The other thing on game pricing is to take advantage of the market development funds when they are available. I may not buy NWN this week (yeah, right) and instead wait until next week when the MDF come online to push sales. I figure NWN will be $39.99 then, maybe $44.95. If you wait until the next week, after the MDF is gone, then you will be stuck at the higher price again, so strike while the iron is hot.
Keep an eye on Circuit City, too. I think they are attempting to build PC game sales (following Best Buy’s retail model more closely these days instead of Pacific Stereo’s?) because they seem to toss in an extra $5 & undercut BB, CompUSA, & the others. I don’t think I’ve paid more than $34.95 for a game at Circuit City because I always just buy the weekly specials advertised in the Sunday circular.
True enough Ben, but NWN sacrifices a nice jewel case for that manual space in the small boxes. Annoying! (Though I appreciate the nice manual size, I like official looking - rather than homemade - jewel display cases.)
Down with jewelcases! I’m all for ‘nice’ paper cases that are slim, Because jewel cases always break for me. Though the NWN paper cases are annoying… actually the NWN stuff (hanky map/thick mini manual) with the game is small on stuff compared to the BG and BG2 stuff I got. Its because of the DVD sized cases. I like the big ones, bigger rules.
Hell, i just looked in some of my old price catalogues from some old games I have and new release games are anywhere from $54.99 to $79.99, with most of them being about $69 or $75. These are games from back in the early 90’s mind you. So, a $69.99 game from 1991 would cost $92.14. That’s why i just have to laugh when people who try and justify software piracy claim that game prices have gone up. Hell, anyone remember Virtua Racing for the Genesis? It cost about $90 when it came out because it had the extra graphics proccessor in it.
As for the cost of the consoles, i put together a little list of figures from various old school gaming magazine i have. The following are the launch prices for several consoles and how much they would cost now (According to the Federal Reserve Bank Of Minneapolis):
Atari 2600 $199.95 in 1977 . $ 591.60 in 2002
Intellivision $299 in 1979 . $738.44 in 2002
ColecoVision $199.95 in 1982 . $371.51 in 2002
NES $159.99 in 1985 . $266.60 in 2002
Sega Genesis $200 in 1989 . $289.19 in 2002
I also found some interesting examples of game prices when they were released.
E.T. (For Atari 2600) $35 at launch, $65.03 in 2002
Zaxxon (For ColecoVision) $49.99 at launch, $92.88 today.
Falcon 3.0 (PC) $79.95 at launch, $105.30 today
The 7th Guest (PC) $99.99 at launch, $124.07 today.
(The PC game prices are the MSRP, so they were somewhat cheaper in stores)
So, the real question… Anyone try WC3 yet? I grabbed it off the newsgroup (not a hint of guilt, either, because my preorder’s already in… Nobody’s losing a cent to me doing this), but I haven’t had the guts to UNRAR it and try it out yet. (Always paranoid about timebombs in warez…)
The problem with those “adjusted for inflation” prices is that I doubt anyone would release games/systems at those prices today. People know the market, and they would never make a system that they would have to sell for $600 to make a profit, because hardly anybody would pay it. I think.
It’s all about what’s accepted. I suppose that if that was the going rate for consoles, people might pay it. But I doubt it would ever come to that point.
The other adjustment not being made is demand. Looking at computer games in particular, say in 1990, sales of 50,000 would be considered amazingly high. Nowadays that’s not the case. Demand is higher, the install base is higher, WalMart is selling them (etc.,), that should mean profits are up.
Now, the bugga-boo that counters this argument is that games are MUCH more expensive to make.
Screw it. 20 hours, at a minimum, is well worth $39-50 for my entertainment I say.
Generally, I’d agree, though I may be a bit more picky. I’d not fork over $60 for anything other than Neverwinter Nights and mabye Warcraft III, because I know that there’s somewhere between 90-140 hours (and that’s just for the single-player campaign) in NWN, and I know how much time my buddies and I spend with Warcraft II now, so I can imagine how many hours I’d log with Warcraft III.
I have to be expecting lots of hours to spend that kind of money, but I’m a little less picky about those $35 games.
in 1982 I was paying AUD$49.95 (US$28.30) for a full price Commodore 64 game
in 1986 I was paying AUD$79.95 (US$45.28 ) for a full price PC game
in 1994 I was paying AUD$89.95 (US$50.94) for a full price PC game
in 2000 I was paying AUD$99.95 (US$56.60) for a full price PC game
These days the price seems to bounce around between $90 - $100 for a full price game.
The most I have ever paid for a computer game is Morrowind for which I paid AUD$145 (US$82) to import a copy into Australia. The game still hasn’t been released here.
I would actually think that by pricing a game at $59 is a higher-than-market average (US) might have a negative effect on the customers who are accustomed to paying $49. Let’s face it, the majority of gamers do NOT read gaming web sites, and so they are primarily drawn to a game by a store display, the box art or otherwise. Any retailer worth its salt will likely be pushing the new titles aggressively, and customers will QUICKLY note the $59 high price when comparing it to the $49 standard price (as examples). I believe such a price would be a significant deterrent, especially if they’ve not been tuned to the hype from gaming webzines or magazines.
Hence, I would disagree with price points at release which are higher than normal. Price points below the norm (e.g., SOF 2 at $39 for one week at CompUSA) encourage people to purchase the game who might not normally AND by the time their friends find out, the price is back up to the standard $49. Heck, MoHAA is another solid example: it still sells great and is priced at $49 most places.
Word of mouth counts for quite a bit among gamers. If publishers price games at $59 at release, they are likely going to discourage the initial purchase and hurt their chances at word of mouth within mainstream gaming circles.
Well, there’s the psychological trick that higher price make people think the product is more valuable. Besides, they can reduce the price to $49 and make it look like it’s a bargain. I agree that it isn’t gouging if customers are willing to pay. However, I can tell you that this customer is not willing to pay $59 when there are other equally entertaining games available for $35.
Stealing is stealing is stealing. The software developer/publisher owns the intellectual property. Therefore, they also exclusively own the rights to distribute that property. It doesn’t matter if you are planning on buying it eventually, you have no right to the material until it has reached you through authorized distribution channels.
For example: Should you wait until the car you want arrives at the dealership, or should you steal it off the truck, then pay for it later, when it would have arrived at the dealership?
For example: Should you wait until the car you want arrives at the dealership, or should you steal it off the truck, then pay for it later, when it would have arrived at the dealership?
How about if I make a perfect bit-for-bit copy of the car-- that way the dealer can keep his, and I can get mine!
This is an old, boring argument. As long as you pay for the games you actually play for more than a couple hours, I don’t have a problem with it.
As someone pointed out, you’re actually paying for the right to use the software. It’s a license. The distribution is just a necessary evil.
If it wouldn’t be a major piracy venue, and if it were feasible due to broadband penetration, I’m sure publishers would gladly let you pay for the software, e-mail you a CD key, and let you download the information directly from their server.
As long as I’ve paid them for my right to use their software, and I’ve purchased my license, I can see no issues with playing a “pirated” version, other than the pseudo-ethical problem with supporting the piracy site in question.
We’re planning on rolling out an option for our lower level titles. You can download the game or you can get a CD with no manual. This way folks who don’t want to pay shipping can just download the same game for the same price.
Not exactly what you are talking about, but close.
We’re planning on rolling out an option for our lower level titles. You can download the game or you can get a CD with no manual. This way folks who don’t want to pay shipping can just download the same game for the same price.
You can download the game or you can get a CD with no manual. This way folks who don’t want to pay shipping can just download the same game for the same price.
I think that’s a great idea. Not only do you not have to pay for shipping, but you don’t have the infernal three-day wait (or five, if you’re me and you’ve pre-ordered Neverwinter Nights from Gamestop instead of EB like an idiot!) until the game gets there. I’m all about instant gratification, I guess.
