I've been meaning to ask this question lately after playing countless hours of Persona 4 and Persona 3 FES (amazing by the way). I know, both games are RPGs and are "last gen" so it's a bit unfair to ask this, but how come I've had more hour of playtime on both games and I only paid 30$ for each? Did they even sell at $50-$60 when they released anyways? That's the thing that grinds my gears though, why are some of these games selling for so low and yet at the same time you find Halo Wars for $60 on a shelf and that game isn't even worth playing after completing the campaign on all difficulty levels, IMO (I'm not a multiplayer type of guy, sorry)?

What is the measure stores/companies use to price games? Are we seriously still paying for "the name?" Should the game content change the price or anything? In other words, what do you think would be the perfect price for games depending on which genre?

Personally, I wouldn't mind paying $50-$60 for any RPGs out there. Most of the time, you'll get more than your money's worth. Also, if the developers find interesting ways to keep the game fresh everytime you open it up (instead of inserting random battles here and there), you know they deserve all that money! For FPSs, I would probably not pay more than 20$ because most campaign only last 6-8 missions nowadays because developers seem to focus on the multiplayer part of their games for some reason... For games like that, I guess that's why game rental services exist!

Personally speaking games should retail for $50 and no more, however some games are exceptions to the rule. e.g. Call of duty 4 I have played this game since christmas 2007, I agree some games are not woth the $60 and those games will struggle to sell for that price point hence why they drop in price. Great games with great multiplayer are worth the RRP!

Your Halo wars comment was unfair.

Yeah, for sure. That's why I asked what you guys would consider to be the perfect price for games depending on which genre. This is in the Gaming Discussion board after all, it's meant to shake some opinions! =P

Production costs.....thats why games went from 50 on SD consoles to 60 dollars on HD consoles during their respective launches..... And surtain games r always woth their price and some games r not..... Oblivion was woth every penny when it came out.... and when the GOTY addition came out, i rebought it and it was still worth every penny...... now if you talk about games like Terminator Salvation... that game is not worth 40 or 30....its just the way it is and always will be.

I'd say no.

I won't pay 50-60 unless it has some killer appeal to me. Like I just can't wait (For example Borderlands) or I could co-op with my girlfriend. (Well... also borderlands.) Or if my job is bugging me and i need to buy something to remind me why i work there.

30-40 is really the sweet spot for me for a game i expect to be good.

15 is a sweet spot for games that I think might be good or that i'll like but might have flaws.

10 or lower... i'll buy games that got bad reviews but have novel features or games that look so bad i have to own just for the hilariousness. (Beyblade for example.)

Most games aren't worth 25-30... it's only the RPG's and exceptional others that can get 60 from me...

No. They should all be $50 at most in my opinion. Yet there are some where the replay value is just worth the extra money to me.

@ coolbeans:

Then is multiplayer really a selling point for most games? To me, it's an extra, but to some people, no matter how bad the game is, they might consider it was worth it because it becomes a "full-package."

But yeah... I guess there are many ways to see this! What if we group them in categories? FPSs/TPSs/etc. with multiplayer option and FPSs/TPSs/etc. with no multiplayer option? Just saying! @_@

Yea. When they jack up your prices to $70 per game, $50 looks like a steal.

For most single player experiences no. Theres seldom a game that has a single player that is more than 8 hours and worth playing again. For me multiplayer can be worth the price of admission. Gears Of War's MP is good enough to be standalone IMO.