PC games getting more & more $$$$$!

[Ziroc]

Ok, I don't know about you, but it's getting pretty sad when the average cost of a PC Game is now $50 (USA).

Remember when they were $39.99? Not anymore...

And what REALLY pisses me off, is back when games were shipped on Floppy disks and CD's came along, the game makers said that it would be cheaper. Didn't happen.

Now? Now we get these mini doodle boxes that barely fit the CD Jewel case; that is, if they GIVE you a Jewel case.

They also said that these new smaller Game boxes would lower costs, yet I keep seeing the exact reverse. we've gone from 39.99 to 49.99 or even 59.99 (For Warcraft III). Give me a break. When a game starts costing the same as a piece of hardware, it's time to start getting mad..

Here is the current trend:

Give you less=pay more
Smaller box. lame (or not even) Manual/Book
CD with no Jewel case (Paper sleeves?!?!)
Nothing extra at all.

So how do you feel? what is YOUR price limit when it comes to Games?

Now, for me, a game like Neverwinter Nights is worth the $52.99, since it's such a HUGE game with an awesome editor, but have you seen the trends? does it anger you at all? will it ever stop?

Do you think Piracy is the #1. reason the prices are going higher and higher or is it just greed?

Comments?

[Melusine]

I absolutely agree - I think games are way too expensive, and you're right about the smaller boxes as well. I think the cause and effect of the prices are too obscure to figure out... Personally I'm inclined to say that it's precisely the other way round: high prices CAUSE piracy, not piracy causes high prices... but of course one can't really tell.
In any case, I've not bought any of the newer games since TOB, simply because I can't afford them at such ridiculous prices. Or rather,I might be able to buy one of them, but at *that* price, I'm not going to take the gamble... I might not even like it! Nah, then I'd rather spend the money on CDs or books.

[SomeGuy]

I KNOW!!I had about $40.00 an I go to the store that has the game I want and when I get there it costs $59.99!It used to be 39.46 or something close to that and they go and jack up the price.I'm glad I have a store in my town that sells Might & Magic games and other games like Baldur's Gate for $9.99. Personally I think it's bother piracy and greed.What has become of the world?

Game prices have gone up because, people illegaly pirate copies for next to nothing. The Game Companies just want to make stacks and stacks of money, and when they think they might loose some potential money, they jack up the price and consequently the stores jack up the price.

[Morgeruat]

piracy is a viscious circle, game producers jack up prices to make up for the money they lose to piracy(or so they claim), and as a result people who can't afford the game go to their friends with a cd burner, and the game and have them make copies, if they lowered the prices you could afford to buy the game itself, and not be forced to become part of the problem, granted my first copy of BG was a pirated one, but I did buy the full version.

[Legolas]

There's no way such increases in price are 'simply' the cause of piracy. But I also doubt it's 'just' greed. Most companies are constantly trying to come up with more original or smoother games than before. Development probably causes a good deal of the high prices.
Of course, blaming it on development costs doesn't make it any cheaper. The prices are rising to increase the game's quality compared to older games. Nonetheless even lame games using old engines cost lots of money. Like Melusine, I bought nothing after ToB.
I may very well get NWN, what with all the positive noise coming from over here, but unless I'm quite certain the game I want to buy is a game I'll like, I'm not prepared to pay those rates.
I'd get WC3 but that seems to disappoint, so I won't. Instead I'll probably end up playing a pirated copy at someone else's place (I refuse to get a pirated copy of anything myself, but that doesn't mean I don't want to check the game out)

[Sir Kenyth]

Piracy is generally done by people who wouldn't have bought the game anyway. I have no pirated games right now. I'm an avid player and buy games a lot. I know people who have almost all pirated games and they are either kids with no money, or they never play them anyhow.

It's the same crap touted by the music industry. It's their scapegoat! "We're raising prices because of all the terrible piracy going on! We can't make any money!" Let me tell you. It's a crock! The recording industry and software distributors make plenty of denero! It's the artists and programmers who get the shaft! At least artists can do tours and concerts to get rich. Programmers don't even get that! They come up with the product, hand it over to the distributor, and the get paid peanuts in view of overall profits!

[flibulzbuth]

high prices CAUSE piracy

You said it. Who would want a copy of classical music CD when the original sells for 10$ CAD or under. Now, who would want to pay 20$ CAD for the latest Britney Spear they'll never listen again in a year or two? The game market profits are sky-high, at least higher than those of the movie industry. So the "piracy causes high prices" is a non-sense. An ethical, good-willed one for sure, but still a non-sense.

It's not only the prices that go up. This i can understand, development costs beinh higher and fewer and fewer big producers having to make billions out of it. It's that the games are NOT getting any better. Lots of special effects, sure, but a total lack of content and an overdose of clichés. Pretty much like the new action movies.
I haven't tried NWN yet, but the only recent games i found "memorable" where the BG series and Fallout 2... out of all the many CRPGs i've played. I long the good old days of the silver boxes, ultimas and sierra's quests. They had 16 colors to fit on a 10 pixels screen, but they knew how to get you in their world.

[Melusine]

Originally posted by flibulzbuth: You said it. Who would want a copy of classical music CD when the original sells for 10$ CAD or under. Now, who would want to pay 20$ CAD for the latest Britney Spear they'll never listen again in a year or two?

That's a good example - all I ever buy these days are classical CDs, since you get such a great quality for low prices. I haven't bought an album of a modern band in years but my classical collection is continuously expanding (coincidentally, I bought four CDs yesterday, for a grand total of 22 Euros/20 American Dollars!). I'm convinced that the high prices DO cause people to seek alternatives to buying...

[Arvon]

There are some more things influencing the cost of software. Labor cost are very high. Not only direct wages but the benifits and government mandated cost. The fancy graphics cost more to produce than the old wireframe games like Wizardy 1. And yes the stock holders do really want a profit on their investment.
Personally I think there's too much waste in packaging. I wind up tossing about half of the crap packed with a game.
Oh and there is a way to get most games cheaper than list. Amazon.com sells used games at from 20 to 50% off new list. Take a look.