The expense of video games

July 3, 2018

Video games for consoles like Xbox and PlayStation have hovered around the same price for a while now. However that's just what you pay to get the base game, not all of the additional content that a lot of people purchase. I get the appeal for the industry but shouldn't games be getting cheaper now since we're no longer getting the "full" experience that games used to provide? Additionally games are provided in digital format now. Cutting out the middle-man retailers and other shipping/packaging costs has to be helping out these companies. So why are video games just as expensive as they were before? It just seems greedy to me. What do you think?

Zack T · July 3, 2018

Well it takes a hell of a lot of manpower and time to create these games. Graphically, everything keeps rising and it takes a lot of people to render all the cut scenes and regular game play we see, a lot more than it did when games were 8 bit for example.

So the cost of producing the games has increased, I believe, and I think that's why we see more of the DLC content and extra stuff than we did from old console days. I mean back then, Sonic the Hedgehog was just Sonic and every new thing was it's own game, like Sonic Pinball. These days, it'd probably be Sonic with a DLC of Sonic Pinball instead. So it's just different packaging, I think.

Getting games digitally is the best way to get them cheaper though, and that's partially why I only play on the PC. You often can get new title games on sale - I bought Fallout 4 and Skyrim on sale for 66% off. So instead of the usual 60 bucks per game, I paid 25ish or so. You really don't see that if you go out and buy a physical copy.

So digital distribution actually does make the games cheaper, if you wait for sales. If you don't, well you still get it conveniently downloaded instead of going out and handling the CD.

July 4, 2018

I miss the days when I collect the DVD cases of my games and display them in my room. It is like having a library of the games that I've played.

As for the cost of games, it does become cheaper when you wait for sale offers. I often wait for the Game-of-the-Year edition or a Collection edition before buying the game. Games are expensive when you pre-order them.

July 5, 2018

You're right, @Zack T. Production costs have increased even if other costs have decreased. Ultimately it's wrong for me to blame the industry when there are plenty of people who are willing to spend so much money on DLC, loot boxes, and the like. Of course they're going to take advantage of that.

I was sort of in a mood when I wrote this topic. My finances weren't looking great after I tallied all of the games that are coming out this year that I want to purchase. Trying to factor in the other costs that will ultimately come along with these games wasn't helping.

I still wonder if, overall, it is still a bit overpriced. Not so much the game itself but all of the additional content. I read that with DLC and whatnot, games have a lot longer playability so consumers aren't rushing to purchase the new version of whatever they're playing (I think their example was Call of Duty). I imagine it's cheaper to build onto a game rather than start something from scratch.

@Incredible Iron, I miss that too. I used to have so many games and DVDs. I have to admit that my flat is a lot less cluttered though.

Poppy · July 5, 2018

I can't handle the nickel-and-diming of in-game spending. Sadly, it often feels that the person with the biggest wallet wins because they can afford the best weapons, healing power, and other helpful extras.

July 6, 2018

I can't handle the nickel-and-diming of in-game spending. Sadly, it often feels that the person with the biggest wallet wins because they can afford the best weapons, healing power, and other helpful extras.

This might be the case in many multiplayer games, but not all. There are many "dedicated" gamers and they don't spend more for the extras in order to win. They do spend a considerable amount of time to practice and see what works in beating the other players.

August 3, 2018

So the cost of producing the games has increased, I believe, and I think that's why we see more of the DLC content and extra stuff than we did from old console days. I mean back then, Sonic the Hedgehog was just Sonic and every new thing was it's own game, like Sonic Pinball. These days, it'd probably be Sonic with a DLC of Sonic Pinball instead. So it's just different packaging, I think.

In compensating for the high cost of production, the developers forget to develop a sense of buying satisfaction in the players. It isn't right to take away a chunk of the plot and sell it as a DLC. Extra content should be just as the name implies; the basic gameplay experience shouldn't be affected by a large margin when one plays without the extra.

It's frustrating when some big companies are cheating on me like this.