Next Generation Price Hikes

Plumberboy

Plumberboy

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Activision CEO Bobby Kotick predicts a $10 increase in prices for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 2 titles. Meanwhile, Kotick refers to Take-Two’s $19.99 ESPN sports titles as "irresponsible" and "disruptive."

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What would you require before dropping $60 on a next generation game title?
 
I would never drop $60 on a game. Developers are putting out shittier and shittier titles as it is. Even the new Mario games are not living up to standards. I don't see how they can justify this, game prices have been dropping over the past few months.
 
Only next gen title I'd lay that kinda cash down for is Oblivion, but I'm truly obsessed with Morrowind and Daggerfall so take what you will. Other than that those games can sit for all I care.
 
Well... sooner or later, games drop in price, yes? I'll upgrade to a PS3 simply to be able to backwards compatible play my PS2 and PS1 games... yeah, I know...
 
I'm surprised even 3 people said they would pay full price so far. It's called supply and demand, if you don't pay $60 for shit, they either won't make shit, or won't charge $60. Let's have some self control here.
 
Looks like Bobby should get on the phone and have a talk with the irresponsible people at Midway for dropping NARC to $20.
 
Ever since joining this site, I've had a real hard time paying $50 for a game, and when you think about it, 50 is an assload of dollars for ONE videogame, so no, I would not pay $60 for a game.
 
[quote name='Plumberboy']What would you require before dropping $60 on a next generation game title?[/quote]

Free live (good looking) female strippers included with the purchase of the game! ... and then i'd still have to think about it.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']I'm surprised even 3 people said they would pay full price so far. It's called supply and demand, if you don't pay $60 for shit, they either won't make shit, or won't charge $60. Let's have some self control here.[/quote]

I just spent 80 dollars in the past 2 days for the RE4 collectors edition and guide. If the game is worth the money, I have no problem paying a premium price. That said, I would only spend that kind of dough on developers/ studios I trust.

Plus if I spend 50 bucks on a game, I get a lot more playtime out of it than I do a cheap game
 
If games prices do incresse I'll be buying a lot fewer games next gen.

The Only Games that I'm willing to drop $60 on would be
-The Legend of Zelda
-F-Zero
-Metroid
-Super Smash Bros
-Anything by Square (Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Series, ect)
-Namco RPGs (Tales Series)

Thats really all I would be able to justify paying $60 for.

The industry should actually really be looking into lowering the prices. I think $20 and $30 games would get alot more people buying them. I almost think games should be in the same price range as movies.
 
This has been a predicted price point for a while, but I don't see much coming of it. Games have been geting cheaper for years. I'd have to see what might be launch titles before I'd decide, if I feel it's worth it, then I'd get it since the prices likely wouldn't get much cheaper quickly.
 
yeah having been introduced and subsequently addicted to CAG i could never pay $60 for a new title. i wouldpay $60 for a rare early 90's japanese import that i know can be arbitraged on ebay at twice the price. but that only happens in my dreams.
 
[quote name='Mr Unoriginal']I'm surprised even 3 people said they would pay full price so far. It's called supply and demand, if you don't pay $60 for shit, they either won't make shit, or won't charge $60. Let's have some self control here.[/quote]

When Warcraft first debuted (not II or III, the original) it's MSRP was $59.99. If you have the 10th anniversary issue of PCGamer, there's a picture of it in there for proof. And that was back in 1994!
 
I believe most people will have one or two games for which they will pay $60. The part that scares me is that as prices increase, even fewer gamers will be willing to take a chance on an unknown title, further stifling creativity in an industry already inflicted with sequel-itis.
 
[quote name='Xtreme331'][quote name='Mr Unoriginal']I'm surprised even 3 people said they would pay full price so far. It's called supply and demand, if you don't pay $60 for shit, they either won't make shit, or won't charge $60. Let's have some self control here.[/quote]

When Warcraft first debuted (not II or III, the original) it's MSRP was $59.99. If you have the 10th anniversary issue of PCGamer, there's a picture of it in there for proof. And that was back in 1994![/quote]

I beleive it, I'm pretty sure a lot of premium SNES games went for $70 and over. FF3 and Street Fighter 2 I'm almost sure did. The sad part is, I have had WAY more fun with those games than with 99.9% of the game that come out now.
 
I don't even pay 50 for a game anymore so 60 is out of the question. I'll just wait like normal, pick up games in bargin bins or sales.
 
[quote name='Xtreme331'][quote name='Plumberboy']What would you require before dropping $60 on a next generation game title?[/quote]

Free live (good looking) female strippers included with the purchase of the game! ... and then i'd still have to think about it.[/quote]
:rofl:
 
[quote name='Xtreme331'][quote name='Mr Unoriginal']I'm surprised even 3 people said they would pay full price so far. It's called supply and demand, if you don't pay $60 for shit, they either won't make shit, or won't charge $60. Let's have some self control here.[/quote]

When Warcraft first debuted (not II or III, the original) it's MSRP was $59.99. If you have the 10th anniversary issue of PCGamer, there's a picture of it in there for proof. And that was back in 1994![/quote]

If I'm not mistaking Strider for Genesis was $70 when it was released in 1990. Also, in 1996 almost every launch game on the N64 was $59.99 or more.
 
Well i'm still gonna complain about $50 games! I mean come on! A LOT ofl those $5 games started out as $50 games at some point. have a little patience, save a lot of money.
 
Im with everyone else... $50 isn't worth it anymore. The last game I played full price for was HL2 and that was because it was freakin HL2!!! and that I found the collecters edition for $60 instead of $80.

Before that it was Star Ocean 3... but two was so cool... and then theres Shadow Hearts 2... but that came with a free copy of Shadow Hearts 1...
so... boooo to $60.

If people stuck together and didnt buy anything prices would go down... but then if people would stick together gas wouldnt flirt with +$2 a gallon...

People are dumb.
 
It'll depend on the game. Sadly, I would pay $60 for a new Zelda title (cause they're consistently great games). But other than exceptions like that, I wouldn't. Why should I pay so much when they'll eventually drop price...
 
[quote name='Xtreme331']Well i'm still gonna complain about $50 games! I mean come on! A LOT ofl those $5 games started out as $50 games at some point. have a little patience, save a lot of money.[/quote]

I agree with you on most games. However, I was unwilling to pay $40 for Resident Evil 2 and 3 on the Cube. All along I thought no one would buy these ports and I would pick them up for $19.99 down the road. I really wanted the entire collection on one system. Other then a couple clearance sales here and there, it never happened. Now I'm SOL. No way in hell I am paying $100 + for RE2 now. Some games you can't wait on, knowing which ones is easier said than done.
 
Developers and publishers are seeing the affects of increasing competition and trying to make it sound like the next gen of games requires a $60 price point.

The market probably won't be favorable to $60 games, it isn't favorable to most $50 games. Games may start at that but they will quickly drop. I don't even pay $20 for games now, I won't pay $60.
 
[quote name='Plumberboy'][quote name='Xtreme331']Well i'm still gonna complain about $50 games! I mean come on! A LOT ofl those $5 games started out as $50 games at some point. have a little patience, save a lot of money.[/quote]

I agree with you on most games. However, I was unwilling to pay $40 for Resident Evil 2 and 3 on the Cube. All along I thought no one would buy these ports and I would pick them up for $19.99 down the road. I really wanted the entire collection on one system. Other then a couple clearance sales here and there, it never happened. Now I'm SOL. No way in hell I am paying $100 + for RE2 now. Some games you can't wait on, knowing which ones is easier said than done.[/quote]

You should've picked 'em up at Gamestop when they ran their moronic "trade in any 2 non-sports games and get RE2 or RE3" deal, also known as "I'm going to EB to get a few copies of Fantavision for $5"
 
[quote name='sgxyay']Genesis and SNES games were usually $60.[/quote]

Not usually, occasionally.

I don't pay $50 now, and neither do most gamers. That's why games are sliding in price 1 week after release and take half the time to get to the $19.99 price point compared to 2 years ago. Fine, charge $60.00 per game for the new generation. If they don't start giving more value for our money, then it'll be the same reduction schedule we see now after the initial novelty wears off the new systems.

Personally I don't think ANY game is worth $50. I've thought differently in the past and have been disappointed almost every time. I thought the same thing for music CD's. They are way overpriced, so I don't even bother with music anymore. Maybe once or twice a year for something special, but that's it. Same with games.
 
I couldn't justify $60 for any game. I can't even justify $50 for a game, even if the $50 spent is just a giftcard or something.
 
This site has me spoiled. I already don't pay full price for games right now, so there's no way I'm going to pay ten bucks above full price for one.
 
F that, I'm not paying 50 bucks for a game and I'm sure as hell not going to pay 60. The people who want the prices to go back to when they made carts are morons.

Does anyone Not belive that xbox2 & PS3 will have a $20 greatest hits line ?

People need to learn how to wait, and pick games up a few months after they come out or find a game on sale.
 
There are only a few titles I could think of I would maybe pay $60 for, but even then, it is doubtful. Hell, a couple of weeks after release and a game goes on sale. (Looks to the CC ad where GTA: SA and Halo 2 were $38.) I can wait until deals like that...
 
Very rarely will I even pay $50 for a game now. I remember paying $60 for handful of games in the past, however: Super Mario Bros. 3, TMNT2, and both Lunars for PS1. I paid $70 for Chrono Trigger and FFIII.
Although I don't regret a penny spent for any of those titles, I just can't see myself, or anyone else, dropping $60 a pop on games at this stage. There's a much larger market now, and consumers have many more choices. We can (almost) always count on price drops or sales--this wasn't always the case.
 
[quote name='sgxyay']Genesis and SNES games were usually $60. Did you guys not buy games then?[/quote]

No, I always waited for a sale or something like that.
 
[quote name='Xtreme331'][quote name='Mr Unoriginal']I'm surprised even 3 people said they would pay full price so far. It's called supply and demand, if you don't pay $60 for shit, they either won't make shit, or won't charge $60. Let's have some self control here.[/quote]

When Warcraft first debuted (not II or III, the original) it's MSRP was $59.99. If you have the 10th anniversary issue of PCGamer, there's a picture of it in there for proof. And that was back in 1994![/quote]

When Chrono Trigger came out wasn't it like $70 or $80?
 
There's just no way. Even Nintendo games can be had for $20 or less and historically they never drop their prices. I'm willing to wait it out. There are so many great games I haven't played yet that I don't have to have the next greatest game immediately - I'll just wait for the inevitable price drop....
 
If I had nothing to play and desperately needed a new game, I'd consider paying $60 for a game. As it is, I have such a huge backlog of games to play that I won't be getting next-gen games for a few years, most likely. By that point, they will have dropped in price.

In general though, I'd spend $60 only on AAA titles, RPGs, or rare older games that can be had only for that price (which are usually RPGs). I'd wait for the rest to drop.
 
It really depends on the game. If it's something special, I don't mind paying a little more, but if they expect us to pay $60 a pop for "Generic Army Ops 63 1/2 Underground" or "Tony Hawk's Super Dee Dooper XTREME Skateboarding" Then they're nuts
 
As one poster already mentioned, Nintendo used to regularly ask $59.99 for most of its new N64 cartridges just a few years back. Even with the expensive cartridge format, I still thought that price point was ridiculous, so Nintendo pretty much priced themselves out of my market that generation. As a result, I got almost my entire collection of N64 titles used after the system was essentially dead.
 
The cartridge argument doesn't hold up because of the development costs of many of the top tier games. Factor in the technical talent required to make a game, the variety of artists and modelers needed, and often the cost of big name voice talent and licensed or original music. Game development budgets are pretty huge now, and I don't see any indication that they're dropping any time soon.

That said, raising prices is not a smart move. Gaming is a bigger industry now than it has ever been. Why extort from the larger audience? Try to hold prices or even better, drop the average cost of a new release to $39. Help make the audience bigger still. Help the next generation of consoles get traction by making the initial costs a little more reasonable. Especially with the unwelcome trend of not even including a game with console until much further down the road.

Here's what I'd like to see: $60-$70 for a AAA special edition package (normal $40 version still offered), $40 new releases, greatest hits for $15-$20.

I'm not expecting games to cost the same as DVDs or CDs given the fractured nature of the market. As long as there are 3 consoles fighting it out each generation, I don't expect prices to get much lower.

Oh and if EA thinks they can gouge customers for $60 per year for the latest season of its sports titles, they can rot for all I care.
 
Considering NES games cost $50 in 1986.. that same game should cost $77.22 just considering inflation. Then throw in the skyrocketing costs of game development.. and I find it amazing companies are even able to stay afloat at the $50 price point.

I would expect $60 at a minimum soon.. if not higher.
 
Well, this doesn't surprise me. Actually, what I see happening is a greater range in starting prices. We have most games now starting at $50, some at $30, and some budget ones at $10-$20. But, I would say 80%+ of games start their life at $50.

Take major titles like Halo 2 or SA. Both would sell if they started at $70. Maybe even $80. They would get bad press, but they would sell copies.

I think it won't be unusual for games to come out at $30 more and more (even some hyped games).

What will be interesting is how gamers will respond. The market keeps getting bigger, will most people pay $60, or will they hold off until prices drop?
 
the problem with the industry is ea. you damn well know theyll charge 60 bucks for madden 2006 for their exclusive license, while the rest of us non madden fans sit here playing nfl2k5 over and over and over...

seriously, don't you think EA will now charge 59.99 for burnout 4 with xzibit and snoop dog logos on the cover just to cover royalities.
 
this site is quite vocal, but still a minority. game companies would go out of business if every single buyer took the philosophy of this website- as pointed out games are much cheaper now, across the board. does anyone want to pay more? no.
but i think alot of people would pay more if they thought they were getting more
whether this means a guranteed solid title that youre gonna put 20, 40, 100+ hours playin
or it means adding some extra content the way dvds do:
director's commentary, galleries, interviews, earlier game collections
i mean people already are paying over $50 if you throw in downloadable content you pay for, companies stand less a chance to get burned if they justify the price increase on added materials rather than, a deal with it mentality
 
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