So I go over to Steam and check out the new games that are coming out. The one thing that caught my eye was that the newly released games are still coming out at $50. The only games that have been released at $60 are Activision and Ubisoft owned. A lot of people on these forums mentioned that once they see companies start charging more for games then they'll follow suit. Well, it sure doesn't seem like that. A few games to mention that are still $50 is Civilization V,  Mafia II, Kane and Lynch 2, Fallout New Vega, and Medal of Honor. I would definitely think EA would jump onto the band wagon, but I guess not. So what do you guys think? Are all these companies smart about sticking to the $50 price point or am I speaking too soon?

It's not working, I simply wait until they are cheaper a bit for steam sales then I buy it. No one unless they really want the game will support it. Those games has dropped in price after nearly half a year, so it's not a good strategy, rather it's a deterrent.  
 
Usually consoles pays that price because they have to pay certain fees to even sell the game on consoles. Pc games are not subjected to the same tax, therefore shouldn't cost $60.

" @HitmanAgent47: I have to wonder also, what about Starcraft II? Are we ever going to see some sort of sale on that digitally? Or even in the retail stores? "

I don't buy any steam game at full price, always wait for the sale.

" @ch13696 said:

" @HitmanAgent47: I have to wonder also, what about Starcraft II? Are we ever going to see some sort of sale on that digitally? Or even in the retail stores? "

I doubt it. It will be like Call of Duty 4 and be the same price for 2 years at least. It's a shame because I'm not going to spend £40 on a PC game. "

Medal of Honor is $60, not $50.  I doubt that's going to work out too well for it, though.  I don't think it's getting enough buzz to justify that pricetag on the PC even from a business standpoint.  The BF3 beta access hasn't even put the preorder for MoH in the top sellers list on Steam.

Only blockbuster releases by the mega corps can get away with $60.  Its dirty as hell but they knew that the games will sell regardless and consumers will just take it.  I think that's its just pure extra profit for them but not a lot of games can get away with a $60 price point.

I don't understand the $60 price point for PC. 
 
These companies raise the price so high, yet they trim game content and then release it as a paid download. In my opinion if there ever was a time to bootleg games, I think now is a great time.
 
The quality of the game goes down, while they are seeking higher prices.
 
Additionally are these games being made in the USA? Their development is being spread around the globe to reduce costs, while they return here to the United States to sell the product at a higher price. Ridiculous. 
 
Again,  in my opinion if there ever was a time to bootleg games, I think now is a great time.  It is not worth to support certain companies; and if the excuse is that they'll stop making games, good. As time progresses developers dumb down the games anyway. We always say the first release is the best, while the follow ups suck. So the developer can keep the crappy stuff to itself.

I have no problem paying $60.
 
A few years ago, due to the crappy conversion rate of the Canadian dollar, games were like $70 or $80. I remember buying AoE3 for $70 when it came out. So to me, games are actually cheaper now than ever.

There are not many PC games that hold their price as much as console games do, on average.
 
I'm usually OK when a new PC game comes out that I know will not sell hugely because the price will drop pretty rapidly, most of the time. It's only the BIG name games like Call of Duty or StarCraft 2 that I know will hold the maximum price for a much longer time.

It hasn't been put to the test. I'd like to see the sales for AC2 and see how much Ubi tries to blame pirates for it. The only two real tests of it have been Call of Duty and Starcraft, now? Those are two HUGE games that can get away with the price(which Blizzard has done before). Wait for Rage to come out, wait for Guild Wars 2, Dead Space 2, and Bulletstorm. 60 dollar games that don't have that kind of pull, then we'll see how well it's working. 
 
Also EA has hardcore jumped on the wagon for this. Every single EA PC game is 60 dollars now, they really think their games are that 'big' when truthfully Battlefield is the only franchise they have on PC t hat could get away with that.

The higher price point hasn't really affected retail sales in the UK. I live in Ireland and order all my games online from places like Amazon and Game, and rarely pay more than £24.99 for a new PC game (just under 40 bucks). Steam on the other hand is charging €59.99 in some cases for the exact same games, which equates to almost 80 bucks, which is absolute nonsense.

" @zudthespud said:

" @ch13696 said:

" @HitmanAgent47: I have to wonder also, what about Starcraft II? Are we ever going to see some sort of sale on that digitally? Or even in the retail stores? "

I doubt it. It will be like Call of Duty 4 and be the same price for 2 years at least. It's a shame because I'm not going to spend £40 on a PC game. "

 
Also that is totally correct, the bobby kotick connection. He wants to makea  profit, these two games are made from the same company.

@ch13696: since activation owns blizzard and their strategy is to gain profit, there will be no sale for a while. I don't think there will be a sale like until a year later, they will get away with it.   "  

" @HitmanAgent47 said:

" @zudthespud said:

" @ch13696 said:

" @HitmanAgent47: I have to wonder also, what about Starcraft II? Are we ever going to see some sort of sale on that digitally? Or even in the retail stores? "

I doubt it. It will be like Call of Duty 4 and be the same price for 2 years at least. It's a shame because I'm not going to spend £40 on a PC game. "

 
Also that is totally correct, the bobby kotick connection. He wants to makea  profit, these two games are made from the same company.

@ch13696: since activation owns blizzard and their strategy is to gain profit, there will be no sale for a while. I don't think there will be a sale like until a year later, they will get away with it.   "  

Blizzard ALWAYS priced their games like that. Diablo II still costs 20 bucks. Merging with Activision didn't change a damn thing. "

Depends on the company just like the 50$ price point.
 
Starcraft 2 could have launched for 85$ and still sold a million copies day one.  Modern Warfare 2 could have launched for 90$ on pc and consoles and sold almost as many copies then reduced to 60$ 2-3 months later.

" Modern Warfare 2 could have launched for 90$ on pc and consoles and sold almost as many copies then reduced to 60$ 2-3 months later. "

" @bhhawks78 said:

" Modern Warfare 2 could have launched for 90$ on pc and consoles and sold almost as many copies then reduced to 60$ 2-3 months later. "

I highly doubt this. "

" @zudthespud said:

" @ch13696 said:

" @HitmanAgent47: I have to wonder also, what about Starcraft II? Are we ever going to see some sort of sale on that digitally? Or even in the retail stores? "

I doubt it. It will be like Call of Duty 4 and be the same price for 2 years at least. It's a shame because I'm not going to spend £40 on a PC game. "

 
Also that is totally correct, the bobby kotick connection. He wants to makea  profit, these two games are made from the same company.

@ch13696: since activation owns blizzard and their strategy is to gain profit, there will be no sale for a while. I don't think there will be a sale like until a year later, they will get away with it.   "

If you shop around online, and/or pre-order a bit in advance, how much would you typically be paying for a new PC game in the US?  I keep hearing $50 (or $60 for some games), but is that what you actually have to pay or is it just the RRP?
 
I ask because if that's what it really costs then you seem to be getting screwed on PC games.  I rarely have to pay more than £25 ($40) for brand new PC games delivered to my door, and 17.5% of that is tax.  Even SC2 worked out at < $50 inc. tax and delivery.  What gives, America?

No. That extra $10 is pointless. It is only there on consoles because they have to pay Microsoft/Sony. On PC they have to do neither of those things.

Its not really working, I mean on steam there have been quite a few sales, assassins creed 2 has been 40 bucks for a while.

nope

I pre ordered SC2 so long ago that I only paid $40 for it + $5 shipping.  
I would of bought it for $60 though probably. 
 What I won't pay $60 for? Generic FPS games... 
TF2 is the best multiplayer experience as an FPS and I just bought the orangebox originally for Portal. So I always kind of think I got TF2 for free... 
 And I am the sort of person who likes to buy a game and get a shit ton of re-playability. I bought counter strike: source I think 5 years ago and I played 1200+ hours of that game (according to steam) and I know I played more because steam community didn't start counting times until a while after I began playing it.  
That is probably the biggest reason why I was pissed about l4d2... I didn't feel like I got enough time out of l4d1.  
 
so... I will pay $60 if I feel the game is worth it I guess, so yes it is working. But the thing is... the games I've gotten the most play time for are mostly under $30 or I "accidentally" bought them like tf2.  

i hope it stays at 50 dollars, stupid ass activision and ubisoft...

It's not working on me, that's all I know. Where is the incentive to pay 60 dollars (or any full price) for a PC game, other than instant gratification (Starcraft 2) and/or supporting a developer you think deserves it? 
 
Post release patches say, "Your game will probably have a higher chance of being stable or actually working if you buy me later!"
Downloadable content says, "There will be more game for you to play immediately if you don't buy at release, and it might even be bundled!"
Digital distributor sales say, "Just chill for a few months to a year, this shit could possibly be half off or more!"
Draconian DRM says, "Thanks for your 60 dollars, now you can only play the way we want you to play...and we're watching you..."
Did I forget anything?
 
These days it's uncommon that a PC game comes along and I HAVE TO HAVE IT. For all the rest of those "good, but meh, I can wait" games, they just don't make a good enough case for buying on day one.  : /

"If you shop around online, and/or pre-order a bit in advance, how much would you typically be paying for a new PC game in the US?  I keep hearing $50 (or $60 for some games), but is that what you actually have to pay or is it just the RRP?  I ask because if that's what it really costs then you seem to be getting screwed on PC games.  I rarely have to pay more than £25 ($40) for brand new PC games delivered to my door, and 17.5% of that is tax.  Even SC2 worked out at < $50 inc. tax and delivery.  What gives, America? "

" No. That extra $10 is pointless. It is only there on consoles because they have to pay Microsoft/Sony. On PC they have to do neither of those things. "

"@CL60 said:

" No. That extra $10 is pointless. It is only there on consoles because they have to pay Microsoft/Sony. On PC they have to do neither of those things. "

I find it strange to hear on a regular basis how superior the PC version of the game is supposed to be, and how much awesome additional content there will be, but then hear the same people say the PC version should be cheaper. If it is true that a PC version is superior shouldn't it cost more regardless of dev costs or how the profits are divided? "

No 

No, its probably not really working. A lot of people fall for steam sales because far too often they pop up too frequently and make our previous sales look stupid for not waiting it out. Only very large blockbluster AAA titles sell like pancakes, or those who pay the regular $60 for games on consoles.

I think it's working, but I don't think people like it. If people are going to buy a game for 10$, I would think that they would buy it for 10$ more.

60 bucks for any video game is to much gamers are getting ripped off .I'll never pay that much for  a video game ever its a matter of principal and plus there's no reason to charge 60 bucks for a PC game that is,there is no publisher fee there just being greedy fucks so,fuck em.

I think Ive only bought MW2 for $60
 
Was BC2 60? I cant remember.

Don't have a problem with it

The only game it worked for is Starcraft 2 and they could have sold that for 7 sacrificed virgins and I would still have gotten it.

i don't think $60 will become a large trend mainly because of Steam, Impulse D2D and every other DD services that constantly have sales

I am too cheap, so I would say its not working. At the moment, apart from Crysis 2, Rage, Diablo 3, I am not going to pay full price for any other game.

It's bullshit, but it's Activision and Ubisoft that are mostly pulling the $60 price tag. I feel a lot of PC gamers are better educated than console gamers, and they realize the reasons why console games cost so much. Not a lot of people put up with the price that tag, which surprises me they [publishers] continue to leave it at such a price. Activision is all about making money and Ubisoft is too. Ubisoft was supposedly only letting people review the first assassin's creed on console if they promised not to go below a 70% rating in the review, because that would put a damper on the sales of their self induced over hyped game. I don't know if that's true or not. I just remember the rumor.
 
However, there is a lot of fees that are applied to console games that shouldn't be applied to PC games when coming up with a price, especially when they are digitally distributed. One is the cost of packaging and discs, and carbon offset for creating said disc. shipping fees. Platform fees: Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo all make money off a game's sale (Steam has a platform fee, but I don't know how much it is in contrast to these companies). That's a lot of stuff that shouldn't applied to the price total on a PC game, yet we're seeing games come out at prices nearing that of console games. Even $50 is a bit ridiculous when you consider all the stuff that shouldn't be applied. That's why I generally stay away from brand new games.
 
Now, I've paid for very few games prior to or at the release day since Steams inception. One being Fallout 3, and another recently was the Sam & Max: Devil's Toybox. Fallout had me hyped, so I jumped on the bandwagon and bought it on release day.
 
I pre-ordered the Sam & Max season because it was only $30ish and I love the series, so I wasn't going into it blindly, nor investing a lot of money in it. It wasn't until about 3 weeks later that they announced the pre-order bonus of sam & Max in the TF2 universe..  I didn't buy it for those items, but it was an awesome addition to one of my favorite PC games. I still don't own L4D2 and that had a pre-order bonus, though I kinda wish I had it. I always miss it when it goes on sale.

If a game that is made by a big company out for money price it at $60 i just pirate it because chances are its going to be casualized anyway
Edit: If its an indie company i always buy it