rxd Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 I love XBLA but these new prices of $15 for games is getting out of hand. It just makes no sense to me. I wanted R-Type Dimensions and a couple of other games but I just can't bring myself to pay $15 for these games. I know it's only $5 more but come on, if it's "only" $5 why do I have to pay it? If $5 is so little then MS shouldn't worry about it either and not add it on to the price. I know this sounds like I'm just bitching here but I've really been turned off lately by this. Yesterday I was in BestBuy and saw Mass Effect and Fracture and several other games for $20 each. Really now, is a R-type with updated graphics on live worth $15 when a brand new copy of Mass Effect is $20? And Live hardly ever cuts the prices of older games dramatically like full disk based games in the stores do. I wish I didn't have these extra MS live points cards lying around gathering dust now that the prices have increased and I'm not buying anything.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Don't check the price tag for Watchmen you'll really go through the roof. I agree with you though, just do what I do, pass on them and hope for a sale in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HammR25 Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 Is it truly MS making these things $15 or the publishers or a little of both? I find it annoying as well. I'd much rather pay $10. I already laughed at the price for Watchmen. I wasn't interested in it to begin with and especially after seeing the price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davepesc Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 The way I understand it, the publisher sets the price, but Microsoft has set minimum prices based mostly on the size of the game. There's an interesting article in this month's OXM where various publishers cry about Microsoft's new XBLA development system. They say it's nearly impossible for developers to make money by creating games for XBLA and that their looking for other outlets now. So, 2+2= Microsoft making more off XBLA sales and developers losing money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PressureCooker2600 Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Most expensive games I've bought: Watchmen - because I love ANYTHING Watchmen Penny Arcade Episode 1 - impulse buy...........haven't played longer than 5 minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxd Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) But really, with games like Mass Effect and Fracture selling for $20, both of which I bought, are these XBLA games worth the price? Hell I saw I thread here where Crackdown (one of the best games I've ever played) is now selling for $13. Give me a break. Oh yea, and a friend of mine bought the Orange Box for $20. That game was a steal at the full price of $60 I bought it at. At $20 I don't even know what to call it. But I guess I should be happy to pay $15 for Death Tank..... Edited March 11, 2009 by rxd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 But I guess I should be happy to pay $15 for Death Tank..... Good news. The two games released this week were $10. Peggle and Crystal Defenders (A Final Fantasy Tactics knock off) So far I'm enjoying both of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rxd Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 How does the 360 version of Peggle compare to the pc version? Do they have the same puzzles in them or are they different? I already have Peggle and Peggle Nights on my Mame cabinet. If the puzzles are the same is there really a point of getting this version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronMongeR Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I paid 1200 points for Deathtank last week.... and looking back I don't know why I did - I don't think it was worth it. I don't mind paying a higher price for add ons like Shivering Isles and Lost & the Damned, but for regular old arcade games there should be some kind of price cap. Like... 800points.... ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 I paid 1200 points for Deathtank last week.... and looking back I don't know why I did - I don't think it was worth it. I don't mind paying a higher price for add ons like Shivering Isles and Lost & the Damned, but for regular old arcade games there should be some kind of price cap. Like... 800points.... ? I'm done with the 1200-1600 arcade games. After that Penny Arcade Adventures and Braid (Both decent games but neither worth the inflated price in my opinion) I'll just wait till they drop the price. In my house there is a price cap. LOL I can't say how Peggle compares to the pc version rxd because I never played the PC version. Maybe check out these screen-shots and see if you can tell... http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/142/14227821/imgs_1.html They were taken from the 360 version. It's funny because Peggle got a 9.0 rating and Crystal Defenders got a 5.5 rating on IGN but I think I've played Crystal Defenders 3x as much since I got them. Go figure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artlover Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 but for regular old arcade games there should be some kind of price cap. Like... 800points.... ? You think $10.00 is fair for a single classic game? Really, look at all those anthology & collection discs released by the likes ot Atari, Activision, Capcom, Midway, Sega. Take the cost and divide by the number of games they contain. Further remember, they also come with physcial media, case, fancy graphics covers and extras. Shit, even look at Plug & Play hardware from the likes of Jakks. Cost divided by game count - still comes out cheaper then typical XBLA prices, and again, you're actually getting something. Physcial hardware and electronics. Personally, I don't think anything on XLBA should cost more then 200 points - $2.50. Well, ok, maybe some of the newer stuff like Duke Nuken 3D; I'd be willing to go as high as 400 points - $5.00). That's about what you'd probably find it at a store for if they had any to sell, $4.99 in the discount bin. But as it stands now, all their prices for games are a "exploiting the retro gaming market" rip-off. Only prices on XBL that are fair are for media like TV and movies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PressureCooker2600 Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Crystal Defenders isn't a knock-off of Final Fantasy Tactics......it's made by Squaresoft....and just uses some of the same classes as FFT. It's formula is totally different though........and obsessing. It uses the same formula as this 'ballon-popping' game that had cannons. I can't remember but it was a java game that someone posted on here awhile back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Crystal Defenders isn't a knock-off of Final Fantasy Tactics......it's made by Squaresoft....and just uses some of the same classes as FFT. It's formula is totally different though........and obsessing. It uses the same formula as this 'ballon-popping' game that had cannons. I can't remember but it was a java game that someone posted on here awhile back. I know. I hadn't played it when I posted that message. I was downloading the trial. I have since bought it and I'm having a blast with both it and Peggle. Truthfully though I wished they'd have just released a tactics game. As much as I like Defenders I'd rather have a FF tactics game. Not complaining though. You're right, it's one of those one more round type of games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PressureCooker2600 Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I want a FF Tactics game, too. And............did I mention Crystal Defenders is a helluva lot harder than you'd think!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 I want a FF Tactics game, too. And............did I mention Crystal Defenders is a helluva lot harder than you'd think!!!! LOL Oh I know!! It's great though. I've been playing the hell out of that game. So simple but so addictive.I think the farthest I've gotten on one board was like level 23...maybe 24 I'd have to check. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Re: Crystal Defenders I remember trying the demo for Pixel Junk Monsters on the PS3 and wondering what exactly the attraction was. Crystal Defenders is more or less the same game with different graphics and a demo which shows the diversity of gameplay better, so this one made it click for me. Even still, gameplay devolves down to placing some units on a map and being a spectator for the next minute as the enemies either march to their doom or sneak past your defenses. Crystal Defenders is really cut rate. The graphics are ultra simple sprite jobs, but at least some effort was done to make the game look pleasant in HD (just not much). There isn't much to the game in terms of parts. There's lots of pallette swapping. Animation is minimal. It just has a cheap feel overall. It's very obvious it's supposed to draw appeal based on it's weak tie in to Final Fantasy alone. I balked a bit at the $10 price tag, but if you've been keeping up with Square-Enix releases you'll realize they've been overpriced the last few years. The price is a big sticking point, because there are much meatier games on Xbox Live for half that price. I more or less ruled it as a $5 game with the Final Fantasy overlay being an additional non-optional $5. For me, Crystal Defenders has come across as extremely addictive. For the past few days I've found it to be a perfect game when I don't really want to involve myself in anything. From there it has been easy to just lose myself for an hour or two watching the monsters run the gauntlets I lay down for them. It's simple, and it's brainless. It was also a choice between this and Savage Moon on the Playstation 3. Savage Moon, to put it mildly, has great visual superiority over Crystal Defenders. It was also the same price. Ultimately, I decided I wanted more color over the drab grey and brown of Savage Moon. Savage Moon also lacked a demo. So, despite being of similar price, Crystal Defenders seemed the safer bet. Crystal Defenders has scoring and leaderboards, but it's ultimately a "trick" game. You simply need to learn the efficient trick for each level and the game loses it's play value after that. The whole thing just plays itself. If you like planning out a machine and then hitting the button to see if it works, then this game will have appeal. If you prefer to work the levers on the machine while it's running, there's nothing here for you. Overall, I think it's about average mainly due to it's addictiveness. I doubt it will have long term appeal in anyone's library, but it should be moderately entertaining while it lasts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HFK Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 but for regular old arcade games there should be some kind of price cap. Like... 800points.... ? You think $10.00 is fair for a single classic game? Really, look at all those anthology & collection discs released by the likes ot Atari, Activision, Capcom, Midway, Sega. Take the cost and divide by the number of games they contain. Further remember, they also come with physcial media, case, fancy graphics covers and extras. Shit, even look at Plug & Play hardware from the likes of Jakks. Cost divided by game count - still comes out cheaper then typical XBLA prices, and again, you're actually getting something. Physcial hardware and electronics. Personally, I don't think anything on XLBA should cost more then 200 points - $2.50. Well, ok, maybe some of the newer stuff like Duke Nuken 3D; I'd be willing to go as high as 400 points - $5.00). That's about what you'd probably find it at a store for if they had any to sell, $4.99 in the discount bin. But as it stands now, all their prices for games are a "exploiting the retro gaming market" rip-off. Only prices on XBL that are fair are for media like TV and movies. I couldn't have said it better. The main thing that keeps me from downloading games is the fact I have no actual copy of it. What happens when my HD dies? Do I get a free d/l to replace the game I lost? Being a collector I want physical media to have years from now. I really do like Live though. I have rented a couple of movies and have downloaded songs for GH and RB. I also like the live ticker in Tiger Woods and the instant challenges that will pop up. Overall I am really happy with everything but the d/l game prices really are too high and I doubt I will get any of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 (edited) Do I get a free d/l to replace the game I lost? Yep you can always re-download anything you've previously downloaded for free. You'll just need to be logged in with the GT you used to purchase the content. Granted one day you will probably have trouble recovering bought content. Imagine 15-20 years from now when the Xbox 720 is out and the Xbox 360 is barely supported anymore and your HD crashes and the content is no longer available. (Granted this is just speculation who knows maybe MS will make the content available until we're dead) Then you might run into problems I guess. My thought is, if I paid $5 for Gauntlet now, and ran into issues re-downloading it 15 years later...I might just deal with it and buy it again if I needed to play it. It certainly wouldn't keep me from buying it if I wanted to play it. I spend $5 in 15 seconds when I walk into a bar and I know sure as shit I'm not going to have anything to show for it 15 minutes later much less 15 years later! Edited March 16, 2009 by moycon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHufnagel Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 No need to pay $10 for Peggle. Popcap is currently selling it on their site for $5. And there is a code floating around that cuts Popcap game prices by 50%. From what I've heard, the Xbox controller doesn't work as well as a mouse for Peggle anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moycon Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 (edited) From what I've heard, the Xbox controller doesn't work as well as a mouse for Peggle anyway. It works fine. Try the demo, I don't see how a mouse would improve the game do you? It's not like its a game that requires precision and quickness. The triggers help fine tune a shot (make the cursor move slower) and there's no time limit when lining a shot up. Maybe in a game like Zuma or Super Collapse having a mouse helps, but not in this case. You can't argue with the lower price though especially if it's the same game, however the only reason it's $5 right now on Pop Caps site is because they are offering a special, it's normally $20. Put in that light and add the fact you have achievements and the ability to play against your friends (Live Duel) online or off or have a 4 way (Peg Party) Peggle is a great Live game even at $10. I personally don't regret the purchase in the least. Edited March 16, 2009 by moycon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHufnagel Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 I'll try the demo, just to see. Interesting that you can have a four person offline game. To be honest, I've not paid attention to XBLA games lately because most of them (to me anyway) are overpriced. But if this game is good I may bite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Video Posted March 17, 2009 Share Posted March 17, 2009 Oh my god, considering I can buy X-box games (on discs) for $10 all day long, and pretty much any game that's more than a couple of months old for $20 or less, I don't see any reason to pay that kind of money for electronic media. I'm sorry, but I've never supported it, even when it was $5 routinely, but now that its gone to $10-$15 +.....fuck it. Maybe they'll drop in price over time, but I wouldn't bet on it. Of course, for me it's no real surprise, I saw that coming like an atom bomb when everybody jumped on the live bandwagon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kisrael Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 Oh my god, considering I can buy X-box games (on discs) for $10 all day long, and pretty much any game that's more than a couple of months old for $20 or less, I don't see any reason to pay that kind of money for electronic media. I'll let people in on a secret. Ever since used games became fairly common at Gamestops and what not, with the exception of some mario titles, you could ALWAYS game much more cheaply by waiting a few years. What you miss out on is being part of the game conversation when it's "gamer cultural relevant" a period of 3-4 months...for some people it's not just an issue, or they'll just start a thread and hope people still have some thoughts on it. $10-$15 doesn't seem like that much to me, I can blow that on a junky meal or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Helmet Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 Oh my god, considering I can buy X-box games (on discs) for $10 all day long, and pretty much any game that's more than a couple of months old for $20 or less, I don't see any reason to pay that kind of money for electronic media. I'll let people in on a secret. Ever since used games became fairly common at Gamestops and what not, with the exception of some mario titles, you could ALWAYS game much more cheaply by waiting a few years. What you miss out on is being part of the game conversation when it's "gamer cultural relevant" a period of 3-4 months...for some people it's not just an issue, or they'll just start a thread and hope people still have some thoughts on it. $10-$15 doesn't seem like that much to me, I can blow that on a junky meal or two. I do this already...I'm typically a year behind aside from a few titles. I wrote a blog post about it: http://mindofmatthew.net/2009/03/12/diary-...heap-ass-gamer/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriel Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Galactrix hits Live Arcade tommorrow at 1600 points ($20). Hmmmm. I've made a $20 downloadable game purchase before, but that was Tekken: Dark Resurrection, which is significantly meatier than Galactrix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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