Post by: KDR_11k on February 06, 2006, 04:17:47 AM
Today I saw the sequel to the popular budget game Katamari Damacy (not released here) in a store. From what I understood We Love Katamari was budget priced in the US, too. Well, guess what it costs? Yep, 60€, full price. What kind of idiocy gave us 60€ console games in first place I don't know but the 40€ a PC game costs is already plenty. So, just for fun, I decide to look at the pricing of XCircle games. I took Perfect Dark Zero and - I kid you not - saw it was priced at 75€. That's right, 75€, 90 US$ according to Google. This is getting out of hand. Prices are skyrocketing, price cuts nearly nonexistent on consoles and publishers dare to complain about used game sales??? Mark Rein even had the balls to tell us that we should pay more for games. WHAT?!? WHY?!? Games should be getting CHEAPER, not more expensive! 60€ is insane already, 75€ is 13€ short of a Gamecube + Mario Smash Football bundle.
If games are getting so expensive to make that you can't even keep those insane prices (while, BTW, leaving almost no margin for retailers to profit from, which is the reason many retailers try to sell you used games or additional junk in addition to the game that barely breaks even after deducting storage and work), why don't you cut your budgets? Making cheap games worked before, it works for Capcom right now (who at least pass 10€ of the savings on to customers here) and it'd work again if you didn't totally lose sight of what a game really needs. I'm really not convinced that games need normalmaps or HDR and I'm 100% sure that those aren't enough to make up for a freaking 15€ added to a price that's already 30€ beyond sanity.
If a game really needs all those graphics to succeed, why are Counterstrike, The Sims and Grand Theft Auto such megasellers? Isn't the real problem that you're trying to use graphics to distract from the lack of ideas for the gameplay? First Person Shooters push the hardest for better graphics. First Person Shooters also ran out of new ideas somewhere around Deus Ex. They're turning into carbon copy games where you're running along a long corridor and shoot everything in the way with very few distinguishing features (that are often rather cosmetic) telling the games apart. Seriously, you can play Quake, then Half-Life and then Doom 3 or HL2 and you'll see almost no difference beyond the graphics. In fact Quake, with its almost non-linear level design, seems more advanced than the other two.
It's possible to reduce dev costs, slash retail prices AND have the game sell big. Not only does that mean less risk, you'll see more people buying your game new. But some idiot decided that in the games industry it's smarter to bet everything on one card. Seeing all those developers, long standing and newly established alike, go bankrupt certainly speaks for the current business model...
Post by: couchmonkey on February 06, 2006, 05:52:48 AM
But it sounds like things are absolutely terrible in Europe - those prices are crazy. For taht matter, I think even here games have to get a little cheaper if Nintendo wants to make it's non-gamer strategy work. I can buy most DVD box sets for less than any new game, and movie DVDs and CDs are usually much cheaper than Player's Choice games. It's no wonder my girlfriend doesn't just go out and buy new games for her GBA on a whim, like she does with CDs and DVDs.
Post by: Pale on February 06, 2006, 07:21:20 AM
Post by: ThePerm on February 06, 2006, 09:19:55 AM
Post by: Sir_Stabbalot on February 06, 2006, 10:15:21 AM
Post by: stevey on February 06, 2006, 11:36:34 AM
Post by: PaLaDiN on February 06, 2006, 12:55:52 PM
Post by: King of Twitch on February 06, 2006, 01:00:56 PM
-why don't you cut your budgets?-
BINGO. Same goes for Hollywood. People will eventually realize they don't really need all special effects all the time, and they will appreciate the lower ticket prices in turn by watching more movies/buying more games.
Post by: IceCold on February 06, 2006, 02:09:39 PM
QuoteHmm, really? I saw it for $20 CDN a month ago nearly everywhere I went..
Originally posted by: PaLaDiN
Also, why is Geist still $50?
Post by: Cap on February 06, 2006, 02:14:31 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: PaLaDiN
Also, why is Geist still $50?
the wal-mart in my area cut geists price down to $20(canadian) a long time ago......they still cant seem to sell the game.
looking at some of the prices for the 360's games, i cant understand how people can keep buying games. the high prices will eventually cut into game sales in my opinion, and developers will have to change their pricing and/or game budgets. its only a matter of time.
Post by: NinGurl69 *huggles on February 06, 2006, 02:23:53 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: PaLaDiN
Also, why is Geist still $50?
From another angle, you could say Geist "went back up" to $50 considering it was discounted all the way to the Mushroom Kingdom ($10-$20) during the Holiday buying season.
Post by: ThePerm on February 06, 2006, 02:26:34 PM
Post by: PaLaDiN on February 06, 2006, 02:40:23 PM
Post by: Dasmos on February 06, 2006, 02:41:25 PM
Post by: darknight06 on February 06, 2006, 06:24:21 PM
Post by: TrueNerd on February 06, 2006, 07:29:44 PM
I think what Nintendo is doing is a very good thing by not putting an emphasis on uber-visuals and by using the same dev tools as the GC. It will keep things less expensive all around and hopefully that will translate into more games that take risks. I also hope the Xbox Live Arcade does well. That could be a haven for cheaply made games.
Post by: KDR_11k on February 07, 2006, 02:03:37 AM
Post by: BlkPaladin on February 07, 2006, 02:59:14 AM
Post by: KDR_11k on February 07, 2006, 03:14:16 AM
Post by: darknight06 on February 07, 2006, 06:51:57 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on February 07, 2006, 08:20:44 AM
Bloatware. Discs offer more space so developers and publishers feel the need to fill it. Restrictions can actually be incredibly beneficial for creativity in the right situation. Hardware limitations force efficiency. It can be like having a salary cap in sports. Yeah we're getting closer to photo realism in graphics but that takes an insane amount of work. More storage space allows for CD quality music and voice acting but that has created the temptation to use licenced music and hire celebrity voice actors which drives costs up.
It's a hard rut to get out of. The solution is for some third parties to not fall into that trap so that if you want to make an efficient game there's still a publisher available. The American publishers are pretty much a lost cause but I think Japanese publishers aren't quite as stuck. Japanese games seem to strive on creative graphics over realism and don't rely so much on celebrity-related glitz so there's still hope.
Post by: Smash_Brother on February 07, 2006, 10:31:27 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: ThePerm
lol i got geist for $10...that was too much
What are you talking about? Geist was awesome!
That game truly won my heart when it let me possess a stack of plates and fling them into the head of the chef, breaking them across his face (and then there was possessing a shower head in the women's locker room...).
You just don't get gaming experiences like that anywhere else.
-SB
Post by: Talon on February 08, 2006, 12:04:49 AM
Ouch thats a bit harsh considering most new releases for this gen are about $70-$85. I for one are definately not looking forward to the HD generation if its going to push prices up that much (no more impulse buys). Lets hope Nintendo take advantage of the situation and keep the RRP the same (or lower the RRP) on their titles.
Post by: KDR_11k on February 08, 2006, 01:09:21 AM
Post by: Smash_Brother on February 08, 2006, 04:12:26 AM
The games may cost more, but when roughly 80% wind up in the bargain bin for $10, I can't understand how anyone would justify buying them.
It's not even a question of affording it anymore: it's the principle of the matter. I'd go out of my way to NOT support companies who sell for prices which equate sodomy.
-SB
Post by: nitsu niflheim on February 08, 2006, 05:38:31 AM
Post by: KDR_11k on February 08, 2006, 06:14:07 AM
Post by: Ymeegod on February 11, 2006, 01:04:08 PM
$60 isn't much of a big deal since in the US there's always deals and discounts by the end of the year. I haven't paid $40+ for a xbox/ps2/gamecube since Wind Wanker last two GC games I bought was Resident Evil 4 for $20 and Fire Emblem at $30.
Trading online and renting games can also save you money--I rent quite a few games from hollywood video (I use the game pass deal) that I don't intend to buy.
Post by: KDR_11k on February 11, 2006, 08:11:58 PM
Console games rarely drop in price here. Usually it takes about a year for the first drop to 30€ (whereas PC games often have hit 10€ by then). Discounts never apply to games here (seen that once, the store was cleaning inventory because it was going out of business). Rarely you'll see a store do special price drops on games that don't sell (e.g. Karstadt is selling Shadow The Hedgehog, Animal Crossing, Metroid Prime 2 and a few other games noone bought for cheap right now) but since not selling usually has a reason that's rarely worth it.
If the license fees on console games really make a 20€ difference then I'll put some of the blame onto the console manufacturers as well. But I don't think licensing fees really are 20€ for any console.
Also why do console games take forever to get localized and usually just have the texts swapped out when PC games are released within days of their US release (for locally made games usually much earlier) and with full dubbing?
Post by: darknight06 on February 12, 2006, 08:20:33 AM
Post by: KDR_11k on February 13, 2006, 04:28:34 AM
Post by: capamerica on February 14, 2006, 05:30:34 AM
Right now I pretty much just buy games off eBay or wait for them to go greatest hit.
There are very few games I'm willing to pay full retail price for, thouse games are normally Nintendo, Square or Tecmo made.
Post by: couchmonkey on February 15, 2006, 07:08:34 AM
