And yet, when worked out in International Dollars (based on the purchasing power of the US dollar), the average yearly US wage is around 15-20% higher than the average Aussie wage.Crono1973 said:
Poll: CNN: Console Gaming is Dying
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Mostly publishers/distributors (there's a lot of crossover in gaming), but they're simply sticking to one of the most basic rules of business - charge what the market will bear.Ultratwinkie said:
International dollars are cost of living adjusted dollars. You've been claiming Australians basically pay twice as much as Americans, but by your own standard, it's more like 15-20 percent more when adjusted for cost of living. Which makes a hell of a lot more sense -- trust me when I say, if it was double, gaming wouldn't be a thing in Australia.RhombusHatesYou said:
Edit: Well, it would, but it would be a thing with the kind of people who had 3DOs and Neo Geos back in the 90's, or for a more modern example, the kind of people who have a D-Box setup in their home theater. In other words, the very wealthy. Gaming culture as it exists now wouldn't really extend to Australia if you guys had to pay twice as much, adjusted for cost of living, as we do.
The Wii sold by the imperial fuckton because it was priced low enough that it could be impulse purchased by non-gamers. Not many people were going to worry about the waste of money when a Wii sat gathering dust... and the Wii Fit balance board was a fucking masterstroke. Give a bunch of worried housewives a reason to use the console AND make an arseload of cash on an expensive periphal as well.IamLEAM1983 said:
Were did I say Australians were paying double?Owyn_Merrilin said:
It all depends on where your point of reference is taken from... on the surface it is double the price... but then take in minimum wage and it's equal... but then add in average wages and adjusted living dollars and it isn't equal but nowhere near double... and I'm sure we could dig even deeper and change the answer a dozen or so more times.
What is interesting to note is that game prices have hardly changed from when the AUS$ was worth half what the US dollar was (I miss that because I was being paid in US$ from freelancing work at the time CHA-fucking-CHING!)...
What you can take from all of this is that it sucks far less to be poor in Australia.
RhombusHatesYou said:
Wait, scratch that, it wasn't you who did it, it was Supertegwyn. I apologize; as long as you're not making the kind of claims he did, you're fine in my book. Australians actually /are/ getting hosed worse than Americans are. It's just not as bad as they tend to claim, and we're all getting hosed pretty much regardless of home country.
Also, I totally agree about it sucking less to be poor in Australia than the US. Despite the fact that "in order to promote the general welfare" is in the bloody preamble to the frakkin' Declaration of Independence, the idea of a safety net for those who have fallen on hard times[footnote]yeah, even something as simple as a living wage[/footnote] is anathema to the average American, or at least it seems that way if you listen to our political discourse. Personally, I blame cold war propaganda. We're /still/ feeling the effects of that crap.
He's got a point here, a lot of people do want to just pick something up for a 10 minute blast and go back to what they're doing, but it's not something everyone wants all the time. When you use the word "Gamers" to blanketly describe people who are more inclined toward the casual 10-minute Angry Birds session you're always going to rub everyone who defines themselves as a gamer but has no real interest in casual games the wrong way.FizzyIzze said:
The time it takes for me to turn on my PS3, which is already in my bedroom, and load a game is practically negligible. The other side of the coin is of course that the game quality is worth it, compared to iPhone games. I mean for fuck's sake, if people were that easily deterred we wouldn't even have PC games that needed to install anymore. They guy's right in one respect: Tastes HAVE involved to include bite-sized experiences on mobile devices. The thing he fails to realise is that people often play these games when they need something on a mobile device. Not as an alternative to a console. Besides, half the popularity is people who don't game otherwise, and chances are they already have a phone.
Personally I think there will always be a console market as long as they don't get too expensive or controlling. I paid about a grand for my first PS3, I've had to replace it thrice since, but that is about as far as I would go. Sony often produces consoles at a loss, so it's not like they can just shave a bit off the price if they're not sure they'll make it back in game sales. The next gen looks affordable, which brings me to my second point, that if they keep PSN free, games solid, and their consoles without gimmicks, I'll buy them for the security of being able to play my game at the intended level. I don't want to have to upgrade all the time. Last requirement is that they don't fall behind PC in ease of use, price and quality at the same time.
Personally I think there will always be a console market as long as they don't get too expensive or controlling. I paid about a grand for my first PS3, I've had to replace it thrice since, but that is about as far as I would go. Sony often produces consoles at a loss, so it's not like they can just shave a bit off the price if they're not sure they'll make it back in game sales. The next gen looks affordable, which brings me to my second point, that if they keep PSN free, games solid, and their consoles without gimmicks, I'll buy them for the security of being able to play my game at the intended level. I don't want to have to upgrade all the time. Last requirement is that they don't fall behind PC in ease of use, price and quality at the same time.
If you think game prices are bad for these kinds of pissing contests, fuel prices are even worse... although fuel price comparisons allow for much more finger pointing at governments and cartel-like behaviour by fuel companies but usually ends up with even more ridiculous justifications as well.Owyn_Merrilin said:
Besides, I feel sorry for the poor bastards that pay the same sort of prices that Aussies (and similar countries) have to pay but with shitty wages and a local currency with far, far lower purchasing power.
As the old saying goes; "I cried that I had no shoes until I learned the Art of Pimping."
I don't believe it's dying. Diminishing, maybe, but I think it will reach a level and stay there, rather than just die. It may well become a niche market in the future, but even if that's true, I doubt it'll die out. There will always be people who prefer playing on the couch, in front of a TV, with a controller than playing on a smartphone or tablet. It just isn't the same experience. I have a decent PC, and nothing against PC gaming, but I just prefer the console experience. Always have. I'm sure there are others out there like me who'll keep the market alive, even if it does get smaller.
No CNN, you're dying. You're the Myspace of News media, you're outdated and irrelevant, and yet you can't pull your head out of your own ass long enough to accept that you have a problem. Who needs quality cutting edge news coverage when we can report gossip and heresay with expensive gadgets and special effects. Console gaming will piss on your grave.
Should have stopped there.FizzyIzze said:
The lion share goes to the smaller versions of disc titles or retro titles, however. Not to mention, Microsoft seems to hate the indies.
You know, this is still fairly true. Especially since we're talking consoles. I'd give it to you if we included PC, because Steam is awesome for indie games.
That still could point to the failure of the Wii as a console.
Where did I say $60 was nothing?Crono1973 said:
When you pull your head out of your arse to take a breather, you might want to read the posts between me and Owyn.
Average hourly earnings in America (adjusted for inflation) have not increased in ~50 years. (Total compensation, which includes health insurance, vacation time, and other benefits has increased, but workers can't spend those things).Kopikatsu said:
-.-
One of the reasons American companies are earning so much money is that they're paying very little to their rank-and-file employees. This is also why average earnings have been stagnant for 50 years and most American consumers are broke. Wages as a percent of the economy are at an all-time low.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/henry-ford-salary-increase-2012-8#ixzz2BwVFQbXn
So when you want to say that people are complaining about the price of games it is just an extension of the now eroding middle class.
The article begins with a description of its author which states that he covers video games and other "male-interest" topics. "Male-interest"? Ok. Sure. Yes, Chicken Little. The sky is falling and consoles are dying.
They're not in a transitional phase as markets readjust to changing technology, and women most certainly do not play or have any interest in video games.
And this post isn't sarcastic, either.
They're not in a transitional phase as markets readjust to changing technology, and women most certainly do not play or have any interest in video games.
And this post isn't sarcastic, either.
I read the first page, then the last page. So if I missed something my bad. I was going to post that Australia's been paying $100 or more for most of the console games that have been coming out... since ever.
Someone's made that point already, and then it was pointed out that American's don't earn much compared to Australian's so by comparing our incomes the inflated prices are actually fair. To that I would like to say You're an idiot. To demonstrate my point I'll give you this example, if you go into a shop looking like a bum and buy something, but your friend walks in dressed in a suit, looking like a million dollars, and buys the same thing you would expect both of you would pay the same. Would you say its right that the guy in the suit was charged double just cause "he looks richer"?
We might have higher incomes, but we also have to pay more just to live, otherwise we'd just make our fortunes here and move to somewhere like America (which is either the free world, or somehow is in charge of everyone else, but thats another rant) where the pay is so miserable and we could live like kings with all out Australian money.
Someone's made that point already, and then it was pointed out that American's don't earn much compared to Australian's so by comparing our incomes the inflated prices are actually fair. To that I would like to say You're an idiot. To demonstrate my point I'll give you this example, if you go into a shop looking like a bum and buy something, but your friend walks in dressed in a suit, looking like a million dollars, and buys the same thing you would expect both of you would pay the same. Would you say its right that the guy in the suit was charged double just cause "he looks richer"?
We might have higher incomes, but we also have to pay more just to live, otherwise we'd just make our fortunes here and move to somewhere like America (which is either the free world, or somehow is in charge of everyone else, but thats another rant) where the pay is so miserable and we could live like kings with all out Australian money.