Games should be more expensive than they are now, I'll open with that. With budgets skyrocketing and games actually being cheaper now than pretty much ever before even when you don't talk about inflation, $70 should be the standard now, minimum, if we want finished games. Yeah I may boycott Ubisoft or EA because of their horrible practices but they sort of have an excuse to release unfinished products since the moment they try to raise the price to justify the budget they get slammed.
That all said, the experience is key to the price of a game. A game like Journey shouldn't be $15+ but it is because it provides a unique narrative that nothing else does. A game like Braid might only be three hours long but it's got the wow factor and the depth in the plot to justify the price. A game like The Order is five hours of subpar plot with very little gameplay substance for $60, but a game like Fallout 4 has relatively average gameplay and a subpar plot with an addiction level of 11 forth same price. It's all relative, and that's why we should try to go back to a slightly less regulated market where developers can be reasonable but the consumer has to agree to cooperate if they want to get the experience they desire. The Witness is a good example of this; it's considered indie but John Blow didn't give a damn about indie scale pricing and he priced it correctly. People clearly didn't care too much either! The trouble comes when a big wig tries to take advantage of this concept and consumer trust, at which point it all falls apart again.
You should check out my YouTube channel, The Golden Bolt! I review all types of video games, both classic and modern, and I also give short flyover reviews of the free games each month on PlayStation Plus to tell you if they're worth downloading. After all, the games may be free, but your time is valuable!
