Recently, it seems as though game developers and publishers are spending more effort in increasing profits than releasing a product worthy of its extravagant price tag.  Over the years, I’ve come to accept the $60 standard (this doesn’t mean I like it, it just means I’ve come to terms with what is and have no say in the matter… it’s the final stage of grief after shock, disappointment, outrage, forum trolling, and punch dancing), but it seems like we’re getting less for our money now than we did just a few years ago—we’re now subjected to cash shops filled with pricy digital attire and weaponry for your avatars and constant waves of DLC (don’t get me wrong, I like DLC… when it expands the game, not provides content that could/should have been in the initial release—I’m wholly opposed to day one DLC (you know, the kind of crap that the devs say wasn’t ready before the game went gold, so they decided to charge you extra for it)) and the $60 we’re paying has become more an entry fee than an all-access pass. 

I’ll get back to DLC in a minute, but I really want to discuss the recent craze of cutting costs in packaging.  Most of the games you buy now come in “green” cases (you know, the ones with the holes cut out… the ones that don’t actually protect your discs… the ones that make it easy for the box art to get creased and torn… the kind of cases that I, as a collector and someone who likes my discs to not be scratched, despise), and Ubisoft and EA (perhaps some other publishers… I’m not really in the loop right now) have been making a move toward paperless manuals.  The new cases and smaller/nonexistent instruction manuals might not seem like that big of a deal, but those are some major costs that have been cut—shipping crates have significantly reduced weight (seriously, pick up one of your “green” cased games and pick up something like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and tell me you don’t notice a significant difference), which means it costs less to ship, and the digital manual titles cut costs in both weight and printing fees.  These publishers are saving considerable amounts of money through cutting down on printing and shipping fees by giving customers less stuff for the same price.  As a collector, my tangible goods are important to me—I like my instruction manuals and I like my box art—I can understand a more “environmentally friendly” approach to game distribution, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it… my biggest concern with all of this is that we’re not benefiting from the savings. 

My concerns also come into play with digitally distributed games.  Sure, Steam has some great sales, but that doesn’t change the fact that digitally distributed titles are releasing at the same prices as their retail counterparts—you know, the ones that were printed, packaged, and shipped.  Digitally distributed titles should never cost as much as a physical copy.  Ever. 

Downloadable content is becoming more common and more costly recently.  I’m going to pick on BioWare (A Division of EA) first because they piss me off the most.  I loved BioWare—they were a community-focused developer who never delivered an unfinished or substandard product; they focused on making great games and treating their fanbase right.  Now they seem more focused on pushing out a game as quickly as possible to capitalize on the success of its predecessor and giving you ¾ of a game for the price of a full one.  Dragon Age II had two pieces of DLC available on its release day totaling an extra $17 on top of the game’s $60 entry fee… that’s just wrong.  I don’t give a flying Frenchman’s toot if that content “wasn’t finished” when the game went gold; if that were the case, I don’t think the gaming community would have cared too much if BiowEAr pushed the game back a week or two so they could get the full experience of the game they paid for. 

The countless weapon and costume packs are also bogus—you pay 2+ dollars for a hat or a gun in a videogame.  You paid $60 dollars for a game, and you’re going to waste money playing dress up and encourage publishers to exploit your stupidity by making weapons and clothes—stuff that could have been included in the game—DLC?

I firmly believe that DLC content to cost should equal that of the “full game.”  When you pay $60 for 80 songs in Rock Band or Guitar Hero but you have to pay $2 per song when it’s DLC, that’s hardly fair to the consumer.  When you pay $60 for a 30-40 hour game, it shouldn’t cost $7-10 for another hour or two of content.  All the systems that make the “expanded content” are in place, it’s less work to make and they’re charging you more to buy it. 

When production costs go down, the cost to the consumer should follow suit.  This encourages an increase in the customer base and allows the companies to continue to turn a profit.  We’re not seeing any of the savings these companies are benefiting from with the lighter cases and less printing costs.  We shouldn’t be paying more for less.

I’m sorry if this post was just a rant, but I feel like the industry I helped to make great is trying harder to increase profits than provide worthwhile gaming experiences.  I don’t have the money to spend $80+ in order to enjoy the whole game… but that’s my concern, not theirs. Game companies make games.  Gamers like games.  Games cost money.  Game companies like money.  That’s the order of things and there’s nothing we can really do about it other than bend over and say, “Thank you.”