| Runa216 said: That may all be well and true (I know it is), but who's fault is that? certainly not mine. I'd rather pay loads of money for something unique and quirky like minecraft than something overblown and underwhelming like Call of Duty (keep in mind I actually LIKE call of duty's gameplay, it's one of my favorite shooters). games don't HAVE to be super expensive or super crisp and clear, the indie scene shows that games can be cheap and fun and still make money. you just have to be smart with your spending and not blow it all on custom game soundtracks, voice actors, and all that useless nonsense. and games DID go up in price this generation. Xbox 360 and PS3 games are 60 bucks a piece rather than 50 like last gen. Wii games are still 50 for the most part. The point is, nobody ASKED these developers to spend 50-100 million dollars on a game. yes, flashiness sells, it's shiny and dumb people like shiny things, but gamers who actually care about the industry (like you or I....I hope) prefer good gameplay and originality to repetition and safe rehashes. |
You're forgetting inflation. Technically a $10 increase from one generation to the next doesn't even cover that. A $50 game in 2001 would be a $63 game today. So that increase wasn't really helpful, and could be argued as actually hurting their bottom line. Add increasing development costs and games really should have gone up to $70 this gen and looking at going to $80 right around the corner if not higher. The market is so fickle and opinionated that raising prices can be a death sentance so the industry had to get creative and provide more services and special editions to create profit revenue streams. Price increases usually only happen in between console gens now, but they are small. There seems to be an expectation among the consumers of a price cap when really games should be allowed a spectrum of prices. Vita right now is the best example(that I know), having retail games from $20-$50 new. I think more console games should take note.
Though I understand your sentement on developers keeping things simple it is just not possible. It's like an arms race, if you don't advance you can get blown up. It's not going to stop unless everyone stops. That and consumers will flock to high production titles like you mentioned. Cheaper games that sell in droves are rare, usually they recieve more modest sales but still turn profits. On the other hand, It is sad to see games flop when they cost so much to make. The rising costs of development aren't all bad, the new advancements in graphics and hardware really do innovate the industry even if there are some games that are mostly rehashing with shiny graphics.
Before the PS3 everyone was nice to me :(
