*LETTER* Games are TOO expensive - up to £45 + £7 DLC?

[7bango]

It seems all the top games that come out usually tend to be around £40 - £50. I for one, completley revolt to paying half a ton for a game, but I mean... We've all at least once forked that much for a game. Well, I know I do every year. Getting the next Call of Duty installment or the next FIFA. But, even then I'll trade in a previous version of the game or get it for Christmas. I just think the companies are too selfish with their prices. *Cough* EA *Cough*. I mean EA for example. £39.99 for their FIFA game. Which if you are a big fan of the series will spend 400MS points on their Ultimate Team add on. Even still, I don't think I know one person who hasn't spent money to buy "Packs" to get players. I know people who have spent over £200 on it. Thats £240 they've made off one person... strictly speaking not £240 but whatever. I think companies should be less harsh on the price they put their games at and think it through. I mean... FIVE games is the same price if not more as a brand new XBOX 360. I think in these tough times prices should be lowered or deals should be done. Like some Game stores do a for example: "Zombie Hunter 3 only £10 when you trade in Race Driver 1". It not only lets the business get their game back, it also lets the gamer bring back a game they didn't like to trade it in for a new one.

[Cerebral_Wolf]

Jesus christ.

Format that so it's readable and i can give you an actual reply because i'd love to pick apart a few points i THINK you've tryed to make.

[Optikal.]

Games are pretty fairly priced overall. When you factor in production and development costs, the running of online servers, continued support via patching and DLC and suchlike from the developers side. Plus, unlike the consumer and the retailer, Games companies make nothing at all on Trade-In values.

Then there's the fact that competition from online retailers who sell direct, supermarkets who often sell games as loss leaders and of course piracy, 99% of the time you can buy a brand new release at considerably less than the RRP. Not only that, but then play it for a week or two and trade it in for either equal the value you purchased it or for very slightly less. Hell, it's so bad that Ubisoft and EA both are considering charging consumers who buy pre-owned to access certain content in an effort to recoup the amount of money they are potentially losing in todays market.

Ten or fifteen years ago, you may have had a valid point with your post, but in todays market, it's nigh on irrelevant.

[j2000_nr]

Optikal has made some good points here, if I ever want to buy a new game then I'll head down to Tesco first, some of their games start off at a good £15 less than the RRP.

As with most new releases, if you wait, literally, a few weeks after relase then the price will have dropped, apart from the 'big games' like MW2.

So really, the choice is yours, buy new and don't moan, or wait a while and buy cheap. I tend to go for the latter option

[gazoway]

Optikal has made some good points here, if I ever want to buy a new game then I'll head down to Tesco first, some of their games start off at a good £15 less than the RRP.

As with most new releases, if you wait, literally, a few weeks after relase then the price will have dropped, apart from the 'big games' like MW2.

So really, the choice is yours, buy new and don't moan, or wait a while and buy cheap. I tend to go for the latter option

I also wait until the price has dropped, I only got round to playing MW2 about a month ago.

[ClownTrousers]

and then I was like all KERRSPLOSION on his ass and couldn't wait to like zzap that mofo in the bits of the screen where the sun don't shine but MayaxxXXxx was all like don't stop man keep on going round that bend and I was all like no way man but he was all like DO IT DO IT and I was all like WOAH DUDE back da fuk up and he was all like NOOOO WAAAAY and I was all like WAAAAAAY but it was ok cos there was no claymore round the corner but there could of been there could of been know what I'm sayin innit ... but my point, yeah my point, whassup with these colours man these browns why is all games BROWN LOLZ!!!! The world int brown last time I looked out my window (2007) and the coolpops I stuff my face with LOLZ aren't brown they be all dayglo and shizzle ROFLMAO!!! But yeah BROWN who'd have thunk it it's all like woaaaah no way man the world is yellow or some other colour but my peeps Jimbo69 (SIXTYNINE!!! LOLZ) he be wailing on me and I gotta go and bust nutz in his booty! WOOT! The above facts have led me to conclude that I probably should have gone to school. Love the magazine! LOLZ!

L33TwaT69

[Dynamite Dan]

How many games have you honestly paid £45 for?

I imagine a few of use would have paid that much for Modern Warfare but excluding special editions not many games will cost you that much.

[Bob]

For me it's a story of two halves.. No one should be paying £45 for a regular edition game even on the highstreet. And I'd pre-order from shopto.net if I thought something was going to command that sort of price.

DLC.. if you don't want to pay for it you don't have to.. simples.

Having said that I agree with him that at this stage of the consoles life games should be cheaper. 5 or 6 years after launch PS2 games had gone down from £40 to £30 in the high street chains.. It's simple economics. At the start of a consoles life both the publisher and the hardware company have to claw back as much as possible from a small installed user base.

Now when every man and his dog has a PS3/360 and M$/Sony are making money on the hardware they can afford to make less money on each game sold and this saving should be passed on to the customer. It's the simplest way to cut out the used market too. If new games where cheaper we'd buy more and take a punt on less well known titles that would then have a chance. They'd be worth even less second hand. It's win win.

[Cerebral_Wolf]

and then I was like all KERRSPLOSION on his *** and couldn't wait to like zzap that mofo in the bits of the screen where the sun don't shine but MayaxxXXxx was all like don't stop man keep on going round that bend and I was all like no way man but he was all like DO IT DO IT and I was all like WOAH DUDE back da fuk up and he was all like NOOOO WAAAAY and I was all like WAAAAAAY but it was ok cos there was no claymore round the corner but there could of been there could of been know what I'm sayin innit ... but my point, yeah my point, whassup with these colours man these browns why is all games BROWN LOLZ!!!! The world int brown last time I looked out my window (2007) and the coolpops I stuff my face with LOLZ aren't brown they be all dayglo and shizzle ROFLMAO!!! But yeah BROWN who'd have thunk it it's all like woaaaah no way man the world is yellow or some other colour but my peeps Jimbo69 (SIXTYNINE!!! LOLZ) he be wailing on me and I gotta go and bust nutz in his booty! WOOT! The above facts have led me to conclude that I probably should have gone to school. Love the magazine! LOLZ!

L33TwaT69

<3

[Johnny Shoulder]

I like your style, CT. Another letter of the month?

[ClownTrousers]

I like your style, CT. Another letter of the month?

You mean another free game for you?

[Ginga]

I think some games are overpriced. The ones where you pay £40 for 9 hours of game play. But the likes of Fallout, Final Fantasy and Call Of Duty's (If you bum the online, like me) where you get 100+ hours of play are actually great value for money. The 100 and odd hours of Fallout I enjoyed all of them and workin it out you're looking at 50p an hour-ish of fun? Where else in the world can you get that kinda awesomeness?

I payed roughly £60 for both COD4 and COD6 and in total I'm on around a month and a half's worth of hours played. Nothing else will keep you occupied for that long. So in that respect, games can be great value.

[Cerebral_Wolf]

I think MW2 was a rip off. They upped the price and then those of us who don't play MP get shafted because of it.

[ClownTrousers]

I think MW2 was a rip off. They upped the price and then those of us who don't play MP get shafted because of it.

Those who DO want to play MP got even more shafted. If I want to play MP these days, I'd have to go and spend 2400 MPs for the "new" maps. Feck that.

[j2000_nr]

I think MW2 was a rip off. They upped the price and then those of us who don't play MP get shafted because of it.

Those who DO want to play MP got even more shafted. If I want to play MP these days, I'd have to go and spend 2400 MPs for the "new" maps. Feck that.

*Nods* When I do put it on though, there are always loads of matches for those who don't have the maps