Price of Games may increase in the future

[Keiichi]

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) – For the past 20 years, the gaming world has had one universal truth: AAA games cost roughly $50. As we close in on the next generation of game machines, though, change is in the air.
Publishers have quietly been testing how consumers might react to higher priced games for a while now, bumping the price of sure-bet titles above the $50 line. Sales of "collector's edition" titles, which offer small perks for anywhere from $10 to $25 more, are also being watched closely. Read the rest here (http://money.cnn.com/2004/09/29/commentary/game_over/column_gaming/index.htm)

Looks like we're going back in the SNES days.

[g_UnIt_GaNsTa]

This is only for special edition games, right?

[Keiichi]

No this is for all games. Read the whole artical.




"There's been a lot of hand wringing going on because of what the cost outlook is for game development for the next set of platforms," said John Taylor, an analyst with Arcadia. " I think there's a growing feeling that in order to build and launch a game you're going to have to start at the $20 million mark - $10 million to build the game and $10 to launch it with a big splash. In order to be able to make any money on that kind of investment, you either have to assume some substantial unit numbers, which are hard to do in the first year or two of a platform's existence, or you've got to raise prices."

Taylor said he expects AAA game prices to jump $10 to $59.95.

[g_UnIt_GaNsTa]

Didn't see that part, feeling like crap right now. Man, I guess the new games will really take a chunk out of my wallet.

[Classic Speedy]

It's already happening. Dead or Alive Ultimate's MSRP is $54.99. A couple years ago I suspect it would've been $49.99.

[Artimus Gigan]

Curse those capitalists and their want of our monies...

[TacoHunter]

I expect it to be like anime box sets. It'll cost more and will get a cheap little trinket to go with its over inflated price.

Gamestop did an experiment a while back where they charged $55 for a new game, because they thought no one would shop around. To say the least, it didn't work.

But I really just expect it to be like anime. That's all that the Madden, Halo 2, Mortal Kombat, etc, collector editions are.

[Artimus Gigan]

Well better to tell us that they're going to rape us then just jump out and surpise us...


100 bucks for a game possibly...

it's going to make people pick and choose more carefully

on the otherhand magazines should get a rise in subscribers then...


but then they could possibly jack up their price...

[cross blues]

it's not that big of a deal if the games are good. also you have to consider the endless replay value of online games. that's worth an extra $5-10. but with the quality of most games I've seen in past years, I'll probably be renting and checking reviews more than ever. I'll only buy the best games, since a new game is worth less than half its value as soon as you walk out of the store.

[Sigma]

You would think the games would be at least $10 cheeaper because the new consoles are all going to retail for $400 and $300 (Probably the price of Nintendo's Revolution project). Also with the new and expensive handhelds just on the horizon and games for the PSP and possibly the DS as well retailing for $49.99. If game prices are $60 more I wouldn't mind it as long as there are alot more collector's edition releases of each game because I don't mind paying the extra $10 if im getting a DVD or something along with the game.

Let's just hope games don't get any more expensive then they already are.

[Duke Psychology]

this might actually cause people to buy less games while others might not even bother with them anymore which wouldn't be good for the industry.

[Bird Boy]

I can barely swallow paying $50 for MP2 in November, when I bought two brand new (albeit old) games for $30 total from Meijer a month ago. I wait for most of my stuff to be used, as I simply can't afford the price of new games--Metroid Prime 2 will be the first game I buy on launch-day since Wind Waker...

In short: They can raise their prices all they want, I'm still waiting to get them used.

-BB

[SirLemming]

Won't the price of everything increase in the future?

[Mog]

Will this apply to PC games as well, or will this be a console only type of thing?

Or maybe I already know the answer. Doom 3 started at $55, and now HL2 will be at $55. What a bummer.

[RAINMAN]

If their gonna rise the price of games then they better be a hell of a lot better then the games that ben coming out for this gen.:mad:

[the Amanda]

This thread title is incredibly non-shocking.

Also -- I agree with Bird Boy. That's why I'm a "late adapter" of systems. I get the system after one or two price drops, and the games used.

[PaQ]

Well I'm not surprised to see the possibility of game prices going up, I was enjoying the time of not having many over $50, but this still doesn't change my way of buying games since $50 is still usually too expensive for my taste. I will only pay that price for a very few select games, everything else I just wait the 9-12 months it takes to become a greatest hit, because that means the game was popular and most likely good. And also in that amount of time, the game could go down in price because it could just suck. So I'll be sticking with my waiting shopping. I just don't like the idea of such expensive games. :shrug:

[TacoHunter]

Well, this kind of has something to do with this topic. The new Dead or Alive game got pushed back. The good news? It dropped to $50.

[Opaque]

Making games with the level of detail the new systems provide costs hundreds of millions of dollars.

If prices do increase, it's going to be because of increased cost of production. I won't have a problem with it if the AAA titles are amazing enough to warrent the price. Besides, everything price drops eventually, the technology will get easier to use and cheaper as well, so it won't last forever.

[Master Moron]

Well...Final Fantasy XI costs $100, but I guess that's because it has a hard drive included...actually it's down to about $90 now. Maybe if I wait further it will get even cheaper...

[James]

It was just seperate the rich, the impatient and the stupid from the poor, laid back and the bright.

Wait and the game prices drop. Wait and get it used. Go outside and have fun rather than sit impatiently waiting to get the new game at the marked up price.

If you are poor, then just bide your time - good things will come to those who wait my friends - and I'm willing to wait a long time..

*eyes the price of Spider-Man 2 smugly*

[SSJPabs]

It's called rentals. For example, last year I rented Dark Cloud 2 for a solid month and found out everything, all the weapons, secret levels, etc and it cost me $10 for the entire month. I saved $40, and if I want, I can just rent it again and use my save file.

Now this wouldn't work with all games (shades of the ultra-coveted Suikoden 2) but most games.

[Artemis]

As production costs of games increase, so do game prices. It's only natural.

I don't see the big deal. Prices all drop eventually.

[EinBebop]

Considering that we've been paying the same price for new games for 20 years (unless you owned an N64), it was inevitable. We were lucky to have made it this far.

20 years ago my now-abandoned comic habit cost me $.60 an issue.

[Web Head]

I'm sure it also doesn't hurt that the market is older than in times past. By that I mean that more people in their 20's and 30's are serious gamers than 10, 15 years ago and these people have more disposable income than kids who have to beg their parents or wait till birthdays/christmas for that new release.

[Opaque]

but I guess that's because it has a hard drive included
Which is exactly why it's irrelivent to the discussion at hand.

[Ninja Murasaki]

I usually wait untill the price of most games goes down to 20 dollars. That way I know how good the game is. I have bought many of my games at Target for this price. Good thing I have my subscription to Electric Gaming Monthly and Nintendo Power. My subscription to EGM costs only $4.00 a year.:D

[Master Moron]

Which is exactly why it's irrelivent to the discussion at hand.

Not really, the point is gaming is getting more expensive.

[Mynd Hed]

What would be really nice would be if game prices were relative to the production cost of the game. I mean, I can see fifty or even sixty bucks being justifiable if it's something new and innovative that required a long development cycle, or if it has a stunning graphics engine with incredible lighting effects, a high FPS, and several costly high-res CG cut scenes spread over multiple discs, or something. But what about the current year's edition of a yearly sports title, which has more or less the same gameplay and features as last year's but with only slightly upgraded graphics and updates from the past year in sports? Is that really worth fifty hard-earned bones? Do we really need to drop an extra couple days' pay on a fighting game sequel that has the same graphics engine and the same control scheme, with one or two new fighters and one or two new moves for the existing fighters? I'd like to see that sort of game dropped down to twenty or thirty bucks out of the gate (and I realize a few games already have been, but they're the exception, not the rule).

Not that it matters anyway, as I haven't paid full price for a video game in quite a while. Patience, as they say, is a virtue.

And that's the thing, if they hike the price more, more people will rent instead of buying, or wait and buy from the bargain bin or used, or find another hobby. And so they'll sell fewer units, meaning they'll have to bump the price even more. And so on. It's a Catch-22.

[Classic Speedy]

Sports games are notorious for that- you're right. That's why I waited until this summer to buy Madden 2003 for a mere $5. Like I care about the rosters being completely up-to-date, when the changes are minimal and the graphics are already as good as they are going to get.

On a side note, it's nice to hear that DOA Ultimate will be a tad cheaper. It sorta makes up for the fact that it was delayed yet again.

[guinaevere]

And that's the thing, if they hike the price more, more people will rent instead of buying, or wait and buy from the bargain bin or used, or find another hobby. And so they'll sell fewer units, meaning they'll have to bump the price even more. And so on. It's a Catch-22.That's what I never understood. Lower the price, sell more, and make a profit that way. :confused:

[EinBebop]

That's what I never understood. Lower the price, sell more, and make a profit that way. :confused:It's not as easy as that. Your costs don't shrink as fast as your sales grow. And there's a threshold where you start losing money. I'm betting that even at $50, companies are at that theshold on many of their games (don't forget, their winners have to offset the costs of their losers).

I imagine profit margins have been shrinking for about five years now, but breaking that $50 threshold would mean a HUGE decrease in sales- but eventually, they're all going to have to make it.

Even if they could make more money by, say, dropping the price of the hottest games to $30, what would that do to that do to the not-as-hot games that can't sell as many units to offset costs? They can't survive at that price, but you've just made your customers more resistant to anything over $30. The companies may have to implement price consistancy and not make as much money in the short run to maximize their profits in the long run.

And in the rare case of a game like Halo 2, costs have to be extremely low since they're selling so many units. But if half of all the X-box owners are already buying it anyway, what kind of return are you really going to get from a price drop? ;)

[j32885]

Not suprise by this infomation. The better the graphics that the are produced by newer systems, usually equals higher price for the video game. Also depends on how the game is recieved by the public. If people hear that the game is crappy, the price will go down. It's basic economics when it comes to marketing, buy and selling of video games.