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Landale_Star on 22 July 2018
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RolStoppable said:
Darc Requiem said:

This Alternate Universe "Octopath Traveler" Would be Path Traveler. The half the cast would be cut. The cool 16 bit in 3D aesthetic that is huge part of it's appeal would be replaced with a modern graphic design.The game would be launching 3 years from now. "Octo" DLC sold back to us in four $15 increments over the course of the year following it's 2021 launch. Part of the appeal of the game is that not only is it's classic aesthetic but the fact that like te classic JRPGs of the era. It's a full featured experience. The game just launched and unlike FFXV it is already finished.

That's one way to answer a hypothetical question, but same content with AAA production value shouldn't change the fairness of the $60 price one bit.

Production value in video games isn't unlike production value in movies. At the end of the day, all that matters to the consumer is if the product was enjoyable relative to the price that was paid to consume the product. Special effects and other fluff only make few kinds of movies better than they would be without them, so there is hardly ever a clear correlation between cost of the film and quality of the film. Where production values matter are shitty action movies, because the special effects can make up for nonsensical plots and rubbish acting and writing.

In the specific case of Octopath Traveler, higher production values wouldn't increase the quality of the game because it's a turn-based JRPG. As such, its quality is determined by gameplay systems, writing and length. Whether its graphics are serviceable or outstanding wouldn't make a difference, because it's enjoyable either way. Actually, it can be easily argued that Octopath Traveler's real graphics make the game better than hypothetical AAA 3D graphics would have.

Production values for video games only really matter when shitty games need to be sold. The question whether an aesthetically pleasing looking game would be worth a higher asking price if it had the most expensive graphics it could have at the given time is ultimately moot, because when gameplay and content of a game are good, it's satisfying without superficial bells and whistles.

Food for thought: If AAA production values justified higher price tags, then why are AAA publishers so scared to raise the standard price of their games above $60?

Given this point, do you think that turn based JRPGs should even cost $60 then? If their production costs don't warrant a higher price then surely a lower price is a benefit for the consumer while the business still makes a profit. Would you pay even more than $60 for a game like Octopath if you think the quality of the experience is much higher than other games?

I'm not saying you're making any particular argument and I haven't read whatever else you might have written in this thread, but seeing that line triggered that thought in my head.