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Topic: Are Video Games Too Expensive?

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Whydoievenbother

Do you think that video games (specifically AAA video games) are too expensive? I'm asking because recently I feel more and more that gaming is feeling out of my reach because of cost. How do you feel about it? Do you know any helpful ways to save on games?

Edited on by Whydoievenbother

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DefHalan

No, however I don't think all the AAA are actually worth their price, and you do see a lot of quick sales on those games. If you feel a game isn't worth $60, then wait for a sale, normally within a month there will at least be a $5-$10 off sale.

In fact, I think a lot of Indies fall into the sale trap, they discount their games too often and too fast. They should stand by their price longer. Most the time when I wait to buy indies, it is lack of funds, not lack of product worth. When I wait to buy AAA, it is lack of product worth. I don't wait to often for Nintendo games because they are worth it, in my opinion.

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RR529

Not necessarily. There were some games in generations past that would cost $80 (I think DKC & Super Mario Kart were two such games during the SNES era, if I'm not mistaken), and accounting for inflation, that'd be even more in today's money.

Nowadays, other than special editions (which come with extra stuff), I don't think anything is usually over $60, so we may actually be paying a bit less. Of course, this may be offset by DLC.

So it's hard to say either way.

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Ralizah

A few questions here:

1) Do I feel that AAA games are overpriced at MSRP? No. If anything, the price of games has gradually dropped over the generations, while the money that goes into making them has increased.

2) How do I save? By prioritizing important purchases and not buying Western AAA games day one, because the value of most of them drops like a rock over the course of a few months. Only games I buy at full price are first party Nintendo releases and niche Japanese games.

3) Following sales helps as well. https://www.cheapassgamer.com/ is a great NA resource because it posts about video game sales and price drops across a range of different platforms.

4) Also, while I loathe the company in general, Gamestop gives GREAT trade in values for Nintendo games. I recently traded in 3 or 4 Nintendo games for 100+ dollars in cash.

Edited on by Ralizah

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faint

A nes game in the 90's was about 50 bucks so no.

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AlGator

I remember top-shelf Atari 2600 games costing $30 back in the early '80s. That's over $85 in today's money.

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Whydoievenbother

I've noticed that a lot of people are saying that games are cheaper now than they've ever been. That doesn't necessarily make them reasonably priced. That just makes them seem more reasonably priced.

As an example, let's say Nintendo revealed the SNES classic edition for a billion dollars. Over time, the price dropped to 900 million dollars. That wouldn't make the SNES Classic's pricing reasonable, it would just make it less unreasonable.

Furthermore, a lot of people are ignoring two major factors:
1. Most games have DLC and Micro-transactions
2. Most games nowadays have some sort of online integration, and internet connections cost money

"I'll take a potato chip... AND EAT IT!"
Light Yagami, Death Note
"Ah, the Breakfast Club soundtrack! I can't wait 'til I'm old enough to feel ways about stuff!"
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faint

@MrMario02 games cost way more to make now. The staff for an Atari game was 10 at most. Big titles now take hundreds to make. We actually have it better now than ever.

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faint

@MrMario02 most would pay for the Internet anyway even if it's only for Netflix which is cheaper than renting a vhs tape four times a month in the 90's.

Edited on by faint

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faint

The problem is cost of living has gone up and wages haven't caught up yet. In 1999 I rented a huge 2 bedroom in a fancy college area for 500 bucks a month. You can't find prices like that in the us anymore unless you live on skid row, have a slum lord, live in the boondocks, or get rent control government aid.

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Ralizah

@MrMario02 Games are more "reasonably priced" (that is, the base games are cheaper) in addition to costing more to make. Also, there is no universal standard by which anything is "reasonably priced." There is only the push and pull of different market forces.

If Nintendo tried to sell an SNES Classic system for even $1000, almost nobody would buy it. The product would flop hard, lose Nintendo money, and they'd know not to price it so high in the future. Problem solved.

Edited on by Ralizah

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cwong15

From my perspective, $60 for a game that I would play for 20-60 hours is a pretty good deal. Contrast with a movie ticket only gets me a couple of hours of entertainment.

Games are priced based on what gamers are willing to pay. If they won't buy the game, then it's too expensive and prices will drop. How do you define "too expensive"? I think in your case you really mean "too expensive for me". That could well be true, but it's irrelevant to the overall gaming market.

cwong15

shaneoh

faint wrote:

The problem is cost of living has gone up and wages haven't caught up yet.

Unless you're a politician, they make sure their wages improve with inflation.

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Luna_110

It is a well know fact that HD development cost have gone throught the roof, and a lot of developers have bankrupted due to sales with the current price not allowing them to cover the costs, much less have some profit.
For me, the games are well priced. If I don't think game X is worth Y price, I simply don't buy it or wait for it to go on sale. If I think it is worth preordering it, I'll be saving money with anticipation.
And also, giftcards for my local game store due to my bank's reward program. That's the best thing ever.

Edited on by Luna_110

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skywake

Games are cheaper than they've ever been and there are more choices than ever. I remember when I was a kid a Gameboy game was something around $60AU. Maybe a bit less if it was an older title. But it was all around that price range. If you had a SNES or N64 games could easily be over $100AU.

These days not only are games still the same price or less. Not even accounting for inflation. But if a game is a couple of years old? If I wait for the right sale I might get it for $10 or so. You didn't see those prices for games on the SNES until the N64 was out and rental stores were clearing out stock. There are also indie games and retro releases which are pretty much always at around that price. Before you even get to things like the Humble Bundle....

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Whydoievenbother

@faint @Ralizah I wasn't saying that games are too expensive, I was just suggesting that maybe it's not as simple as you made it out to be. Looking back, I should've made that more clear, and I apologize for the inconvenience.

"I'll take a potato chip... AND EAT IT!"
Light Yagami, Death Note
"Ah, the Breakfast Club soundtrack! I can't wait 'til I'm old enough to feel ways about stuff!"
Phillip J. Fry, Futurama

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