Polygon: Spending 60 dollars on a game doesn’t make sense anymore

[Quantza]

Lol at the game industry thinking infinite supply exists to cover the income from a fixed price game.
Or that most people will be psychologically manipulated into spending some large amount of money on the regular.

Also lol at some of the consumers in this thread thinking they will get to decide on the quality of their games, if this becomes mainstream thought.

Large publishers and platform holders will enjoy their probabilistic income because it will be high enough for them.
Everyone else will be washed away in a sea of uncertainty.

That's a great basis for creative endeavours, isn't it?

 

[xxracerxx]

I have no idea, but they seem to be fine with it since there are a lot of full priced AAA games on there. If you have to have the game launch day go ahead and buy it full priced, I did that with DMC5, or you can wait to see if the game shows up on Game Pass.

My point about supporting developers is that I've played a lot of games from big and small developers that I wouldn't have bought, like Bloodstained, Battle Chasers, Hollow Knight, Head Lander, Monster Hunter World, The Gardens Between, Strange Brigade, Yoku's Island Express or What Remains Of Edith Finch among others. So those devs got money from me via my subscription whereas they would have got 0 before.

No one is saying you shouldn't buy games but having this service has certainly let me play a lot more games than I would have and discovering new developers as well.

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You said that the developers were better off putting their game on GamePass rather than someone buying a $60 game at launch and then trading it in, I just figured you would have an actual number to back that up.

 

[The Adder]

"Treat devs better. But also we shouldn't have to pay full price for games."

 

[Kris1977]

I've got no problem with buying a game for full price on day one. The problem is, more often than not day one shoppers are mere beta testers until the actual game is up to scratch 6 months down the line when other customers can pick up the game with all the bugs ironed out for less than half the price.

 

[cdyhybrid]

It still makes plenty of sense to me, but I generally don't buy games I'll only play once and then never touch again.

 

[maximumzero]

At some point folks are going to be paying more in monthly subscriptions than they would have for boxed copies of videogames anyway, so it all evens out in the end.

 

[Sparks]

"Treat devs better. But also we shouldn't have to pay full price for games."

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Yea... I don't think people understand how unsustainable this all is. It's all going to fall apart.

 

[Deleted member 56752]

wait until they hear I have spent 100 dollars on game releases

 

[xxracerxx]

At some point folks are going to be paying more in monthly subscriptions than they would have for boxed copies of videogames anyway, so it all evens out in the end.

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How does it even out?

 

[WetWaffle]

Ok I am slightly mistaken you are correct, but you are still wrong about it being DLC, you can buy cars with real money that were already in the game.

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Yes, that was what I said, you have the option to either be racing,and get the credits to buy the car you want, or pay a few dollars for it on ps store to get it immediately. Actually, I don't even think the new cars released every update can be bought with real money . Maybe I used dlc too literally. But yeah, imo stuff like this is fair game. Assuming, it's still relatively easy to grind the currency like in gt sport. It's just one of many ways to earn more money even if the game's discounted.

 

[Deleted member 32018]

Yea... I don't think people understand how unsustainable this all is. It's all going to fall apart.

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Yup. I think the problem is that people see all these CEO's of companies like EA and Activision earning millions and think that if they are able to earn that much then we should be able to buy games for less.

 

[maximumzero]

How does it even out?

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It's basically the cord cutters scenario all over again. Folks starting cutting their cable and satellite packages in favor of streaming services and now there's so many of those that you're spending just as much money in the end anyway.

 

[Quantza]

Yea... I don't think people understand how unsustainable this all is. It's all going to fall apart.

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I wish you were wrong, but this could destroy the industry as it currently is - a predominately creative and fun form of entertainment - and replace it with well-constructed gambling machines, where occasionally a game or few will actually have fun mechanics behind them.

At some point folks are going to be paying more in monthly subscriptions than they would have for boxed copies of videogames anyway, so it all evens out in the end.

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Very much this. My intuition has been telling me to buy physical games wherever I can.

How does it even out?

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It's a process of finding a price equilibrium, in combination with new games and services that are being subscribed to.
Subscription prices will increase with inflation each year, and incrementally as game libraries and features become bigger.

Prices will likely not drop however, as whether you have one platform or 20, games are usually unique and small in total (publisher specific) on each platform, unless it is a console-backed platform. That gives one monopoly and monopolistic entities, so they each get to set a subscription price (each acts like a monopoly on its games).

If those monopolistic entities die out because their subscriptions cost too much (they will as the amount of services/platforms multiplies), a monopoly appears as only the console-backed platform with the most choice remains. Why? By that point most devs won't be able to fund themselves without themselves supporting the console-backed platform.

So the platform holder can increase subscription/service prices more rapidly with little new features (price basically not tied to cost, from that point on).

So becoming a game dev will amount to marketing + psychological tricks to keep your game on the platform.
Becomes easier to allow this if physical games die out too. And yes, at this point subscriptions will be more expensive than the cost of many physical games.
The excuse will be the same as now - a large array of choice. Great value.

 

[The Adder]

I've got no problem with buying a game for full price on day one. The problem is, more often than not day one shoppers are mere beta testers until the actual game is up to scratch 6 months down the line when other customers can pick up the game with all the bugs ironed out for less than half the price.

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For better or worse, that's one thing you won't have to worry about...

 

[Shpeshal Nick]

I would rather pay one time for a game and know I always have that disc in my house than staple my credit card to some parasite of a corporation and lose access to it when I don't want to put up with it anymore or if I need to cut costs and cancel the subscription.

If I can get something on sale, awesome, but subscription models are the damn worst.

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Well is t it amazing that you can do both on Xbox and PlayStation!?

 

[xxracerxx]

It's basically the cord cutters scenario all over again. Folks starting cutting their cable and satellite packages in favor of streaming services and now there's so many of those that you're spending just as much money in the end anyway.

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Videogame purchases can fluctuate much more than a fixed monthly cable bill.

 

[Thagirion]

I don't need ownership, just cheap ways to play good games for a limited time, time which ends with my enjoyment of said game

 

[bionic77]

There are a ton of free or really cheap options on consoles or mobile so if all you care about is saving money the article has a point. You could probably get a ton of content for little to nothing.

But if you are actually into games then you won't mind spending money on it.

 

[DerpHause]

How does it even out?

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I can only guess it would depend on the number of games you play and the number of subs you have.

 

[Wulfric]

Every game you have even on disc is literally a patch away from you never playing it again.

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Can you elaborate on this? How is this possible?

 

[LordBaztion]

remember when preordering stuff was a thing?

 

[eathdemon]

There are a ton of free or really cheap options on consoles or mobile so if all you care about is saving money the article has a point. You could probably get a ton of content for little to nothing.

But if you are actually into games then you won't mind spending money on it.

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yes but should most games be realeasing at $60 is the better question? there is a study done by a econamist around 2010, so before digital took off, that found the point of maxum revenue for games was not $60, but infact $40. this gen is full of games that have released at $40 and beat expectations massively. there are studiod now that have built themselves around that price point, and are doing way way better than they ever did making $60 games.

 

[Burrman]

Ya gamepass has made it hard for me to justify spending 90$ on a switch or ps4 game nowadays. That price hurts now.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

Everything is a sale for me now.

 

[Swift_Gamer]

Subscription services doesn't seem sustainable in the long run... I really wanted to see how much developers gain by having their games on gamepass and whatnot.

 

[Deleted member 364]

It's crazy this person writes about video games and actually thinks this.

 

[StudioTan]

You said that the developers were better off putting their game on GamePass rather than someone buying a $60 game at launch and then trading it in, I just figured you would have an actual number to back that up.

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If I was to buy it used they get 0, whatever they get from my Game Pass sub is more than 0. The math isn't hard.

 

[Fisty]

I think it's too early to tell if Game Pass will be sustainable and i really dont see how MS can continue its course without slashing budgets and increasing monetization, especially if their consoles continue to flounder. In my experience, 90% of games drop in price so fast it's hardly a big deal to wait until a game is under $20 and I dont really have time to play anything but games I will probably like/love and want to keep forever anyway.

That being said, I still get majorly hyped for new games and will preorder blindly for certain devs/series, sometimes even the "gold" edition or whatever

 

[Governergrimm]

Ok polygon. Just because MS is pushing GP doesn't mean they shouldn't sell their games for $60. Just like Sony, Nintendo, Ubisoft, Rockstar.... Sell their games for $60. There are so many weird false equivalencies getting thrown around now, the hyperbole in gaming preemptively kills reasonable discussion.

 

[xxracerxx]

If I was to buy it used they get 0, whatever they get from my Game Pass sub is more than 0. The math isn't hard.

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That is dropping the initial sale from the equation.

 

[Dymaxion]

These says I buy fewer new games, but make the most out of them I possibly can. This makes each $60 purchase a special event that I look forward to each time. I understand that this lifestyle doesn't work for everyone though.

 

[nib95]

You can use the money you save playing games on game pass to buy other games you don't want to wait for, or that you think they're not going to be on the service too.

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That depends entirely on if you save much or any money at all. Game Pass is fine for those who aren't too fussy about what they play and just want stuff to play in general, but if you're after specific purchases and titles, unless they're Microsoft first party, there's simply no guarantee they'll end up on Game Pass in the first place, hence if the specific games you want aren't on the service, you may not have saved any money.

 

[Skyfireblaze]

I would rather pay one time for a game and know I always have that disc in my house than staple my credit card to some parasite of a corporation and lose access to it when I don't want to put up with it anymore or if I need to cut costs and cancel the subscription.

If I can get something on sale, awesome, but subscription models are the damn worst.

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This is where I'm standing too to be honest, losing ownership will get messy really quick.

 

[Splader]

And if companies like Microsoft keep encouraging people to subscribe as their primary method for getting games, and packaged game sales continue to decay the way Microsoft seems to want them to, eventually purchasing packaged games won't be an option anymore.

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Na, full priced games aren't going anywhere. Just like physical games. Hell, just like physical blu rays.

 

[StudioTan]

That is dropping the initial sale from the equation.

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Ok? I'm talking about the person buying the used game. There's plenty of people who only buy used games because it's cheaper. I'm saying the devs would rather have those people playing on Game Pass. I never said people shouldn't buy new games. I was talking about the used market.

 

[Mugen X]

Even if you ignore subscription options, Walmart straight up sells games with 60 dollar MSRPs for 50 now.

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I noticed this! I went to Walmart expecting a $60 price for Borderlands 3 and got it for $50, I thought maybe the guy behind the counter messed up. Nope. $50 games at Wally World folks.

 

[xxracerxx]

Ok? I'm talking about the person buying the used game. There's plenty of people who only buy used games because it's cheaper. I'm saying the devs would rather have those people playing on Game Pass. I never said people shouldn't buy new games. I was talking about the used market.

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AHHH!! I get ya now. I thought you were talking in general. Apologies.

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

It didn't make sense period. There has always been a method to shaveoff at least $10~ even at launch.

 

[jph139]

Paying MSRP for anything is for suckers.

I'll occasionally make an exception and buy a game day one, but even then the games are never "full price." I used GCU for a while to get a discount, I'll buy from Walmart now that they're selling for $50, use Nintendo's "two digital game passes for $100" thing, buy via alternate PC storefronts like GMG. Buy digital gift cards for a discount. I honestly can't remember the last time I really, really paid a full $60 for a game. There's always a way to get a discount.

 

[eathdemon]

I think it's too early to tell if Game Pass will be sustainable and i really dont see how MS can continue its course without slashing budgets and increasing monetization, especially if their consoles continue to flounder. In my experience, 90% of games drop in price so fast it's hardly a big deal to wait until a game is under $20 and I dont really have time to play anything but games I will probably like/love and want to keep forever anyway.

That being said, I still get majorly hyped for new games and will preorder blindly for certain devs/series, sometimes even the "gold" edition or whatever

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funny thing, why do you think devs want raytracing so badly? its not just b/c it looks better, its cheaper too b/c you dont have too do backed lighting.

back to the point, lets assume game pass has 1 million sub, not outside relm of possabilty, that 10mil a month, or 120mil a year. you could make six AA games with that. honestly the roi on massive AAA games hasnt made much sense for awhile, just look at how well games like remnent from the ash is doing. that game cost what, 20ish mill to make?

 

[Deleted member 52190]

Im ok with 1 or 2 subs services but if every single publisher decides to do it then it becomes bad really fast.

 

[eathdemon]

Im ok with 1 or 2 subs services but if every single publisher decides to do it then it becomes bad really fast.

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and they will fail b/c no publisher had the output to make it work. you A need a bunch of studios, or B need a bunch of partnerships.

 

[Sidebuster]

"Treat devs better. But also we shouldn't have to pay full price for games."

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"We struggle to make games at $60 so we need micro transactions (then loot boxes and gambling). But also we make more money than every other entertainment industry combined."

 

[Mentalist]

Paying MSRP for anything is for suckers.

I'll occasionally make an exception and buy a game day one, but even then the games are never "full price." I used GCU for a while to get a discount, I'll buy from Walmart now that they're selling for $50, use Nintendo's "two digital game passes for $100" thing, buy via alternate PC storefronts like GMG. Buy digital gift cards for a discount. I honestly can't remember the last time I really, really paid a full $60 for a game. There's always a way to get a discount.

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I bought a few games on PC this year "at launch"- meaning only with a discount of about 10%.

Normally, though, it doesn't take long for games to be discounted 30-60% after a few months, which is why I both love and hate PC gaming.

-love how cheap games are
-hate how my backlog continues to grow and will never, ever be dealt with.

 

[Kilgore]

That depends entirely on if you save much or any money at all. Game Pass is fine for those who aren't too fussy about what they play and just want stuff to play in general, but if you're after specific purchases and titles, unless they're Microsoft first party, there's simply no guarantee they'll end up on Game Pass in the first place, hence if the specific games you want aren't on the service, you may not have saved any money.

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If people don't save any money with game pass, what's wrong with the service? People are spending the same but in a different way. Subscription services can't ruin the AAA model and not saving any players money at the same time.

 

[Deleted member 52190]

and they will fail b/c no publisher had the output to make it work. you A need a bunch of studios, or B need a bunch of partnerships.

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Sure, but there are enough publisher with enough games to have multiple services, for example: Bethesda, Ubisoft, EA, Take Two, Activison, Square Enix, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, Valve, Epic, THQ.This are the ones with enough money to put a sub service.

 

[The Adder]

"We struggle to make games at $60 so we need micro transactions (then loot boxes and gambling). But also we make more money than every other entertainment industry combined."

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1. Doesn't actually address the point.

2.

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3. Video games have been $60 since 2001. If they had kept up with inflation we'd be paying $87 these days.

4. "Microtransactions are awful, clearly making games cheaper will fix this problem!"

(Though, honestly, the only thing that would stop those practices at this point is people simply not buying into them)

 

[DarkFlame92]

Yeah,if every Day 1 launch is included in a monthly subscription,it doesn't make sense. But since this is nowhere near close to happening,it does make sense

 

[cakely]

Except that yeah, it actually does.

 

[Deleted member 57361]

This is why gaming in general is going downhill, because of people like the both of you defending companies & their shady practices.

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It looks that you can't use sarcasm without a /s here.