Thanks for comment. The reason it doesn't seem far off to see price reductions is because the price per game is less important when considering total sales of the game. I did a quick search and it seems this has already been investigated:
"The study found that if the used game market were to be eliminated and nothing else changed, game publishers’ profits per game would drop by about 10 percent. However, it found that if game publishers were to adjust the prices of new games to optimal levels, they could expect profits per game to rise by about 19 percent.
'We find that the optimal price would be on average about 33% lower than the current price level, if the used game market were eliminated,” said Ishihara in an email. “So roughly speaking, in the US, game prices should go down to about $40.'"
That to me is interesting and more reasonable than the current model. At $40 however, I would still be more picky about which games I purchase, meaning I buy less games if I could not trade or sell them.
I have a few questions for all of you who are commenting:
The costs of new games have reached their peak price of $60, and yet development cost continue to increase. Does anyone dispute this?
The gaming market has increased radically since the 90s, so one might assume that it would compensate for the used game/trading market, but the amount of trades and used game purchases has increased with the increase in the overall size of the gaming market. I would say then that it does not compensate.
In my opinion, the increase in price was in part to compensate for exactly what Cliff was pointing out, but this higher price of $60 is not acceptable for most people. So in the end, many will wait for the price to either go down, trade other games in for it, or buy it used.
Based on all of this I would say that Cliff is right, that high quality games cannot co-exist with a used/trading game market based on today's development costs, but in my opinion it is because the new games are priced too high. If everyone could buy a game they are really interested in on day one for $30, how many would wait for used copies or six months to a year for the price to come down? Seriously!
In this way, I would say the devs need to think more broadly about this.
If Sony and Microsoft were to announce tomorrow that all digital copies will be half the price due to not being able to trade it in, I for one would prefer it. What about you?
1. Ultima Iv & V & VI (Apple IIe) 2. Ys I & II (TCD) 3. The Elder Scrolls III (PC) 4. Zelda All of them (Nintendo) 5. Secret of Mana (SNES) 1. Although Ultima V is my all time favorite, the rest of the series makes it even better. Ultima V continues from I and IV, but part IV is the one I would play first. I even remember having dreams of being in the underworld and it was just so awesome! 2. Ys for TCD is where it's at. In fact, I'd take this one over any of the remakes anyday. I bought Ys IV in Japan years ago and now that it's translated with subs and all, it may just find it's place right with I & II. 3. Ohh...the Elder Scrolls is so serious. Had I played this when I was 11 then maybe this series would've made number on my list. By far the best that the modern world has to offer. Unfortunately, IV is out of reach for at least a year I'd say (hardware requirements and all). 4. Zelda brings back so many memories that even if the game wasn't as great as it is, it might make it up here. I've enjoyed all of them, but my favorites are Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time, and The Wind Waker. 5. Secret of Mana is a beautiful game that can stir the emotions. I really like this one. I instinctively played this one immediately when it hit the shelves, and I was hooked. I intend to play the rest of the series soon. There are so many games that would make my all time favorite list, but I've only listed a few that have actually affected me in some way. Others include but are not limited to: Alpha Centauri (PC) Arkanoid (Arcade) Caslevania (the whole, 2D, series) (all platforms) Chronicles of Riddick (PC) Contra (Arcade) Diablo II (PC) Donkey Kong (Adam Computer, Arcade) Dragon Warrior (NES) Forgotten Worlds (Genesis & Arcade) F-Zero (GC) F-zero (SNES) Faxanadu (NES) Final Fantasy I-III (NES) Galactic Civilizations (PC) Gateway to Apshai (Coleco) Ghouls n Ghosts (Supergrafx & Arcade) Gladiators (Arcade) Gradius (whole series) (all platforms) Gyruss (Arcade) Hokuto No Ken (Megadrive) Ikaruga (GC) Immercenary (3DO) Kung Fu Master (Arcade) Legend of Kain: Blood Omen (PC) Lunar: The Silver Star Story (Sega CD) Magician Lord (Neo Geo) Metroid (the whole Series, including prime) Montezuma's Revenge (all platforms) Neutopia I & II (Turbo) Ninja Spirit (Turbo & Arcade) Nunchuku (Arcade) Pacman (Arcade) Pandemonium (PC) Panzer Dragoon Series (Saturn) R-Type (Turbo & Arcade) Rastan (Arcade) Ring King (Arcade) Robotron (all platforms) Rygar (All 2D Versions) Solomon's Key (NES & Arcade) Soul Calibur II (All Platforms) Street Fighter I (with Rasputin--he's so cool) (TCD & Arcade) Strider (Arcade) Super Darious (TCD & Arcade) Super Mario Bros. (NES & Arcade) Super Smash Bros. (GC) Tetrisphere (N64) Tetsujin (3DO) The Legend of Kage (Arcade) Vitua Fighter Series (all platforms) Zanac (NES) Please note that I've played hundreds and hundreds of games and so the above are just the few that instantly came to mind. Oh and before I forget, Greg Kasavin you have great taste in games. I'll see you in video game heaven one of these days. It's not often that someone else likes Ultima these days.
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