GTA VI???
- Thread starter Hammettf2b
- Start date
I just hope this doesn’t set a trend. All it takes is 1 game to be priced like this before other devs think it’s ok for them as well.
x Tame Impala
Registered User
- Aug 24, 2011
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How many other games would people pay a premium like this for though? No one is paying $100 for Assassin’s Creed or FIFA base games for example.
Who knows but people will adapt the same way they do with other increases.
Who pays for micro transactions ? A lot of people
McGarnagle
Yes.
- Aug 5, 2017
- 28,289
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I mean, if anything most games are underpriced for what they provide these days.
Games seem to be the one thing that hasn't risen in lockstep with inflation yet - seems like that $60 price has largely held stable for 15-20 years, and no one has wanted to break it even with technology and content greatly increasing. Online micro transactions, DLC, and expanded editions supplement that, but there seems to be an industry agreement to keep the base price where it is. Maybe they're just loss leaders to bring in the online revenue.
I bought GTA3 in 2001 for $49.99. Loved it, played it to death, great memories. But its content is limited, I can 100% it in a week of playing a couple hours a night. Adjusted for inflation, that's about $90 in 2025 dollars. By contrast, the most recent Rockstar game, RDR2, cost $60 at release and had a 50 hour main story and approximately 180 hours to 100% everything - and beyond that you can spend a lot of time being just immersed in the environment. And that was released seven years ago on a previous generation console, so GTA6 on more advanced technology I'm sure will have just as much content if not more.
If you go to the movies you'll pay $15 for 2 hours of non-interactive entertainment. So why games with fifty times more content are not even five times more expensive is odd. Movie ticket prices have more than doubled on average since 2001, while games have only risen 20-40% despite also undergoing significantly larger leaps in quality compared to film.
I'd love for prices to stay low, but let's admit it, of GTA6 is $125 at release, it'll still be worth it.
Games seem to be the one thing that hasn't risen in lockstep with inflation yet - seems like that $60 price has largely held stable for 15-20 years, and no one has wanted to break it even with technology and content greatly increasing. Online micro transactions, DLC, and expanded editions supplement that, but there seems to be an industry agreement to keep the base price where it is. Maybe they're just loss leaders to bring in the online revenue.
I bought GTA3 in 2001 for $49.99. Loved it, played it to death, great memories. But its content is limited, I can 100% it in a week of playing a couple hours a night. Adjusted for inflation, that's about $90 in 2025 dollars. By contrast, the most recent Rockstar game, RDR2, cost $60 at release and had a 50 hour main story and approximately 180 hours to 100% everything - and beyond that you can spend a lot of time being just immersed in the environment. And that was released seven years ago on a previous generation console, so GTA6 on more advanced technology I'm sure will have just as much content if not more.
If you go to the movies you'll pay $15 for 2 hours of non-interactive entertainment. So why games with fifty times more content are not even five times more expensive is odd. Movie ticket prices have more than doubled on average since 2001, while games have only risen 20-40% despite also undergoing significantly larger leaps in quality compared to film.
I'd love for prices to stay low, but let's admit it, of GTA6 is $125 at release, it'll still be worth it.
Jovavic
Gaslight Object Project
Yea, 100 isn't a problem for 44 year old me that bought Final Fantasy 3/6 for 70 as a 14 year old. Did people forget how much some SNES and N64 games were? Phantasy Star IV retailed for 100 on the GENESIS.
pistolpete11
Registered User
- Apr 27, 2013
- 11,563
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This is assuming you like the game, though.
If you spend $120 on a game that you don't like and only play for a few hours, you're going to feel more cheated than spending $15 on a movie that you don't like. So I think the end result is going to be that a lot of people just don't buy as many games. I mean, Rockstar and a few other studios might not have a problem, but I think it would be a big risk for a lot of developers.
Keeping the prices down for so long was great, but there will also be a bit of sticker shock if they jump 50% seemingly overnight. So even if it's 'fair', that's not going to be how a lot of people see it.
McGarnagle
Yes.
- Aug 5, 2017
- 28,289
- 37,429
There needs to be a better rental or trial system for modern games. Back in the day we'd go to blockbuster and get a game for the weekend. Some of them sucked and I would've regretted buying them.
Maybe a $5 price for a trial version that gives you like 6 hours of gameplay or something just to make sure it isn't bad.
Nowadays, you can just go on Youtube and watch hundreds of hours of gameplay from streamers and decide for yourself. TheRadBrad probably saved me a couple hundred bucks on games that I thought of buying but in the end probably wasn't for me.
NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
This is why I quit pre-orders a long time ago.
I don't have a problem with the pricing. If it's good enough, it'll sell.
Games aren't exactly cheap to make these days either.
Khelandros
Registered User
- Feb 12, 2019
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AtlantaWhaler
Thrash/Preds/Sabres
- Jul 3, 2009
- 19,514
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Yeah, I agree. It's like the movies. I hate spending $20 and 2 hours on a movie that sucks, but by the time I get around to watching it, reviews and revenue is out and I can make my own decision. Just like the market.
Smirnov2Chistov
EEK!
Jovavic
Gaslight Object Project
Going back to the 100 dollar price point, people (at least according to the PSN store) buy the deluxe and premium editions of games over the base quite a bit (at least for preorders). Right now, of the top 10 pre-ordered game, seven are special editions with three as the base game. If this is right, clearly the buying public wouldn't blink at a 100 dollar MSRP for the base game of GTA6.
hangman005
I still miss Logan Thompson
It's almost $200 NZD
That said if I play it as much as 5 or 4 or San Andreas or Vice City or 3.... it's worth the price.
I've probably spent $200 each on ATS and ETS2 and their content. I'd be close to 3,000 hrs in ATS and 2,000hrs in ETS2 so their bang for buck is excellent.
The Crypto Guy
Registered User
- Jun 26, 2017
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I mean, yea, video games shocking have not really gone up in price over the years, which is insane since everything else in life has.
New N64 games were $75 back in 1996. If we account for inflation over the last 28 years, video games should be around $150 going by the inflation average. We've been very lucky video games stayed the same price for the most part.
I mean, yea, video games shocking have not really gone up in price over the years, which is insane since everything else in life has.
New N64 games were $75 back in 1996. If we account for inflation over the last 28 years, video games should be around $150 going by the inflation average. We've been very lucky video games stayed the same price for the most part.
hangman005
I still miss Logan Thompson
What? Wrong old flyer?
