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[March Climber]

This has always happened. The floors for everything have just gradually gone up. Katamari Damacy was $19.99 on PS2. Just to use a current example I'm interested in: Clair Obscur is launching at $49.99 ($44.99 if you pre-order).

I know, that's why I said this would be a supercharged version of events. Usually pricing across the board had reasonable standards (like you stated from the past, 19.99, or 49.99 for example) but this change would further open up the ceiling, not the floor.

 

[Bernoulli]

Xbox is offering arguably more games than anyone, all available on a cheap Game Pass subscription.

 

[Zacfoldor]

$449.99 USD console and $79.99 games is pricing us out, but I wasn't priced out before today?

Also, Donkey Kong is actually cheaper. I bet they just do the 80 dollar price on their games that they know everyone will buy like Mario Kart, Mario, Zelda. I suspect 3rd party games and non-tentpoles are same price as PS5/Xbox games.

The console price is actually really good. I bet they decided to keep the hardware price low they would raise the prices on tentpoles.

You could just buy the console which is pretty cheap, then just wait for sales.

 

[rofif]

Games have been 60$ for last 20 years...
70 and 80 should be fine considering they do not want to go mtx/gaas route.

Everything else went up 2-4x around us... EVERYTHING.
So ps5 pro being 700?$ If that's too expensive, idk what other gaming hobby is for you. That's essentially same price as base ps5 was on release date + inflation and price of 2tb drive.... Should be more expensive.

And I am Polish. We are cheap, poor fucks who earnt 2-3x less than the west. And even to me, 700$ is reasonable

 

[fart town usa]

It sucks, but I'm not super bothered. There were SNES games back in the day that cost $70-$80, which ends up being around $160 adjusting for inflation.

The way I see it is that I'm just gonna be more judicious with my purchases.

This is the best approach and those of us born in the mid 80s, or earlier, definitely remember how expensive games were back then.

 

[Lokaum D+]

stop being poor OP

 

[bender]

I know, that's why I said this would be a supercharged version of events. Usually pricing across the board had reasonable standards (like you stated from the past, 19.99, or 49.99 for example) but this change would further open up the ceiling, not the floor.

I think it will raise the floor too though. Pricing in the Indie space has basically doubled since their initial rise to prominence. There will always be exceptions (Vampire Survivors) of course, but that scene has the same challenges as anyone else (increasing team sizes, budgets, expectations, competition). I'm mostly fine with games being more expensive in principle, I just think most publishers will continue to use the same tactics to squeeze more profits out of games which allowed pricing to stay flat for so long even if those prices do go up. At least with Nintendo leading the way, they don't nickel and dime you on that front. When they do charge for additional content, it's much more akin to expansion packs of old rather than horse armor.

 

[March Climber]

You don't have other hobbies do you, gaming is such a cheap hobby. 80$ for often 60+ hours of hobby time. That's if you only buy new games, there's thousands of games, you don't always need the latest one

There are some hobbies you will have to disregard to make an argument like this, such as most sports hobbies. I can go grab a basketball and play a pick-up game for hours at a random court for the price of the ball alone, which could be as low as 4.99.

While I agree with the notion that no one needs to buy new games, I wouldn't say gaming is a fully cheap hobby. It has a decently high buy-in price, especially if you want to do it socially.

The problem here lies with the fact that you're going to see more and more dead newer AAA I.P. that never sell simply because they are priced too high from inception. Also you'll see certain publishers give up even faster on beloved/fan favorite I.P. that don't sell well within 9-12 months.

 

[Spukc]

Don't buy the games you want day 1..
almost all games drop like crazy soon.

All switch games on amazon drop to 35 euro's here and fast.

You have some ever greens that take longer but you count those on 1 hand

 

[rofif]

gaming is the cheapest hobby. What else is cheaper?
Fishing? hell no. Outerboard motor is like 10k$ alone... just a motor. I know.
Cars? haha good luck
Vintage cameras?... yeah about that... I have like 30 cameras. it is a black hole for money. Why am I doing this

 

[tr1p1ex]

GAmes were $160+ back in the day.

IN 1982 we had to put in 83 cents just to play Pacman for 1 minute.

 

[CLW]

 

[GHG]

Spending 1000 on a GPU isn't the problem. The problem is this:

Yeh, but the fact is you can still put together a reasonable gaming PC for under $1000.

No, you're not likely to be getting a max settings 4k etc, but you'll still get a decent rig that you can enjoy games on while taking advantage of all the cheap games available.

 

[rofif]

Don't buy the games you want day 1..
almost all games drop like crazy soon.

All switch games on amazon drop to 35 euro's here and fast.

You have some ever greens that take longer but you count those on 1 hand

not buying games day1 is more damaging to the industry than games being 80$.
Why would they make.. more games if he (and presumable ton of people) wait for sale.

 

[Kings Field]

I dunno, I complained about $80 Switch 2 games as a YouTube comment and Nintendo fanboys called me poor. They obviously don't know what my wife and I do for a living . I will accept being called cheap though.

Real talk, it sounds like enough people are on board with the pricing of all this stuff that it doesn't matter.

God forbid people with money are responsible and don't feed into the cancer.

 

[64gigabyteram]

not buying games day1 is more damaging to the industry than games being 80$.

games are 80 dollars

more people wait for sale

they end up getting less money at launch anyways because of the sticker shock as opposed to going with the usual 60/70 and getting most onboard anyways

 

[Jesb]

This is where I'm happy with just having GFN. And I cant even keep up with that. It's hard for me to get into gaming these days.

 

[TKOFromTokyo]

I got out of retro collecting during COVID because the prices got insane for my tastes. I switched over to 4K movies. Go take a look at that market. Disney wants me to buy $50+ steelbooks for new movie releases. The market has become niche and contracted to the point that I'm paying Lionsgate Limited $80 for The Conversation 4K limited edition because I don't actually know if it will be released in a standard format in the US.

 

[San Dan Glokta]

If people started sailing the high seas in droves the market will readjust itself.

 

[March Climber]

I think it will raise the floor too though. Pricing in the Indie space has basically doubled since their initial rise to prominence. There will always be exceptions (Vampire Survivors) of course, but that scene has the same challenges as anyone else (increasing team sizes, budgets, expectations, competition). I'm mostly fine with games being more expensive in principle, I just think most publishers will continue to use the same tactics to squeeze more profits out of games which allowed pricing to stay flat for so long even if those prices do go up. At least with Nintendo leading the way, they don't nickel and dime you on that front. When they do charge for additional content, it's much more akin to expansion packs of old rather than horse armor.

The problem is that once a standard is set, it's set. Time and time again third parties will follow suit. We thought they wouldn't do it at 59.99, they did. Same with 69.99 and now potentially 79.99. They will use the excuse of 'we'll charge you through MTX', but given the first chance of 79.99 sticking and actually garnering sales, they'll quickly sweep that talking point under the rug while keeping it in the game anyway.

Hell, most companies have already convinced everyone that games should cost as much as a physical edition (with media, booklet, and case) on day one even when you buy it digitally.

All of these things are a slippery slope we have already witnessed, so I don't see why it would suddenly change unless people truly don't buy the next GTA, Mario Kart, etc. and they bomb in sales, forcing a discount. Considering that people will pay upwards of 150 to play GTA 6 tomorrow, I don't see this happening.

 

[Spukc]

not buying games day1 is more damaging to the industry than games being 80$.
Why would they make.. more games if he (and presumable ton of people) wait for sale.

Because people can't wait my backlog of games is so long that i can play new games until the ps6 launch easily

 

[proandrad]

Personal problem.

 

[March Climber]

Don't buy the games you want day 1..
almost all games drop like crazy soon.

All switch games on amazon drop to 35 euro's here and fast.

You have some ever greens that take longer but you count those on 1 hand

Can someone confirm this for Nintendo-published games? Is Nintendo tax actually not a thing anymore?

 

[bender]

The problem is that once a standard is set, it's set. Time and time again third parties will follow suit. We thought they wouldn't do it at 59.99, they did. Same with 69.99 and now potentially 79.99. They will use the excuse of 'we'll charge you through MTX', but given the first chance of 79.99 sticking and actually garnering sales, they'll quickly sweep that talking point under the rug while keeping it in the game anyway.

Hell, most companies have already convinced everyone that games should cost as much as a physical edition (with media, booklet, and case) on day one even when you buy it digitally.

All of these things are a slippery slope we have already witnessed, so I don't see why it would suddenly change unless people truly don't buy the next GTA, Mario Kart, etc. and they bomb in sales, forcing a discount. Considering that people will pay upwards of 150 to play GTA 6 tomorrow, I don't see this happening.

The double dip in my mind is the problem. We've bought time with digital cost savings for publishers, special editions, MTX/DLC, mutli-platform releases, expansion of the audience with dulled mechanics, reversing course on bottom of the barrel sales pricing, gradual price increases, but eventually you hit a saturation point and I think we are finally looking over that cliff.

 

[delirium trigger]

gaming is the cheapest hobby. What else is cheaper?
Fishing? hell no. Outerboard motor is like 10k$ alone... just a motor. I know.
Cars? haha good luck
Vintage cameras?... yeah about that... I have like 30 cameras. it is a black hole for money. Why am I doing this

I'll spend 10 bucks for a bucket of balls at the range without thinking twice and that's the absolute cheapest part of golf. That's not factoring in the 2k dollar set of clubs, the 100+ dollar greens fees, the 400 dollar rangefinder, etc.

But... I will wait an extra six months to buy a game on steam just to get the 20 dollar discount, lmao.

 

[xrnzaaas]

All of the examples have alternative solutions. You don't need a 5xxx card unless you're a graphics nut, you can buy used games or wait for sales and base PS5 still runs games just fine. Just vote with your wallet and don't support insance prices and greedy practices.

 

[R3TRO]

Things still feel normal over here.

 

[ReBurn]

I'm not feeling priced out.

 

[saintjules]

But seriously as I get older I have less time to play games so less money gets spent.

Kinda where I am too. Lesser games but can afford to buy them at their premium price if I decide too.

The hobby has been expensive for years. Can't really expect less now.

 

[mistuhcahlos]

Priced out is a strong criticism. I always thought that hours per enjoyment, it's actually a fairly cheap hobby. That being said, you don't have to stay current. I've been playing old shit for years.

 

[SNG32]

Honestly PC is where it's at I'd rather bite the bullet pay the hefty initial cost in order to get cheap games, free online, and endless backwards compatibility. I'm in Canada and the Mario kart bundle is 699.99 here. My soul won't allow me to pay that for a Nintendo handheld.

 

[Hollowpoint5557]

Agreed. Companies are making record profits and keep jacking up the prices. I pirate 99% of what I play and anything I do buy I make sure to buy second hand so that these companies don't see a dime from me.

 

[Banjo64]

It's ok because there's only about 4 games every 5 years that are actually worth playing.

Wish I was joking but I'm not.

Sold my PS5 2 years ago. Bought one, all I've played is Apex and downloaded Astro.

 

[GoldenEye98]

Xbox is offering arguably more games than anyone, all available on a cheap Game Pass subscription.

Series S + Gamepass is probably the best value in gaming....but it's ironically the most shit on (in gaming communities at least)

 

[stickkidsam]

Xbox is offering arguably more games than anyone, all available on a cheap Game Pass subscription.

Subscription being the operative word.

 

[bitbydeath]

It's ok because there's only about 4 games every 5 years that are actually worth playing.

Wish I was joking but I'm not.

Sold my PS5 2 years ago. Bought one, all I've played is Apex and downloaded Astro.

I can understand getting rid of it because of Apex but you should have at least played Fortnite.

 

[Draugoth]

This is ironically a massive W for Gamepass and xCloud

 

[March Climber]

The double dip in my mind is the problem. We've bought time with digital cost savings for publishers, special editions, MTX/DLC, mutli-platform releases, expansion of the audience with dulled mechanics, reversing course on bottom of the barrel sales pricing, gradual price increases, but eventually you hit a saturation point and I think we are finally looking over that cliff.

I don't think we are, and if it is a cliff, I think the only cliff we see is for any I.P. that isn't a top 100 seller...and this is where I think there is a small disconnect with GAF.

2K and EA sports sell billions every year. Literally whenever we list the top 10 or top 20 sellers per year here it's all games that GAF groans about. There are people here who actually think that Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia are bigger selling titles than the Assassin's Creed brand, Ubisoft's #1 franchise. A franchise where people will literally buy and play just that game alone all year, which made me realize why their games lately have been so bloated, because it's not built for people like us.

I think it's reasonable to say that the types of games the general public are playing might have shifted, especially with the younger crowd, but this isn't really a cliff for the entire industry, just for the ones who lose.

 

[mayham2199]

Priced out is a strong criticism. I always thought that hours per enjoyment, it's actually a fairly cheap hobby. That being said, you don't have to stay current. I've been playing old shit for years.

It's crazy how cheap this hobby is and I don't even really try. If I made an effort to make it cheaper I could.

My other hobby cost me $1800 a year.

 

[San Dan Glokta]

Build your social skills and find friends (online or irl) to play older coop games together with. An old game that you buy for your self and friends in sale is cheaper than buying a brand new one or a night out to eat in many cases.

I personally introduced a younger friend to Persona 4 Golden, his first jRPG ever, and its been a huge delight just watching him stream it, guiding him through boss fights, and watching the ending together.

 

[Banjo64]

I can understand getting rid of it because of Apex but you should have at least played Fortnite.

I've played Fortnite to death, Apex is the only FPS on the market worth a damn. I mean I've thought one this week and that's all I've played (because the Switch version is shit!)

 

[VeganElduderino]

not really ! everything goes up , its part of the matrix , remember the 99$ N64 games?

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

How fucking greedy can these companies get? $80 for a game now on a weak console?

 

[bender]

I don't think we are, and if it is a cliff, I think the only cliff we see is for any I.P. that isn't a top 100 seller...and this is where I think there is a small disconnect with GAF.

2K and EA sports sell billions every year. Literally whenever we list the top 10 or top 20 sellers per year here it's all games that GAF groans about. There are people here who actually think that Splinter Cell and Prince of Persia are bigger selling titles than the Assassin's Creed brand, Ubisoft's #1 franchise. A franchise where people will literally buy and play just that game alone all year, which made me realize why their games lately have been so bloated, because it's not built for people like us.

I think it's reasonable to say that the types of games the general public are playing might have shifted, especially with the younger crowd, but this isn't really a cliff for the entire industry, just for the ones who lose.

I don't think people understand how addicted casuals are to shit like virtual currency, ultimate team, and shark cards.

 

[Yoboman]

Switch 2 having the most expensive entry point for any of the next gen systems is crazy to me. For PS4 graphics

Nevermind the $90 games. Nintendo has gone insane. How quickly will they end up in a WiiU situation when Karen won't buy lil Timmy an insanely overpriced system and games

 

[mathello]

Get Good at making more money TM

 

[RSLAEV]

Priced out is a strong criticism. I always thought that hours per enjoyment, it's actually a fairly cheap hobby. That being said, you don't have to stay current. I've been playing old shit for years.

Same. I only play one or two new games a year at this point. Hopefully the release of the switch 2 will push the price of the switch 1 down, so now a lot of people who couldn't afford switches before can buy them. I think the problem is that we get wrapped up in talking about the "latest thing" when it comes to gaming and there is very little opportunity to connect with other people on a forum if you are just playing older games that most people have ignored or moved on from.

 

[Barakov]

A bit crazy they're asking $80 for that Donkey Kong game. But whatever. All this means is that I'll be more choosy about what games that I drop money for on day 1.

 

[Yoboman]

Same. I only play one or two new games a year at this point. Hopefully the release of the switch 2 will push the price of the switch 1 down, so now a lot of people who couldn't afford switches before can buy them. I think the problem is that we get wrapped up in talking about the "latest thing" when it comes to gaming and there is very little opportunity to connect with other people on a forum if you are just playing older games that most people have ignored or moved on from.

Nintendo prices going down? Haha

 

[K' Dash]

it was about fucking time for the peasants to leave gaming.

YOU are the ones salivating for less competition and bend over when Sony rises prices on their hardware and (shit) accessories.

I'll laugh at you while I pick up my SW2 and ($1000) PS6 in store without even preordering.