The Increase in the Influx of High(er) Priced Games..?
Edited By ResonanceXu
OK, so, lets take a brief minute to think about the games we've bought, the money spent, and the gratification, or disgruntled feeling that subsequently comes after the acquisition and and completion of said games...
I like many of you have a job and in addition am a University Student. I pay my taxes and my bills and any other essential expenses. At this point I now have just over a quarter of what I initially earned in my pocket as 'cash in hand', so to speak, and what do I have to show for it? Nothing as of yet!
OK, OK so now is the time to relax, right? The most important things have been taken care of and now I can get down to some quality 'me' time. I walk over to my console, sit down, look at my games list and think "hmph, what shall I play? Umm, not this, not that, completed this, played that too much..." and so on. Right, lets go and buy a new game. This is cool, no, this is great, new game, some free time, lets rock 'n' roll? Errmm, not quite.
Unfortunately, with what ever money I have now saved (for any unfortunate rainy day that may come) I now have pittance left in my pocket to spend on such games.
Every now and again a great game(s) comes along. It's the full package, great visuals, great sound, great story and perfect gameplay, it is the epitome of what any game should progress and aim to be. Games like HL1 & HL2, Gears of War, Halo: Combat Evolved & the legendary Halo 2 multiplayer. Games like Max Payne, TES4: Oblivion, the GTA series and CoD 1, the expansion pack and CoD 2 are all other good examples. THESE games and other such games can justify at some point the reason for such high prices, these games have spent many resources and much time developing the game to be the best it can be, to be the freshest thing on the scene, but even then, can these games and their developers really justify or validate the reason for putting on such a high price tag?
In my opinion I believe not. To be honest, I love gaming and it's a great way to relieve stress (and also gain it). I myself am willing to pay the odd high price here and there for a 'great' game but even then believe I shouldn't as maybe the rest of you do?
Taking a look at the gaming market and the huge demand for games and the continual increase in consumer wants for more and better games, developers are pushing boundaries and are trying to give us what we want, however, sticking on a Price tag like £40 or £50 ( or $60 + in the US) is ridiculous, considering such games may sell millions of copies.
Take a look at Halo 3 for example. I read on Gamespot not long ago that there were an estimated number of 4 million pre-orders by consumers and this was likely to increase. 4 MILLION! That is a hell of a lot, and considering the price tag for the game will most definitely be about £50 in the UK and approx. $60 to $70 in the US for only the standard and Limited edition models, Microsoft and Bungie Studios are looking to make profits of $240,000,000 upwards (if you calculate the 4 million copies to be sold at $60 each), and that's just on the first day!
Now I'm not sure, but I am almost 100% certain that it DID NOT cost this much to make such a game, no matter how good it is. Furthermore considering the profits they will be making, I feel we are being severely ripped off and somewhat betrayed as loyal consumers.
I myself will be buying Halo 3, most likely at the price tag of £50 and I know this sounds ironic and somewhat hypocritical (and I will feel bad for buying it at first) but I do hate to add to their sky high profit margin and I am sure that there are many others like myself who feel the same.
I don't mean to single out Halo 3, but it seems the perfect example to look at, especially when looking at the facts.
I study Economics and business studies and over the years have learnt that a business aims to out a product that matches the consumers wants and needs, and the price tag put on such product is there for the company to cover their costs and make a 'reasonable' profit, and to me, it seems that the game market is making more than just a reasonable profit.
So how does the picture look? Can games and their developers fully justify their high price tags and extremely high profit margins? Can developers not reduce the price tag per game by even a quarter and STILL not make exceptionally good profits WHILST offering the consumer a good that they want at a price which EVERYONE can afford, rather than the handful?
Well I for one believe they can.
I wrote this editorial to see how others felt about this subject, because I know this is very specific and many, many people have different opinions.
Please feel free to leave any and as many comments as you like in regards to this topic.
If this editorial comes to good response then I shall surely write more, not all of which will be a rant.
Thank you for your time.
-M.B.
OK, so, lets take a brief minute to think about the games we've bought, the money spent, and the gratification, or disgruntled feeling that subsequently comes after the acquisition and and completion of said games...
I like many of you have a job and in addition am a University Student. I pay my taxes and my bills and any other essential expenses. At this point I now have just over a quarter of what I initially earned in my pocket as 'cash in hand', so to speak, and what do I have to show for it? Nothing as of yet!
OK, OK so now is the time to relax, right? The most important things have been taken care of and now I can get down to some quality 'me' time. I walk over to my console, sit down, look at my games list and think "hmph, what shall I play? Umm, not this, not that, completed this, played that too much..." and so on. Right, lets go and buy a new game. This is cool, no, this is great, new game, some free time, lets rock 'n' roll? Errmm, not quite.
Unfortunately, with what ever money I have now saved (for any unfortunate rainy day that may come) I now have pittance left in my pocket to spend on such games.
Every now and again a great game(s) comes along. It's the full package, great visuals, great sound, great story and perfect gameplay, it is the epitome of what any game should progress and aim to be. Games like HL1 & HL2, Gears of War, Halo: Combat Evolved & the legendary Halo 2 multiplayer. Games like Max Payne, TES4: Oblivion, the GTA series and CoD 1, the expansion pack and CoD 2 are all other good examples. THESE games and other such games can justify at some point the reason for such high prices, these games have spent many resources and much time developing the game to be the best it can be, to be the freshest thing on the scene, but even then, can these games and their developers really justify or validate the reason for putting on such a high price tag?
In my opinion I believe not. To be honest, I love gaming and it's a great way to relieve stress (and also gain it). I myself am willing to pay the odd high price here and there for a 'great' game but even then believe I shouldn't as maybe the rest of you do?
Taking a look at the gaming market and the huge demand for games and the continual increase in consumer wants for more and better games, developers are pushing boundaries and are trying to give us what we want, however, sticking on a Price tag like £40 or £50 ( or $60 + in the US) is ridiculous, considering such games may sell millions of copies.
Take a look at Halo 3 for example. I read on Gamespot not long ago that there were an estimated number of 4 million pre-orders by consumers and this was likely to increase. 4 MILLION! That is a hell of a lot, and considering the price tag for the game will most definitely be about £50 in the UK and approx. $60 to $70 in the US for only the standard and Limited edition models, Microsoft and Bungie Studios are looking to make profits of $240,000,000 upwards (if you calculate the 4 million copies to be sold at $60 each), and that's just on the first day!
Now I'm not sure, but I am almost 100% certain that it DID NOT cost this much to make such a game, no matter how good it is. Furthermore considering the profits they will be making, I feel we are being severely ripped off and somewhat betrayed as loyal consumers.
I myself will be buying Halo 3, most likely at the price tag of £50 and I know this sounds ironic and somewhat hypocritical (and I will feel bad for buying it at first) but I do hate to add to their sky high profit margin and I am sure that there are many others like myself who feel the same.
I don't mean to single out Halo 3, but it seems the perfect example to look at, especially when looking at the facts.
I study Economics and business studies and over the years have learnt that a business aims to out a product that matches the consumers wants and needs, and the price tag put on such product is there for the company to cover their costs and make a 'reasonable' profit, and to me, it seems that the game market is making more than just a reasonable profit.
So how does the picture look? Can games and their developers fully justify their high price tags and extremely high profit margins? Can developers not reduce the price tag per game by even a quarter and STILL not make exceptionally good profits WHILST offering the consumer a good that they want at a price which EVERYONE can afford, rather than the handful?
Well I for one believe they can.
I wrote this editorial to see how others felt about this subject, because I know this is very specific and many, many people have different opinions.
Please feel free to leave any and as many comments as you like in regards to this topic.
If this editorial comes to good response then I shall surely write more, not all of which will be a rant.
Thank you for your time.
-M.B.
It's definitley crazy, but what can you do - I guess people won't boycott games because of their prices.. I know I won't, but I just think that developers could be a little fairer, because money wise I cannot keep up with all the games comming out; especially the recent late october/early november releases!
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