Free Economics Lesson and the Used Game Market

[japester]

Sorry, I only used "screwed" in relation to the slant of that article. One of their main points was that if a casual game costs $10 then a $60 AAA title is overpriced. I was just pointing out that the price issue is reversed in that a $60 game is basically half of what games cost 15+ years ago, and casual games should be much, much cheaper by comparison.


I completely agree that anyone who puts in minimal research can learn a lot about a game, so I take most arguments that complain about bad games with a grain of salt. What that tells me is that the person either bought in on day 1 or bought it later and didn't bother to read a single review or watch any videos.


On the whole, I don't feel anyone on either side is being screwed. Developers do get rushed and short-changed, but that's the nature of the beast. And I have yet to run into any DLC that feels chopped out of a game. Again, I only chose that wording to point out how the author's view on things was flipped from reality.

[johnehresmann]

japester said:Sorry, I only used "screwed" in relation to the slant of that article. One of their main points was that if a casual game costs $10 then a $60 AAA title is overpriced. I was just pointing out that the price issue is reversed in that a $60 game is basically half of what games cost 15+ years ago, and casual games should be much, much cheaper by comparison.

I completely agree that anyone who puts in minimal research can learn a lot about a game, so I take most arguments that complain about bad games with a grain of salt. What that tells me is that the person either bought in on day 1 or bought it later and didn't bother to read a single review or watch any videos.

On the whole, I don't feel anyone on either side is being screwed. Developers do get rushed and short-changed, but that's the nature of the beast. And I have yet to run into any DLC that feels chopped out of a game. Again, I only chose that wording to point out how the author's view on things was flipped from reality. <img />

Haha it's all good man, it was 4AM and I was coming off of the end of a day of modeling stuff for class, and my portfolio. I didn't think you meant it to be how it sounded, so I was more writing that from the perspective of how the general public (that I deal with on a day to day basis) talk about games. I hear it pretty frequently "Man, I feel like I got screwed."

[laforzadimente]

japester said:Sorry, I only used "screwed" in relation to the slant of that article. One of their main points was that if a casual game costs $10 then a $60 AAA title is overpriced. I was just pointing out that the price issue is reversed in that a $60 game is basically half of what games cost 15+ years ago, and casual games should be much, much cheaper by comparison.

I saw $1 in that article, not $10. Were you speaking figuratively? Just thought I'd ask because the $1 applies to the casual games being much cheaper.


While I have learned to do my research before I buy a game (to an extent, something like ME 3, I stayed away from many sources of discussion to avoid spoilers), I do wish games were a bit cheaper. I might purchase them more often. Not that I can't afford it, it's just like going out to dinner you know? You gotta space it out. As such, buying less frequently means certain titles get passed over in order to use that timeframe's purchase on something I feel has a better chance of satisfying me. Like I heard Brink was pretty enjoyable but I passed on it altogether in favor of something I knew better.

[johnehresmann]

laforzadimente said:

japester said:Sorry, I only used "screwed" in relation to the slant of that article. One of their main points was that if a casual game costs $10 then a $60 AAA title is overpriced. I was just pointing out that the price issue is reversed in that a $60 game is basically half of what games cost 15+ years ago, and casual games should be much, much cheaper by comparison.

I saw $1 in that article, not $10. Were you speaking figuratively? Just thought I'd ask because the $1 applies to the casual games being much cheaper.

While I have learned to do my research before I buy a game (to an extent, something like ME 3, I stayed away from many sources of discussion to avoid spoilers), I do wish games were a bit cheaper. I might purchase them more often. Not that I can't afford it, it's just like going out to dinner you know? You gotta space it out. As such, buying less frequently means certain titles get passed over in order to use that timeframe's purchase on something I feel has a better chance of satisfying me. Like I heard Brink was pretty enjoyable but I passed on it altogether in favor of something I knew better.

And I think that's really the key to it all. My problem is that I have such a ooh shiny complex, when it comes to games. There's so much I want to play (and honestly I don't play half of what I'd like to play, due to time constraints) that I get excited for almost everything. But I've become a bit wiser with my purchases, in fact this year I'm pretty sure there's only like 6 games I'm really planning on picking up.

[japester]

laforzadimente said:

I saw $1 in that article, not $10. Were you speaking figuratively? Just thought I'd ask because the $1 applies to the casual games being much cheaper.

Heh. I had to go back and re-read everything to see where that came from. I think it's a case of john and I creating a vortex of words and chaos has ensued. LOL


I actually said that if a AAA title costs $60, then something like Angry Birds should cost $.10 (ten cents, not ten dollars).

When john replied to me, he used an example of a game costing $10 or $60, and when I replied to him I repeated that $10.


Some casual games do cost $10, though. Plants vs. Zombies comes to mind. On most platforms it is $10+ (or was).


And it's definitely no reflection on the fun or quality of casual games. P vs Z has eaten up plenty of my time. But when you consider the sheer amount of coding involved, and the pixels being pushed, the big titles like BioShock Infinite simply can't be compared. It's kind of like saying, for $60 I'll sell you an entire city block and every single thing included in it (furniture, vehicles, etc) or I'll sell you a single room and it's contents for $1. That seems like a fair comparison of the work involved in creating Columbia vs. the Angry Birds stages.

[iglegacy_cerberus]

Well, this certainly puts an interesting spin on things.

[laforzadimente]

That's awesome. 10% kinda blows though, would have been looking for at least 20-25 but at least it's something. Guy saw business gap that needed filling and wedged in there, I hope it pays off. Even if he gets trumped by better deals in the future, it's really better for everyone involved (except him).

[IGlegacy_Felonious]

laforzadimente said:That's awesome. 10% kinda blows though, would have been looking for at least 20-25 but at least it's something. Guy saw business gap that needed filling and wedged in there, I hope it pays off. Even if he gets trumped by better deals in the future, it's really better for everyone involved (except him).

Yeah I've bookmarked the site, if just curious to see what comes of it. Hope their successful and other retailers take notice.

[iglegacy_cerberus]

Gamespot: Buying Used Games as a Matter of Principle

[japester]

Yet another article that comes across as entitled and clueless. Hard to believe he's a senior editor.


He brushes the lost revenue to used sales under the carpet and then complains when multiplayer is added to prolong a game's life? Wow.


If I ever read a balanced article about used games or piracy--one that doesn't completely ignore the huge disadvantage publishers suffer from--I think I'll faint.

[precipice66]

Yeah, I noticed that too. What about lost sales to devs? There will be no gaming market at all if studios go bust. I know that's not likely to happen but that article was completely biased.

[IGlegacy_Felonious]

japester said:Yet another article that comes across as entitled and clueless. Hard to believe he's a senior editor.

He brushes the lost revenue to used sales under the carpet and then complains when multiplayer is added to prolong a game's life? Wow.

If I ever read a balanced article about used games or piracy--one that doesn't completely ignore the huge disadvantage publishers suffer from--I think I'll faint. <img />

AT least the author knows to call himself spiteful and petty at the end, could probably have added a few other adjectives in there.

[IGlegacy_Felonious]

Playstation Boss doesn't want to block used games - http://www.egmnow.com/articles/news/...ck-used-games/