Current Events > Video game prices are pretty reasonable

(+) Yeah! (+)

This is an upopular opinion but for how much entertainment value they provide video game prices are reasonable. Not mention they are one of the few things that have barely been inflated. Food, gas, rent, clothes everything has gone but video game prices are the same.

The problem is that everything else being jacked up in price by our all-powerful, all-consuming corporate overlords has made it so that folks' wallets are getting tighter and tighter, and thus blowing $60-70 on a video game has become much more of a daunting prospect than it used to be, especially if the game in question isn't very long or the asking price is just for the base game alone rather than a GOTY bundle with all the DLC. If you can't afford to blow that cash on a game without dipping into what you're already setting aside for your basic necessities, you're probably going to think the publishers are nuts for demanding it of you.

Yeah, they're really not that bad especially on Steam. Games usually go on sale pretty quickly, and if it's not discounted enough you can just find a different game that's cheaper.

Considering what I was paying like 40 years ago and how much better games are now and how much content they typically I have I think gaming is a dirt cheap hobby. Not to mention I have a hell of a lot more disposable income now than I had in the 80s. Also games these days go on sale so fast. If you just wait a bit they drop quickly. Ive always been of this opinion.

Compared to other things like housing and such, yes theyre pretty reasonable.

I have no problem with game prices. I only buy games that I'll be playing for 100s of hours so they are an absolute bargain.

deathproof12 posted...

Food, gas, rent, clothes everything has gone but video game prices are the same.

Because the development tools are now so powerful you can create and animate an entire 3D character in a couple of hours.

Creating a 2D sprite required hundreds of frames and took 6 months.

Same with music, etc. You can compose and record a decent tune on your phone using free software.

There would be a problem if it wasn't.

Nah

GenXer posted...

I have no problem with game prices. I only buy games that I'll be playing for 100s of hours so they are an absolute bargain.

QFT. value over all.

I think payment should be optional

They're over priced my dude.

N64 charged $60 for new games in the 90s, gamers should stop complaining less

We've devalued things significantly over the last 30 years though, from movies to video games to music to TV.

With every service like Movie Pass, spotify, or gamepass, you devalue the properties you essentially are giving away for pennies.

The value of video games were never measured by hours spent in the game. Hell, most entertainment isn't valued based off of how much time you engage with it.

David1988 posted...

N64 charged $60 for new games in the 90s, gamers should stop complaining less

Because it was a ROM cartridge, lol.

You were basically buying a memory upgrade every time you bought a game. Paying for all the silicon involved, and for it to be soldered together.

Then they moved on to CDs (50 cents) and now downloads (ie free manufacturing/distribution/storage).

ClayGuida posted...

We've devalued things significantly over the last 30 years though, from movies to video games to music to TV.

Like, a 14" black-and-white TV used to cost hundreds of dollars. These days you can get an 80" TV for the same price.

Too fucking right things get cheaper.

DarkDoc posted...

Like, a 14" black-and-white TV used to cost hundreds of dollars. These days you can get an 80" TV for the same price.

Too fucking right things get cheaper.

That's honestly a weird comparison to make, since the time period where small black and white TV's cost $800+ was before our lifetimes.

Before yours maybe.

Video games used to have a significant used games and rental market. That's more or less evaporated with games discounts only covering some of that space.

I'm not going to pay more than $60 for a game. And I usually wait for it to be less than that anyway. But the good news if you want games to cost more is that a lot of AAA games started incorporating free-to-play style microtransactions into the game on top of the sticker price, so you have the opportunity to pay more if you like.

Depends on the game.

ChocoboMogALT posted...

Video games used to have a significant used games and rental market. That's more or less evaporated with games discounts only covering some of that space.

Interesting point. Game and movie rentals were huge. I do kinda miss renting games.

But I guess that is somewhat done digitally now with subscription services. Doesn't feel the same to me.

Gamers whining about $/hr is the absolute dumbest shit I have ever seen and the reason games today are fucking trash

Kuuko posted...

that a lot of AAA games started incorporating free-to-play style microtransactions into the game on top of the sticker price, so you have the opportunity to pay more if you like.

Is the reason I gave up gaming. Stop treating me like a count. Additional purchases, in-game adverts, virtual currencies and lootboxes have absolutely no place in a paid game. Keep that in mobile. I'm out.

Compared to basically any other hobby yeah it's pretty cheap.

Still don't want to pay more though. There's a lot of stuff competing for my dollar.