I think they're finnaly listening. 19.99 new games

Wshakspear

Wshakspear

CAGiversary!
Outlaw Golf 2 = 19.99

With this and Sega sports going 19.99, im really curious of how this will turn out. Will people just think they're crap right off the bat for being so cheap, or will people realize the value they're being givin? Any way you put it, 19.99 or even 29.99, it's a great way to go.
 
Well that's Global Star's business model, to cash in on the budget titles (and the Global Star name has been changed several times, it was Gotham Games and a couple other before it).

Look at all the titles that they put out, and none are full priced, and the GS model says that with a lower price point, there'll be more sold, and everyone along the chain (except the developers in some cases) are happy.
 
It would be even better if these prices were for games I actually wanted, although I'm somewhat tempted to buy a copy (or convince a friend to buy a copy :wink: ) just to show my support for what they are trying to do.
 
Im not usually a sport person, but the quality that goes into the Sega sports has had me buying them since the DC. Outlaw golf is another game that surprised me with quality and fun (and steve carrel from the daily show)
 
The reason behind some of these games being so cheap is because they aren't selling good. ESPN Football was creamed in sales by Madden. It had to drop in price to sell up to par with Madden. If you notice, all the other ESPN titles are still full price (at least at EB). Outlaw Golf really didn't sell until it drop in price or was packaged with the Skittle game. It just a matter of companies wising up that they can't sell these titles at full price.
 
The other ESPN games will be cheap too, there was a press release linked in one of the other threads about ESPN football.
 
Well with new games coming out at $20 our cheapasses now have to wait till those games get old and drop to $1 to buy them.
 
If games really start coming out at $19.99 and $29.99 MSRPs and that becomes the expected price point.. the possibilty of an industry crash will become a reality, and very quickly.

If we won't buy games anymore for $49.99 then the games are going to have to become much less expensive to make (i.e. no cinematics, less testing, less time in development, poorer graphics, etc).. we aren't going to enjoy these low budget games they crank out to sell to us for $20, we are going to stop buying them.. and the spiral will continue till the industry crashes and burns.

So in summary, I consider it a very scary trend.
 
I think its a smart move for them to start selling sports games at $20. Those games lose their value so quickly, and most gamers now are reluctant to keep buying each seasons new sports game at $50. At $20 a lot of gamers will buy them every year.
 
[quote name='Cornfedwb']If games really start coming out at $19.99 and $29.99 MSRPs and that becomes the expected price point.. the possibilty of an industry crash will become a reality, and very quickly.

If we won't buy games anymore for $49.99 then the games are going to have to become much less expensive to make (i.e. no cinematics, less testing, less time in development, poorer graphics, etc).. we aren't going to enjoy these low budget games they crank out to sell to us for $20, we are going to stop buying them.. and the spiral will continue till the industry crashes and burns.

So in summary, I consider it a very scary trend.[/quote]

That is not necessarily true at all. And not all games are going to drop to 20. ESPN Football and Outlaw 2 are updates to franchises already in place. Developers just upgrade the graphics some, throw in a few more modes and there's a nice sequel. They would be doing the exact asme work regardless if the game sells for 50 or 20 bucks. You can bet your Final Fantasies, your Halos and a lot of other games will still be churning out at 50. If a game can support a 50 dollar game price, then great. But not a lot of other games can, so why not come out of the gate with a 20 dollar price tag, grab people's attention and possibly make a splash. If sales rise significantly because of it, then its a good move.
 
i'm very happy the lower budget games are retaling out the box for less. The ESPN titles should be quite interesting as well. If the title reviews well I'll get that over another madden game priced for $50. Very good call on their part...hope it pays off...
 
[quote name='Cornfedwb']If games really start coming out at $19.99 and $29.99 MSRPs and that becomes the expected price point.. the possibilty of an industry crash will become a reality, and very quickly.

If we won't buy games anymore for $49.99 then the games are going to have to become much less expensive to make (i.e. no cinematics, less testing, less time in development, poorer graphics, etc).. we aren't going to enjoy these low budget games they crank out to sell to us for $20, we are going to stop buying them.. and the spiral will continue till the industry crashes and burns.

So in summary, I consider it a very scary trend.[/quote]


http://www.fairplay-campaign.co.uk/faqs.htm


http://www.fairplay-campaign.co.uk/opinion.htm
 
[quote name='TheRaven'][quote name='Cornfedwb']If games really start coming out at $19.99 and $29.99 MSRPs and that becomes the expected price point.. the possibilty of an industry crash will become a reality, and very quickly.

If we won't buy games anymore for $49.99 then the games are going to have to become much less expensive to make (i.e. no cinematics, less testing, less time in development, poorer graphics, etc).. we aren't going to enjoy these low budget games they crank out to sell to us for $20, we are going to stop buying them.. and the spiral will continue till the industry crashes and burns.

So in summary, I consider it a very scary trend.[/quote]

That is not necessarily true at all. And not all games are going to drop to 20. ESPN Football and Outlaw 2 are updates to franchises already in place. Developers just upgrade the graphics some, throw in a few more modes and there's a nice sequel. They would be doing the exact asme work regardless if the game sells for 50 or 20 bucks. You can bet your Final Fantasies, your Halos and a lot of other games will still be churning out at 50. If a game can support a 50 dollar game price, then great. But not a lot of other games can, so why not come out of the gate with a 20 dollar price tag, grab people's attention and possibly make a splash. If sales rise significantly because of it, then its a good move.[/quote]

You apparently ignored my comment about 'if this becomes the expected price point'. I didn't say it was neccesarly a terrible thing, I just said it was scary. And remember, we purchased games for SNES and Genesis at $70-$80 a pop.. now $50 is the expected price.. it isn't unbelievable for the prices to get forced down again.
 
I haven't bought a full priced game in YEARS. I think the companies are starting to catch onto us! We must resist at 19.99, b/c that's MSRP. I am waiting for these $19.99 games to be found for $4.99 here before I even THINK about buying them.
 
[quote name='Hereticked'][quote name='Cornfedwb']If games really start coming out at $19.99 and $29.99 MSRPs and that becomes the expected price point.. the possibilty of an industry crash will become a reality, and very quickly.

If we won't buy games anymore for $49.99 then the games are going to have to become much less expensive to make (i.e. no cinematics, less testing, less time in development, poorer graphics, etc).. we aren't going to enjoy these low budget games they crank out to sell to us for $20, we are going to stop buying them.. and the spiral will continue till the industry crashes and burns.

So in summary, I consider it a very scary trend.[/quote]


http://www.fairplay-campaign.co.uk/faqs.htm


http://www.fairplay-campaign.co.uk/opinion.htm[/quote]

So you expect the hardware manufacturer's to not make any money.. that way we can get cheaper games? These companys don't make hardware (and software) just to please us.. they do it to make money, thats how they stay in business.

If Company A can spend $10 making a game and sell it for $50, they're making $40 (ignoring all the middle men obviously).. now if they're expected to sell that game for $20.. do you expect them to still spend $10 to make that game.. or will they try to make the game for $3 or so and try to make atleast $17? If the $50 price point drops to where they cannot sell games for more than $20, $30, $40, whatever.. quality will drop.
 
Back in the day, a tape with normal games cost 8-10 pounds; Then "budget" games started appearing, at 2 pounds, then 2-3.

Some of them weren't worth the tape they were recorded on, some were "cheap 'n' cheerful", and some are timeless classics.

Today, though, games take dozens - or hundreds - of people to make, and need a year or more development time (that's for a new game, "upgrades" like player rosters obviously take much less, as do "cheap and cheerful" puzzle games). Yes, CDs and DVDs are much cheaper to make than carts were back in the day.

So you're not really spotting a trend here. Don't worry, you'll still be paying $40-$50 for most new releases.
 
[quote name='Cornfedwb'][quote name='TheRaven'][quote name='Cornfedwb']Blah[/quote]
Blah[/quote]

You apparently ignored my comment about 'if this becomes the expected price point'. I didn't say it was neccesarly a terrible thing, I just said it was scary. And remember, we purchased games for SNES and Genesis at $70-$80 a pop.. now $50 is the expected price.. it isn't unbelievable for the prices to get forced down again.[/quote]

Thos were manufactured on expensive carts. These are on incredibly cheap cd's...there is a BIG difference just because of that.
 
[quote name='Wshakspear']
Thos were manufactured on expensive carts. These are on incredibly cheap cd's...there is a BIG difference just because of that.[/quote]

Except for the fact that I can assure you that the average video game costs more to make today than 10 years ago. Used to be you could put out a good game with a staff of 10, now you need a team of dozens.
 
[quote name='Wshakspear'][quote name='Cornfedwb'][quote name='TheRaven'][quote name='Cornfedwb']Blah[/quote]
Blah[/quote]

You apparently ignored my comment about 'if this becomes the expected price point'. I didn't say it was neccesarly a terrible thing, I just said it was scary. And remember, we purchased games for SNES and Genesis at $70-$80 a pop.. now $50 is the expected price.. it isn't unbelievable for the prices to get forced down again.[/quote]

Thos were manufactured on expensive carts. These are on incredibly cheap cd's...there is a BIG difference just because of that.[/quote]but production costs were much lower in those days too. back then it was cheap to develop (most) games and expensive to produce them, and now its the inverse
 
[quote name='Cornfedwb']So you expect the hardware manufacturer's to not make any money.. that way we can get cheaper games?[/quote]

I expect them to stop gouging us and to do what, as explained on the site, is in the best interests of everyone in the industry. Otherwise, they're going to find themselves manufacturing for a collapsing market.


[quote name='Cornfedwb']If Company A can spend $10 making a game and sell it for $50, they're making $40 (ignoring all the middle men obviously).. now if they're expected to sell that game for $20.. do you expect them to still spend $10 to make that game.. or will they try to make the game for $3 or so and try to make atleast $17?[/quote]

Again, if they weren't gouging us on games, there wouldn't be a need for a "cheapass gamer" and people would be able to buy more games in general. It doesn't matter that you're making less profit per unit when you're selling twice as many units, that's more profit.


[quote name='Cornfedwb']whatever.. quality will drop.[/quote]

Uhhhhh... maybe you haven't been paying attention for the last few years? There's tons of crap titles for every console. Quality HAS dropped with the current model, and it will continue to unless something is done.
 
[quote name='Wshakspear']Outlaw Golf 2 = 19.99

With this and Sega sports going 19.99, im really curious of how this will turn out. Will people just think they're crap right off the bat for being so cheap, or will people realize the value they're being givin? Any way you put it, 19.99 or even 29.99, it's a great way to go.[/quote]

i think you're right. while the hardcore doesn't seem to mind paying $49.99 the shrewd gamer waits for price drops or buys pre-played. speaking for myself 19.99 and 29.99 are very attractive and i will buy more games at those prices.
 
[quote name='Cornfedwb']You apparently ignored my comment about 'if this becomes the expected price point'. I didn't say it was neccesarly a terrible thing, I just said it was scary. And remember, we purchased games for SNES and Genesis at $70-$80 a pop.. now $50 is the expected price.. it isn't unbelievable for the prices to get forced down again.[/quote]

No, I didnt ignore it, but considering your whole argument is built off that expected price point, why shouldn't my response be. After all, its your argument built off that statement that I am responding to. Just because you say that in advance doesnt make everything you say afterwards untouchable.
 
Yes, people will buy many more $19.99 games than they do $49.99 games. But do you really think you'll spend more total than you do now? If they're making 1/2 the profit and still selling the same total gross monetary value in games.. does that look like a good sign for the industry?
 
As I learned in business class there are two successful business strategies, cost leadership and differentiation. This leads me to believe that we will see more of this.
Games produced with a smallish budget, i.e. Outlaw Golf 2, will be forced to have a lower price if they are going to sell. Games with massive budgets, i.e. Final Fantasy, Halo, Metroid, will still retail for 50, or some other higher price, and because of their franchise and their gameplay they will still succeed.
 
[quote name='Cornfedwb']Yes, people will buy many more $19.99 games than they do $49.99 games. But do you really think you'll spend more total than you do now?[/quote]

If I could get games of the same quality (or better) that I buy now, only for $20 or $25 instead of $50.... absolutely. That's the idea. Lower the price point, a lot more games are sold. The profit margins are smaller but everybody wins not only because of the volume of business, but because that model is sustainable.


[quote name='Cornfedwb']If they're making 1/2 the profit and still selling the same total gross monetary value in games.. does that look like a good sign for the industry?[/quote]

It looks a lot better than $50 games that sit on the shelf until the retailers realize nobodys buying them, axe them down to $10 or less and nobody makes a dime.
 
While I do agree that in many case quality will suffer if $20 becomes the normal price point (which it won't, which makes alot of this discussion pointless), I see the validity in the other side as well. There is a huge contingent that will wait for a $20 price point on games. That is the same game that took $10 to make and cost $50 at launch. If 2 people buy the game at $50, the company makes $90. But, with a $20 price point right off the bat, it is reasonable to assume, IMO, that 3 more people will buy the game for the same profit of $90. For me anyway, I can think of several titles that I would have bought at launch if they were $20 and I am sure I'm not the only one. This way, the developer can still flush out the same quality without giving up profit. It's all about the demand. The demand for games rises dramatically when they reach $20. Poeple will buy more on impulse. A $20 price point from the beginning also reduces significantly the number of gamers that will pass up the title entirely. When games start at $50, many of them are dismissed and either gamers will forget about it or not be able to find it by the time it drops to $20. For these reasons, I think that good game companies can give us games with the same quality at a reduced price.

The other potential effect could be that alot of the developers making horrid games may go away because they can't compete and that results in the average game being better than it is now.
 
[quote name='Hereticked'][quote name='Cornfedwb']Yes, people will buy many more $19.99 games than they do $49.99 games. But do you really think you'll spend more total than you do now?[/quote]

If I could get games of the same quality (or better) that I buy now, only for $20 or $25 instead of $50.... absolutely. That's the idea. Lower the price point, a lot more games are sold. The profit margins are smaller but everybody wins not only because of the volume of business, but because that model is sustainable.


[quote name='Cornfedwb']If they're making 1/2 the profit and still selling the same total gross monetary value in games.. does that look like a good sign for the industry?[/quote]

It looks a lot better than $50 games that sit on the shelf until the retailers realize nobodys buying them, axe them down to $10 or less and nobody makes a dime.[/quote]

Actually price wars, not that these are price wars, are bad and are crippling for any industry in the long run. And you need to learn some basic economics. Industries are out to maximize their profits. If there were only one video game company and they could make the highest total profit by selling games for $1000 a pop, then they would.
 
I think there doing this because they know that right now ea is the biggest and is going to be hard to be beat cause when the new sports games come out they are all 50 bucks I know no one who goes gotta to have them all. most people I know buy just one new sports game and if there is a new feature like 1st person the will just rent. So know they want people to go ahead and pick this up along with (insert title here) tell everyone thats its a good game which it is. and they want eveyone by word of mouth to buy this new game because its only 20.
 
i think game developers need to come up with better business models that'll trickle down nicely for everybody. with hard drives or the equivalent expected in every console next gen, EA could start with roster updates via premium download or dvd/cd for $20 or hopefully cheaper. and some developers just plain need to realize we aren't going to pay $40-50 for a 5-10-20 hour game no matter how pretty it is. just because the olsen twins are in it, doesn't mean the pedophiles are gonna throw 50 bucks your way.

i would think that maybe developers could start out thinking $19.99-24.99 and go from there. the more content/replayability/fmv/voice actors added better be worth the price points above $25. games like halo, zelda, metroid, animal crossing, harvest moon, gran turismo,f-zero, and above average rpgs are well worth $40-50, maybe even $60. games like madden and XXXXX sport with new rosters and stats don't cut it. crappy ports sure as hell aren't worth $50 bucks either. oh yeah, and let's not forget the $30-40 gameboy games. i'd be buying gameboy games left and right if they were $15-20. you think nintendo has a problem getting $30-35 out kid's parents pockets when they're running the portable market? you think they'd be getting $35 for all the mario remakes? hell no.

i think collectively and without organization the consumer has wisened up. i think we're telling the developers something. give us $50 worth of entertainment or let your shit collect dust on the shelf. i'll take a good dusty game anyday for $20.
 
[quote name='Tromack']Actually price wars, not that these are price wars, are bad and are crippling for any industry in the long run. And you need to learn some basic economics. Industries are out to maximize their profits. If there were only one video game company and they could make the highest total profit by selling games for $1000 a pop, then they would.[/quote]

Since I'm not arguing for a "price war", but an entirely new economic model of how games are priced, I don't see how your comment applies to anything I've said.

As far as the corporations maximizing their profits... screw em. Their current model is failing, so don't come belly-aching to me that they're not making enough profit.

Maybe you're the one who needs some basic economics. Or better yet, history.
 
Think od it this way. Most people rationalize that they should only buy one football game. This way, even if they buy madden, its not that much more to pick up Sega's game, let alone just drop madden and save $50-$30.
 
Most companies don't follow this model, and I'm glad for it.

The more incentive there is to make a profit the higher the likelyhood of them making a quality product.

That's just fact, anything said beyond that is just pointless jargon.
 
Also, for anyone who is not aware of price discrimination needs to go back to school.

Price discrimination drives the economy and without it most of these businesses would not be operating.
 
[quote name='opportunity777']The more incentive there is to make a profit the higher the likelyhood of them making a quality product.[/quote]


Exactly.

And the point of contention is whether or not you can achieve more profit by lowering the price point and increasing the volume of sales.

I say, you absolutely can.
 
[quote name='opportunity777']Most companies don't follow this model, and I'm glad for it.

The more incentive there is to make a profit the higher the likelyhood of them making a quality product.

That's just fact, anything said beyond that is just pointless jargon.[/quote]

This is true, but more games sold equals more profit. You maximize profit by hitting a larger community of consumers, which is what a lower price point will do.
 
Space Channel 5: Special Edition from Sega debuted at $14.99.

Blowout debuted at $9.99, though I fell osrry for the poro bastards who paid more at some retailers where it was being sold for $14.99.

I believe select older GH titles like Crazy Taxi are currently retailing for $14.99.
 
The problem is that Sony has not instituted a budget title policy yet, so these cheap releases are taking a huge hit in profits, as they still have to pay Sony the full fee per disc. that is why you have not seen a bunch of budget titles released yet.
 
[quote name='Hereticked']
Since I'm not arguing for a "price war", but an entirely new economic model of how games are priced, I don't see how your comment applies to anything I've said.

As far as the corporations maximizing their profits... screw em. Their current model is failing, so don't come belly-aching to me that they're not making enough profit.

Maybe you're the one who needs some basic economics. Or better yet, history.[/quote]

Ok, your response makes no sense. Show me evidence that the current business model is failing. I see no signs of it. Look at the financial reports for someone like EA, they are showing INCREASES, in profit. Wow, it sure is failing. Take your unfounded claims elsewhere. 50 is going to remain the normal price for a long time.
 
[quote name='donssword']Space Channel 5: Special Edition from Sega debuted at $14.99.[/quote]

That was a port of an already existing (and rather simple, so easy to port) game.
 
[quote name='Hereticked'][quote name='opportunity777']The more incentive there is to make a profit the higher the likelyhood of them making a quality product.[/quote]


Exactly.

And the point of contention is whether or not you can achieve more profit by lowering the price point and increasing the volume of sales.

I say, you absolutely can.[/quote]

Of course its theoretically possible to achieve a higher profit by having a lower price point and selling more. Look at Walmart. Personally I just do not believe that most of the video game industry would be able to succeed with such a business model. As I said before, I believe there will be a bifurcation in the industry. Smaller studios will produce games and make them available for a lower price, i.e. Outlaw Golf 2 for 20. Larger studios will make more and more extravagant games with higher and higher budgets and will continue to charge the $50 price point.
You have to remember, not everyone cares about price as much as everyone here. In fact people usually connote a higher price with higher quality even if the correlation is not true, i.e. Abercrombie.
 
[quote name='CaboWabo']I think its a smart move for them to start selling sports games at $20. Those games lose their value so quickly, and most gamers now are reluctant to keep buying each seasons new sports game at $50. At $20 a lot of gamers will buy them every year.[/quote]

I whole-heartidly agree. My best friend bought Madden 2k2 and 2k3. Want to know what the difference was? Nothing! Ok, they may have added tiny additionall control changes and a manager mode or something. But what about 2-3 years later? What more is there to add? It would make more sense to make one last game then update it via PS2 online. it's gonna get to the point where they're going to saturate their own market. Why buy a new Madden game when you can get the near identical previous years version for only 15-20 bucks?
 
[quote name='lordopus99']
The problem is that Sony has not instituted a budget title policy yet
Click to expand...

you did say this... right? Think for a second....Well I will tell you... the budget titles are called Greatest Hits.[/quote]

He's talking about titles released at a low priced point.
 
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