$60 PC Games Descend Upon the States

[tet5uo]

So we pay thousands for our ridiculous rigs and set-ups, but balk at 60$ for a good game?

I remember paying 75$+ for games in the 90's I'm not complaining.

[sixshot]

So we pay thousands for our ridiculous rigs and set-ups, but balk at 60$ for a good game?

I remember paying 75$+ for games in the 90's I'm not complaining.

if you're referring to old console games where they're still using ROM chips, then that's to be expected.

I balk at US$60 games because devs and publishers make claims that the increase is to offset the cost of piracy. And it remains to be seen (and judged) if the higher pricetag is also to cover the higher cost of development. Yet I personally do not see the higher cost to be worthy of the cost in development for several of the games (see yearly sports titles and other half-assed games out there *cough*NFSHP*cough*)

[suiken_2mieu]

Well it goes hand in hand. Maybe they should go all digital. I mean with things like steam, they have found a way around the cheap production cost of Disc. So in that sense I would have thought prices would drop. I for one start buying games at about $30. I snag games up at $5. Anywhere in between depends on the game of course. Would I drop $60 on a game day one? Not until I know of it's widescreen support and if I wanted it badly.

[Paradigm Shifter]

So we pay thousands for our ridiculous rigs and set-ups, but balk at 60$ for a good game?

I remember paying 75$+ for games in the 90's I'm not complaining.

I can do more with a PC than just game. ;)

[Armenius]

I just pre-ordered Witcher 2 Collectors edition through EB games here in Australia = $150 AUD

Pc games here are routinely around the $80 - $110 AUD mark.

At least that's close to what we pay in the States: $129.99.

The Digital Premium Edition, which includes most of the Collector's Edition stuff except a few tangibles (statuette, coin, playing cards) is only $44.99 USD on Steam.

[Am2Widescreen]

I just got starcraft 2 collectors edition for just 69$. Couldnt believe when I saw it.

[dcj667]

I don't really mind this with the hardcopy format, as it's just the gaming companies trying to sustain their profitability through the recession recover.
The problem I have with that pricepoint is when they charge the EXACT SAME PRICE for the digital distribution format, which is significantly cheaper to get into the consumer's hands.
THAT is where I refuse to pay that much for a PC game, if only on principle.
There is no way I will pay that much for a download of the game, that is easier to get into my hands yet usually tied to some sort of security that makes it difficult to keep, in any situation.

[Ra'Kaan]

I can't remember the last time I dropped more than $30 on any single PC game. $60 has about the same chance of happening as me paying for a subscription MMO--basically zero. My purchases average about 6-12 months behind the release curve for new games, so maybe now it will be 8-14 months. Doesn't really bother me.

+1 totally agree. Advertising hype doesn't make me rush out and spend top dollar on every new release title.

Another approach is to wait for the gold packs - then you are getting the latest patched versions usually with bonus content for $30ish.

I hate the idea of spending $50-60 dollars for a rushed out the door game that needs to be patched immediatly after install even to play.

So, I wait too, that's my personal solution to combat rushed / overpriced games.

If I had 100% confidence that a game would be published to perfection upon release I would probably fork out more often for brand new games, but it is just irritating the neglegence the industry has in publishing 3/4 finished games at launch.

Essentially, anyone who buys a game on release day is paying $60 for the "privelige" of participating in FINAL BETA.

This is acceptable for many people, I am not among them.

[medtech]

Since almost ALL major games are ports of consoles and the actual time involved to port a 360 to PC game is almost nothing ( as can been seen by the lack of DX10/11 support, shader issues, online playability and/or lack of any controller input quality. The whole ' piracy recovery ' argument goes out the door as the PC is at most a ' also ran', like the old days in the late 80's when a PC game would be ported to the mac.. it's all just gravy beyond the consoles. if you doubt that, look at the bonuses that IW was/is suppose to get, but turned out to not be ' enough', they read like top line movie star options or US wall street bankers bonuses. having worked in the business years ago, I can say from some experience that the guys who do the work get paid very little, the guys who are collecting the funds are the ones up the ladder. So the only pirates are the actual executives of the game companies and their publishers. a solid core of programmers, artists and designers make no more then the average employee at a government office.

A good example of a quality 'PC mostly' company is SIMBIN.. polished product, support up the ying-yang and very reasonably priced. Bethesda did a great job with fallout3/NV in terms of support and final product with on going updates..

So unless the game is ridiculously polished and supports a PC properly, I can't personally justify $60+ for a 1/2 assed product on the PC.

[quote]So we pay thousands for our ridiculous rigs and set-ups, but balk at 60$ for a good game?

I remember paying 75$+ for games in the 90's I'm not complaining.

if you're referring to old console games where they're still using ROM chips, then that's to be expected.

I balk at US$60 games because devs and publishers make claims that the increase is to offset the cost of piracy. And it remains to be seen (and judged) if the higher pricetag is also to cover the higher cost of development. Yet I personally do not see the higher cost to be worthy of the cost in development for several of the games (see yearly sports titles and other half-assed games out there *cough*NFSHP*cough*)

[0utf0xZer0]

Mass Effect 3 is going to be $60 too. Combine that with $30-40 in DLC and you are looking at up to $100 USD for the latest Bioware games. I'll wait on the all-inclusive ultimate editions on sale. And if that doesn't happen, I may not buy it at all.

Interesting point... a 100 hour RPG can actually justify $60 in my opinion due to sheer amount of content, but getting nickled and dimed for DLC is not fun.

Action titles with sub ten hour campaigns for $60? I don't tend to play multiplayer anymore aside from co-op with friends at LANs, so yeah, not interested.

[GeneralAdmission]

Action titles with sub ten hour campaigns for $60? I don't tend to play multiplayer anymore aside from co-op with friends at LANs, so yeah, not interested.

In some cases, sub five-hour campaigns. :(

[Armenius]

Modern Warfare 2 took me three hours to finish single player on Hardened. Took me an hour longer, maybe, on Veteran.