I feel used

[Keatah]

I would argue gaming is more affordable this generation compared to previous generations.

 

The price of current AAA titles is $60, the same or less than I paid for similiar titles during the SNES and Genesis days (Star Fox, SF2 or Virtua Racing anyone??).

 

If I want I can visit the PSN store or Xbox Live marketplace and buy 100s (maybe thousands) of games that cost $5 - $20 on the day they were released. No waiting for the game to get older and drop in price, or wait for a greatest hits version to be released.

 

A gamer on a budget has more choices than ever this generation.

 

The difference is that in the 70s, 80s, and 90s the costs were mostly due to cart costs and packaging costs, nowadays costs are due to marketing, insanely high development costs, celebrity voiceovers, CEO salaries, etc. We gamers shouldn't be punished because game companies don't know how to keep a reasonable budget.

 

Not to sound overdramatic but I really do see another crash or at least mini-crash happening soon. Game development budgets are getting unsubstainable and gaming companies are becoming increasing anti-consumer in an era of increasingly cheaper entertainment.

 

I agree with some of this stuff you say. I'm not sure we'll see a crash or anything like there was in the 80's. Not with businesses using all these "intelligence" tools in their marketing departments. An oxymoron fer'sure. I could foresee a decline and shrinking of the establishment. Sure.

 

I also have to agree that game companies do not know how to control budgets, trademark licensing, all that sort of stuff. It's just as bad as movies and other "big-time" entertainment. How long should the little guy (you and me) continue to support the juggernaut? Well, as long as we pay, they are happy.

[Keatah]

One more thing, I believe that gamestop should be paying a small amount of profit from each sale back to the developer.

 

Also, we as consumers can choose to *NOT* buy from the seemingly universally hated gamestop. Yeh it will leave the little gamer with less funds for other purchases. But, then the developers will also feel the pinch of less sales (due to their overpriced wares) anyways.

 

And, back in the day, were publishers so hard up to prevent used sales of cartridge games like Fishing Derby and Surround and Demon Attack ??

 

All this shit aside, chasing after prices and the absolutely latest and greatest games has become a game itself! With the developers and gamestop and the whole capitalistic marketing thing benefitting from you!

 

It is very important to ask yourself what is the value of something for you? Retailers and devs and stores hate that when a customer critically analyzes a purchase. Why? Because most of the shit they sell is just that, SHIT!

Edited February 11, 2012 by Keatah

[Mord]

One more thing, I believe that gamestop should be paying a small amount of profit from each sale back to the developer.

 

Also, we as consumers can choose to *NOT* buy from the seemingly universally hated gamestop. Yeh it will leave the little gamer with less funds for other purchases. But, then the developers will also feel the pinch of less sales (due to their overpriced wares) anyways.

 

And, back in the day, were publishers so hard up to prevent used sales of cartridge games like Fishing Derby and Surround and Demon Attack ??

 

All this shit aside, chasing after prices and the absolutely latest and greatest games has become a game itself! With the developers and gamestop and the whole capitalistic marketing thing benefitting from you!

 

It is very important to ask yourself what is the value of something for you? Retailers and devs and stores hate that when a customer critically analyzes a purchase. Why? Because most of the shit they sell is just that, SHIT!

 

You don't single out a single store or individual for special treatment. So if you feel Gamestop should be required to pay the developer a small fee for each used sale they make, then you must agree that YOU should also have to pay the same kind of fee to the developer for any and all games you end up selling used - for whatever reason. And there's no reason for you to single out any industry for special treatment either. So the same fees should be paid out to all used goods. If that sounds silly, then perhaps it's not such a great idea to begin with.

 

Fact is, used games sales are legal and have been since the beginning of the industry. There is nothing wrong with it. It's the devs and publishers complaining about wanting free money for something they have no rights to. And no, they DON'T have a right to any profits from the secondary sales of products.

 

You are right that we as customers have the choice of not buying used from stores (or even people!), gamestop or not, at such high prices. It's OUR fault, ultimately, that Gamestop can sell them for that. Because if people would refuse to buy at such high prices, Gamestop would be forced to sell them for less. It's not like they'd keep it up at 54.99 for years waiting for someone to bite. If nobody did, they'd lower the price to make sure it got sold.

 

I'm sure dev groups could save a bundle on the costs of development if they just stopped paying for famous movie actors to do voice overs. >_>

[Keatah]

The famous movie actor voice-overs seems to be some marketing gimmick, to me. I remember the atari 2600 games, they didn't have voice overs and we were happier than pigs in shit! And no atari 2600 game was big-budget - running into millions of dollars. These were generally one-man affairs.

 

Big graphics, Big budgets, Big name actors, and stuff like that. It doesn't impress me much at all. Sorry. IDK if it's just me or not, but I really hate the commercial hype being forced on us by Big gaming companies. Years ago, much of the hype that was generated was done by the end-users and consumers themselves. Today, it seems like marketing splendor and build-up is being done for you already. And that takes the fun out of it.

[+Random Terrain]

Seems like most modern 'game designers' are desperate wannabe film directors. They want to feel important by rubbing elbows with famous actors. They don't care about making games. That's why we get so many barely interactive piles of crap where you basically do nothing but watch cutscenes. I hate these 'game designers' with a passion and when I become king of the world, they will all be decapitated.

 

Don't make a movie, put a little interaction in it, then try to tell me it's a video game. If you want to make a movie, make a movie.