Re: Coming soon to gaming: rewards for playing

On Thu, 30 Jan 2025 12:11:14 +0000, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:

On 29/01/2025 16:37, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

Meanwhile, there are suggestions that GTA6 may sell with a retail cost
of $100USD, and that this will trigger other games to up the price to
a similar level. Again, an understandable reaction but not one, I
think, that will work out the way they hope. People are getting
squeezed financially, and that price jump will probably mean they'll
just buy fewer games.

>
I did see that and wasn't sure whether that was them leaking information
to test the water or just clickbait as is so common nowadays.
>
Being charitable and assuming it's true, GTA6 is probably one of the few
games that could get away with it and not lose out overall. Other
companies, I could see them looking at it and using it for a price
increase that doesn't go over that threshold of, hang on a second is
this game really worth this much or are you just taking the piss.

Rockstar has, admittedly, been good in giving value for dollar. Their
games are some of the largest and most dense virtual worlds out there,
and while it can be hard to understand why something like Call of Duty
XCVII cost $400 million to develop, you don't get that same impression
from "Grand Theft Auto" or "Red Dead Redemption II".

And, let's face it, the $60 price-point isn't entirely fair either. In
1995-dollars, that would be the equivalent of selling a triple-A game
for $30. A $100 game today is, taking into account inflation, the same
price as a $50 game from thirty-years ago. Add into that how complex
video games have become over the years (some games literally employ
thousands of artists and programmers, whereas a 1995 game might be
made by a couple dozen) and it starts getting harder to say that the
$100 price-tag is unjustified.

Except, of course, that these same games are then over-monetized with
MTX and gameplay designed to push you towards paying same. And that
development tools have become ever more powerful, and thousand-person
teams aren't absolutely necessary (and in fact many triple-A quality
games have been made -and sold!- for much less). And that publishers
routinely fire their development teams despite making record profits.
And that it's just a gog-damned bad time to start raising prices on
games when increasing numbers of people are having a hard time paying
for groceries. All this makes it hard to look favorably on jacking up
the price.

So I can't really say if the $100 price is justified. I do think that
if GTA6 releases at that price, other publishers will try to use it as
an excuse to raise the prices on their games too. And I don't think
that will go all that well for the publishers. I think long-term it
will result in fewer sales, and work against the FOMO that encourages
people to buy new. They'll just be training people to, even more than
they already do, just wait until the game is on sale.