Home Gaming Is it fair that some games have a premium price tag?

Is it fair that some games have a premium price tag?

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SoundOff

It’s been happening for a while locally but the practice of adding a premium on to the price tags of top-tier games is now spreading and while it hasn’t yet hit the American or European market in force is it really such a bad thing?

Now before anyone gets the wrong idea: The premiums being added on to games aren’t coming from any of our local distributors and are in fact being added by the international publishers to the smaller markets. Their excuses are generally pretty pathetic (distance, logistics, currency etc) and it really is quite obviously an experiment they are running to see if the gaming public minds paying above and beyond for games with a better perceived value.

While I hate paying for things…erm I mean paying more for things I can see the logic in it. It’s always amazed me that you pay the full price for a game like Call of Duty single player which gives you 8 hours of entertainment while at the same time paying full price for Borderlands 2 which gives you over 100 hours of entertainment.

The logic just doesn’t line up; not to mention that you are paying the same price for Borderlands as you are for GTA which has a much higher development cost. So that’s it, this is really a question for you. Do you feel it’s an unfair business practice to charge more for a AAA game that cost more to develop?

Or if you agree that it is fine would you be more willing to demand a refund for a game that is hyped as great but then is sub par? And to complete our trifecta, should Call of Duty be split into two distinct games? The single player portion being sold for R300 and the multiplayer for R300 with the option to buy both for R550? Is tiered pricing withing the retail games market a viable long-term strategy?

Last Updated: January 19, 2015

170 Comments

  1. Lardus-Resident Perve

    January 19, 2015 at 12:09

    Might not be fair, but what can we do? We can perhaps wait for the price to drop, bugs to be sorted out, DLC to be available so you can experience the finished game 2 years after release at a more fair price…but waiting so long sucks 🙂

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      January 19, 2015 at 12:10

      Indeed, the reason I want to get Evolve is because my friends are getting it, and I wanna play with them
      [insert whiney teenager sounds]

      Reply

      • ToshZA

        January 19, 2015 at 12:19

        You wanna (sic) play with your friends? Do they know?

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief

          January 19, 2015 at 12:20

          [Makes another note in book]

          Reply

        • Lardus-Resident Perve

          January 19, 2015 at 12:34

          Put that together with the whiney teenager sounds…eish!

          Reply

      • Lardus-Resident Perve

        January 19, 2015 at 12:35

        Lucky most of the friends I would play PC games with, are also lacking in Telkom lines due to “affirmative infrastructure shopping”. So I got that going for me, which is nice 🙂

        Reply

    • Lukas De Kock

      January 20, 2015 at 12:55

      Waiting 2 years isn’t such a bad thing. For one. Lower price. If it has a MP aspect, in 2 years you would be able to tell if its a game people play.

      Being in my situation i simply cannot justify spending $60 on a game. I would love to play watchdogs for example. But the pricetag… will wait thank you.

      Same goes for evolve. The game looks great. But it could end up being just another L4D. Busy servers for a month or two and then after that finding a game is almost impossible.

      Now i dont know about you guys but i cannot justify spending R688 on a game that might only have a community for 2 – 3 months tops.

      Reply

      • Lardus-Resident Perve

        January 20, 2015 at 13:25

        I feel you on the MP server issue. Luckily I prefer SP, but the price tag issue is there as well

        Reply

  2. Admiral Chief

    January 19, 2015 at 12:09

    Yes, it is an unfair business. Paying premium for a not-so-premium-experience is shameful.

    That being said, the only thing stopping me from doing a pre-order of Evolve, which I think is an amazing game, is the damn price tag. I buy games for a dollar to 5 dollars and MAYBE ten dollars. So shelling out $60 is just not ayoba

    Reply

    • Quo Vadis?

      January 19, 2015 at 12:12

      Cheapskate!

      Reply

      • Hammersteyn

        January 19, 2015 at 12:13

        He’s a Steamer

        Reply

        • Quo Vadis?

          January 19, 2015 at 12:15

          As in “Steaming pile of…..”? Ai jinne boetie, hy gaan my hard bliksem!

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:16

            [makes a note in the book…]

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:17

            Mind if I have a peek at said “book”? 😀

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:18

            Request denied

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:19

            Aaaaaw shucks 🙁

          • Hammersteyn

            January 19, 2015 at 12:20

            Pretty sure I’m in there.

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:20

            I am now as well 😛

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:25

            Welcome, its lonely here hahahahaha

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:26

            At least we have cookies.

            Well, I do. NONE FOR YOU!

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:27

            That’s fine. I’ll just laugh at the obese diabetic cookie muncher next to me!

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:30

            Hey, that’s no reason to laugh at @Admiral_Chief:disqus’s mom!!!

            *RUNS*

            *Reserves a few pages in his ‘book’*

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:32

            I can actually hear bones break, hes gonna bliksem you that hard!

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:33

            I know, I’m cringing at the moment XD

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:40

            Cringe away, boet!

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:27

            [chuckles at @ToshZA:disqus for eating spiked cookies]
            *grabs popcorn

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:29

            It’s the dark side, of course the cookies are spiked. Why do you think I’m not sharing?

            In unrelated news, I’m off to a pretty place now where the flowers grow.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:30

            Better pack some man-diapers…

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:26

            What are you talking about, make some friends! The Lagz naughty commenter list is far from empty

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:24

            Yes you are, but on the good side

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:24

            So no cookies for him then…

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:25

            Guess I am on top of the poo list to be honest! LOL

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 19, 2015 at 12:59

            The List has two sides.
            Which do you think you are on?

    • Captain JJ Saga

      January 19, 2015 at 12:27

      I will happily fork out $60 if the game is worth it. Think about it this way: You could be paying more for your new game and then still have to play it on a console ;P

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        January 19, 2015 at 12:27

        Oh snap, booom, and all those other burn-type comments

        Reply

  3. Hammersteyn

    January 19, 2015 at 12:13

    Life’s not fair. We take what we can get and if we cant get it we work around it. (Creating US accounts or setting up VPNs for Netflix) Make no mistake, we are a small blip on the radar for publishers and they have no quarrels pulling games from the distributor like they did with Titanfall if we complain too much.

    Reply

  4. ToshZA

    January 19, 2015 at 12:14

    Development costs do influence prices, certainly – and while I can understand with GTA that price tag – I can’t understand why annual titles aren’t cheaper. They’re basically episodic, with CoD being the biggest culprit. Each iteration is basically just a mod. Not worth the asking price.

    Overall I think the current price for new games, at $60 is too expensive. I don’t mind $40 for a great brand new game, but $60 I just won’t spend. I’ll wait for a 50% sale or more before I even consider it.

    Further to that – yes I want a refund option if the game is shit. The devs don’t deserve any money for shitty products. You can send your half-eaten meal back at a restaurant, you can take your faulty goods back to the department store, so why can’t I get a refund on a defective game?

    Our chosen hobby’s industry has some seriously dumb practices.

    Reply

  5. Mandom (Umar)

    January 19, 2015 at 12:16

    So then does that mean I should pay double the price if I want to go and watch Lord of Rings which is twice as long as most movies? What exactly would be the unit of measurement to gauge a game’s worth? I bought Metal Gear Rising at full price and finished the game in 6 hours, but it was worth EVERY single penny…
    While conceptually it might sound like a good idea to have tiered pricing, the industry is not in a state to be able to manage that, look at how DLC is being handled.
    As for refunds, that’s the risk you take as a consumer. You have to be smart and do your research. Maybe it could work if the game is utterly broken, but again, how do we measure the basis of an individual’s request to refund a game?

    Reply

  6. RinceThis

    January 19, 2015 at 12:19

    Carrot!

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 19, 2015 at 12:21

      On a steek.

      Reply

      • Admiral Chief

        January 19, 2015 at 12:23

        Steek or steak?

        Reply

        • ToshZA

          January 19, 2015 at 12:24

          Stick in Mexican.

          It’s a comedy thing, you wouldn’t understand.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:25

            Riiight, keep digging that hole buddy 😛

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:28

            Refer to my comment Pretoria = No humour LOL

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:31

            hahahaha 😀

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:33

            Agreed, but I’m from the awesome part of Pretoria, where everything is awesome
            [cues the Lego song]

            Pretoria in general is a dodgy place (still better than jozi, ewww)

            North is zef
            East are snobs
            South (Centurion) are zef snobs
            West is weird

            North-East FTW

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:34

            “Awesome part of Pretoria” < Western Cape slums
            ;P

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:35

            LOOOOOOOOOOOL

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:44

            Says you from the republic of CT

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:44

            Yes. 🙂

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:35

            So by your logic where North is Zef, and East is snob, would that also not qualify Northeast Pta as Zef Snobs? Or Snobby-zefs?

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:36

            My mind cannot even comprehend that. Zef Snobs. That’s like cooking polony on a George Foreman.

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:41

            Or snobby zefs. Eating McDonalds from the finest China plates…. with plastic knives and forks.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:42

            While drinking a Lanzerac wine

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:43

            Out of a plastic draught glass 😉

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:44

            Haha

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:44

            Geez the zef is strong with you guys…

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:45

            We observe and observe.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:48

            Exactly

          • Quo Vadis?

            January 19, 2015 at 12:57

            Or going to the opera hoping to see them sing “De la Rey” hahahahahaha

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:43

            Ewwwww polony

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:36

            Come to Roodepoort where everyone owns a gun and we have the Dome close by. 😛

  7. Fnuik

    January 19, 2015 at 12:20

    I guess people can charge what they want for their product.
    The real problem with games are the return policy. If I want to buy a new vacuum cleaner I don’t moan because brand A charges double what brand B charges, even if it is basically the same thing. But if I get home and the vacuum cleaner does not work I simply return it for my money back. Now when I buy a game and I try to play it and it is broken I can do nothing about it.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 19, 2015 at 12:21

      100%

      Reply

  8. RinceThis

    January 19, 2015 at 12:21

    Welcome to the world man. Only way around this is if we get our own AAA companies to produce locally.

    Reply

  9. Vogiir

    January 19, 2015 at 12:25

    I dont play cod mp. But if i had the option to buy the sp only… Well id buy it. But to get to the premium point. I highly doubt that will change. Though it is a bit unfair imo

    Reply

  10. The_Ghost_Skull

    January 19, 2015 at 12:25

    I will happily buy the COD single player seperately. Its multiplayer is boring as hell.

    Reply

  11. Ryanza

    January 19, 2015 at 12:25

    Blah blah blah DRM blah blah blah no value blah blah blah don’t buy.

    Don’t Support DRM.

    Reply

  12. Captain JJ Saga

    January 19, 2015 at 12:26

    No.
    There is no more “AAA” in my eyes. It’s a nice way for companies with a lot of money to say that they have more marketing funds than the rest.

    Reply

  13. Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

    January 19, 2015 at 12:26

    Remember back in the good old days when you buy … a game. No DLC no 15 different flavors no day1 patch. Just pure enjoyment.

    I sometimes yearn for those days.

    Reply

    • ToshZA

      January 19, 2015 at 12:28

      You know, about 80% of all speed runs exploit the myriad of bugs that were never patched in those games. They were fun despite the bugs, but they were still often filled with bugs. We just accepted that as the norm, because patches came on CD’s attached to magazines. And before that the only way to patch was to blow into the cartridge.

      Reply

      • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

        January 19, 2015 at 12:29

        Yeah but those myriad of bugs were not gamebreaking. Hell I can’t recall a game before 2000 that did not work out of the box for me.

        Reply

        • Kensei Seraph

          January 19, 2015 at 12:33

          Icewind Dale II on a Windows Vista or later OS needed to be patched due to a game breaking graphical glitch.
          The patch was released about 2 months after the game was released (I think), long before those OS’s were even developed and was the only patch ever released for the game.

          Reply

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:34

            Yes, but Vista was notorious for not having things work on it, that being MS lazy ppls

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 19, 2015 at 12:39

            I only discovered the patch because I couldn’t get Icewind Dale II to run on my Windows 7 laptop because it would crash whenever a character model was displayed, such as during the character creation.
            When I originally got the game I never patched it and it ran perfectly on my Windows 97 and/or Windows XP.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:41

            Windows 97 nogal?

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:42

            It’s the chinese version…

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:43

            Special price and all

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 19, 2015 at 12:48

            Nope.
            Perfectly legit version.
            I didn’t discover piracy until much later on in life and even then I think the first pirated game I was introduced to was the PC version of FFVIII that a friend lent me. Without all the disc.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:50

            A lady at the previous company I worked for somehow managed to convince the board to switch to Vista from XP.
            She was fired (no jokes)

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:59

            O_O

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 13:00

            Good call on firing her.

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 19, 2015 at 13:01

            I wonder if she tried to push Win 8 at her new place of employment.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 13:12

            Well, a few people here at mine request 8, I love using it, but seeing as most people here can barely operate the PC, I’ve denied the 8 request, stating “we are still quality testing it for company purposes”

            NO WAY I’m teaching them.

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 19, 2015 at 13:20

            Understandable.
            8 is quite different from 7, Vista and XP and even skilled PC users can have difficulty with some of the changes.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 13:20

            Indeed, and I’m talking barely skilled, and teaching them 8? NO WAI

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 19, 2015 at 14:27

            I worked tech support at a Nokia repair centre.
            I dealt with nearly 3x more customers than any of the other frontline staff and I can honestly say the biggest cause of something going wrong on any cellphone, bluetooth device and laptop is the user.

          • Matthew Holliday

            January 19, 2015 at 13:36

            never bothered with windows8, im not sure Id find it difficult, but my time efficiency would take a pretty severe knock at work, and personal time would become pretty frustrating.

            its like, Im still using firefox instead of chrome, because i dont like how chrome deals with tabs and bookmarks.

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 13:38

            Since using 8 my productivity is better…It is just faster and more effective, at least in my case

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 13:37

            We’re getting 8 here (many people already have it on their laptops), but luckily the programmes I use are still iffy on 8, so I’m still on 7 🙂

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:35

            Yeah windows vista or later. This is old stuff working on new systems (well relatively new).

            I am having massive issues getting Kotor 1 to work the way I want it but that does not mean when it got released that it did not work fine … oh wait. 😛

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:41

            Yeah, my Kotor2 refuses to work on 8.1 but that might be because I copied it over (mods and all) from the 8 install

    • Captain JJ Saga

      January 19, 2015 at 12:29

      The one thing that I will miss from our current system is being able to go shop online, buy your game and start playing it the next day. I’ve luckily only bought one game with a day-1 patch, and that was an EA game. And I don’t buy EA anymore.

      Reply

  14. Kensei Seraph

    January 19, 2015 at 12:29

    Yes it is an unfair business practice.

    Using your example of paying the same price for Borderlands and CoD:
    CoD is perceived as being one of the most popular and top tier games despite it’s shorter entertainment time compared to Borderlands’ entertainment time.
    Thus CoD would likely receive a higher premium than Borderlands.

    Now using your example comparing Borderlands and GTAV:
    While GTAV did cost more to develop they made that extra money back due to the sheer volume of sales.
    I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that GTAV has sold as many, if not more than, copies as Borderlands 2 despite Borderlands 2 having been released at an earlier date.

    Reply

    • Blood Emperor Trevor

      January 19, 2015 at 12:35

      Not on PC tee hee

      Reply

      • Kensei Seraph

        January 19, 2015 at 12:41

        Yet.
        And honestly I don’t really care anymore.
        They’ve taken way to long getting it out on PC.
        I’ll wait until it drops in price to the Value R99,99 version before I get GTAV now.

        Reply

  15. Captain JJ Saga

    January 19, 2015 at 12:32

    When I hear someone say they only buy “AAA” games I can’t help but laugh. That’s like saying you only drink single malt whiskey, because it sounds fancy.

    Reply

    • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

      January 19, 2015 at 12:33

      I only drink Brandy cause it sounds like a very loose stripper name. 😛

      Reply

      • Captain JJ Saga

        January 19, 2015 at 12:34

        It does Kromas, it sure does. 🙂

        Reply

      • Blood Emperor Trevor

        January 19, 2015 at 12:34

        And goes well with coke.

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Saga

          January 19, 2015 at 12:37

          LOL

          Reply

        • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

          January 19, 2015 at 12:38

          Brilliant. It seems that everyone is refreshed on this cloudy monday.

          Reply

        • ToshZA

          January 19, 2015 at 12:40

          Comment of the week right here. Chalk another for Trev.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:41

            Don’t say that! He’s won it enough. It’s starting to go to his head. (then again, that happened after the first time already)

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:42

            It’s all the breast milk Rince gives him

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 19, 2015 at 12:46

            Seriously, what did I miss about Rince, Trevor and breast milk?

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:47

            Earlier article today where Rince admitted to being Trev’s mom, or something like that, it just spiraled out of control after that (in true Lazygamer fashion)

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 12:47

            If it did not spiral out of control you did not do it right.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 12:48

            We’re still working on it

          • Admiral Chief

            January 19, 2015 at 12:48

            …the day is still young

  16. Ryanza

    January 19, 2015 at 12:36

    The price of Call of Duty games tends not to come down much. Even during sales the price is still pretty high. So if you pay R1000 for a Call of Duty game and you can still get maybe R600 – R700 for it by selling it second-hand, that = value.

    If you buy a PC game for R1000 and sell it for, oh shit you can’t sell that shit. That means there is no fucking value in PC games. Therefor there is no fucking value in DRM.

    So games can have a premium price tag depending on how long that game stays at the premium price point. The longer the game stays at that premium price point, the more value that game has.

    Don’t Support DRM. DRM games has zero value.

    Reply

    • Kensei Seraph

      January 19, 2015 at 12:45

      “That means there is no fucking value in PC games.”
      You take that back.
      Thomas Was Alone was worth every cent even if it did come with Steam DRM.

      “The longer the game stays at that premium price point, the more value that game has.”
      I determine a games value not by how much I can resell it at (I like to collect games) but by how much entertainment it brings me.
      R300,00 should, on average, bring me a months worth of entertainment.

      Reply

      • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

        January 19, 2015 at 12:46

        What he said.

        Also Support Witcher 3 Steam edition!

        Reply

        • Ryanza

          January 19, 2015 at 13:45

          I know when you say support witcher 3 steam edition it’s directed at me. But let’s look at that comment from a South African point of view.

          A lot of South Africans don’t have adsl lines installed to their homes.
          So one option is mobile data. 40gigs of mobile data should set you back R2000. Support Steam. lol.

          Now people with adsl lines installed to the their homes.
          Most adsl users have the 2mb. Realistically with uncapped you looking at 4 to 5 days to download the witcher 3. Much less people have the unshapped uncapped but you still looking at 2 to 3 days to download the game and R89 for capped with same downloading time.
          4mb line from a day to 3 days download time.
          Much less people have 10mb and above line.

          Get the install files from somebody you. Ya not likely for a large about of people.

          So if you want to play the witcher 3 the day it comes out, support Steam lol. or just buy the retail PC game without DRM and never worry about data costs and enjoy the game when it comes out without waiting days to download from Steam.

          But that doesn’t really matter so long as it’s something against what I say.

          Reply

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 13:47

            I got Shadow of Mordor hard copy for that very reason. Even though I have 4mb line uncapped, it’s just not worth it.
            Luckily it activated on Steam, (I checked first though).

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 15:16

            Yeah I was really just pulling your leg. I understand the broadband issues we have in ZA quite well. I do however disagree with your complete hatred for DRM. DRM done properly does not detract from the whole experience. DRM done properly however is not seen often. I quite like steam as both my DRM system and Digital distributor but hate Ubisofts DRM for years now.

            Edit: Also Steam allows you to pre-load games so even if it takes 5 days you will have the game before it unlocks.

          • Ryanza

            January 19, 2015 at 15:36

            The good does not outweigh the bad when it comes to DRM.

            Steam handling DRM and digital distribution is fine. But this infestation of DRM clients in retail products, is a big problem.

            We can’t have the non internet users cut off from buying games at retail. The non internet users still make up a higher % than internet users and cutting them cut is just stupid.

            If you want to buy your digital shit with DRM through the internet, that’s fine. If you want to buy your digital shit with DRM at retail, that’s fine. But non internet users, the non digital buyers, needs to have product in retail. But they don’t with PC games. And that’s not right.

          • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

            January 19, 2015 at 15:45

            I am going to come off rather bad with my next comment but what Microsoft said during the Xbone unveil at E3 was true. We are moving ever closer to an always online world (at least in first world countries).The choice of gaming offline even in the console world is slowly but surely fading away. I can already see next gen having always online features built in and this time the vocal majority that stopped MS from doing it this gen won’t be as many (but thanks to twitter will still be as vocal). It is like shouting at a tornado. That’s not gonna stop it.

          • Ryanza

            January 19, 2015 at 15:58

            Moving towards an always online world doesn’t mean you can suddenly cut off the offline world now. Moving towards an always online world is to cater to both sides until there are plans that has been executed by providing internet to all of the world in a cheap uncapped unshaped fashion. When all houses on this planet has internet lines, then cut off the offline people. But all the houses on this planet is not connected to the internet and you can not just cut off the offline people.

            Microsoft fucked up for wanting to cut off the offline people. They could have done a lot with their Xbox Live service (online world) but they wanted to only cater to that online world.

            We round about the 50/50 mark between offline and internet people in the world with offline still higher than internet connected people. Cutting off the offline people now is not ok. And that message was made clear to Microsoft.

            We just need to bring back the offline retail PC games. Thank you CD Projekt RED.

    • Captain JJ Saga

      January 19, 2015 at 12:46

      Value means something else to me though.

      Reply

      • Ryanza

        January 19, 2015 at 13:02

        Gamers tend to feel that game content and playtime = value. But a product is a product. Would you buy a car for a million Rand and when you drive off the lot that car is worth 200 thousand. You can do it but you end up wasting a lot of money. Same can be said about PC game products. DRM depreciation.

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Saga

          January 19, 2015 at 13:35

          For me games and car goes the same with regards to value for money. If I get that warm fuzzy feeling after getting out of my car or after playing the game then it’s worth it.
          The frustration I’ve had from DRM games can easily ruin it for me though. And has so many times.

          Reply

          • Ryanza

            January 19, 2015 at 13:49

            sentimental value vs real money value.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 13:50

            My monetary value and “sentimental” value go hand in hand. Because that is what I define as value. May not be the same for you or other people, but for me it is.

          • Ryanza

            January 19, 2015 at 14:28

            I see you mentioned Shadow of Mordor + PC retail + Steam activation. What is the monetary value of that product if you should choose to sell your sentimental value?

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 14:37

            Why would I ever sell it? It’s a pc game. If second game value bothered me I would’ve gotten a console. I buy a game, it’s mine. I’m happy with that. I can’t pay to go watch a movie and afterwards ask to have my money back because it wasn’t as good as I expected. That’s my shit, not theirs.
            But these people going out and still buying from companies that release broken games, they’re part of the problem.
            I’m also against DRM man, you know that. I’m not sure why the hostility.

          • Ryanza

            January 19, 2015 at 14:50

            no hostility. Just putting information out there. Nothing to do with you.

            Not asking you to sell it but the value you could sell it for.

          • Captain JJ Saga

            January 19, 2015 at 14:56

            Never actually thought about that. I just picture my games as non-sellable items.

  17. Blood Emperor Trevor

    January 19, 2015 at 12:39

    They can charge more if they want to. Pricing is their domain, and there’s a whole host of reasoning that goes into it from their side.

    But don’t start talking like Randy Snakeoil & tell us about the great value we’re getting. I’ll decide the value of your game thanks, you only get to set the price.

    Reply

    • Captain JJ Saga

      January 19, 2015 at 12:40

      Well said.

      Reply

    • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

      January 19, 2015 at 12:43

      This is exactly the reason I have behind “Season Passes”. No one can tell me if I am going to enjoy a future dlc and I would rather spend the money after reading a review of the DLC after the fact. The only devs exempt from this is Bioware as I will buy anything they stick their name on (cause I am a Fanboy.

      That being said. Kotor3 PLX!!!

      Reply

      • Kensei Seraph

        January 19, 2015 at 12:52

        Don’t Season Passes usually continue being sold even after all the Season Pass DLC has been released?
        I know Saints Row III and IV did it that way but I’m not sure about others.

        Reply

        • Captain JJ Saga

          January 19, 2015 at 12:52

          They do yes. For many games these days.

          Reply

          • ToshZA

            January 19, 2015 at 12:53

            I wait until the entire package is at a huge discount, and laugh all the way to the bank.

          • Kensei Seraph

            January 19, 2015 at 12:56

            I wait until the Game Of The Year Edition and smile sinisterly.

            Except for Saints Row IV which I bought and 2 weeks later the GOTY Edition got released.
            That one I cried a little inside.

        • Kromas Votes LAG WCMovie Event

          January 19, 2015 at 15:25

          Still does not work. What if I want to play the second DLC for a game now? I can either buy it or buy the season pass to get it and hope that the last 2 DLC are worth it.

          They only work if all the content has been released but they are usually marketed before even the first piece is released.

          Reply

  18. Pieter Kruger

    January 19, 2015 at 12:42

    It IS unfair yes! This problem should’ve been made redundant by digital copies but for some reason we’re still paying the same or even more for them? If shipping etc. are their excuse then the high prices of digital downloads doesn’t make sense! This gen almost 70% of my purchases have been digital, but again some people might not like the idea. The only issue I have with digital copies is the tendency from big companies (and the law in some cases) not seeing digital games bought as true “goods” in the sense on the word. Most recent example is Sony trying to prevent the Killzone lawsuit from even making it to court using this as an excuse (luckily the person suing them also bought a hard copy, otherwise it would’ve been thrown out!). So digital copies leave us with little or no recourse it would seem?!

    Reply

    • Kensei Seraph

      January 19, 2015 at 12:55

      “Servers and bandwidth cost more than shipping, import tax, export tax, additional staff salaries, exchange rate fluctuations and risk control all combined.”
      I agree with you about the digital costs and “services” problems.

      Reply

      • Guava_Eater

        January 19, 2015 at 14:39

        nah, these guys are setup well in terms of servers and that. Their costs are far outweighed by the benefits of digital distribution.

        Reply

  19. Ghost In The Rift

    January 19, 2015 at 12:57

    I go and find reviews of the games a want to play,if it looks okey but is 700+ i will skip,only like what i can play again,not just once,but i feel cheated by DA:I ending,again!!!!

    Reply

  20. Brandon van Reenen

    January 19, 2015 at 13:01

    Why does FIFA hit the R800 mark (R900 on the PSN Store) for a game that’s barely any different from the last. The most I’d pay for FIFA is R600. And then there was WWE 2K15. While it’s a good game, it retails for R899. Fortunately I used a Kalahari voucher and paid R549 but 2K should not ask close to R900 for a basic video game.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      January 19, 2015 at 13:15

      The most I’d pay for FIFA is R3.22

      Reply

      • Sageville

        January 19, 2015 at 16:35

        Once you have FIFA 12, you just need to buy a sticker each year to change the 2 to a 3 etc.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief

          January 20, 2015 at 09:58

          MAGIC!

          Reply

  21. Matthew Holliday

    January 19, 2015 at 13:25

    If a game I like is at R450, no hesitation.
    anything more than that and I start questioning whether or not its worth it, 59.99$ is unrealistic.

    i think introducing game time and developement costs as a means for pricing is a slippery slope, encouraging shitty iterations of multiplayer and expensive outsourcing to drive up the retail price.

    I like the idea of buying the CoD SP and MP separately, theyr installed as separate games, why cant the be retailed as such?

    I dont think tiered pricing would work, standardising it would make it more exploitable, but i do think games are becoming unrealistically expensive and something needs to be done about it.

    Reply

    • Admiral Chief

      January 19, 2015 at 13:26

      TBH, I would not mind paying R200 for the CoD campaign, and then the MP guys (who get many more hours of gameplay) can only buy the MP for say R400?

      Reply

      • Matthew Holliday

        January 19, 2015 at 13:33

        could you justify using Kevin Spacey for a R200 game though?
        in terms of developement costs, the singleplayer cost much more to make.

        Reply

        • Admiral Chief

          January 19, 2015 at 13:37

          I can pick up a Kevin Spacey DVD for R50-R100, if I were so inclined.

          I don’t think the SP costs THAT much, I mean, linear, shortish campaign, some motion capturing, fairy mediocre storywriting, using old CoDcode, and some publishing fees, guaranteed masses buying into this….Maybe not R200, perhaps R220

          Reply

          • Matthew Holliday

            January 19, 2015 at 13:46

            considering DVDs dont go for over R120 unless its a series, thats not much of a muchness 😛

            SP compared MP developement costs? they make the SP first, converting that into MP is actually working backwards, some map design and gun balancing, plug in the same matchmaking algorithms from the previous games and they call it a day.

            time is the only variable.

            TBH, i dont think Kevin spacey is necessary for a CoD game.
            there are cheaper actors that could have pulled off that relatively simple role as well as he could. hes a really expensive marketing gimmick.

  22. Gr8_Balls_o_KFM_Fire

    January 19, 2015 at 13:33

    It’s fair, because if you pay the price, they think that price is ok. We all made it that way.

    Reply

  23. Galbedir

    January 19, 2015 at 13:36

    Generally I just look at the price paid per hour for entertainment. Paying R600 for a 6-8 hrs of gameplay, not in a million years, but for a game like GTA5, Borderlands or Skyrim…which are a guaranteed 80-100hrs…Well worth the money. I have noticed how GTA 5 is actually cheaper to order on steam at release then buying from a retailer though…comes out at like R60 cheaper.

    Reply

  24. UltimateNinjaPandaDudeGuy

    January 19, 2015 at 14:35

    Come down to supply and demand. If the game is worth the price then I will pay it. If it isn’t then I won’t.

    Easy at that! o/ BOOM

    One of the best examples at the moment is Witcher 3 probably.

    Reply

  25. Guava_Eater

    January 19, 2015 at 14:36

    No game is worth R999, especially not when they pack on DLC at R60 – R149 a pop on top of that. I really think that in game advertising is a viable option for studios to increase their revenues. I’m not talking crappy banner ads and suck but well placed and blended advertising. I.e. in GTA driving past a McDonalds in game not only adds realism but revenue.

    Reply

    • Guava_Eater

      January 19, 2015 at 14:37

      oh and my comment excludes collectors editions etc. people will always pay more for those but there is a benefit for them if they do.

      Reply

    • Dutch Matrix

      January 19, 2015 at 14:50

      LoL. Don’t think a McDonalds in an Elder Scrolls game is going to work… 😛

      Reply

      • Ryanza

        January 19, 2015 at 14:55

        Took a Big Mac to the knee.

        Food doesn’t decay in video games. Just like MacDonald burgers.

        Reply

        • Dutch Matrix

          January 19, 2015 at 15:00

          More I took a Big Mac to the gut…

          Reply

          • Ryanza

            January 19, 2015 at 15:18

            The body’s reaction to eating MacDonalds:

          • Guava_Eater

            January 19, 2015 at 15:20

            HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

      • Guava_Eater

        January 19, 2015 at 15:03

        lol but they could perhaps find other appropriate stuff for Elder Scrolls, like a Roberson’s Spice merchant who can sell you Steak and Chop spice in game to improve the stew your making from that Deer you took down with a butter knife….

        Reply

        • Brady miaau

          January 19, 2015 at 15:18

          A Wilkinson Sword butter knife, you mean?

          Reply

          • Guava_Eater

            January 19, 2015 at 15:21

            A red bull potion of speed / beserk 🙂

  26. Vulcha

    January 19, 2015 at 15:56

    It’s quite simple. If your game is brilliant, more people *should* buy it. A high price is a barrier to that. Hence, keep a moderate price and make sure it is so awesome that users get everyone they know to buy it as well. Loads of DLC is also a barrier to purchasing, as a buyer might be turned off by the large additional amounts required to play with friends or actually have a complete game.

    TL;DR – the right price is the one which makes your game a legend instead of just a hit.

    Reply

  27. DrKiller

    January 19, 2015 at 16:28

    Xbox Live seems to have very good deals lately… Look a bit at Saint’s Row on Xbone

    Reply

  28. Sageville

    January 19, 2015 at 16:36

    When I’m ridiculously rich I will troll these articles…..

    Reply

  29. konfab aka derp

    January 20, 2015 at 09:02

    It is not fair, hence, I won’t buy the game.
    Then again, I consider R800 for Dragon Age:Inquisition quite fair.

    I have put 120 hours in it, and am almost certainly going to put in many more multiples of that. So lets say 4 playthroughs. That is well under R2 an hour for very high quality entertainment.

    Compared to a film such as Interstellar which I consider as high quality, the cost per hour is around R25 at a cinema.

    So all in all it is not a bad thing if you buy good games.

    Reply

  30. lygamnt

    January 21, 2015 at 16:52

    Ive got no problem paying 60 for a triple A game and I have no problem with paying for the collectors editions on some triple A games. My problem is that price is put on every new game, Even games that everyone knows dang well its just not worth it. But now you have season passes, weapons caches, character skins and your price goes from 60 to 100 if your a completionist or need a weapons advantage cause “games are to hard” But yeah if the next COD or Halo came out at 70 or 80 bucks id be waiting till it dropped in price. There’s my 2 cents…

    Reply

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