Who pay full-price game anymore ?

[Drake666]

Hi everyone,
We?ve all read about the used-game "problem" (I never saw used-games as a problem, but that's not the point of this thread). For what I've read about the Xbone, Microsoft solution's to that problem is to remove entirely the used-game market.

I think the main reason the used-game market is strong is because retail price of 60$ is pretty expensive for a videogame.

I was wondering, here on the Escapist, is there a lot of people who pays full-price game?
The question still stands for PC gamers. Do you wait for sales?

I know I do. Nowadays, I wait for Steam sales to buy games. Does that make me a bad consumer? Or a good one?

 

[Fappy]

I only buy games for $60 that I really want and know I will enjoy. Those titles are few and far between.

I buy used games occasionally, but I usually just buy their PC counterparts during Steam sales these days.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

If it's a game I want, sure.

The place I get console games is a little cheaper than everywhere else, and I buy all my PC stuff on Steam, which tends to be cheaper on average as well.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

I don't understand it either, OP. The last game I paid full price for was KoF 2002/2003 for the PS2, and that was because it was a limited release from a small company that I was not likely to be able to find if I waited for a price drop or a used copy. And it turned out I was right -- I'm not sure if I've /ever/ seen a used copy of that one, and it sold out before any sort of a price drop could happen. Of course it was also either $40 or $50 (I want to say it was a lower priced title, but I could just be rounding off the $9.99 in $49.99 after almost 10 years) brand new, as opposed to the $60 you have to pay now.

Today, on the other hand, that really doesn't happen. We're essentially post-scarcity when it comes to videogames. I see people who pay $60 for anything as either having more money than sense, having a lack of patience, or both. I could see paying $60 for a collector's edition, but then those cost closer to $200.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Well depends what you mean by full price I tend to shop around for deals so I may still get it new but I pay 10 pounds less than what most places are advertising.

If I really really want the game I will get it as fast as possible even if I have to pay a higher price (to an extent) but this rarely happens. I do tend to buy most of my games new its just not at launch many I can wait months for such as Skyrim or ME3 simply because I dont care about getting them early. Others I will just wait a few weeks and then snap it up.

Used games are usually an impulse buy for me.

Sales are good but most games I intend to buy I have got already so I dont tend to get them in a sale because I wont play them even if it is cheap.

So I will pay full price but usually the game wont interest me enough to do so. The last game I bought full price was P4A so very recent over here but it was only 30 pounds new so it was lower than full price for me anyway.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I buy a few right away for full price (Borderlands 2 and BioShock Infinite are the two more recent ones that come to mind), but only games I know I'll play the second I get them.

 

[Drake666]

No way in hell will I pay full price for a game anymore, and I suspect that many of my generation who grew up gaming but are now family folk, won't either for the simple practical reason that due to other priorities they won't be able to afford it anymore.

MS & co can't seem to understand that one of the reasons their customer base has boomed so much this past decade is because of the drop in game prices, and the ease of piracy. In fact piracy helped make Sony such a big player in the console market in the first place.

How MS expect families which got into gaming on chipped PS's, and who buy £10-20 used games to suddenly be able to fork out full price for a game is beyond me.

It is the way I perceive things... but I'm 28 years old grade school student... I don't have much money. I didn't have much when I was younger and I started playing more when we introduced pirated games in my household. (Riped games: I'm feeling nostalgic about games where the soundtrack and cutscene were removed... wow, I feel old!). Nowadays, I buy every games I want to play with because I feel bad about pirating games, but I still think 50-60$ (specially for a digital product) is amazingly expensive!

That's one of the reasons I'm not inclined to buy console games (specially newer ones) anymore. It takes to much time for the prices to go down (even with used games).

I think that if the Xbone et PS4 are trying to completly control the contents on the console, there will be less and less people inclined to buy games new and to experience with gaming genre and new IP.

 

[CaptQuakers]

With the push for more digital sales we might have games are a lot cheaper like with Steam, If that's the case I can't see this being an issue because after all it isn't on the PC

 

[rebel]

If not for all these cheap offers like steam or GMG, I might still pay full price, but mostly now I wait for a good offer and buy I game I have interest in.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

To be honest, the only game I'll be willing to pay full-price for is The Witcher 3 when it comes out. I hold a lot of faith in CD Projekt Red, and I know they're genuine dudes who want to make money without resorting to fucking people over. Both Witcher games have also been among my all-time favourites as well, so that's another, more valid reason. Here in Australia, full retail price is like $80.00, so a lot of money for a game. I need to ensure it's well worth it. Other games, I won't generally spend more than $20.00 - $25.00 on.

So, I don't pay full price at all with very rare exception.

 

[Drake666]

*Snip*

Add to that the fact that there are so many retro titles out there available, and plenty to keep gamers satisfied in the meantime, and not forking out for a next gen console upon release isn't a big deal at all.

That's right! There's a lot of older games and indie games that I've not played and that seem totally awesome . I've got a fairly big backlog of those games... GoG (Fallout 1 and 2, Arcanum!) and Steam (Dig, Loom) for PC and Xbox live (Shadow Complex, Castlevenia SotN, etc.) for consoles market are making us notice (and buy) those games!

 

[Drake666]

Haven't bought a full 60 euro game in a while now.

I have bought a few full priced 3DS games (usually priced between 35-40 dollars, I have an American 3DS) like Fire Emblem: Awakening and Soul Hackers. I plan to buy Grand Theft Auto V when it comes out, but nothing else comes to mind...

I have plenty of 3DS games I am buying full price, do those count?

It depends does the used market for 3ds game is big in Italy ?

 

[Norrdicus]

If by full price you mean "Retail $60" then about 0-2 games per years

However, if indie releases and GOG re-releases count, then up to a dozen or so

 

[antidonkey]

I hardly ever pay full price for a game......maybe 1 a year...if even that. The price I usually pay for a game that I really, really want is $30. Even then, by the time I get around to having time to play it, it has usually dropped to around $20 and has been out for a year....if not longer. I'm very much a budget gamer which is why I tend to stick to the PC. While I like my PS3, PC games tend go cheaper at a quicker pace.