[ALL] Has gaming really gotten more expensive?

[ThomasTomasz]

A nice surround sound headset is worth it if you play your games late at night in a house full of sleeping people.

My dad got a pair and they've been worth every penny to him, as he plays in the living room after everyone has gone to sleep.

I have a gaming head set and a surround sound processor. When I game I want the full experience and audio is a huge part of that IMO. I have a simple speaker system set up, but I can't use it most of the time. The walls in my apartment are paper thin so the Asians next door get pissy and knock on the wall if I have the TV even at normal volume.

I definitely see both of those points. I just can't see how someone could justify dropping $200 on a headset. I said I wouldn't spend more than $60 on a pair- maybe $100- but not anything more than that is kind of ridiculous. Especially after spending money on everything else for the entertainment set up before the headset.

 

[dave]

Gaming really isn't more expensive, but the crap they're putting out now just isn't very innovative.
How many Call of Dutys does the gaming world need - and how different are they from one game to the next?
Same for Madden, NHL and all sports games.

Gaming only seems expensive now because we're paying $59-69 for fucking tweaks to games ... and nothing innovative.

Gran Turismo 5 a perfect example - they needed five years for that?

 

[Twigg4075]

Games should be 39.99

/end

I don't know about that. But I also don't think that basically every game should be $60. It;s refreshing to see the occassional title release at $40 or $50 (Test Drive Unlimited 2) or even $20 (whatever that cheesy survival horror game was last year). I just think it;s bullshit that companies put out a game like Rogue Warrior for $60. Will it eventually srop to $20 a few months later? Yup. But that;s because it sells like shit as it should. Maybe if they would've released it at $20 initially it would've sold a lot more. There are plenty of games that are quality that I think would severely benefit from maybe a $30-40 initial price point.

Just my two cents.

 

[Twigg4075]

A nice surround sound headset is worth it if you play your games late at night in a house full of sleeping people.

My dad got a pair and they've been worth every penny to him, as he plays in the living room after everyone has gone to sleep.

Or for someone like my wife who plays in the living room while I sleep during the day.

Althought Triton can go fuck itself. My wife has a pair of those, not sure what model. They broke the other day. She can hear what other people are saying but no one can hear her which obviously means the mouth piece is fucked. She tried contacting their customer support for three days in a row to no avail. They keep saying they will contact her back but never have.

Edit: I think the headset model she has are the AX720's?

 

[JeremyHight]

I did this in my Economics class and kids were amazed that games were more expensive than they are today. People like to glorify the old days, but 85% of Nintendo games were absolutely shit to completely unplayable. While some games today are very, very bad, there aren't nearly as many major flaws as there used to be and the games are cheaper.

 

[FedEx227]

Exactly. We also have plethora of reviews as well so the purchasing of shitty games is probably down too.

People like to have revisionist history for sure when it comes to gaming (from a quality and an expense standpoint).

 

[Twigg4075]

Exactly. We also have plethora of reviews as well so the purchasing of shitty games is probably down too.

People like to have revisionist history for sure when it comes to gaming (from a quality and an expense standpoint).

Yeah, remember going into a store and basing your decision off the box art?

I love the AVGN's video on Nintendo Power. He reads a few of the letters people wrote in and one of them was from a kid that bought Rambo for the NES based on the box art showing Rambo blasting away with a machine gun. The game of course has you using a knife to kill bugs and snakes through the majority of it. Terrible game that I can attest to because an uncle bought it for me as a birthday present.

Thank goodness for the internet.

 

[dave]

You can't simply blame the Internet for the lack of innovation in games.
Sure, the Internet makes us more aware of that lack of innovation, but the Internet didn't create that lack of innovation.

Let's be honest - name the last truly groundbreaking video game.

 

[MvP]

I'd say the influx of downloadable content and accessories make gaming more expensive.

When I played N64 I had the console, three controllers, a memory card, and the games.

With the Xbox 360 I have two consoles, three controllers, battery packs, 2 wired headsets, 1 wireless headset, 1 turtle beach headset, vision camera, the attachable keyboard...the list goes on.

 

[dave]

With the Xbox 360 I have two consoles...

Twigg is on his 18th 360 or so and insists gaming isn't more expensive.

 

[MvP]

I forget how I even ended up with two of them, but one stays at home and the other I use at college so they both get put to use.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

I'd say the influx of downloadable content and accessories make gaming more expensive.

When I played N64 I had the console, three controllers, a memory card, and the games.

With the Xbox 360 I have two consoles, three controllers, battery packs, 2 wired headsets, 1 wireless headset, 1 turtle beach headset, vision camera, the attachable keyboard...the list goes on.

That is exactly what I said, minus DLC and plus the stupid 360 avatar "add ons" that cost Microsoft points.

I actually like DLC, and have no issue spending money for it. It brings back interest in a game- when Mass Effect 2 came out with new stuff, I had stopped playing it, but picked it back up and spent a whole lot of time after the missions exploring again.

It allows developers to continue the storyline, or add new multiplayer things, that don't make the final release. Without DLC, you have to wait for the developer to add those items and run them through quality testing, or else they rush it out to beat a deadline and part of the game is broken, or you don't get the new stuff period.

Also, the same support that gets you DLC also allows developers to fix glitches and a whole bunch of other things. In other games for other systems, you just had to deal with glitches, or buy a new copy once they fixed them a year or so later.

 

[padman59]

I have a gaming head set and a surround sound processor. When I game I want the full experience and audio is a huge part of that IMO. I have a simple speaker system set up, but I can't use it most of the time. The walls in my apartment are paper thin so the Asians next door get pissy and knock on the wall if I have the TV even at normal volume.

Almost the opposite for me. My apartment is segregated from the others. So I have a lot of leeway in terms of how late and how loud I can have my speakers. I really want a headset through. A decent amount of sound gets lost in the reverberation caused by the room.

 

[Epidemik]

I now have a much higher appreciation for my parents (given its always been high) for getting me the games they did. I never had many games maybe 3 during the year and 2 during christmas and 1 on my bday. i dont remember looking at games prices but holy fuck damn.

 

[JeremyHight]

I'd say the influx of downloadable content and accessories make gaming more expensive.

When I played N64 I had the console, three controllers, a memory card, and the games.

With the Xbox 360 I have two consoles, three controllers, battery packs, 2 wired headsets, 1 wireless headset, 1 turtle beach headset, vision camera, the attachable keyboard...the list goes on.

That is completely up to the user though. For the PSX, I had 4 controllers, a multi-tap, 3 memory cards, an Action Replay (fuck ya!), a Socom headset, online adapter, and etc. For the PS3, I have... 2 controllers.

In fact, the old systems had many more accessories than ones do today and most were officially licensed. Shit, to prove my point... two words... POWER GLOVE! That shit was absolutely terrible, but still people paid top dollar for one.

 

[FedEx227]

You can't simply blame the Internet for the lack of innovation in games.
Sure, the Internet makes us more aware of that lack of innovation, but the Internet didn't create that lack of innovation.

Let's be honest - name the last truly groundbreaking video game.

Portal.

 

[Twigg4075]

I'd say the influx of downloadable content and accessories make gaming more expensive.

When I played N64 I had the console, three controllers, a memory card, and the games.

With the Xbox 360 I have two consoles, three controllers, battery packs, 2 wired headsets, 1 wireless headset, 1 turtle beach headset, vision camera, the attachable keyboard...the list goes on.

Don't get more started with the 360. It is a lot more expensive to own than the PS3 or Wii. I still remember the debates over at MM about the PS3's price back when it was $500 and $600. Even then it was a better deal. Now that they are the same price it's a no brainer. All of the proprietary bullshit you have to buy for the 360 is a joke. My wife and I also haven't had much luck with that proprietary shit either. We have both went through several play-n-charge kits and battery packs because they won't hold a charge.

The 360 did make up a lot of ground with the release of the Slim model though. Although I still have no idea why they decided to stick with a disc tray?

Twigg is on his 18th 360 or so and insists gaming isn't more expensive.

LOL. But I still have only paid for one.:headbang:

 

[Twigg4075]

I forget how I even ended up with two of them, but one stays at home and the other I use at college so they both get put to use.

I'd be willing to bet that your 360 broke, you sent in in for repair, and like many others went out and bought a replacement so you could play games while you waited.

Between that and hacked consoles that were banned form Live, MS has probably doubled the amount of sales they should have with the 360.

 

[Berowsk]

Let's be honest - name the last truly groundbreaking video game.

Halo
COD
Medal of Honor

Before the original Halo, COD or Medal of Honor, when did you see a first person shooter that utilized both sticks in that fashion? Don't say Goldeneye, because if you do it proves you haven't played that in a while.

Fallout 3
GTA

Also, graphics in general have been groundbreaking. Look at the landscapes of Fallout 3 and Vegas. Also, look at the open world style of play that has become ever so popular. Try doing an open world on NES or N64.

Fifa
NHL

These two games revolutionized "micromanagement" in a video game. Within even the past 2 years, a person can now own their own hockey or soccer team and delve into a franchise mode like never before. Franchise has run much deeper in the past 2 years in these games compared to what we've seen in the past. I'm not mentioning Madden, even though it's just as revolutionary. Turn on Madden 1999 and have fun playing season.

This is only mentioning what I've played on XBOX. I don't have a PS3 but I've heard "revolutionary" mentioned in the same sentence as both The Show and Uncharted 2. I think people take what they have for granted. I'd much rather be playing Black Ops than Rambo on NES. If you compared a game now to the same exact game 5 years ago, the differences are NUTS. Try playing an N64 for longer than 2 hours. That being said, there were times that I've played MW2 for 4 hours at a time. Shit like the N64 in retrospect looks so much fancier and fun and retro now, but so will Halo 3 in 10 years when college kids want to relive their childhood gaming fun with some brews and weed.