For some reason $70 new games felt less weird/bad to me than games like Demon's Souls going "on sale" for $60. When I saw that it made me say a little "wtf..."
Human psychology is weird.
Human psychology is weird.
A discussion on the price increase in the industry
- Thread starter jman1954goat
- Start date
As a kid we never could afford new games or new consoles. We always had a console one or two generations behind the newest one and yes it was fine to play old games because they were still fun but I also remember how hard I cried wenn everyone in school talked about the Nintendo DS and the new Pokémon Games and I knew i won't be part of that discussions.
Im just glad that the new generations have more free to play options and popular media that is accessible on YouTube or "low price" subscriptions.
Im just glad that the new generations have more free to play options and popular media that is accessible on YouTube or "low price" subscriptions.
The sheer size of the increase is what's most galling to me, and I think it's easy for US users to underestimate the impact this has had in other countries.
I appreciate that inflation is a thing, and that I pay more today for a can of Coke than I did 15 years ago and what have you, but you can't release Last of Us 2 and Ghost of Tsushimama for £50 and then turn around and ask for £70 for Demon's Souls later that same year and expect me to just shrug and chalk it up to costs going up.
I appreciate that inflation is a thing, and that I pay more today for a can of Coke than I did 15 years ago and what have you, but you can't release Last of Us 2 and Ghost of Tsushimama for £50 and then turn around and ask for £70 for Demon's Souls later that same year and expect me to just shrug and chalk it up to costs going up.
I'm the odd one out in this from your view. I make barely above minimum wage working in healthcare and have a child and wife to support.
Yet I don't mind the price increase at all but I grew up buying games that cost way more in the 90s just with my pocket money than was £2.50 a week that I saved until I could afford. I only got a few games per system so this price doesn't seem that bad to me.
The key thing for me though is I set aside £30 a month for 'luxury' items and rarely spend it but when there's a game I know I will love I buy it without question from that pot.
9/10 games I just rent as I only have a passing interest in them. Boomerang games is good for this as its £11 a month and covers both any games I may want to try or that my son may want for his switch. And as a bonus If you like the game you can usually buy it 20% off and they mail the case etc to you.
Is there anything like this available where you are? It might be worth looking into.
If you are a Sony, Xbox or PC gamer a bit of patience will net you almost any game for a substantial discount. You just need to be patient and wait for a sale.
If you are a Nintendo gamer, well, good luck!
If you are a Nintendo gamer, well, good luck!
Yeah, but I mean, Nintendo has never been receptive to consumer feedback.
There's a lot of ways around this like buying on sales, buying used or straight up relying on subscription services. I'm not rich in anyway to afford $70 games, but I reason to myself how much I'm willing to pay for specific games. Price increases are non negotiable, a product cannot stay the same price for decades. Being frustred at it is imo just useless, if games were $60 we'd argue at how long a $60 game should be (and Era did this before the push for $70)…
All in all, it boils down to how much $/h of entertainment you're willing to pay. Find your sweetspot and you'll be fine, just don't mind being the world's first to play something.
I hate to say it, but gaming is a luxury. Specially when I look into my own country, a game being a third of a monthly minimum wage is just… I think there's still a silver lining because non-Nintendo games actually drop in price after launch, though.
All in all, it boils down to how much $/h of entertainment you're willing to pay. Find your sweetspot and you'll be fine, just don't mind being the world's first to play something.
I hate to say it, but gaming is a luxury. Specially when I look into my own country, a game being a third of a monthly minimum wage is just… I think there's still a silver lining because non-Nintendo games actually drop in price after launch, though.
MS first part at launch for 360 was $49.99, games like PDZ,PGR3, and Kameo, 3rd party was $59.99 though. I dont know when the $60 happened for first party, but I do remember Gears 1 being $60.
I agree with the OP. I'm simply not purchasing a $70 game. I have no problem waiting for it to drop in price, as all games do.
The only exception being Nintendo since their games usually never drop, but for companies like Capcom? I'm not pay $70 for RE8 when I just paid $30 for a bundle of ReMake2+3. The power of patience, my friends!
The only exception being Nintendo since their games usually never drop, but for companies like Capcom? I'm not pay $70 for RE8 when I just paid $30 for a bundle of ReMake2+3. The power of patience, my friends!
That's only true in the United States, in the rest of the world the price has increased by 30-40%.
Thats a large part of the reason why this discussion is so frustrating, because Americans see a mere 16% increase after a decade and a half of stable prices, while the rest of the world is seeing 20%+ hikes on top of steadily increasing prices.
Just started reading this, and props to you for staying so involved in it!
I'd love to see percentage of profit between then and now including all of the MTX that will continue to be sold to us. Plenty of execs are getting paid multiple million a year so I'm seeing a hard time justifying these price increases. Of course from the capitalism side, I get it. Also fuck capitalism.
But what is the solution here then? Other than to vote with your wallet. Videogames have never been more accessible from a financial perspective.
There are low-entry cost services like Game Pass, platform holders constantly giving away free games and deep discounts on hundreds of games on just about every store front you can think of nearly every week. It feels weird to me that people are zoning in on a very select few AAA games being $70 as something that's pushing them out of the hobby wholesale.
Have games prices been tied to inflation in the UK? Because they haven't ever been in the US
The issue is that we have yet to see Xbox Series X (only for XSX/XSS and PC) that isn't just either indies or something like The Medium, which was $50 at launch. Remember, COD Cold War is $70 for the XSX/XSS version. Even 2K games cost $10 extra to upgrade to the XSX, making new games effectively $70. Even the straight version is $70. Who's to say that Perfect Dark and Starfield and the next Gears of War aren't going to be $70 when they're built for the XSX/XSS in mind?
Gaming is a mega luxury. It stinks when you can't afford new games, but no one is entitled to a video game.
Era always shows its ass in threads like these. How dare poor people try to enjoy the latest things in some way too.
Nah, it doesn't matter. Comparing something you absolutely need to store food (you know, to live?) should never be compared to luxury items like video games.
No, this doesn't mean poor people can't have fun or spend money on themselves for other than survival. No, this doesn't mean poor people shouldn't play video games. It means don't make stupid-ass comparisons that will inevitably (and justifiably) draw fire.
I swear, I bet many of you don't actually know what it's like to be poor. Worrying about $70 games would be the least of your worries. And there are plenty of affordable alternatives that provide hours of quality entertainment without breaking your budget.
This isn't even me defending $70 games. I absolutely think it's too much for many games, and can rightly be criticized. But you can make those criticisms (or rather the rebuttals to others offering alternatives) without the awful takes like "I GUESS YOU HATE POOR PEOPLE HUH? FRIDGES!!1" Like many of the people here saying that you shouldn't focus on trying to buy expensive day one games and instead look for other options (older games, f2p titles, wait for sales, buy/resell) have actually been poor.
I would be happy to pay just $70, sadly we have a 65% tax over USD in my country so, I don't give a damn about anything anymore. If I want the games I have to pay, as long as I can, I'll do it.
Price increase is a day 1/pre-order tax at this point. Games drop quickly and predictably in price these days. Just wait if the extra is more than you'd like.
I think its weird for anyone to defend any company. Well, unless you have shares in it. However, I also always try and be as unbiased as possible.
Yes, there is no doubt that these companies stand to make a shit ton of money from most of their endeavors. And there is no doubt that the bulk of that money isn't going to the devs. But that's just the nature of business.
it cost more money to make games, this is a fact now. It's not that devs are getting paid more, but it's that you need more of them to make your games. No matter what, the "fair" way to look at this is that the risk profile of making any game has been increased for the publishers. Simply because they are spending more money bringing it to market.
People really ought o stop looking at it from the perspective of how much they stand to make or are making because that's always a gamble. If the game reviews poorly, and the game's sales tanks, the loss is all on them. That's just the nature of business.
We've been paying more than 70€ for years with deluxe editions etc, for some meaningless extra items at best.
It's a miracle it took them so long to increase the base price.
We might not like it but i'd bet they did their research and saw that it won't stop the majority of the consumers from buying their games.
Just wait for the sales.
It's a miracle it took them so long to increase the base price.
We might not like it but i'd bet they did their research and saw that it won't stop the majority of the consumers from buying their games.
Just wait for the sales.
The digital prices of Sony games in Sweden are ridiculous and I won't buy any at full price. Ok, maybe TLOU3. Still, there is such an abundance of cheap and free games these days that it's whatever to me.
The OP is addressing those saying they're a "Sony troll" for balking at the prices, so yeah the topic is indeed about Sony games, and my post - that you replied to - was responding to a post about Sony games, and also mentioned the likely reasons they were not more discounted, reasons which you repeated in your reply. Every post in this particular sub-thread has been about Sony.
Yes, they go on sale. The point is the 'amount' of the sale for Sony titles so far is pretty pitiful. And yes, it may get better in the future, but it's not 'nonsense' - it's reality now that Sony titles have seen pathetic discounts. The reasons are relevant when the price actually changes, I'm aware that Sony doesn't face much pressure to lower them now - but they're clearly barely being discounted at all.
Ok, I may have interpreted your post wrong then. I'm saying we are on a gaming forum and someone upset with a price increase can be poor even if they have other things more important to worry about. I don't like the framing some are doing here that people are entitled if it's harder for them to keep up with a hobby.
The point is that no one is missing anything. They can wait, and most of them were probably already waiting when games cost $60 anyway. I don't think anyone is saying the price raise doesn't suck tho.
yeah... I pretty much only buy like 1 Nintendo game a year maybe. My collection would be way bigger if they went on sale for less than 40 bucks.
I really don't see how a ten dollar price hike is pushing people out of this hobby, especially when the barrier for entry is a 400-500 dollar console.
These games do go down in price so the only real issue is that some people may have to wait a bit longer.
I mean yeah 'vote with your wallet' and 'don't buy it then/just wait for a sale' always get tossed out in response to these complaints. a lot of the time though if someone says a game is too expensive for them and they don't want to or can't justify or literally can't buy something at full price and they'll wait for a sale they get dunked on and called a troll, and then we get threads like this. can't win!
I echo this.
If you can't afford it, don't worry too much, games go on sale pretty quickly and frequently. Don't feel bad about having to wait, you won't be the only one to play it even years from now, if that's what it takes. There are people just starting PS2 games for the first time, every day!
To those dismissing the $10 increase - outside the US games went up by way more than $10. In the UK Sony games releasing at £49 on PS4 went up to £69 (not referring to MSRP but actual price in retail)... which is a +40% increase! What are Sony smoking?
And to those saying wait for a price drop -6 6 months later PS5 games fro. Sony are still full price. Their pricing strategy is abysmal.
And to those saying wait for a price drop -6 6 months later PS5 games fro. Sony are still full price. Their pricing strategy is abysmal.
Yeah it was a dumb argument then, especially considering the state of how Days Gone shipped. I adore the game but it received almost universally middling reviews at launch.
Nowhere did I say that there aren't good sun-$50 games. I'm talking about the MSRP norm for games. People are going to buy the games regardless but they shouldn't be $70 as the starting price.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say this: I don't think $70 games are a problem. I think the way our labor is exploited for peanuts and we are held down in an intrinsically exploitive capitalist society is the problem.
Games are technically cheaper / the same in dollar value (adjusted for inflation). However, the cost of living for everything else has increased dramatically while our wages have remained stagnant. We shouldn't be angry at Sony, we should be mad at our Governments for letting capitalism run unchecked, creating unbelievable income inequality.
IMO, of course.
Games are technically cheaper / the same in dollar value (adjusted for inflation). However, the cost of living for everything else has increased dramatically while our wages have remained stagnant. We shouldn't be angry at Sony, we should be mad at our Governments for letting capitalism run unchecked, creating unbelievable income inequality.
IMO, of course.
I actually find the framing of poor people in this discussion, and context, as a means of enjoying the latest games day one, extremely insulting. When in fact this is all about FOMO and the need to participate in internet discourse day one or whatever else nonsense comes up.
And yes, I grew up extremely poor in a third world country, so I have experience as well. And I could not help but let out an audible groan reading the OP.
Give me a fucking break.
That's actually an interesting point that I wasn't aware of. I'm curious if we'll ever see big first party tentpoles go up against each other and if the price disparity will make a difference.
I would never tell someone they shouldn't do something they enjoy, but I would suggest ways they can do it that makes them more comfortable financially. And there are a lot of options.
I think the urgency of purchasing a game during week/month 1 has to be viewed in the context of social media and YouTube. There are plenty of times where if you don't purchase the game during the first week, you will inevitably be spoiled through some kind of algorithm thinking its feeding you something you want to see.
Or through a meme.
Or through a meme.
But they aren't.
- you can buy a game used
- you can wait for a sale
- you can sub to gamepass
- you can play some F2P games
- you can shareplay with a friend and split the cost of every brand new game in half
Oh and you can always buy the $70 game and turn around and sell it for $50 1-2 weeks later.
so you dont think entertainment is a necessity for human life? we should all be fine just eating shitting and working and then dieing then i guess
Yeah, just wait it out. I'm not a big fan of $70 games and I've definitely made some impulse day one purchases so far this gen but my backlog is deep enough for me to be more than happy playing the games I already own while I wait for something like Returnal to drop in price.
Also, I tend to sell off any pre-order extras that may come with my day one purchase to help off-set expenses. Steel books are a real nice way to re-coup expenses so the $70 price tag doesn't sting as much.
I want RE8 and I see a lot of YouTubers I watch play the game, but I ignore all of them and wait for the right time to play it. I have other games I need to play. Shit, I have money I need to put elsewhere. I'm closing on a home this month.
At this stage in my life I'm fortunate enough to have disposable income without worry, but will not support Sony's price increase for a base game. Price hiking under the veil of 'games costs more to make' while the industry makes record profit in billions year over year is a scape goat for greed. All while charging us extra to play online, tying features like save backups to subscriptions, anti-consumer refund policies, cross-play lies and greed, the list goes on.
Now I wait and purchase used instead of sales because fuck 'em. I'm just one person that won't make a difference but I'm doing the only thing I can and voting with my wallet, because what they are offering now exceeds my personal value.
If you find value in games at that price then have at it fam, nothing but love for you from me.
Now I wait and purchase used instead of sales because fuck 'em. I'm just one person that won't make a difference but I'm doing the only thing I can and voting with my wallet, because what they are offering now exceeds my personal value.
If you find value in games at that price then have at it fam, nothing but love for you from me.