I wrote a little atricle about my experiences of gaming and it sort of turned into a rant about how the gaming industry could become bigger.  I’m porbaly talking out of my backside but, I would love to know what anyone esle thinks.

Games are an expensive hobby
http://www.davesworld.org.uk/blogs/Games%20are%20an%20expensive%20hobby.htm

Remeber that it’s a serious subject, just not that serious.

...Why games are so expensive: Used games. Trust me. Developers are losing boatloads of pure hard cash over used games. Developers make less profit over used games, thus they charge more. I could imagine that new (just realeased, such as Halo 3) games would be $40 or less if there were no used games.

fanman791 - 27 July 2007 01:22 AM

...Why games are so expensive: Used games. Trust me. Developers are losing boatloads of pure hard cash over used games. Developers make less profit over used games, thus they charge more. I could imagine that new (just realeased, such as Halo 3) games would be $40 or less if there were no used games.

hmm not sure I agree. If games cost less I would buy less preowned games.
bit of a chicken and egg situation.

Another thing to consider, is that most games come out in fall. I expect most people can not afford to buy them all, so they are more likely to get them preowned a few months later.

fanman791 - 27 July 2007 01:22 AM

...Why games are so expensive: Used games. Trust me. Developers are losing boatloads of pure hard cash over used games. Developers make less profit over used games, thus they charge more. I could imagine that new (just realeased, such as Halo 3) games would be $40 or less if there were no used games.

Developers don’t make any money off used games.

I’m sorry but the used market is a poor excuse.  The other main industries also have a used market.  The music, film, book and comic market still sell considerably cheaper and it is true that for the money you pay, you do get a lot less.

The trouble is; it still costs more for the film to be made than a computer game to be made and they do not charge anyway near the price of a game.  Now it is true that they do make more money selling the same film on DVD, HD-DVD AND Blue Ray.  I would compare that to getting extra content.  You still pay again.  The only difference is you get new material.  The trouble is even Shen Mue; which at the time was the most expensive game ever made pale in comparison to the most expensive movie.

I think the trouble is the fact that there aren’t as many really good games compared to movies.  Also the trouble is that movies can’t really get that much better.  Yes; it is true that the special effects are improving but, compare star wars the original movie to today and it’s not too bad.

Compare a game that’s ten years old and as regards to the graphics; it sucks, compared to today.  I think when the graphics reaches a level that is so good that even a decade later, won’t look too bad and maybe we will see the same games being re-released for a new generation to play and I think that maybe, just maybe we will finally see cheaper games all round when they can bring back all those classics again and again and they never get old; just like Starwars, 2001, Big trouble in little China.  You get the idea.

By the way Hawks.  GALAGA ROCKS.

dave19711998 - 28 July 2007 12:37 AM

I think when the graphics reaches a level that is so good that even a decade later, won’t look too bad and maybe we will see the same games being re-released for a new generation to play[...]

What you describe here sounds exactly like Virtual Console/XBLA…

Gemini Ace - 27 July 2007 11:19 PM

fanman791 - 27 July 2007 01:22 AM

...Why games are so expensive: Used games. Trust me. Developers are losing boatloads of pure hard cash over used games. Developers make less profit over used games, thus they charge more. I could imagine that new (just realeased, such as Halo 3) games would be $40 or less if there were no used games.

Developers don’t make any money off used games.

I know. That is not what I meant. Developers are loosing money due to the fact that the consumer is buying the used title over the new one. Thus less potential profit. That is what I meant.

On that point I have to agree with you Fanman791.  There must be something the the other industries are doing that the games industry is not.

I still think it’s the games or lack of really good games that get advertised.  Think about it.  I can’t coment about the marketing in The old US as I don’t live here but, over here in the UK.  If I didn’t follow the games industry, I would never hear about most of the games that are released on all the consoles and PC.

They really need to start advertising the games in the main stream better.  I don’t see anything but the best of the best advertised in the cinema and on TV.  Maybe here in the UK we are expected to be psychic.  An example:  Okami was not edvertised at all, it was not on display and in some shops; they never heard of the game and what a surprise.  It never sold.

In my opinion; this is shoddy at best and until the industry realises that they need to spend money on advertising and not in the media that already knows about the game and is relativley small compared to a newspaper, the cinema or on TV. 

That why I said that they need to pimp their product at every opotunity.  Until they realise that spending millions on the product and a small amount on advertising isn’t going to cut it.

An example.  Pearl Harbour (which I thought was a bit crap) cost about 400 million to make and an extra 100 million in advertising.  Now I don’t expect a game to cost this but come on.  Make the whole market aware of it’s existence and not a small portion of the market.

The old phrase: Sell it cheap and pile it high.

Most hobbies are expensive…. Or at least they usually work out that way. But there are also ways to make the hobby much, much cheaper. For example, those used games that the publisher makes no $$ off, buy them 😊

- Play games after they are 6 months old or more. All the time. That will save you tons because you can buy used games and games that run on lesser hardware.

- Don’t try to keep up with the PC Jones’s. Upgrading you PC to the “latest” technology is very expensive. Upgrading to 6 month old tech is much cheaper and it will be the high-end for games that are six months old etc.

- Don’t buy games you don’t have time to complete. Most of us are very guilty of that. Simply wait, again, saving money down the road.

- Rent instead of buy. Depending on how many games you actually play in a year, renting can save quite a bit over buying.

- Shop for used games and bargin bin games. They may not be the AAA titles but many are quite good and worth playing, especially if they are $20.

Just like other hobbies, you can find ways to cut the price way down. You just have to be willing to be living in the past just a bit. If you have to have the latest games and tech, you pay a high premium.

That being said, its still pretty expensive… But worth it IMO 😊

You’re right padrino and I do usually wait before I buy.  I too seemed to buy games that I never complete.  I still haven’t even played Half Life 2 yet and you know how old that game is.

For me; going into a games shops is like being a child in a candy store.  There are so many games to buy and not enough time to play them all.

I think my problem is just like anyone that is enthusiastic about their hobby, I want everyone to try it as well and I want this industry to make so much money that they can lower the price of games and still make shed loads of cash but, like John Lenon; maybe I’m a bit of a dreamer.

What I really want is to see is the state of affairs in South Korea emulated in the world.  Come on.  You must admit it would be cool to have pro leagues of gamers on NFL size wages.

dave19711998 - 28 July 2007 03:43 AM

For me; going into a games shops is like being a child in a candy store.  There are so many games to buy and not enough time to play them all.

I think my problem is just like anyone that is enthusiastic about their hobby, I want everyone to try it as well and I want this industry to make so much money that they can lower the price of games and still make shed loads of cash but, like John Lenon; maybe I’m a bit of a dreamer.

I agree that there are too many games out there for one person to play.  That’s another reason why some of the lesser-known titles don’t sell as well because people pick up AAA titles like Gears.  I’m the same way.  If I’m dropping $60 on a game, it better be awesome and last me a while. 

On your point about them lowering the price of games, keep dreaming.  They may get the cost to make the game to go down, but that will never result in us seeing a price drop.  The price is $60 and it’s stuck there.

Comparing games to movies and music is like comparing apples and oranges. Games sell once and that’s it. Movies are sold in the theater and in the store (DVD, what-have-you), and music is the same way, concerts and media. Games have one chance to make money and that’s it. There’s no second option, at least as far as the developers are concerned. Sure, there’s DLC, but you have to have bought the game first. That’s like selling the DVD extras separately from the mvoie (although, in that case, I guess you could get the behind-the-scenes without really owning the movie). That’s why they’re so much more expensive.

Besides, the way I see it, you get your money’s worth, when you compare it to movies and music. For a movie, you pay $8.50 (at the theater) or $20-30 (for the DVD), and you get up to three hours of entertainment (sometimes a little more, depending on DVD extras). For music, you pay $50 or more for a concert that lasts one night or you pay ~$20 for a CD that lasts (usually) around 40 minutes. With a game you get, on average, at least 8 hours. That’s a big difference.