No video game is worth $70

Corporations are allowed to charge whatever they want, consumers can choose to buy or not. That's the free market. Selling a video game for $70 is not illegal or even immoral, it's wha the market will bear.

With that out of the way, I played Ratchet and Clank on the PS5. It's a great game. Nowhere during the game did I think I would have been happy to pay $70 for it.

Gamers compare the price of games vs. movies to extol how much more worthwhile games are. Let's revisit that. The average movie ticket is $15 for a two hour movie. Multiply that by 5 (for ten hours total) to get roughly the average price of a new game plus tax (~$75). Now the value argument is immaterial since ten hours worth of movies is comparable to the length of the average video game and unlike a game publisher, the theaters don't constantly reach into my pocket for more cash after I bought the ticket.

Even large expansive games like Skyrim, GTAV, and yes even Breath of the Wild are full of empty busywork fetch quests that damage their value. Also with rapid price attrition, anyone now who buys a game at launch when it is very likely that the game will get reduced in 1-2 months is an instant gratification fool.

They can offer them at 70 bucks, just don't offer DLC and pre-orders.

I could not possibly disagree more. I go out on the town with a few friends get dinner and drinks and I spend WAY more than 1 full priced game. That was about 6 hours of entertainment max?

I bought Breath of the Wild and logged 200+ hours for $80 (cost with Expansion).

Sounds more than fair to me. As an adult career professional, If a really enjoy a game for even 15 hours, that can be worth $70. What is that for less than $5.00 per hour? And in the case of Zelda, for me that was like pennies per hour.

When I was a kid (a LONG time ago) video games were $50 and averaged about 5-10 hours in length (on a good day). Adjusted for inflation that same $50 is now $82.00.

This is the issue with modern gamers. The lack basic common and economic sense. Yes you want more goodies for no money we get it.

$70 bucks is out of greed period the gaming industry is in the shitter these days.

Then don't buy the game. Plenty of good, inexpensive independent titles out there that have better gameplay and art direction. You won't get any sick cinematics and cool-ass mocap with them, though :P

With that said, I will say to you what I say to people that give me shit for spending $25/lb on a nice piece of salmon, or $200 on a set of sweet studio-quality headphones; an item is worth whatever people are willing to pay for it. If people buy enough games at $70, then games are suddenly worth $70.

Yeah but most of their customers are pretty shitty too.

Overall I agree with your sentiment, but at the same time I think they spend too much money making games.

I didn't ask for, nor do I really enjoy, Hollywood voice actors in my games. I think it's a waste of money.

Likewise, advertising a COD game seems like a waste of money, too; everyone is going to buy it no matter what, do they really need to advertise.

I look at the credits list for the latest Ubisoft games and it has thousands of people; Valheim sold 6+ million copies and it is a team of like 5 people, you don't need thousands of people making your games.

Finally, and this is the thing that really pisses me off: we are getting less with our games. Or rather, we are getting less for what we pay. Sure, there's tons of content out there for games...if you're willing to pay extra. So not only are games more expensive now, but they've also found ways to make more money off of you while providing you with less. The whole notion that we are getting a "service" is a joke; we are being drip-fed a stream of content (products) that we pay extra for and thus are being drip-bled back to the publisher.

Yes, a game might be worth $70. But why shouldn't it cost $40?

Some corporations like to give discount after or near the release of DLCs , I think they might think it's fair that later buyers pay for DLCs as they have buy the game with a low price ,but sometimes I think it's quite unfair to the early buyer

Sorry I rather not have ps1 days of absolutely terrible voiced lines. I get what you mean but some voice actors nowaday do command a high fee and good at what they do. I love for Troy Baker to voice my JRPG chars like he used to but dude just cost way too much now and its not his fault he fights for his talents. Voice Actor guild strike happened cause they all want better pay.

People bitch about launch prices when everybody knows how quick prices fall, calling others greedy... the hypocrisy...

We've been paying way more than 60 bucks for games for ages now in the form of DLCs and microtransactions and whatever fuckery publishers come up with.

I don't like it either, so I don't buy games for that price. If there's many DLCs or microtransactions, I usually just don't get the game at all.

Agree but that still doesn't give them the right to charge $70. There's to many corporate fanboys that are willing to bend the knee to these companies it's pretty pathetic.

Then don't buy them. They are worth whatever someone is willing to pay and they are selling at $60 and $70 or the prices would be forced down. Honestly, I have no problem with games at that price point for the most part.

I’ve purchased many games at $70+ that were totally worth it to me. Back in the SNES era bought Street Fighter II for $100 and Chrono Trigger for $115 Canadian and that was before taxes, both were definitely worth it.

Doesn't really bother me, but if I had a choice, it'd be nice to see things sell for cheaper.

I just kind of look at things as "It is what it is." But that's just me, lol.

Poorly thought out comparison regardless who made it.

A $15 movie ticket is a one time deal which is not true for a video game.

Completely agree.

And so for that reason I usually wait a while for sales and I generally don't like to spend more than $20 - $30 on a game. So the us equivalent would be about $15 to $23.

And then of course there's epic which is giving away games for free.

Agreed, however am also not American or ever used a dollar.

Yet, still got Demon's Souls Remake on release ツ

Goods are worth as much as consumers are willing to pay for them. I, for one, never bought any video-game above 30 EUR. others do (if they didn't, companies would go bankrupt, I guess or would be forced to change their business model). I don't see a problem, just wait for a discount, majority of games (outside of Nintendo) go down in price and after a couple of years you can get them for next to nothing even. Sure, if you MUST HAVE THE GAME NOW, because you'll be missing out or some other reason, then there is nothing you can do.

The reality is, people have been paying more for games for a long time. DLC, micro transactions, less content.

I won't buy them. But many will.

Depends on the game. I'll be picking up Tales of Arise at full price but I'm usually buying new games on sale or clearing out my backlog until that next must have release. However I'm not a big fan of paying more for DLC. Very few were worth it imo

I would certainly pay that price for a game that had inrivalled, everlasting addictive & compelling multiplayer & a size able campaign. I have already bought a few Sony PS5 games for that price (actually $109AU) mostly traded my PS4 games for them (which is an even worse consumer r@ping)... But also my choice....

But not one of these game stacks up to being worth that price tag I'm afraid & ashamed to say. It p!sses me off that the jump in price is so steep, without the jump in innovation, etc, being nearly worthy of that jump.

I would be more comfortable paying that price if a game was so addictive, varied in gameplay, mission structure, & just was a near perfect example of a constantly entertaining, action packed, compelling piece of software that exuded that "one more go" for the millionth time.. We are close with games like GTA, Far Cry, but also so far away as there is just too much open space & boring traversal for samely missions in these games.

I did love Days Gone, but it needed more also, especially in the sense of killing mass hordes methods.....I would have loved a sequel that allowed you to use any vehicle that had fuel, that you could get parts for to get running, etc, so you could essentially get a semi truck going & fuelled up, then hook up a fuel tanker behind it, & park it near a horde or nest & rig it to explode....

Enviromental traps like in First Blood using trees, etc, could be crafted & set up for zombie killing, etc. The possibilities are almost endless for a developers imagination for a game like that. Then add co-op & mp for a complete package & yes, if done correct, I would pay the $70 with no regrets!!!!

Absolutely agree. I just wait for the sale now. $60 was the line for me. Not gonna fucking happen for me to want to fork over $70 for the base game. Too old and too many other games to play to wanna blow more money than ever on a new game. Especially if it’s gonna just be a 10 hour or less experience. **** that.

Hope no one here owns a business, if you deliver great product i am happy to pay 100$, game prices will rise and if people want cheap games go play cell phone games they are free and yet somehow those free games make billions every year, do i like it no i remember games being 40$ quality isn’t cheap, companies need to find a better way to make quality games for cheap and that’s not going to happen anytime soon but if they want to stay in business they will have to,

@GalvatronType_R: comparing movies and video games is just stupid, and i remember being able to buy 5$ tickets to go and see a movie during the week or 10$ during the weekend now its 15$ no matter when you go that’s before the pandemic, and i like it because now all movie theaters have upgraded to recliner chairs, less people less noice more comfortable and I don’t mind paying for it

Not a good analogy.

You realise investment for personal use, and stock to sell are two very different things. And typically purchased in a different way also.

Customers for games buy a single unit while one of business buys in bulk.

From a business standpoint you always sell individual units higher than the overall value of mass buying quantities. Otherwise you are not making a profit. Everyone with a brains knows this. However what some do not know is buying in bulk makes each individual copy cheaper for various reasons, typically because publishers want as many stores to have copies at all times.

From a customer point of view; value of purchase matters, that's why sellers need to find a good balance of what is overpriced/ don't do that, and avoiding what is going to make a loss for selling too cheap compared to other markets. Games are only sold new at a cheaper price when a store is trying to get rid of remaining stock for something new.

And online feedback shows many potential customers are whiny entitled individuals who want stuff for the price of a second-hand burger. That's not how the real world works however.

Games can be crazy cheap for a variety of reasons- game is old, unable to push units out the store, the publisher intends to sell microtransactions as the business strategy rather than the copy itself.

And lastly rich store owners giving games for free or at extremely low price tag to advertise store use and get positive word of mouth (Steam and Epic have been doing this for years)

@RSM-HQ: consumers are stupid today they get influenced by internet trolls aka influencers, If you want cheap gaming stick with free to play games on phones or consoles or PC,

The acceptable price point is subjective to the individual honestly. I usually wait for sales on games as they tend to fall in price rather quickly, so the $70 price point in most cases is too much for me to justify a purchase, especially with the bugs games launch with now. But I've also spent $80 for old used games like Skies of Arcadia Legends on the GC (now $160.00 on Ebay).

I've waited on sales for games to get them dirt cheap and bought so many of them them I've reached the point that I have an overwhelming backlog of games I've never even played. I have zero hours of entertainment out of them for my money spent, but I'll still do it again when the opportunity arises. I know people that have spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on games like GTA and EVE online and they love every minute of playing them. It's not worth it to me but then again, it's not worth it to them that I've bought hundreds of games I've never even played. Different strokes.

Honestly I wouldn't mind spending that for R & C just for the eye candy. Personally speaking, I don't buy many games at $70 a pop except the few I really really like, but if people are willing to spend that then it's all good.

This is why as a Sony fan, I see MS f*@king obliterating Sony with GP because of this ridiculous price hike. Casual gamers WILL NOT be paying $70us ($109au) for a single game (& probably a 20hr single player experience).

Sony are giving MS an even bigger chance to wipe them from the market by doing stupid sh!t like this.

You think every day investors read what forum posting troIIs write? don't think so.

Word of mouth does carry, but is sold on positive word through all channels, and advertising/ marketing. Not from dank memes from internet posters; that influences the minority (that I will agree have screws loose). Millions of buyers are not roaming these gaming forums though. Advertising and positive WoM sells the majority.

And honesty if people listened to meme loving fools stating "Anthem/ Avengers/CyberPunk is a great game" they deserve what they get.

Not only because some of these games are flawed, but also because a lot of these posters don't even describe games accurately within the context to what the games are. They're shilling a brand they have an unhealthy obsession with, and making dumb jokes to kill time. So could say, selling something they are ignorant on themselves for the thrills.

The quotes I could grab from some users on this forum alone referencing various games is cringe. Showing a few just don't play half the games they claim at least.

And then Game Spot reviewers who dish out mis-information on games as well, and they get paid for it, which only makes things worse.

I like some users on these forums and selective reviewers but I always keep an eye out for who is full of ****.

That's why I don't go out & buy video games at launch, lol. I'd wait for sales (price drop).

@RSM-HQ: yes

@RSM-HQ: I think a lot of these posters types like you see on SW are paid to talk negative about specific corporations. I think it's a real thing.

Do not use System-Wars, it's just not why I am here.

From my understanding some of those users leak here in GD and I find it difficult to put up with, very annoying overall. Beyond immature. The bad ones I mean sure many are ok users.

Bet they would love to get paid to troII, however I do not think that's a realistic or good use of a companies funds. This is not even a very active website anymore (not that is necessarily a negative). As such if troIIs got paid to badmouth other games, systems, stores? it would be on Twitter, Youtube, or Twitch channels. Something to make it worth spreading to at least 5% of interested customers. The fact many here do not even purchase games made in the past ten years, and then count the low rate of active users, it would be less than 1% of potential customers.

As such I do not think any the tryhard users here on Game Spot get any money for being what they are. They just have a lot of free time, and spend it vocally dry-humping the plastic they have chosen to salute.

Yeah most are just silly ole fanboys, but some of them don't play games, and just put up screen shots to shit on games, talk bad about system users, etc. Lately I've really become sick of posting on SW because they are so negative about everything.

Recently they've taken it up a notch to be like the "fake news" situation we've all been dealing with to flat out lie about things, say the exact opposite of what we say, all things just to try to "trigger" people in to having "meltdowns" and I just don't agree with acting that way to people or being negative about everything.

@shadyacshuns: Hopefully some of them are doing it to have fun and many know it is self aware shitposting? If everyone is in on the joke no harm I suppose. I do similar stuff with my friends, we have a running gag for anyone who uses a range weapon in Monster Hunter; however on forums I typically dislike giving out misinformation, or being bias to a logo. Who is it really benefitting? no one

Main reason I join forums is to share a joy of gaming and discuss games from the good or bad. See/ discuss with other passionate opinions of those with a similar interest. A different perspective on games is always very interesting to me.

When that gets lost, and people are just being jerks, it's difficult to stick around with such toxicity.

Games Discussion is mostly good for talking about game, though I do see some complain it's a "dead" forum.

@shadyacshuns: interesting you complain about fake news when you created a fake news thread 😂🤣

Don't come over here to start some shit. Leave that stuff on SW.

@shadyacshuns: can't ignore the irony.

At the time it was a feasible rumor, and turned out later to be false. No one would have believed it could be true if Sony wasn't going around censoring things needlessly.

@shadyacshuns: 4chan rumor you mean 🤣😂. Oh the irony.

My source was a tweet from a legit game site. I have no idea about anything from that vile site. So yeah, it was legit at the time and you are wrong, as usual. Salty af over any Sony criticisms...

@shadyacshuns: its ok, Shady. No need to get butthurt sometimes you want some system war actions too but making fake news threads but then complaining about too much fake news? Oh the irony 😂

Lets stop, this is not system wars. Lets enjoy the games discussion and, dont flag me too much ~

I don't even want to have chats with you. Stop stalking me from other boards.

Seriously?

I buy a lot of games over a gen, I traded around 80 PS4 games in for PS5 games & I still have easily over 50 PS4 physicals in my collection still, I have 200 PS3 physicals also...

But with my PS5, I will be buying sparingly, as opposed to just going out & snapping up everything I want, & that is due to this price hike, as in Australia it equates to $109-$120au per game, as opposed to many PS4 brand new titles I bought day 1 for anywhere from $69 min to $89 max.....& this included Sony 1st party titles like Days Gone ($79new), etc......

Now I will buy only the must haves I cannot go without, & I will wait for the others until they hit a low price that enables me to buy 2 or 3 of them for $100.

If you are a Sony fan & you think this is not going to hurt sales of PS5, & spike sales of SX/S & GP, you may rather be a Sony fanboy as opposed to fan. This & the SSD expense issues are major gripes for me as a longtime Sony fan....PS3 copped a lot more flak for doing a lot less wrong....