[ALL] Has gaming really gotten more expensive?

[Twigg4075]

Has Gaming Really Gotten More Expensive? in High Definition – G4tv.com

A nice short video from the G4 crew.

 

[hackett]

I really don't think it has. Considering games are more mainstream than ever, I think that alone has kept gaming at an even keel. They are still too expensive imo, but with the help of websites selling used and promoting bargain deals..... Gaming for me has been better than ever the past couple of years.
As long as there is competition in gaming production, I really don't see a console being over 800 bucks at launch for a very long time which would be my limit if there were to be a nextnext gen come out today.

 

[jms493]

no they havent. Systems are cheaper and the price drops on game happen so quickly now. I never remember game dropping $20 like a month after launch. Plus we didnt have the internet. Site like buy.com and newegg.com some times advertise launch games $10 off.

Plus werent there some N64 game that were like $80or some shit. I think we are doing very well.

 

[Champ]

I think I bought Donkey Kong on N64 for 70-80 bucks

 

[mcstl25]

I remember buying Super Mario 3 twenty years ago for $60. While nearly everything else, from food, to gas, to wages have increased in the past 20 years, the price of a video game has not increased. Not sure how anyone can argue that gaming is more expensive now than in the past, despite more expensive game consoles.

 

[padman59]

no they havent. Systems are cheaper and the price drops on game happen so quickly now. I never remember game dropping $20 like a month after launch. Plus we didnt have the internet. Site like buy.com and newegg.com some times advertise launch games $10 off.

Plus werent there some N64 game that were like $80or some shit. I think we are doing very well.

Even some SNES games were over $80. I remember going to stores looking for games as a kid, and my jaw dropped when I saw some of the prices. I think I saw Spawn marked over $100 one time.

 

[tigstah]

wasnt the neo geo games like 200 bucks, years ago.

 

[Champ]

Yea. Neo Geo was a joke. Not as much as a joke as EA Sports but they were a joke.

 

[hackett]

madden 93 was 85 for the snes. haha, i remember vhs movies being in that price range as well.

 

[PP]

Games should be 39.99

/end

 

[tigstah]

Games should be 39.99

/end

so true man. i always feel like that.

 

[Champ]

Games should be 39.99

/end

Then they will charge more money for DLC. The world is focused on money.

 

[MrBill]

wasnt the neo geo games like 200 bucks, years ago.

Yea. Neo Geo was a joke. Not as much as a joke as EA Sports but they were a joke.

I paid something like $500 for the Neo Geo home system back around '92 or '93 and another $200 for Samuari Shodown II. It was worth every dime because it was an exact copy of the arcade version of the game. That system was way more powerful than anything else on the market but the pricing was just too much for it to ever become mainstream.

 

[Champ]

I paid something like $500 for the Neo Geo home system back around '92 or '93 and another $200 for Samuari Shodown II. It was worth every dime because it was an exact copy of the arcade version of the game. That system was way more powerful than anything else on the market but the pricing was just too much for it to ever become mainstream.

My rich cousins had it. The thing that made it a joke were the prices.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

As you guys have said already, the prices back then were pretty high. The issue now is that games from the PS2 and XBox were $50 new. With the 360 and PS3, games went up to $60, and many popular games have at least one version of a "Collectors Edition." That is why people think gaming has gotten more expensive, plus DLC (as someone else put it) is an added cost, and a small side cost is XBox Live membership.

Honestly, I think things are priced very well right now. Prices drop on a lot of games soon anyway. With the amount of quality games out there now, you really have to pick and choose what you play, and no one is going to buy every game when it comes out, so you still have the chance to play it later and pay less.

The things that really get me are all the "Avatar add ons" that you pay Microsoft points for that go to your avatar on Live. Am I the only one who didn't just set up my avatar when I had to and forgotten about it? Or, am I the only person without a $200 head set? The standard head set works just fine for me, and if I ever wanted to upgrade, I probably wouldn't spend more than a game for a head set.

 

[Champ]

As you guys have said already, the prices back then were pretty high. The issue now is that games from the PS2 and XBox were $50 new. With the 360 and PS3, games went up to $60, and many popular games have at least one version of a "Collectors Edition." That is why people think gaming has gotten more expensive, plus DLC (as someone else put it) is an added cost, and a small side cost is XBox Live membership.

Honestly, I think things are priced very well right now. Prices drop on a lot of games soon anyway. With the amount of quality games out there now, you really have to pick and choose what you play, and no one is going to buy every game when it comes out, so you still have the chance to play it later and pay less.

The things that really get me are all the "Avatar add ons" that you pay Microsoft points for that go to your avatar on Live. Am I the only one who didn't just set up my avatar when I had to and forgotten about it? Or, am I the only person without a $200 head set? The standard head set works just fine for me, and if I ever wanted to upgrade, I probably wouldn't spend more than a game for a head set.

Well if you have Surround Sound the Turtle Beaches and Tritton headsets are not worth it. Also if you don't play Call of Duty or any other shooter they are not worth it.

 

[ThomasTomasz]

Well if you have Surround Sound the Turtle Beaches and Tritton headsets are not worth it. Also if you don't play Call of Duty or any other shooter they are not worth it.

Exactly....but I know people who have surround sound that have a Turtle Beach headset. When I bought my television, I read reviews and got one with great speakers so I didn't have to get surround sound and not make any more investments in it. My gaming room is also pretty small, so surround sound isn't a necessity.

It's just those little things that add up that cost the money, and obviously, people are buying them if they are still being made/improved/updated.

 

[BrntO4Life]

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.

 

[CCBrink]

Exactly....but I know people who have surround sound that have a Turtle Beach headset. When I bought my television, I read reviews and got one with great speakers so I didn't have to get surround sound and not make any more investments in it. My gaming room is also pretty small, so surround sound isn't a necessity.

It's just those little things that add up that cost the money, and obviously, people are buying them if they are still being made/improved/updated.

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.

 

[BrntO4Life]

Also, gaming has most definitely gotten less expensive.

The proliferation of the internet has given way to massive deals and quicker price-drops on some fantastic software.