Quake3World

So it would appear that companies are going to charge a hefty premium for the next gen line up of games:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-53264059

£49.99 on the Nintendo Switch
£59.99 on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One ($59.99 in the US)
£64.99 on PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X ($69.99 in the US)

A deluxe version of the sports simulator - called Mamba Forever - will celebrate the lifetime achievement of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who died in 2020.

It will cost:

£84.99 on both the current and next-generation console ($99.99 in the US)
£79.99 on PC
£79.99 on Google Stadia
2K has it said it will:

give players who buy the deluxe version on PS4 or Xbox One access to the standard version of the game on PS5 or Xbox Series X
give players who buy the deluxe version on PS5 or Xbox Series One access to the standard version of the game on PS4 or Xbox One
introduce "initiatives to bridge the two versions of the game", including a shared virtual currency wallet within the same console family.

I am not sure about this...when you see companies making huge profits already:
Activision-Blizzard- $6.49 billion in 2019
Take Two - $1.2 billion in 2019

Others numbers for Zenimax, EA etc are out there. But with gaming being more popular than ever and more and more people getting involved, you'd think publishers would take the profits from the extra unit sales rather than trying to fist it's customers directly in the anus. I thought unit sales were also a sign of prestige in the industry (biggest opening sales, most pre-orders etc). So why up the price of games so much?

Imagine being a kid who is trying to save for a game now with his pocket money or something; It'll take them an age.

One could argue that, with game prices staying the same for the past 20 years, they've actually become significantly cheaper due to inflation. A $10 price hike for a base game doesn't surprise me, to be honest.

While I guess it sucks for kids who save their money to buy a game, I'm personally not much affected by it, as the only game I've bought at full price the past few years has been Doom Eternal (edit: wait, no, I also bought MotoGP 2020 at €49,99). PC games have traditionally been €10 cheaper than the same titles on console as well. I wonder if they stick to that.
I just bought SOMA, Dead Space 2 and Batman Arkham Origins for €12 in the Steam Summer Sale :shrug:
Most of my gaming time the past few weeks was spent on re-playing Bioshock 2. I'm currently near the end of the Minerva's Den DLC (which cost me a whopping €2,49)

If I remember correctly, I paid ~90 DM (Deutsche Mark) for Super Metroid back the 90s. In euro that would be ~45 €. I think for Breath of Fire II I paid 120DM/60€.

I was a kid back then and could afford maybe 1-2 games a year.

New games are now 60€.

AAA titles cost X00 million to produce.

So this price development seems okay to me.

*shrug*

How’s that working with Smart Delivery? Surely you can just buy the XOX and you’ll get the XSX game?

Eraser wrote:One could argue that, with game prices staying the same for the past 20 years, they've actually become significantly cheaper due to inflation. A $10 price hike for a base game doesn't surprise me, to be honest.

While I guess it sucks for kids who save their money to buy a game, I'm personally not much affected by it, as the only game I've bought at full price the past few years has been Doom Eternal (edit: wait, no, I also bought MotoGP 2020 at €49,99). PC games have traditionally been €10 cheaper than the same titles on console as well. I wonder if they stick to that.
I just bought SOMA, Dead Space 2 and Batman Arkham Origins for €12 in the Steam Summer Sale :shrug:
Most of my gaming time the past few weeks was spent on re-playing Bioshock 2. I'm currently near the end of the Minerva's Den DLC (which cost me a whopping €2,49)

Then please sell me the full game and fuck off with your paid DLC and Micro Transactions.
DLC has been the way they've eeked more cash out from consumers, some of which has been on the original disc do you are paying to unlock it.

I hope the games are boycotted that try this price hike shit.

Someone on Redit has done a better job than I at explaining things:

https://www.reddit.com/r/xboxone/commen ... urce=share

I’ve never understood why games (for the most part) all cost the same amount. $60 is the standard price, but not every game is the same. Some give you 100s of hours of campaign gameplay. Some are strictly multiplayer. Some are massive world RPGs. Some give you 10 hours of campaign. Some have no multiplayer.

Why can’t they charge different prices? I’d gladly pay $100 for a RDR2 or a Witcher 3 or a Fallout game. But I’d never pay that for some of these other games...

Eraser wrote:One could argue that, with game prices staying the same for the past 20 years, they've actually become significantly cheaper due to inflation. A $10 price hike for a base game doesn't surprise me, to be honest.

Wages haven't increased to keep up with inflation in decades, though.

But games take a longer time to make now. And require more man-power. Wages may be the same for the consumer, but there are more wages to pay the developers...

How much more are they making per game with the rise of digital sales? No distribution and physical reselling with gamestop going out of business. Also season passes and dlc non stop for the last decade. Every triple A title has had a $75 and $100 version at launch as well.

shaft wrote:How much more are they making per game with the rise of digital sales? No distribution and physical reselling with gamestop going out of business. Also season passes and dlc non stop for the last decade. Every triple A title has had a $75 and $100 version at launch as well.

PREACH

Meanwhile, in more proof we're in some weird alternate timeline, EA are looking like the good guys, and will be releasing Star Wars Squadrons for £35 / €40/ $40, with no microtransactions.
WTF?

Squadrons campaign is apparently extremely short. It’s mainly a multiplayer game...

xer0s wrote:But games take a longer time to make now. And require more man-power. Wages may be the same for the consumer, but there are more wages to pay the developers...

There are more people playing those games now, too, so more sales.

Doombrain wrote:How’s that working with Smart Delivery? Surely you can just buy the XOX and you’ll get the XSX game?

NBA 2k21 doesn't support smart delivery = you'll need to but both or buy the expensive version at the start

Don Carlos wrote:

Doombrain wrote:How’s that working with Smart Delivery? Surely you can just buy the XOX and you’ll get the XSX game?

NBA 2k21 doesn't support smart delivery = you'll need to but both or buy the expensive version at the start

Ah, i assumed MS would make and >A title smart delivery.

It's up to the publisher, sadly.