Cost of Gaming

[jackfaire]

I feel like it's getting too expensive to play video games anymore. A new system often costs as much as a month's rent.

By the time the cost comes down to where I can afford it every game has been overly discussed so I know the whole story and that's 75% of the reason I play the game.

It took me forever to be able to afford a Wii. While other interests that I have such as books, movies, TV and music all are infinitely cheaper and don't require a ton of peripherals to play them. I am thinking about leaving gaming behind. It sucks but more and more I am dissatisfied by what games I can get and by monotonous game play.

Most of the best games are one that end up being obscure while the mainstream ones are lacking in story and are just prettier versions of the Arcade games played when I was a teen.

For every 20 games released I find maybe 2 that I actually like. It just seems like the cost benefit just isn't there anymore.

Am I wrong am I missing something?

[Mytical]

If so I am also. Games just do not seem to have the same value anymore. I could buy something for $5 and play it for years..now games costing $60 I loose interest in a week. One thing you might want to try, if you want to give gaming a go, is gamefly..rent them before buying ... and as long as you keep your subscription you can also play several pc games for free (you download them via a client). They are older computer games usually..but as they do not cost anything extra then what you would pay for the subscription can't beat it.

[Andara Bledin]

Steam.

Games for cheap or at a discount, and tons and tons of choices.

As for games seeming like less value: If most of the games you fondly remember came out now, you likely wouldn't remember them nearly so fondly.

I'm an avid gamer - just came back from a gaming convention, actually - and I find that there are still more enjoyable games out there than I could possibly find the time to play.

But everybody has different tastes and different priorities.

^-.-^

[Canarr]

I second Steam. There's tons of stuff, and they always seem to have one discount or another going on, free trial games, etc.

Then again, I'm more of a social, "Let's get together and do stuff!" kind of gamer, than one interested in seeing some epic story unfold. I've gotten hours of fun out of Left for Dead 2 - multiplayer for four people is genius, and shooting zombies somehow never gets old.

Then again, I've still got L.A. Noir at home waiting to be tried... that one's supposed to be good entertainment for one player.

[Rapscallion]

There are a slew of online free games. You can play the first twenty levels or so of EQ free on steam. Star Trek Online went free to play a bit back. I played Glitch for a while.

Those aren't necessarily story games, but they're free.

The central point for me, though, is that there's no right to entertainment. The companies involved are going to charge what the market will pay. Sucks, but it's true. They don't owe you anything.

Rapscallion

[jackfaire]

As for games seeming like less value: If most of the games you fondly remember came out now, you likely wouldn't remember them nearly so fondly.

I still play them. They are still fun to play through and they still tell the story well.

I didn't really like Video Games very much until Ocarina of Time. Before then I played them but I did so more as something fun to do as a kid but as I got older those games got older and lame for being arcade games.

Games that had a story to them is what got me into gaming in the last 10 years as an adult.

As for Gamefly I have been doing that and while it lets me burn through the bad games fairly quickly it also has the problem of costing me more than buying a game would. If I hit on a good game then I spend more than a few months playing the game the cost of the game by the time I am done is more than what I spent in monthly fees.

I am trying to do more with Steam.

Just going to PC Gaming may be the answer because my biggest issue is having to buy a bunch of equipment just for video games.

[AdminAssistant]

Well, your average new SNES or N64 game cost just as much, if not more, than your average Wii game (~$50-60). It was frustrating when I bought Skyward Sword for Fiance and didn't realize that I needed to upgrade the Wiimote.

PC gaming has its own little quirks, but that may just be because we're MMO gamers. He likes for us to play together, which sucks because he's going through a big ADD phase right now waiting for Guild Wars 2 to come out. "Let's play SW:TOR! No, that sucks, go back to WoW. Oooh! I wanna try Tera! Should I give Final Fantasy XIV another chance?" When you consider the monthly fees for all of those, it adds up.

[Salted Grump]

Don't forget gog.com (Good Old Games); nostalgia trip through the classics from your youth, optimized for use on modern Windows platforms.

As for PC gaming; if you have a doommachine (over 6 GB of RAM, bleeding-edge Video card, etc.) you'll be near the top of the heap hardware-wise for the next 3-5 years of games, because the rate of 'upgrades' has slowed from 'every 10 months' to every 18, simply because we're finding it harder to keep miniaturizing things. (remember; 5 years ago, the average CPU was built using 60-75 nanometre widths; now we're down to 45, and having problems working out 35's)

And yes; the Average game for the original consoles (NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, Saturn, and PS1) cost around 70-80$; roughly the same as modern collector's editions now, which is only exacerbated by the fact that the average PC game is 10$ cheaper than an identical Console game. (eg; Call of Duty. 50$ PC, 60$ PS3 or XB360)

In regards to MMO's, free to play is a good idea, but a lot of f2p games are actually 'buy to win' *Cough*WorldofTanks*Cough*, where real money is used to gain clear advantages over other players who don't have the fiscal means to do so. If you do consider getting into MMO's, a lot of good suggestions were made by Raps earlier, though I'd also have to reccommend the Original Guild Wars (30$ for the trilogy, 20$ more for the final expansion), especially as the Sequel just had its press beta last weekend, which is pretty much the 'final lap' bell for its development cycle.

[Iseeyouthere]

I hear ya.
This is why games have demos... Try them and let that experience help the player decided if they wanna buy it or not...
But no... mostly they make "epic trailers" making us judge it like we are going to sit down to a movie rather than experience gameplay... Shock and awe marketing dickheads....

But... having said that... I'd gladly pay 500 bucks for the first three Crash Bandicoot game on a newer system... Same game, different console...
*sigh*

[jackfaire]

Well, your average new SNES or N64 game cost just as much, if not more, than your average Wii game (~$50-60). It was frustrating when I bought Skyward Sword for Fiance and didn't realize that I needed to upgrade the Wiimote.

Never been the price of games as much as the price of consoles. I can't afford to buy a brand new console when one comes out and the price often doesn't drop for 3 to 4 years by which time I have heard in detail about all of the games and no one else is playing them or they just don't care.

I guess part of it for me has always been a way to connect with friends but yeah being so far behind them all often means I am gushing about a "new" game and they are like "oh yeah I played that a few years back"

[Andara Bledin]

I don't hear anything about games until I want to hear about games.

If you think you want to play something, it's not that hard to avoid discussions about that something.

I still don't have a Wii and only have a 360 because Circuit City went out of business.

^-.-^

[Crazedclerkthe2nd]

I didn't get a 360 until early 2010. I primarily buy used games for it ($25 or less). Pretty much all the major titles can be had for this price after 6 or so months of release.

I can also go back and play all the classics for cheap. I've picked up the following:

Gears of War for $5
Halo 3 for $9
Call of Duty 4 for $12
Modern Warfare 2 for $15
Fallout 3 for $9
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion for $15

There aren't many games I MUST have on release day. Games lose value quickly...to a point. Like I said above, the time from the $59.99 new release price to the $25-30 price point is usually 6 months or so. Beyond that the drop is a little slower. Many popular games that are 2 and 3 years old now still sell for $15-20 used.

[Gravekeeper]

Steam. Steam. Steam.

Its frankly cheaper to keep a gaming PC up to date these days then it is to shell out for consoles, who frankly at this point are mainly dominated by cross platform PC titles anyway.

Combined with Steam and you can get a ton of stuff utterly dirt cheap. Almost everything goes on sale on a fairly regular basis and stuff drops in price fairly quickly. Unlike retail stores where games are never adjusted price wise for their age.

My Steam account's score is currently at $2321.53 US at an average price of $15.60 per game. >.>

[mikoyan29]

I don't think gaming is any more expensive now than it was 30 years ago. When the Atari 2600 came out, it was pretty expensive for the day and eventually started to lower in price. I think the Commodore 64 had a selling point of just under $1000 when it came out. PC's were pretty expensive in the day too. Games were about 20 to 30 bucks which translates to about the 60 that they are now. If you want the new hotness, then yes it can be expensive.


I have a PS3 and it's ticking me off because I don't play it enough and when I do, it seems like I have to update something. Part of the beauty of having a console was that I didn't have to do crap like that. Bah.

[Gravekeeper]

I don't think gaming is any more expensive now than it was 30 years ago. When the Atari 2600 came out, it was pretty expensive for the day and eventually started to lower in price.

Console gaming has quite certainly become more expensive. The Atari 2600 launched with a hefty price tag, but once it had a competitor it dropped pretty quick. A better comparison would be the NES vs Sega era when gaming was hitting its peak. Adjusted for inflation the NES launched at about $200 US in modern dollars, came with two controllers and required no additional save game cards or other periphirials.

Compare that to a modern console like the PS3 which launched at $499 US and the amount of extra perphirials required these days to bring the base console up to standard.

Ironically, individual game costs are the same now as they were back then when you adjust for inflation.