Soo, why do console version of computer games cost more?

[Snotnarok]

Not trying to start an argument here or whatever but...They've done some pretty cool things with RE4 for PC, better graphics and lighting mods, even character mods.

Looking up some videos, even if the game had a rough launch it looks like the best version to me. Then again I got the PS2 version and people call that one crap compared to the wii/GCN version.

ha! it has no mouse support.

http://www.filefront.com/6915857/Resident-Evil-4-MouseAim-Patch/

I dunno google tells me otherwise.

 

[Danny Ocean]

Because us PC users tend to be stuck with shitty ports.

That doesn't make sense. Ports require more costs after the action. That should surely drive the price up?

No. Because you already have a finished product. Therefore compared to the work previously done for the primary platform, you basically do a lot less work in order to gain access to a secondary platform and to a whole new market.

I would have thought the marginal cost of making a port would be irrelevant, as it's still pushing average total costs up, which would raise the price. The PC market already has a surplus of demand for big games, so I should think the demand-side influences for a higher price would push it up as well.

 

[mad825]

Not trying to start an argument here or whatever but...They've done some pretty cool things with RE4 for PC, better graphics and lighting mods, even character mods.

Looking up some videos, even if the game had a rough launch it looks like the best version to me. Then again I got the PS2 version and people call that one crap compared to the wii/GCN version.

ha! it has no mouse support.

http://www.filefront.com/6915857/Resident-Evil-4-MouseAim-Patch/

I dunno google tells me otherwise.

your point?

Capcom never ported the game with Mouse support.

 

[Snotnarok]

Not trying to start an argument here or whatever but...They've done some pretty cool things with RE4 for PC, better graphics and lighting mods, even character mods.

Looking up some videos, even if the game had a rough launch it looks like the best version to me. Then again I got the PS2 version and people call that one crap compared to the wii/GCN version.

ha! it has no mouse support.

http://www.filefront.com/6915857/Resident-Evil-4-MouseAim-Patch/

I dunno google tells me otherwise.

your point?

Production Studio 4 never ported the game with Mouse support.

My point is there's mouse support now, I wasn't aware that it mattered who did it. Was it a poor port? Sure, but like Morrowind it has gotten better with age because of a large amount of mods.
You can play as more characters in the PC version, with better lighting and textures, and the mouse has been modded in as well. What's to complain about?

You're the one who quoted me mind you, I have no interest in arguing over it, I don't even have the PC version, I've got the PS2 version which I'm told is the worst looking/sounding. Worked fine for me.

 

[Legion IV]

Worse community on the consoles. Ha. trollin! yous doin it.

I hate to say it because am an elitest myself when it comes to starcraft but the pc crowed are elitests. You say in consoles theres 12 year olds with pcs its 20+ year old douches.

I cant answer your question. Mabey its because a consoles a hundread times easyier to use if you just want to game? am a pc guy but my bigger bro is a console only gamer.

Its kinda like macs i guess. Macs are overpriced because its for the person who needs help with everything. Yet windows is cheaper and mabey more confusing if you know how to use your pc it will give you more then a mac can.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

consol games cost more to develop with the console licencing fee and developer kits, so they pass on the costs to the consumer.

Would you rather pay +$10/per game or consoles that cost the same price as PCs at launch? That's essentially the trade off you're making (unless you bought a PS3 at launch in Australia when it was AU$1100, which was more than an above average gaming rig cost at the time).

 

[Ewyx]

Because us PC users tend to be stuck with shitty ports.

That doesn't make sense. Ports require more costs after the action. That should surely drive the price up?

No. Because you already have a finished product. Therefore compared to the work previously done for the primary platform, you basically do a lot less work in order to gain access to a secondary platform and to a whole new market.

I would have thought the marginal cost of making a port would be irrelevant, as it's still pushing average total costs up, which would raise the price. The PC market already has a surplus of demand for big games, so I should think the demand-side influences for a higher price would push it up as well.

time to give you a basic lesson in economics.

Let's say you're expecting to ship n units. And the product costs m$. Therefore, the current cost per shipped unit is n/m$ However, then you add the pc market, which increses the amount of shipped units to, let's say 2n for the sake of simplicity. While only increasing the cost for m/4$ that means, that the average cost per shipped unit will be much lower in our case
since the total cost of 5/4m will be split between 2n units. That means you double the amount of shipped units, for basically 1/4TH OF THE COST!

 

[8bitmaster]

A few games, like modern warfare 2 and starcraft 2 have been costing 60$ for pc at launch now, not because of licensing fees, but just because they can. Although they will possibly go on sale (using steam as an example) even before release, thereby still being cheaper than consoles. console games are more expensive because they don't have extreme steam sales.

 

[Danny Ocean]

time to give you a basic lesson in economics.

No need to condescend.

Let's say you're expecting to ship n units. And the product costs m$. Therefore, the current cost per shipped unit is n/m$ However, then you add the pc market, which increses the amount of shipped units to, let's say 2n for the sake of simplicity. While only increasing the cost for m/4$ that means, that the average cost per shipped unit will be much lower in our case
since the total cost of 5/4m will be split between 2n units. That means you double the amount of shipped units, for basically 1/4TH OF THE COST!

You're assuming something rather crucial in your explanation there. I'm not sure that a company expecting to ship N units to any single console market, let alone the usual two or three, will suddenly double their output to 2N with the addition of the PC market. I think you overestimate the size of it.

I think you're also forgetting that in order to redesign a game for the PC post-production (That's what a port is, right?) would require you to hire your minions for an even longer period than expected. That will push up the marginal costs of each of those disks, therefore pushing up average costs-- that's just mathematically inevitable.

Ultimately this argument rests upon two variables that neither of us know:

1. The comparative size of the PC market for AAA titles.
2. The costs of porting a game.

I assume the former is tiny and the latter is high, especially for games initially designed as console exclusives. That's why I think PC ports should cost more or, at least, reduce their abnormal profits if the price stays the same.

 

[Ewyx]

...

the numbers were not realistic, they were there to simplify my point. Ultimately I believe that the small costs of making a port (hey, let's face it, you don't have to pay the gfx dpt one bit) while still getting a chance to sell to a large user base are the reason why prices can be lower.

Also, the way ports are done lately, is that they don't pay much attention to how PCs are different than consoles, so it's not like they're paying attention. They just want to make sure the thing runs.

Ultimately, the reason console games are expensive, is because people are prepared to pay more for them.

 

[AWAR]

Because console gamers will pay the extra $10, while PC gamers tend to have piracy more easily accessible? There's one possible answer.

^This, and there are less developers for the console platform which means less competition.

 

[Geekosaurus]

Because the PC gamers have spent a gazzilion pounds on their PCs than console gamers have on their consoles. So it's only fair.

 

[veloper]

See title, it's a basic question.

I don't think most people are going to argue that console games are anything but inferior versions of computer games, in most cases. So why then, do console games cost atleast $10 more, and always have a higherprice for longer, then computer games, when it's an obviously inferior version?

Because my laptop can't handle alot of more modern games (Dragon's age, for example) I have to buy these games for console, and spend an extra $10.

Now thats not alot of money, but it adds up, and I must've wasted atleast a hundred dollars, buying games that my computer can't run.

The only reason I can think of is stability (I.E. A Console game should never, EVER, have anything but the best graphics avaliable, and the framerate shouldn't drop noticibly, it just shouldn't happen) But I don't think that thats reason enough to charge more.

Any ideas?

It's simple.
You're a publisher and want to sell full priced games for the 360 or the ps3? You pay $12 per game to either M$ or Sony.

It's their console and they sell them at a loss, so you either pay up or stop making console games. You charge the difference, so end consumer pays it at the counter.

On average console gamer ends up paying the difference and more through the back way where they won't notice it.

 

[SimuLord]

Because it is REALLY easy to find a good PC game for way below $60. Consoles are a captive audience---you want games for the console, you pay what the console cabal says should be the price.

Seeing a new console game for less than $60 usually means bargain shovelware. Seeing a brand-spanking-new PC game for $20 might just mean "small publisher" or "niche game" or "Game of the Year, no really, just play it" (or so I said about Mount&Blade in 2008).

Put another way, it's way too easy for a PC gamer to say "Sixty bucks? For ONE game? You're kidding, right? Because I can get two or three GOOD new releases for that. Come back when you're on sale on Steam or have a price drop at retail."

 

[badgersprite]

Basically, you're paying a dividend to the company who made the console. Remember hearing that the Xbox 360 and ESPECIALLY the Playstation 3 lost money on every console sold? I think the PS3 only starts making money after you buy five games for it.

So, yeah, they're more expensive because you're paying for the expense of the console in addition to the game.