Are Video Games Overpriced?
Video games are a form of entertainment, just like movies or other activities. Though some may say that the price of entertainment is a tad too high. It all depends a lot of factors which are different for certain people. I would like to deny the statement that video games are overpriced and here's why.
As I've mentioned, video games are a form of entertainment. Of course, most of this generic entertainment costs money, as we all know. Say you're going to the movie theater to see a 2.5 hour long movie. The ticket cost you $10. That's equivalent to $4 an hour. Now lets take Bethesda's Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim into comparison. You bought it at release for $60. Certainly there are lots of things to do in Skyrim and I know people who have spent an unimaginable amount of hours playing it. Simply put, a game like Skyrim can entertain you for a pretty long time. But lets say you played it for 100 hours. That's 60 cents for an hour long gameplay. As a gamer myself who really searches for entertainment in video games rather than elsewhere, this deal seems quite attractive.
When speaking about the past prices of video games, they were actually worse than now. Honestly, now is the cheapest time to be a gamer than ever. Nintendo 64 cost around $200 when it came out, while the prices of games like Mario 64 ranged from $60 to $80. There was noticeably more flexibility for retailers in terms of game pricing back then. Nowadays, there are lots of ways to purchase games - you can rent them, buy used ones and ultimately there are lots and lots of free to play games with decent potential.
Another fact worth mentioning is that there's no need to buy a video game the moment it's released. Once the hype goes down, which usually doesn't take long, probably a month or so, we can definitely buy games even cheaper when they're on sale. Take in mind that the budget to create a game these days is severely bigger, while we're paying the same amount of money, or even less.
Ultimately, there are people who never buy games, but download cracked versions instead. In conclusion, it is a great time to be a gamer, even if video games seem a little bit pricey. The money does not go to waste, though. A decrease in sales would probably lead to worse quality content. So keep supporting your favorite developers by buying and enjoying their games.
Thank you for reading and share your thoughts!
i still got my n64 i got a disk doctor for it lol
I think Steam sales are a great thing for gaming and game prices, haven't bought a game for full price for yeeeaaars.
Yes, the sales are great. Just requires a bit of patience of you want to get a cheaper deal.
I think people have difficulty spending a lot of money and for a game, it feel like a lot at once. You are right though, in comparison, a video game gives you so much more hours of enjoyment, which makes the price per hour quite cheap.
I used to download a few games, but I don't do that anymore. I spend a lot of time playing MMO's or free games though. My boyfriend bought me two or three aswell. For MMO's, you really can't get around buying them and honestly, I don't mind at all. Buying Guild Wars 2 didn't hurt for a second and looking at the time I spend on there, it was a steal! WoW's monthly subscription is a bit painful though, so I don't play that very often. The last time I played, I just traded in gold for game time tokens.
With Steam, it's really easy to get games for good prices and keep them all in one spot. I really like that.
Yeah, the amount of hours you spend on a video game is definitely worth the price. Monthly subscriptions are something different though and it may get expensive, but I'm sure gamers who choose to spend money on games get a lot of enjoyment solely from the gameplay. Ultimately it's just everyone's personal preference in where they seek entertainment.
Exactly! I have spend quite a bit on monthly subscriptions for WoW in the past, but that was when I played it every evening, so it was worth it back then. Not anymore now though, so it's paying with ingame gold, or no WoW for me :-)
Thanks for the nice post cheaky. It all depends on the game you buy.
If its a great game I dont mind paying for it since it will give me so many hours of fun and that is priceless :)
I usually play big MMORPG's , like at the moment it is Black desert online.
The graphics and gameplay are so good that I enjoy every minute off it :)
Its also a game that has so much content that its not over after you max level yourself.
Yeah, just like I took Skyrim as an example. The game is really great and there's so much to do and see. In my opinion, a game which offers a huge variety of content is definitely worth 50 bucks or more.
Exactly you don't have to get a game day of release! if you think its to much just wait a couple of weeks and it will go down. people are just so afraid of missing the zeitgeist. The other thing is to that its awesome that games have still stayed 60 over the years considering inflation and all that.
Yeah there's no need to pay the release price if you can just get it cheaper later, especially if you're on a tight budget.
for sure. sometimes you can find great deals.
I would be happy to spend more than $60, if the game was worth it; most just aren't. Many AAA titles, and even AA in many cases, are never finished before their dev teams move on to another project.
Most games aren't and really it's better to wait and see if it is actually worth the money. Most games just have cinematic trailers which are severely different than the actual games, so people just throw their money without hesitating. Being patient pays off.
I buy wwe games every year, play it until new comes out. Just compare movie gives 2-3 hrs, gaming... :p
Never felt as overpriced.
Yep, definitely worthwhile.
considering the amount of time of fun/entertainment a game will provide you compared to lets say a movie in a cinema I think their pricing is actually more the awesome!
Great post ! Would you mind if I included it in today "best of gaming"?
I would not mind it :) Thanks
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