*Hey all. This is an editorial that I wrote a month or so ago on another website, and I thought I'd share it with you guys. Tell me what you think, and feel free to leave any of your own views and opinions behind too.* OK, so, lets take a brief minute to think about the games we've bought, the money spent, and the gratification, or disgruntled feeling that subsequently comes after the acquisition and and completion of said games... I like many of you have a job and in addition am a University Student. I pay my taxes and my bills and any other essential expenses. At this point I now have just over a quarter of what I initially earned in my pocket as 'cash in hand', so to speak, and what do I have to show for it? Nothing as of yet! OK, OK so now is the time to relax, right? The most important things have been taken care of and now I can get down to some quality 'me' time. I walk over to my console, sit down, look at my games list and think "hmph, what shall I play? Umm, not this, not that, completed this, played that too much..." and so on. Right, lets go and buy a new game. This is cool, no, this is great, new game, some free time, lets rock 'n' roll? Errmm, not quite. Unfortunately, with what ever money I have now saved (for any unfortunate rainy day that may come) I now have pittance left in my pocket to spend on such games. Every now and again a great game(s) comes along. It's the full package, great visuals, great sound, great story and perfect gameplay, it is the epitome of what any game should progress and aim to be. Games like HL1 & HL2, Gears of War, Halo: Combat Evolved & the legendary Halo 2 multiplayer. Games like Max Payne, TES4: Oblivion, the GTA series and CoD 1, the expansion pack and CoD 2 are all other good examples. THESE games and other such games can justify at some point the reason for such high prices, these games have spent many resources and much time developing the game to be the best it can be, to be the freshest thing on the scene, but even then, can these games and their developers really justify or validate the reason for putting on such a high price tag? In my opinion I believe not. To be honest, I love gaming and it's a great way to relieve stress (and also gain it). I myself am willing to pay the odd high price here and there for a 'great' game but even then believe I shouldn't as maybe the rest of you do? Taking a look at the gaming market and the huge demand for games and the continual increase in consumer wants for more and better games, developers are pushing boundaries and are trying to give us what we want, however, sticking on a Price tag like £40 or £50 ( or $60 + in the US) is ridiculous, considering such games may sell millions of copies. Take a look at Halo 3 for example. I read on Gamespot**(link @ end of article) not long ago that there were an estimated number of 4 million pre-orders by consumers and this was likely to increase. 4 MILLION! That is a hell of a lot, and considering the price tag for the game will most definitely be about £50 in the UK and approx. $60 to $70 in the US for only the standard and Limited edition models, Microsoft and Bungie Studios are looking to make profits of $240,000,000 upwards (if you calculate the 4 million copies to be sold at $60 each), and that's just on the first day! Now I'm not sure, but I am almost 100% certain that it DID NOT cost this much to make such a game, no matter how good it is. Furthermore considering the profits they will be making, I feel we are being severely ripped off and somewhat betrayed as loyal consumers. I myself will be buying Halo 3, most likely at the price tag of £50 and I know this sounds ironic and somewhat hypocritical (and I will feel bad for buying it at first) but I do hate to add to their sky high profit margin and I am sure that there are many others like myself who feel the same. I don't mean to single out Halo 3, but it seems the perfect example to look at, especially when looking at the facts. I study Economics and business studies and over the years have learnt that a business aims to out a product that matches the consumers wants and needs, and the price tag put on such product is there for the company to cover their costs and make a 'reasonable' profit, and to me, it seems that the game market is making more than just a reasonable profit. So how does the picture look? Can games and their developers fully justify their high price tags and extremely high profit margins? Can developers not reduce the price tag per game by even a quarter and STILL not make exceptionally good profits WHILST offering the consumer a good that they want at a price which EVERYONE can afford, rather than the handful? Well I for one believe they can. I wrote this editorial to see how others felt about this subject, because I know this is very specific and many, many people have different opinions. Please feel free to leave any and as many comments as you like in regards to this topic. If this editorial comes to good response then I shall surely write more, not all of which will be a rant. Thank you for your time. -M.B. **GameSpot News: The definitive source for video game news, announcements, ship dates, rankings, sales figures, and more.
Back in the early nineties the games price went sky high. £50 quid odd for one game. There was then some sort of legal proceedings and the games were given a ceiling price which could not be breached. We then had an era of relatively cheap games. With the release of the new next gen consoles the prices do seem to be jumping back up to the old expensive price point again. One of the reasons for this increase could be the lack of competition both in the 'games developer' side of things and in the 'retail' arm. Over the last decade the number of games studios has decreased dramatically, many being swallowed up by their more heavywieght rivals; EA, Ubisoft......etc Also the main competitors are getting stronger, many of the small independants which used to be able to compete, and stifle the pricing structure of their larger retailers, have either seen a loss of business or bankruptcy. As you may, or may not be aware. Game (the UK's biggest games retailer) tried to buy the UK's second biggest, Gamestation. I heard a rumour about the deal (i used to work for Gamestation) and contacted the OFT about the monopoly that this deal would have on the consumer as there wouldn't be any competition. So still 8 months on, Game have failed to takeover Gamestation. I am hopeful that the OFT can make the right decision for us consumers. Have you tried maybe trading in some of the games you have completed so that you can get money of a newer game? Also, you can get brand new games from second hand shops or Gamestation. Smackheads nick em from HMV, Virgin, Teco.....and then trade them in for cash. Just a thought!!!
you make valid points, but in general, its just the principal. i mean, its like economic theft against us poor ol consumers... ah well what can u do. either everyone boycotts games with high prices or the corporations have a change of heart...!!!
Yeah, a million copies is probably average for a good game, but thats not really that many people at all Thats a really good number, and pretty much the average for a good game. And of that $60 dollars per game they probably only profit like 10 or so dollars of each game. Take a look at the figure from these websites, this and this. Granted, i don't believe with all of that, i'm happy with games at $50 and $40 dollars, that fines, but $60 dollars is getting really pricey. Granted games for the PC are still at the same $50 price tag, which is weird, but i like it.
yep, thats about the only way prices will drop, if there is a consumers set price ceiling. Granted rate now i bet people would be willing to pay $70 for a game, cause they are crazy, but any higher and i think game companies would have problems.
