The Price of Games is TOO DAMN HIGH

[Epona]

Games can be expensive all over. $60 is expensive for us and $100 is expensive for you. Why can't both be right, does there have to be a competition?

Just saying that it seems silly when people are complaining that they have to pay almost half of what you pay for games when both respective dollars are approximately the same value.

it is known that we australian should not have to pay thAT MUCH FOR GAME..but no one with power is complaining..and we are too soft riot these days

Well, you shouldn't expect any support from those of us paying less than you Australians because we shouldn't be bitching in the first place according to some.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Yeah, they are, especially considering I have to pay the Having-the-Nicest-Beaches Tax as well, but so is everything else. How do you think retailers of any item manage to pull f***ing 50% off sales and still make a profit? Because we are used to paying twice as much, and all of that 50% is profit, along with a large part of the remaining half.

What I do find funny though is that Amazon and Steam seem to have little problem dropping the price with a few weeks, but actual shops insist that months-old games are still worth 100 dollars.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Snip!

Snippers!

Being from Quebec, I initially picked up the localized version of Diablo II. I don't know if the higher price covered the operational costs for localization, but it seems to me like that would be a safe explanation.

Not that it's going to shed some light for either of you, but I bought my first copy at an Archambault store (pretty much a music and books-centered franchise with the occasional shitty videogames aisle), which is a prominent franchise in Quebec.

My guess is their price point was set largely out of sheer ignorance of the market. I remember seeing them tag shitty stuff from Kalypso or Arkane dating to three or four years ago almost seventy bucks.

To counter my own argument, I later (about ten years later) re-purchased Diablo II as part of its Battle Chest set and got the core game and Lord of Destruction for thirty bucks - in their native version, without any kind of localization involved.

That actually explains it; the Canadian dollar was a lot weaker at the time, and Canadian prices were higher than US prices. I remember books always having prices listed for both markets, and the Canadian price was always a lot more than the U.S. price. If Canadian videogames have come down to match U.S. videogames, you may honestly be paying less in that market, although maybe not so much adjusted by the current exchange rate (the two dollars have been neck and neck for years now.)

Edit: Although at $85, your local store was probably still ripping you off, just not as horribly as it would be if that was $85 USD.

 

[zombieshark6666]

Lots of great games much cheaper than they used to be. I'm surprised they can charge this low considering the ridiculous budgets of games these days.

Even paying 5$ for Walking Dead feels like robbery.

Well, its only part 1 of 5. In total, I assume it will be 25 bucks, which is... actually a great bargain.

By the way, do you know when Part 2 is coming out?

Unless you're on PS3 and you can get everything for 20$ in advance as a season pass thing, which is not my case. I also doubt the next episodes will be as long, but who knows?

My roommate finished it earlier and said that there's a preview but no date announced. There is, however a Giant Bombcast solely about the game from about 3 weeks ago that talked about future DLC frequency, so I'll have to go back to that one.

I never thought I'd like it, but it's great.

 

[Zeema]

https://www.ebgames.com.au/ps3-156759-Prototype-2-PlayStation-3

$98 for a brand new game in AUS.

$60 is a blessing. but yeah games cost a lot

 

[J Tyran]

No. No, the price is not too high. No one forces you to buy the DLC, 60$ is less than games costed on NES and you don't have to resort to big titles only. My best gaming expiriences of the last years came for a big part from <20? titles.

NES games were $50 and there was no DLC. Now maybe you do math differently than I do but I do believe that $60+ is more than $50.

Back in the NES days $50 was a great expenditure than $60 is today.

 

[lacktheknack]

You pay $60 for games? Why would you do that?

It's simple logic: "An item is worth what its purchaser will pay for it". I won't pay $60 for a game, so I buy them for $5 to $30. I'm pretty much never an early adopter, but I'm OK with that.

 

[Epona]

No. No, the price is not too high. No one forces you to buy the DLC, 60$ is less than games costed on NES and you don't have to resort to big titles only. My best gaming expiriences of the last years came for a big part from <20? titles.

NES games were $50 and there was no DLC. Now maybe you do math differently than I do but I do believe that $60+ is more than $50.

Back in the NES days $50 was a great expenditure than $60 is today.

I just love how many times inflation gets brought up in threads like this. Ok so, how much do you want to be paying for games?

 

[Epona]

US Federal Min Wage: $7.25
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._minimum_wages

Aus Min Wage: $15.51
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_law

Number of hours needed to buy $60 game in US: 8.28 Hours

Number of hours needed to buy $98 game in Australia: 6.32 Hours

So no more whining about games are higher in Australia, a new game will cost you 2 hours less labor.

 

[Altorin]

it's not punishing early adopters. Maybe Mass Effect's Price Drop was too quick, but Early Adopters get to play the game when it's launched, and get to move onto the next new game while all the late Adopters are paying in TIME what they couldn't pay in Money, and will not be playing the next new game because they need to play the games that they waited a year for them to come down in prices for.

Waiting a Year for something to be cheap isn't good. You think that playing the game before a year is up isn't worth 40 bucks?

 

[Odbarc]

Get in the habit of waiting until things go on sale. Having things right as they're released seems a little spoiled.
Wait for GOTY editions too.

Be wiser with your money.

 

[Starke]

At least you aren't in Australia, where we are paying a ridiculous $80-100 for games. Paying only $60 for games? that would be a luxury.

Yeah, I think Yahtzee mentioned how ridiculously overpriced games are in your country at least in one of his episodes. Do they tax video games imported goods over there like crazy or what?

I hate the "fixed that for ya" meme, but there you go.

Australia taxes the shit out of most imported goods to encourage domestic consumption over importation. Strictly speaking it's a tariff, not a tax, but "six of one, half dozen of the other." Again, if it's a, let's call them "generic", product like a lamp, desk, coffee table, then it works to promote domestic industry, keeps money in the economy and supports that fifteen an hour minimum wage. If it's a "non-generic" like a game, where it's a specific property and you can't buy an Australian made copy of Skyrim or Apocalypse Now, they get taxed out the ass, to the tune of something like 60%.

So no more whining about games are higher in Australia, a new game will cost you 2 hours less labor.

Which would be a valid complaint if it weren't for the fact that they do cost nearly twice as much, and that the American Federal Minimum Wage is embarrassingly low.

For reference, to make rent on my old apartment, a one bedroom in the Seattle metro area (and actually one of the cheaper areas of the city), I would have need to work 25 hours a week. Realistically that means working a 50 hour week every week just to make ends meet, something that most jobs would be unwilling to do because of overtime expenses.

Realistically, someone working minimum wage in the United States cannot support themselves unless they're located someplace in the midwest. It's not a real number. It's what we pay kids while they live at home.

In contrast, and an Aussie can come on here and correct me if I'm wrong, but the Australian minimum wage seems to be designed with the interests of making sure if someone has a job they're not also going to be on the street.

That is to say, the interests of the citizen over the interests of Wal-Mart. Who, by the way, have a history of helping their new employees get on food stamps. So you know they're paying a living wage.

 

[rob_simple]

I don't understand the argument that prices are too high. As far as I can remember they've always been between $60 and $100, depending on title, franchise and developer.

Gaming is a luxury, a recreational hobby for some and a religion for others. Unnecessary things like that just happen to come with unnecessary prices. And the more you keep buying despite your disapproval, the more they're going to keep charging it.

Just because that's the way it's always been, doesn't make it right. It made sense to charge more for video games when they were a niche product; a fun activity for kids and a hobby for a spattering of teenagers and adults. Cartridges cost more to produce and were sold in smaller quantities, they had to be sold at high prices to have any chance of companies seeing a return.

Nowadays gaming is starting to rival the movie industry in terms of popularity, with actual production costs of discs being dramatically lower, so why is it we continue to pay the same prices we did thirty years ago? You could argue that some games cost millions to make, but generally only the ones that are are guaranteed to break-even selling at £20 never mind £50.

Like you say, though, it's never going to change if people continue to pay it. As for me, I treat the situation the same as I do with music: If I know that it's going to be worth the money I'll pay the price, but to hell with spunking fifty quid up the wall for a game that turns out to be eight hours of rubbish then getting offered twenty quid back on a trade-in; I'll wait a few months til it drops in price or pick it up used.

 

[Grey Day for Elcia]

It's a luxury service for entertainment. Don't like it? Don't buy them. *shrug*

I'll complain about prices when I live below the poverty line. Until then, the fact that I can afford to purchase and play video games is something I'm extremely thankful for. I feel suggesting my luxury items are too expensive is an awful paradox of the middle and upper classes, always bent out of shape about how much they have to pay for their great life. If video games being too expensive (in your opinion) is even something you think about, you're already lucky.

*climbs down off her box*

It would be nice if they were cheaper, sure. But while people continue to pay the prices they ask for, they will continue to be priced accordingly.

 

[ghost303]

Some might think other's would tire of hearing people complain how overpriced games are in the USA... Current prices are as follows for a generic AAA title... say, Skyrim.

Britain : 34.99 GBP = 56.91 USD.
USA : 59.99 USD = 59.99 USD.
Australia : 89.99 AUD = 94.26 USD.

Now put on a straight face, and complain again about the overpriced video games of your country. Did you actually do ANY kind of research before you complain? If not, and this was a poor attempt at humour, then 0/10.

Have a nice day.

 

[Epona]

At least you aren't in Australia, where we are paying a ridiculous $80-100 for games. Paying only $60 for games? that would be a luxury.

Yeah, I think Yahtzee mentioned how ridiculously overpriced games are in your country at least in one of his episodes. Do they tax video games imported goods over there like crazy or what?

I hate the "fixed that for ya" meme, but there you go.

Australia taxes the shit out of most imported goods to encourage domestic consumption over importation. Strictly speaking it's a tariff, not a tax, but "six of one, half dozen of the other." Again, if it's a, let's call them "generic", product like a lamp, desk, coffee table, then it works to promote domestic industry, keeps money in the economy and supports that fifteen an hour minimum wage. If it's a "non-generic" like a game, where it's a specific property and you can't buy an Australian made copy of Skyrim or Apocalypse Now, they get taxed out the ass, to the tune of something like 60%.

So no more whining about games are higher in Australia, a new game will cost you 2 hours less labor.

Which would be a valid complaint if it weren't for the fact that they do cost nearly twice as much, and that the American Federal Minimum Wage is embarrassingly low.

For reference, to make rent on my old apartment, a one bedroom in the Seattle metro area (and actually one of the cheaper areas of the city), I would have need to work 25 hours a week. Realistically that means working a 50 hour week every week just to make ends meet, something that most jobs would be unwilling to do because of overtime expenses.

Realistically, someone working minimum wage in the United States cannot support themselves unless they're located someplace in the midwest. It's not a real number. It's what we pay kids while they live at home.

In contrast, and an Aussie can come on here and correct me if I'm wrong, but the Australian minimum wage seems to be designed with the interests of making sure if someone has a job they're not also going to be on the street.

That is to say, the interests of the citizen over the interests of Wal-Mart. Who, by the way, have a history of helping their new employees get on food stamps. So you know they're paying a living wage.

First of all, people do work for min wage in the US and they aren't just kids. Fast food employees, retail employees, etc... Secondly, comparing the min wage is a very fair way of doing this. In the US people will be making $7.25 or more while in Australia they can make no less than double that amount. Third, an example price of $98 was given so that was the comparison price. Now if games in Australia are standard $120 (no one has said that) then we would be paying the same price and still they would have no ground to stand on when they come whining about our small $60 price tag.

I am frankly sick of someone from Australia dismissing complaints about the price of games in the US because they THINK they pay more. At a basic level, they are getting games for cheaper than we are.

Also, Food stamps don't buy games and food stamps have no bearing on my estimate that it takes a min wage employee 8 hours to pay for a new game and only 6 hours for someone in Australia making min wage. I mean if you wanna start talking about government benefits, US employees who have health care have to pay for it through their employer, automatic deductions. In Australia they have universal health care. Of course, government benefits don't matter when we are talking about how many hours one needs to work at min wage to buy a new game.

 

[Epona]

Some might think other's would tire of hearing people complain how overpriced games are in the USA... Current prices are as follows for a generic AAA title... say, Skyrim.

Britain : 34.99 GBP = 56.91 USD.
USA : 59.99 USD = 59.99 USD.
Australia : 89.99 AUD = 94.26 USD.

Now put on a straight face, and complain again about the overpriced video games of your country. Did you actually do ANY kind of research before you complain? If not, and this was a poor attempt at humour, then 0/10.

Have a nice day.

..and in your country you make that $94.26 USD in less time than we do in the US because your min wage is TWICE what ours is.