60 the game companies are still trying to sell you DLC for $10 add that to the price of your game you are paying $70. It is because of this that we might see a price hike if people continue to buy DLC that should have already been in the game.

[duysmith]

360 games where i live are 25.000 dong (Vietnamese) thats like a dollar and 50 cents american.

[kurochi]

wait..... the official currency for Vietnam is called "DONG"????!!! That's awesome!!! I learn something new everyday on the internet... LOL

[ambientFLIER]

Haha, dongs.

Anyway, I'm sure that's because they are all pirated.

[markfrost]

Profit is the #1 factor here. Hardware is sold at a loss and we have to pick up the tab for Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo in the software department.

The cost to develop and market a game is about the same as an average budget movie and yet games cost 6-10x more than a movie ticket. Sure, games take longer to produce than movies and also have longer entertainment value, but there is still no reason for games to cost $60. If the price of a new games was $30-$40 depending on the title, more people would purchase more games and that is good for the industry as a whole.

[jay2]

Don't even get me fing started.

[ambientFLIER]

I think that $50 would be a sweet spot for AAA games, and $40 or so for the lesser ones.

[Ron_Burgundy the 2nd]

certain multiplats like COD should cost less because they're gonna sell a ton anyway.....

[buzzie24]

i agree they are going to sell more copies so why charge more i spell GREEDY

[Lou Ferrigno]

AAA quality titles are worth my $60 purchases (Demons souls,Ratchet,reistance 2,Killzone 2 ect ect) ..

but games like dynasty warriors (witch i love),soul calibur or ANY fighting game for that matter for me (maybe accept Blazeblue).
i would say deserve a $40 USD price tag,and then if they wanna profit more the maybe some DLC for a few dollars here and there.

i gladly gave up $70 for demons souls delux edition and $90 for MGS4 w/strategy guide... games well deserving of my mula.

[monkey602]

I'm liking the current trend of games going new for 45 - 50 euro here. cant complain too much

[Stinger_209]

yes they do ask activision about mw2

[Agheil]

when it's an expansion like ODST

[Barragan]

thats not something exclusive to MW2 and odst, those games are just as much games as any other game out

[mrv321]

Your getting days of play time on most games and I think £30-£40 is a fair price, but online is getting wierd, games costing more online etc but it's like that with all new media I want online to drop A BIT to compensate for little costs.

[gamingisnotacrime]

Demons Souls
Uncharted 2
Fallout 3 GotY
Others worthy are
inFamous
KZ2
RE5

Those are worthy at full price. Others are just way overpriced, but those crappy games the price drops quiet quickly so its ok.
If games were at $45, they would sell a LOT better, and i dont see the gaming industry understanding that more units sold at lower prices is better. For instance take the holyday season, we get bombarded by game after game after game, at $59 each is a hard pill to swallow, but at $45 even new IPs would get some love (ex: Dead Space sales fiasco). At the end of the day the high price of games hurts the industry as a whole, and this is the main reason why new IPs are mostly overshadowed almost to extinction by established IPs

[mrv321]

I think $45 is too cheap, a new movie is £10, so about $15 and you get a lot more enjoyment and length from a game. $60 is about right for a full game and $40-$50 for GOTY editions.

[gamingisnotacrime]

Maybe $50 instead of $45

At $60 (plus taxes) buyuing 3 new games can get close to $200, and that is very steep. If games were at $50 I would take some chances on new IPs, but at $60 Im turned off.

[mrv321]

Demo's, if a company releases a demo then you know.

I admit the tax may get on peoples nerves and I didn't think of that since here it's allready in the price.

Here we pay about £35 for a new game with tax which is $60 usually it's a bit less (£30) and in the best case it's around £30 or $40 we are all in all pretty lucky.

[Sprudling]

I don't understand all this complaining. Back in the Nintendo days the games cost even more. But now, when the developing costs are much higher than before, games are suddenly too expensive?

Where I live 35$ (200 NOK) is the usual price for a pizza (for two), games cost around 100$ (550 NOK) and I'm not complaining.

[sikbeta]

Yes and Activision says HI

[XxThe-RemedyXx]

It's all opinion, they can charge whatever they want and we'll still buy them. Personally I don't mind paying the 60 bucks, but only if the game is worth buying. If the dev's put the time and the effort into making a good game worth buying, then I'll support them. But if they put out garbage for a quick buck and try to put a 60 dollar price tag on it, then I'll never bite.

[EvilTwin]

Something like GTA or Zelda has more than 50 hours of gameplay. Definitely worth $50 or $60, IMO.

FPS games with six-hour long campaigns, but also a robust online offering, can give you that much gameplay (or more), and are also worth it, IMO.

Rail shooters or brawlers that last about six hours and have no online component? Absolutely not worth $50.

That said, for some games, I'll pay full price. Suda51's games are niche, but since I love what he does, I'll buy it on the first day at full price. NMH2 will be in my Wii the day it launches.

[CobraKai]

How come PC games, which often feature graphics more advanced than consoles, end up being only 50 bones?

They always mention that the development costs drive up the cost of games yet the PC seems to be immune (MW2 notwithstanding)

[ZedoMann]

...however, I'm glad PC games are usually $10 less than console versions.

[Sty]

Here in Portugal, Azores they cost 69€ WTF!!!! To high, thats why I buy in Amazon.uk :)

[lizard81288]

shouldn't go above $55, with tax.
most DS games are fine, its the games that cost $60, or devs milking games, making them $60+ i don't like

[Cajun Chicken]

I'm starting to rent now as I've found myself buying games nearing release and either completing them in under a week or leaving them on the backburner and ironically playing the majority of the game once the price of it comes down. I started with Uncharted 2 and my next rented game will be R&C ACIT, renting doesn't hurt the developers this way I can play about 5 games for the price of buying one.

[Pumbli]

I really think so, new console games here are released at $95 and PC games about $60...

Thank heavens for the internet though, trading games with random people after finishing them is great and free.

I can't thank Sony enough for making PS3 games region free, many of my PS3 games are from America.

[djfullshred]

They are pretty much at the limit of what I am willing to pay for. If they go above 60 dollars, I will not buy new games anymore.