€60 games how did that happen?

nerd69 · 07-11-2012 12:40pm #1

i remember people complaining about modern warfare going up to 55 now they all seem to be 60 why is this the industry cant be that badly off if this is the way its going will it be 70 this time next year to be honest 50 was a lot to be handing over several times a year at what point does it become to expensive a hobby

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 07-11-2012 12:42pm

games are cheaper now than they were in the 90's

http://www.1up.com/news/90s-game-price-comparison-charticle

Lex_Diamonds · 07-11-2012 12:44pm

I distinctly remember that some 360 games cost 70 when the system first launched! Chancers.

Back in the day I paid 65 irish punts for Streetfighter 2: Hyper Fighting on the SNES. SNES carts were stupidly expensive.

Washington Irving · 07-11-2012 12:45pm

I remember some PS3 games being €80 in 2007 when it was released

Penn · 07-11-2012 12:47pm

nerd69 wrote: »

i remember people complaining about modern warfare going up to 55 now they all seem to be 60 why is this the industry cant be that badly off if this is the way its going will it be 70 this time next year to be honest 50 was a lot to be handing over several times a year at what point does it become to expensive a hobby

Look at the prices for downloading new games from PSN. Most new games cost €70 there, and that's without packaging, distribution, retail fees etc.

folan · 07-11-2012 12:50pm

yep, i remember handing over 70 of my hard earned squids as a teenager for many an xbox game.

the home gaming market has changed alot since then. theres more casual gamers, the life spans of consoles have been extended while they were experimented with to develop a more all round experience, and so the cost of developing games dropped for a short while.

in short, its a bloody expensive hobby.

sumsar · 07-11-2012 12:52pm

I'm amazed that people are happy to pay €60 a game, I seen a game for €60 in a shop the other day and said to a friend it's crazy that they're charging that again when GTA IV was released some shops were doing it for €40, how have they gone up again!?

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 07-11-2012 12:53pm

why wouldn't you pay 60 euro for an open world game like gtaIV?

even for a bog standard 10 hour fps that's six euro an hour. even less if you're going to replay it or plan to play it online. that's quite good value

johnny_ultimate · 07-11-2012 12:54pm

Haven't paid sixty euro for a non-import / non-special edition of a game in years. Probably haven't paid much more than 50, actually.

If you're paying 60 per game, then shopping around is your friend. CoD is the only franchise that consistently goes for RRP, and that's because the general public are crazy.

I came across a PS1 game recently with something like a £49.99 or 59.99 price tag. None of this is new. In fact, the increasingly competitive world of retailing have forced companies to drive prices down if anything.

Melion · 07-11-2012 12:54pm

I worked in Gamestop in 2003 and I remember pricing games at 69.99. SOCOM on ps2 was 84.99 iirc. I have also spent 69.99 on some 360 games in 07/08

mcgovern · 07-11-2012 1:00pm

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Haven't paid sixty euro for a non-import / non-special edition of a game in years. Probably haven't paid much more than 50, actually.

If you're paying 60 per game, then shopping around is your friend. CoD is the only franchise that consistently goes for RRP, and that's because the general public are crazy.

I came across a PS1 game recently with something like a £49.99 or 59.99 price tag. None of this is new. In fact, the increasingly competitive world of retailing have forced companies to drive prices down if anything.

I seen FIFA 12 for €55 at the weekend

But I've noticed that prices have started creeping up since GAME closed, less competition now.

gizmo · 07-11-2012 1:00pm

nerd69 wrote: »

i remember people complaining about modern warfare going up to 55 now they all seem to be 60 why is this the industry cant be that badly off if this is the way its going will it be 70 this time next year to be honest 50 was a lot to be handing over several times a year at what point does it become to expensive a hobby

Where were they charging €60 and what game was it?

rolexeagle1 · 07-11-2012 1:01pm

because people will pay 60 euro

Grumpypants · 07-11-2012 1:02pm

69.99 is the rrp set by publishers. This cost is off set by trade ins. Shops can charge anything they like.

Professey Chin · 07-11-2012 1:04pm

Melion wrote: »

I worked in Gamestop in 2003 and I remember pricing games at 69.99. SOCOM on ps2 was 84.99 iirc. I have also spent 69.99 on some 360 games in 07/08

Socom came with a headset and broadband adapter if I remember right. Would explain the higher price.
I remember seeing that disgraceful bomberman game on the 360 for 69.99 alright.

lertsnim · 07-11-2012 1:07pm

srumball wrote: »

because people will pay 60 euro

That sums it up.

sumsar · 07-11-2012 1:11pm

Very true that they charge €60 because people will pay it, my thought when I think about how people charged €40 for GTA IV is that if they can charge €40 for a game then it's crazy that they are instead charging 60.

stevenmu · 07-11-2012 1:19pm

Different shops often charge different prices. HMV often charge €49.99 for a game, while Gamestop have it for €59.99. Naturally all my business then goes to HMV, but obviously others are buying in Gamestop.

ShadowHearth · 07-11-2012 1:19pm

Yeah yeah, we know games were around 60-70eu before, but there is no excuse for something like cod to be 60eu. They are just taking a piss.
What really grinds my gears, that se developers decided to charge for PC titles same money as for console versions. That's just out right greedy **** thing.

I dropped in to GameStop today and I really don't like handheld pricing. 45eu for RE revalations and 45eu for most wanted for ps vita. Xcom on PC is 40eu...
I don't expect handheld games cost 1eu like iOS crap, but 25-30eu is a fair price for handheld game.

AnCapaillMor · 07-11-2012 1:26pm

Wasn't there something before about games being cheaper because game, gamestop etc were basically subsidising them beacuse they were making a bucketload on the trade ins and the gaming companies told cut that sh1t out.

60 i've no problem, as people said i can remember paying up to 70-80 for games. As for PC games, i know more people with dodgy copies of a game than legit copies so not surprised there.

gizmo · 07-11-2012 1:31pm

ShadowHearth wrote: »

Yeah yeah, we know games were around 60-70eu before, but there is no excuse for something like cod to be 60eu. They are just taking a piss.

I can understand why fans pay for it though. I'm consistently amazed by the massive number of hours racked up by fans for the multiplayer portion. The same goes for the DLC, these fans don't pay for what they think the content is worth, they're paying for the number of hours entertainment they get from the game. To them, it's a ****ing deal.

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I dropped in to GameStop today and I really don't like handheld pricing. 45eu for RE revalations and 45eu for most wanted for ps vita. Xcom on PC is 40eu...
I don't expect handheld games cost 1eu like iOS crap, but 25-30eu is a fair price for handheld game.

I'm curious as to why you think it should automatically be lower just because it's on a handheld, especially now on the 3DS and Vita? From what I've read, Revelations not only looks and plays damn well but lasts about ten hours (the same as a console game) and as a result also had a fairly hefty budget and team size so it makes sense that it's more expensive. Of course, conversely, I think it should hold through that the cheaper, smaller budget games be priced accordingly but that doesn't seem to happen either.

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Wasn't there something before about games being cheaper because game, gamestop etc were basically subsidising them beacuse they were making a bucketload on the trade ins and the gaming companies told cut that sh1t out.

It's been put forward before as one of their defences of the second hand market but it's also easily refutable given the fact that games were sold below RRP long before trade-ins became in any way popular or even existed with some retailers.

Gotham · 07-11-2012 1:38pm

I don't pay more than €30 for games, if they are exceptional, I will make an exception (there haven't been any exceptional games in the past 7-8 years).

Console gamers are shafted too, even new games on PC don't go higher than €50 in extreme cases.
Here are some receipts I have from Steam sales:

Dead Rising 2 7.49 EUR
RAGE 9.99 EUR
Just Cause 2.49 EUR
Arma II: Operation Arrowhead 8.99 EUR
Sins Trinity 3.74 EUR
Dragon Age: Origins - Ultimate Edition 7.49 EUR
Just Cause 2 4.99 EUR
FEAR 3 4.99 EUR
X-SuperBox 9.99 EUR
Serious Sam 3 BFE 9.99 EUR
The Witcher 2 15.99 EUR
Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (WR) 2.49 EUR
Payday: The Heist 4.74 EUR
Back to the Future: The Game 6.24 EUR
Trine 2 Collector's Edition 4.99 EUR
Sonic CD 2.69 EUR
Saints Row: The Third 7.49 EUR
Legend of Grimrock 5.59 EUR
Earthworm Jim Collection 7.99 EUR
L.A. Noire 7.49 EUR
Mount & Blade: Complete 8.74 EUR
Dead Island (RoW) 11.99 EUR
Thief Gold 4.99 EUR
Thief II 4.99 EUR
Painkiller Overdose 1.24 EUR
Painkiller: Ressurection (RoW) 2.49 EUR
Painkiller Recurring Evil 2.49 EUR
Painkiller: Redemption 1.24 EUR
Assassin's Creed 2.49 EUR
Assassin's Creed II: Deluxe Edition 7.49 EUR
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood 7.49 EUR
Ghost Recon Pack 7.49 EUR
Alan Wake 13.99 EUR
Sega Mega Drive Classics 5 - Complete 7.50 EUR
Batman Arkham City 13.99 EUR
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 6.79 EUR
Fallout Collection 6.79 EUR
The Guild II 2.49 EUR
Fallout: New Vegas 4.99 EUR
Puzzle Agent 2 2.49 EUR
Deus Ex: Human Revolution - Augmented Edition 20.39 EUR
Bastion 4.75 EUR
Fallout 3 - Game of the Year 7.49 EUR
Aliens vs Predator 3.99 EUR

rolexeagle1 · 07-11-2012 1:40pm

does anyone know how much it costs to develop a game like COD or Halo these days? dev, man hours, tech, testing, publishing.

I really don't know legit question.

Personally I dont mind paying 60euro for a game like COD that I know I will play for at least the next 6-9months.

If i go out on the weekend I would spend 60 euro on booze, smokes, taxis etc. the pay even more the morning after with a god awful hangover.

Don't go out for one weekend, cut down on a few smokes = COD paid for.

Why do people pay 700e plus for an iPhone 5 when they know there is going to be an iPhone 5s/6 out in the next year.......

Because they will they just will.

Its down to the retailers here, everything cost more in this country, this is not a new point/argument its has been going on here for dogs years. We get shafted on everything.

if you arent willing to pay 60e for a new release wait 3 months and buy it for 40 squids.

ShadowHearth · 07-11-2012 1:40pm

AnCapaillMor wrote: »

Wasn't there something before about games being cheaper because game, gamestop etc were basically subsidising them beacuse they were making a bucketload on the trade ins and the gaming companies told cut that sh1t out.

60 i've no problem, as people said i can remember paying up to 70-80 for games. As for PC games, i know more people with dodgy copies of a game than legit copies so not surprised there.

/facepalm...

so... lets charge more those who buy legitimate versions of game.

they charge more not because of that, they charge more because they can. You do realise the PC versions were always cheaper, because developers did not needed to pay MS or Sony for the right of having the game on that particular platform. No cut for MS and Sony, so the saving was pushed to consumer. Now they just sell it for same money as Console version, but take the extra cut for themselfs.

i do realise, that this bitching wont do a thing, because we gamers are weak and we will just buy what we want to play.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar · 07-11-2012 1:41pm

Gotham wrote: »

I don't pay more than €30 for games, if they are exceptional, I will make an exception (there havent been any exceptional games in the past 7-8 years).

wtf?

Azza · 07-11-2012 1:41pm

I too have difficult paying full price for a portable game. I just can't imagine the budget that goes into them is anywhere near that of a full console/pc release. Particullary when it comes to re-releases like Zelda, MGS 3 and Star Fox.

Prices around €30-35 be the most I'm willing to go on a handheld.

Azza · 07-11-2012 1:48pm

I find PC games still cheaper than console.

Recently I payed
€30 for Dark Souls Prepare to Die and Sleeping Dogs
€25 for Dishonored and X-Com.
€30 for Borderlands 2.

On Gamestop.ie I see Black Ops 2 at €50 5 cheaper than the consoles.

They had Hitman Absolution pre-order at €28 and Tomb Raider around €25.

I've seen Far Cry 3 at €23.99 on another website.

If you shop around online and not just from Steam or in your local retail store you will find PC games are still cheaper than console games.

Not to mention PC games drop quicker in price and regular, easily accessible sales from major digital distrubitors make it cheap to pick up missed game.

TheDoc · 07-11-2012 1:51pm

HMV do new releases for €45 on release day

I havnt gone anywhere for a game in over a year (bar buying from Steam or Blizzard)

deathrider · 07-11-2012 1:53pm

I've only ever spent over 50quid for one game (not including special/limited editions, because I've happy to pay a little extra if I'm getting a little extra) and that was for CoD: Black Ops. If cost me 55quid off the self. It's not a bad game, but I told myself I'd never pay that for a game again, epsicially not a CoD game, as I don't do the whole multiplayer thing, and if I do, it's really not very often. A game would have to be damn good for me to buy first hand and at launch. I don't have much in the way of cash, so 50quid will burn quite the large hole in my wallet. I may get one or two like this per year, but that would be all. Anything over 50 though can stay on the shelf.

noodler · 07-11-2012 1:56pm

Bought

Dark Souls
PES 2012
Mass Effect 3

for full price in last 18 months.

All the rest I bought after they'd been out longer.

Definitely feels like the cheapest generation yet when it comes to buying game, particularly if you can hold off on a new release for a month or so.

johnny_ultimate · 07-11-2012 1:59pm

Plenty of smaller publishers releasing cheaper titles - Rising Star are particularly great at offering their niche titles for budget prices (their upcoming Virtue's Last Reward release is currently at £24.99 on Amazon).

Digital distribution has allowed smaller budgeted games to emerge and enjoy financial success - several of this generations most 'exceptional' titles have cost a tenner or less, from Braid to Hotline Miami.

Not to mention the fact that it's usually barely a month before games are discounted massively at retail. Pop into HMV a couple of weeks after release and you'll likely find the same title for 34.99 or less. On consoles.

People who want blockbuster titles with huge production values will have to expect to pay a couple of euro more. But TBH there's no reason why you couldn't play the vast majority of a year's titles spending less that thirty euro on each title if you're willing to wait or shop around. CoD or FIFA - the games that will sell no matter what the price, and retailers would be foolish to cut their profit margins on such titles - are very much exceptions.

€60 games how did that happen?

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