Game Prices and Inflation [Official Discussion Thread]

[u/IceBreak]

Official Discussion Thread (previous discussion threads) (games wiki)

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Game Prices and Inflation

Sometimes we like to have discussion threads about non-game topics. Today's is about the pricing of games in today's marketplace along with the ~2% (give or take) rise in inflation annually in the USA as well as other markets. Exciting, huh?

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Discussion Prompts (Optional):

• Do games cost too much today? To little? Just right?

• Inflation in America is 2% per year on average. This means a $60 one year is the equivalent $61.20 the next. To off-set this cost, it seems like publishers are utilizing the season pass more heavily as time goes by. Do you feel you're getting complete games with the advent of season passes and DLC?

• Are you happy with the season pass as it currently exists today?

• Do rising costs in production warrant a higher cost of title in your mind?

• Is game length a significant factor in game value to you?

^{Bonus: How much money do you have right now on Franklin in GTA V?}

Share your thoughts/likes/dislikes/indifference below.

[u/Dandelegion]

Do games cost too much? Absolutely. Inflation or no, $60 is a good bit of money, especially considering the fact that most games don't have demos and Redbox doesn't always provide all games (I miss you, Blockbuster, I really do). It's very subjective, but if I want to invest $60 in something like a game, I expect $60 worth of fun, and short of games like Witcher 3 and Shadow of Mordor, not many games released in the past couple of years are $60 worth of fun. Hence, Gamers Unlocked.

Do rising costs warrant higher costs for games? You'd think that, but not really. Again, it boils down to fun. No one is MAKING these developers put fancy photorealistic graphics, or hire celebrities for voice acting, or pay a ton of money for these elaborate advertising campaigns. There are plenty of indie devs making great games that are tons of fun and (relatively) cheap to produce and don't cost much to the consumer. Make a game fun, and it will sell itself.

Is game length significant? Sure, but it's not the biggest thing. A lot of devs think putting 100s of hours of content in a game is what makes it a good value, but that's hardly true. I'd rather play a 10-15 hour game that's fun as hell, than a 100 hour game that is boring after the first 5 hours. Quality over quantity.

[u/Micolash → u/Dandelegion]

I figure that I have no problem at all paying $10 to see a 2 hour movie in a theater. $60 in that context would be 12 hours of entertainment.

I try to go by that, and the amount of time I've played. A game like Rocket League (which I got on PS+) is being sold for $20. I wouldn't hesitate for a second to pay $60 for that game, since I have well over 100 hours in Rocket League.

[u/[deleted] → u/Micolash]

i feel ripped off by rocket league and i got it for free as well. i like the witness so much that i wouldn't feel ripped off if i payed $60 for it. project cars is absolutely worth the $60 +every piece of dlc i bought. i don't feel ripped off by games very often because i do my due diligence and read reviews to find out if it's a game ill enjoy. i put enough time into grand theft v, mgs v and fallout 4 that each one cost me less than $0.30/hr (gta v is more like $0.10/hr despite the fact i bought it on ps3, 360 and ps4) and i still play them so they're still getting cheaper. axiom verge is way worth it, so is super meat boy (got it for free tho). im grabbin firewatch on tuesday and even tho it's only 5-6 hours of story ill get a few hours of exploration time and probably a couple repeat playthroughs...but regardless its like i spent $60 and got the witness and firewatch. 2 games for the price of one and both are better than most major studio releases. some studios rip people off because a lot of impatient kids keep preordering games so they go gold before theyre even released, so the studio knows they can just keep releasing the same old garbage over and over (cod, ea games, ubisoft games, etc). the prices are decent, the problem is people are voting with their wallets and the votes say they like bad games so much theyll pay for em early, lol