View New Content

Choose a background

Javascript Disabled Detected

You currently have javascript disabled. Several functions may not work. Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality.

Search Articles

$60 games are a thing of the past... soon.

Apr 22 2012 04:55 PM | SmaCkexe in News

There's a war going on in the video game world, but it's over dollar signs, not virtual land.
A boxed copy of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the world's top-selling console game, costs $60.Angry Birds, the world's biggest mobile game franchise, costs $1 for software that you can download in under a minute. The pricing gap between what's traditionally considered the highest-tier premium games and the fast-evolving mobile, tablet, and social gaming market is widening, and it's spelling disaster for countless game makers caught in the middle.

According to The NPD Group, physical content sales were down 8% in 2011. This year hasn't been a cakewalk either, with sales continuing to slide. Though some of the blame can rightfully be foisted upon the decline of the once-mighty Wii, it's apparent that people aren't buying games like they used to, and the industry is scrambling to figure out why. But most agree that it begins — and likely ends — with the high cost of new games.
The sentiment that games cost too much is certainly not new. Wired's Chris Kohler recently outlined a list of reasons games cost too much and combated the argument that the used game market can be blamed. Nexon America's CEO Daniel Kim told GamesIndustry International that "Free-to-Play" games (often called "Freemium" because users are incentivized to pay small premiums for more content) are not going away and the traditional model will have to change.
He's right. $60 has always been an embarrassing, crippling barrier of entry compared to gaming's entertainment peers. A brand new book, DVD, or CD rarely breaks the $20 mark, and even the highest tier Blu-rays cap out at around $30. Why are new games so pricey?

Go to Yahoo for the rest of this article.
Courtesy of By Rich Greenhill | Plugged In – Wed, Apr 18, 2012 2:14 PM EDT

12 Comments

megachester

Apr 22 2012 08:12 PM

Does this mean that DirtNap gaming is going to start producing android or iphone games. If so I have some great ideas for some games that can sell well.

Tbone

Apr 22 2012 08:24 PM

Does this mean that DirtNap gaming is going to start producing android or iphone games. If so I have some great ideas for some games that can sell well.

I have had a game idea since I was little!
If anyone can make games, LET ME KNOW

ArcArrow

Apr 22 2012 08:27 PM

yeah and you know what its very true with the fact that $60 dollar games have never once lived up to the hype to have ever been worth the money you pay. i remember when games use to b aroud 30 or 45 at the start and go down. and that was when games were more reasonable and everything.

SmaCkexe

Apr 22 2012 08:58 PM

Wed love to develop something but time and finance play a big part

UltimateAoe2

Apr 22 2012 11:43 PM

I lol'd.
"

Electronic Arts was recently named the winner of Consumerist’s annual Worst Company in America reader poll, beating out rival Activision and perhaps more notably Bank of America, which it crushed in the final round 64 to 36 percent. We could probably name several companies that deserved the dishonor more than Electronic Arts, or dismiss the win as internet forum trolls having a misplaced set of priorities. But Consumerist’s explanation of EA’s transgressions is revealing."

Matter3

Apr 23 2012 01:57 PM

Over the time games have been $60 there are only a very few ever worth it.

SmaCkexe

Apr 23 2012 02:46 PM

Over the time games have been $60 there are only a very few ever worth it.

Agreeeeeeed.

Cypher Gear

Apr 24 2012 12:59 AM

I lol'd.
"
Electronic Arts was recently named the winner of Consumerist’s annual Worst Company in America reader poll, beating out rival Activision and perhaps more notably Bank of America, which it crushed in the final round 64 to 36 percent. We could probably name several companies that deserved the dishonor more than Electronic Arts, or dismiss the win as internet forum trolls having a misplaced set of priorities. But Consumerist’s explanation of EA’s transgressions is revealing."

DICE get battlefield 3 and gtfo from EA xD