Why Life is Strange True Colors is 60€?

[YuSuzzune]

So I'm playing it right now and I really don't know why this franchise keeps increasing it's price game after game.
First title was 20€ for five episodes. Second game was 40€ for five episodes, so double the price. True Colors is now 60€, yet again for five episodes. Beucase despite being released as a single game, it still is an episodic title, and some episodes are also quite short compared to the first LIS. Episode 2 ie is very very short, the world seems smaller to me compared to the first LIS.
Of course graphics are better, but well, we are in 2022 now, and while some characters models are quite good, others are not so good.

So really, I see no reason this franchise, with each release increased its price but offered nothing more compared to the past.

 

[sredgrin]

Episodic storytelling isn't the same as episodic releases. Like what the fuck does it matter if episode 2 of a game that released all of its episodes at once is short.

 

[Patitoloco]

Because it's a great game and forum posters should not decide what the work of a team is worth.

 

[u_neek]

It's a great game, that's why.

 

[Jawbreaker]

It's worth the price.

 

[Yuntu]

Because its a normal game so it has a normal price. I dunno I think any full release should be expected to be fullprice unless stated otherwise.

Thread reminds me of the "should Octopath be fullprice?".

 

[craven68]

It's clearly worth this price. it's way better than the first episode, and are you sure it was 20e for all 5 episodes for the first episode for 20e?
I remember it was like 10 or 15e for the first episode at release.

 

[Bushido]

If you say Episode 2 was short, you probably missed a bunch of stuff you can do in it. I think the game was worth the price of admission, production values are way higher than in any other game in the series. If anything the very first LiS was way too cheap.

 

[Sonix]

While I think that comparing games w.r.t. play time and price is generally not a good idea and often fuel for bad faith arguments I agree that True Colors feels pretty "thin" for a full-priced game. I still loved it though.

 

[donpureevil]

Why not? It´s absolutely worth the price.

 

[YuSuzzune]

I'm not telling the game is not good. But if I compare to other, lenghty 60€ game I think it shouldn't cost so much.

 

[Patitoloco]

I'm not telling the game is not good. But if I compare to other, lenghty 60€ game I think it shouldn't cost so much.

Click to shrink...

Length has not, and should never, correlate with price.

Whenever we go down that path, the industry is doomed. Hell, we're already there with live service stuff.

 

[The Praiseworthy]

Because they increased the budget clearly and the production is more like a AAA game now, plus it's 12 hours length so what make this make inferior to others 60$ AAA game releases ?

 

[Salarians]

uhhh i mean it's pretty obvious this game is another huge leap in production quality even over lis2

honestly some of the best performance capture and facial animation in gaming

 

[Messofanego]

So I'm playing it right now and I really don't know why this franchise keeps increasing it's price game after game.
First title was 20€ for five episodes. Second game was 40€ for five episodes, so double the price. True Colors is now 60€, yet again for five episodes. Beucase despite being released as a single game, it still is an episodic title, and some episodes are also quite short compared to the first LIS. Episode 2 ie is very very short, the world seems smaller to me compared to the first LIS.
Of course graphics are better, but well, we are in 2022 now, and while some characters models are quite good, others are not so good.

So really, I see no reason this franchise, with each release increased its price but offered nothing more compared to the past.

Click to shrink...

This is a personal thing. I think this more speaks to what constitutes a game being worthy of $60 in your eyes. The length of the game? The production values? The genre? Does quality of an experience play a role?

 

[KeRaSh]

It's clearly worth this price. it's way better than the first episode, and are you sure it was 20e for all 5 episodes for the first episode for 20e?
I remember it was like 10 or 15e for the first episode at release.

Click to shrink...

LiS1 was $5 per episode with the first one being free I think.

 

[Rosenkrantz]

I'm not telling the game is not good. But if I compare to other, lenghty 60€ game I think it shouldn't cost so much.

Click to shrink...

It's comparable in length to most AAA not Open World or RPG releases. Should we question the price of the next Uncharted game if it's only 15 hours long?

 

[8bit]

I'm not telling the game is not good. But if I compare to other, lenghty 60€ game I think it shouldn't cost so much.

Click to shrink...

If you're measuring a game's value by it's price per minute then you really need to reconsider your hobby.

 

[u_neek]

I'm not telling the game is not good. But if I compare to other, lenghty 60€ game I think it shouldn't cost so much.

Click to shrink...

Would you not pay $15 to watch a movie in the cinema because it's only 90 minutes?

EDIT: I find that 20+ hour games often feel bloated as hell.

 

[GMM]

Because games are expensive to make and adventure games tend to sell less copies, and it's a great game well worth its asking price.

The budget was also likely much higher than any prior game in the series and the original Life is Strange was quite honestly sold at too cheap an asking price, probably because they really aggressively followed the release strategy of the by-then highly successful Telltale games.

A game is the sum of all its parts, if you want to only judge the game by its length then you are looking for something those games are not, it's all about the craftsmanship and this game delivers on that in spades.

The market dictates what kind of pricing games can have and the price along with market reach dictates what kind of budget such games can have, if all such games are required to be $20-25 6-8 hour narratives then True Colors would likely have been a much different thing if it would have existed at all.

 

[joffocakes]

Aren't most videogames that price these days?

 

[LossAversion]

Length =/= quality and it should never be the only consideration when talking about the value of a game.

 

[Mivey]

Lots of people work on game. People want to eat food. Thus game cost money.

 

[Sonix]

Length =/= quality and it should never be the only consideration when talking about the value of a game.

Click to shrink...

From OP:

the world seems smaller to me compared to the first LIS.
Of course graphics are better, but well, we are in 2022 now, and while some characters models are quite good, others are not so good.

Click to shrink...

 

[SnakeEater]

So judging by the length of recent AC games every other game that's not 100+ hours long should cost less than 60 i guess?

From OP:

Click to shrink...

Also from op:

I'm not telling the game is not good. But if I compare to other, lenghty 60€ game I think it shouldn't cost so much.

Click to shrink...

 

[Lord Fanny]

I think the cost is set by the publisher

 

[Evolution of Metal]

I'm not telling the game is not good. But if I compare to other, lenghty 60€ game I think it shouldn't cost so much.

Click to shrink...

Most of the people here respond to you in bad faith, like you are asking for minutes per hour regardless of production values or genre, so it is easy to make responses about movies or overall game length.

The answer is subjective, and your observation is correct, for your own situation. The game does not have enough jump in production value to justify the 300% price tag, and you should probably spend this money on a different game, or wait for the discount back to 100%.

But it seems like you bought this product, and finished playing, so the only course of action is to make the observation that LiS sequel wasn't worth €60, and if they make the next one, you should wait for €20-30 deal. Happens to all of us, we all buy video games and just like anything else paid, sometimes you discover that the value or quality of the item was not worth the price tag.

 

[craven68]

LiS1 was $5 per episode with the first one being free I think.

Click to shrink...

HAha damn, it feel like more when the game released hahaha

 

[KeRaSh]

HAha damn, it feel like more when the game released hahaha

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I actually looked it up because thinking back I could have sworn it was $15 - $20 per episode.
I'm sure they would be priced like that today but looking back it seems like a steal.

 

[LossAversion]

From OP:

Click to shrink...

Okay. Let me amend that then.

Length and visual fidelity are probably two of the least important aspects of a game when judging its overall quality and they certainly aren't going to be major factors for a lot of people when deciding a game's worth.

Publishers and developers should not be forbidden from ever reassessing the value of their franchises. I would have paid $60 for the original Life Is Strange. I would say that they undervalued the franchise up until now.

 

[IlGialloMondadori]

It was a major production, it's a new game, it takes about 10 to 13 hours to complete, it reviewed well? I dunno?
Uncharted games are like 10 to 15 hours and were full price?

 

[YuSuzzune]

So judging by the length of recent AC games every other game that's not 100+ hours long should cost less than 60 i guess?


Also from op:

Click to shrink...

The fact the models are not all so good and the world feels smaller (at least for now, episode 3: I saw the bar, the little area surrounding it with the flower shop, record shop, drug shop, and the mine) doesn't mean the game is not good. But in my eyes this should have been 40€ max, as LIS2, because the whole package is not worth 60€.

 

[Kwigo]

To make up for the fact that the original LiS could charge a thousand bucks for how good it is.

 

[Damn Silly]

Because, without going into production costs and other stuff like that, that's how much the experience of Life Is Strange is worth. And without meaning to denigrate a lot of AAA games, it's worth it a lot more than a lot of other games the same price.

There's just nothing quite like these games.

 

[Sonix]

Okay. Let me amend that then.
[..]

Click to shrink...

I was merely pointing out that length was not the *only* consideration of OP.

 

[Deleted member 93841]

Sorry that people are responding so aggressively to you, OP. Seems some people feel personally attacked if someone values a game differently.

The problem is that value is a very subjective thing. Everyone values things differently. I haven't bought True Colors yet because I also feel that $60 is too much for the type of game that it is. I didn't pay full price for Life is Strange 2 either. Similarly, some folks thought Unpacking was well worth the $20 price tag, whereas I thought it was wildly overpriced.

Luckily we live in a time where it's no big deal to wait a few months and get games for steep discounts if you don't like the value proposition. Hell, on PC it's not even uncommon to find games for much cheaper than launch price even before they've released. True Colors can be had for 25€ on PC right now, if you know where to look.

In future I'd suggest just holding off a bit if you're unsure that a game is worth its full asking price. True Colors will probably be on a 50% sale off by December on Steam, at the latest.

 

[Ronin7th]

The fact the models are not all so good and the world feels smaller (at least for now, episode 3: I saw the bar, the little area surrounding it with the flower shop, record shop, drug shop, and the mine) doesn't mean the game is not good. But in my eyes this should have been 40€ max, as LIS2, because the whole package is not worth 60€.

Click to shrink...

So essentially you feel there has not been enough improvement in the variety of locations and graphical fidelity to warrant the increase of RRP?
I don't know about this game in particular but game development is expensive, there may be more overhead costs involved with this game in comparison to the previous?
Also, the worth of a game is subjective. I think some people in this thread are being quite aggressive because your comments can be read as dismissive.

 

[TheMoon]

stop equating game length with value.

 

[AshenOne]

Sorry that people are responding so aggressively to you, OP. Seems some people feel personally attacked if someone values a game differently.

The problem is that value is a very subjective thing. Everyone values things differently. I haven't bought True Colors yet because I also feel that $60 is too much for the type of game that it is. I didn't pay full price for Life is Strange 2 either. Similarly, some folks thought Unpacking was well worth the $20 price tag, whereas I thought it was wildly overpriced.

Luckily we live in a time where it's no big deal to wait a few months and get games for steep discounts if you don't like the value proposition. Hell, on PC it's not even uncommon to find games for much cheaper than launch price even before they've released. True Colors can be had for 25€ on PC right now, if you know where to look.

In future I'd suggest just holding off a bit if you're unsure that a game is worth its full asking price. True Colors will probably be on a 50% sale off by December on Steam, at the latest.

Click to shrink...

Yeah its funny that people act defensive when its just a person as a customer not satisfied with the value a game provides for him/herself. Like does everybody forget that, at the end of the day we're all just customers? Sometimes posters act like they're part of a dev team instead of being an end user and feel offended by this sort of question. If you were a developer then I would understand feeling as such.

Its NORMAL for a person to ask or think if X product is worth Y price to them if they're customers and people shouldn't act this way tbh.

 

[Farlander]

Life is Strange True Colors is not overpriced, it is the first two that were severly underpriced.

 

[Karlinel]

My guess is that the publisher thought that given fan base, critical reception and increased production values, it was a good price to ask. Sales will prove them right or wrong.
I don't understand how a legitimate question is received as a slight against a game.

 

[kurahador]

Yeah its funny that people act defensive when its just a person as a customer not satisfied with the value a game provides for him/herself. Like does everybody forget that, at the end of the day we're all just customers? Sometimes posters act like they're part of a dev team instead of being an end user and feel offended by this sort of question. If you were a developer then I would understand feeling as such.

Its NORMAL for a person to ask or think if X product is worth Y price to them if they're customers and people shouldn't act this way tbh.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this elitist reaction is abit much. I agree with you OP, the value proposition of the game doesn't feel earned when the game itself isn't even memorable or as good as LiS1. Should've wait for a deep sale.

 

[YuSuzzune]

What I mean is, for me, the overall package is not worth 60€. Including several factors as lenght, gameplay variety (because the one from the first LIS was so much better, in comparison), graphics and soundtrack (which as some very good themes but that's it).

 

[AshenOne]

What I mean is, for me, the overall package is not worth 60€. Including several factors as lenght, gameplay variety (because the one from the first LIS was so much better, in comparison), graphics and soundtrack (which as some very good themes but that's it).

Click to shrink...

Well then refund it or buy it at a discount?

 

[Deleted member 93841]

Sometimes posters act like they're part of a dev team instead of being an end user and feel offended by this sort of question. If you were a developer then I would understand feeling as such.

Click to shrink...

This is something that I've found extremely baffling in the gaming industry. It doesn't happen just in the gaming industry, but it's rampant here. I saw it again this morning with people being outraged at negative reviews of Dying Light 2 on Steam. People seem to have this weird need to defend corporate products from other customers with critical opinions. I might still partly understand it if it was an indie game and the dev was reliant on good word of mouth to get sales to keep a roof over their head, but this isn't that.

I don't know if it's a weird parasocial relationship with gaming in general or what the deal is, but it doesn't seem healthy to be so emotionally invested in products and corporations that you are a customer of, to the point that you feel like you need to defend them from other customers.

 

[Suede]

Games cost a lot to make, that's just how it is. Best to wait for sales.

 

[Munti]

Because the price is determined by the market (= customers).

If enough customers are willing to buy the product, then the market confirms that the tagged price of this product is reasonable.

 

[Hadok]

yeah the price is too high.The game is not worth 60 dollars.(And it's the weakest game in the franchise imo but that's another problem).
I can't believe i spent 80 dollars for the full edition (i regret it).I am part of the pb i guess :(

 

[ProstatePuncher]

The first game was clearly posted at a low price because they assumed people wouldn't buy in if it was expensive. As confidence in the franchise goes up, they can put the price higher, putting more money towards a better end product and also rewarding the staff who produce it.

 

[SnatcherHunter]

Man, thanks for the reminder OP. I completely forgot about this game. I finished episode 3 last Fall, and just got bored with the game. I loved the first LIS games, but man, TC was rough.

Hopefully, they can bring it back with their next game.