I recently made a "copycat thread" about characters and dollar value that almighty Trucks wasn't happy about so here is an actual discussion thread about the subject.

Before all the moans and groans about beating a dead horse, let's just sit and talk about what makes a game valuable.

Amount of play hours has been brought up before but there are a lot of detractors to that line of argument.
For example:
1. JRPGs should then be number 1 in terms of value because most if not all have up to hundreds of hours of playtime.
2. Many classic games have short play times by today's standards.
3. Some shorter games are rated more highly than longer games.

So, what aspects of a game make it longer? Most people would say the amount of things you can do, or the scope and size of the game. But this isn't particularly true with all games. GTA is a huge game, yes, and there are tons of things to do but then what about games like angry birds? Or temple runner, or Dota, or Hearthstone? These games are all very limited in scope, but people can't stop playing them and some people spend hundreds of dollars on these games.

Is it the multiplayer aspect? Well, multiplayer games do have an insane amount of replayability. Some of the most played games are multiplayer. Unfortunately, much to the chagrin of many gamers and developers, single player games tend to do really well too. It's not simple that what makes a good game is the multiplayer. Just look at MGS4 with its bundled MGO. Of course, sometimes you can take a single player game, like uncharted 2, and adding multiplayer greatly increases the value of the game. Does that mean uncharted 2 wouldn't be worth a purchase on its own? It's a tough question to answer. My guess would be, 'probably'.

Is it the number of individual characters? Is it the number of weapons? Is it how many levels? Colors? Resolution? Alternate endings?

It's a really hard question to answer, because for everyone value is rated differently based on their personal tastes.

For you, what makes a game valuable?

if I like it and it looks like a game that I might replay more once then i'll buy it.

For me, it depends on the quality of the game as well as its price for what it gives me in return without going into the "extras/replayability" portion with the exception of games with online.

So as an example, a game like Smash Bros is a pretty high quality game in a lot of aspects and I will be able to play it for a very long time due to its online and even its single player and local play so for the price I paid for it, it gives me a lot in return!

But a game like MGS V GZ on the other hand... The game itself is a pretty high quality game in a lot of aspects but paying $30 for essentially an 1 hour game is not worth it for me.

For me, a game retains value if the game envokes emotion and incites the player to continue through various means; variety, level building, or other means.

I really am almighty.

There's a lot of factors that come into play but if I had to sum it up into one concept, I'd say that my enjoyment of the game that determines value for me.

I'll value 15-20 hours of pure gaming bliss higher than 100 hours worth of an okay experience. I've never been the kind to drop hundreds of dollars on a single game but I have bought Resident 4 twice (GC, Wii) because of how much I enjoy that title. Same thing with the Metroid Prime Trilogy recently.

Fun factor, replayability, amount of modes, etc. It depends on the game. Games like Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. have an infinite amount of value to me, while smaller games like Captain Toad and Kirby & TRC aren't as meaty, but provide nice little bursts of entertainment.

Entertainment value.

It is defined by the amount of things that I'd like to have in a game. It has nothing to do with the length or the amount of content without the context of quality.

I can say that the top factor is how absorbing and immersive the game world is.

How much enjoyment I get from it. While I loved the order, when you put Arkham Knight (expecting it to be good, after the previous 2) next to it, I have to say The Order comes up lacking.

I will say it again though, The Order wasn't too short, but it was probably $10-20 too expensive.

Arkham Knight, and hopefully The Witcher 3 are amazing value for money.

Its interesting with sports/racing games, you can't really define length.

If I play a game, enjoy it and don't feel like selling it ASAP.