“Do you want fries with that?”
This phrase is known throughout fast food diners across the globe. But these days in Gaming, it seems as though you have to pay more in order to cure your gaming hunger. Why is this? With the launch of Arcade, Indie and now Games on Demand, retailers are feeling the effects of the Digital Age. ‘Supersizing’, for example, from a 120GB to a 320GB PS3 will not be kind to your pocket but will certainly be kind towards Sony and the retailer themselves. Now with Trade in’s becoming more and more frustrating with the pricing, is the customer the most important source for a company or is it all about the money?
But what factors contribute to you, the consumer, being left to part with more of your hard earned cash in order to chill out with Master Chief, lie in with Lara Croft or mess around with Mario? Are we, the gaming community, getting the best from the market when games are so varied in price (console compared to game apps)? Are we still Lovin’ it? Let’s look at one of the main culprits with the Retailers.
In the old days, gamers would gather at gaming retailers to discuss the latest talk around the hobby which they all enjoyed. Contests would be held to see who the true superstar of a game was. Now, High Street outlets are like ghost towns. No-one has any spare money with the state of the economy and the Games Industry is no different. Good deals seem harder to find now and the RRP of most games is £49.99 (in the UK) which High Street stores seem to price the game near, giving a discount of £10 on most occasions. If you are willing to wait a day or so you can order online from hundreds of websites for a lot cheaper than you can buy from the High Street. Where is the sales service? The conversations and interaction with fellow gaming enthusiasts are non-existent.
Trade in’s, which gaming outlets were once renowned for, are also being neglected. The pricing for some of the trade in prices are ridiculous. Every so often outlets promote special offers by trading in your console and you get so much off a better one. I don’t think this is enough. Trade in prices for games seem to be disrespectful towards the consumer. We buy games at full price on release date and maybe around 6 months to a year later, the value has roughly dropped to around 10% of its original value.
One of the main reasons for this however is the yearly releases of some franchises, sporting titles in particular. Personally I am a huge football (soccer) fan so my favoured football game is Fifa 12. Every year on release day I rush to the game store so I can then rush home and be graced with the finest footballing experience there is available. But again, I know some yearly releases are a must, Sporting franchises only might I add? Rosters change, graphics become more lifelike and also the mechanics of the gameplay change. I know of many gamers throughout the community who argue “why can’t the roster just be changed?” Call of Duty doesn’t need a yearly release and neither does Assassins Creed or Need for Speed. If the games are released too close together, the value of the previous game almost becomes worthless.
On the flip side of poor trade in prices, if you are buying a used game you will have to pay a significantly higher price than the shop bought it for as well as the dreaded ‘Online Pass’ which most games feature nowadays if you wish to play online. Developers have hit back and looking for more money in order for gamers playing their game. I do believe developers deserve to make their money. They create the fantastic titles we play and dedicate months, if not years, to keep us entertained for months and years. But to buy a second hand game and then have to pay £10 in addition to that? You may as well buy the game brand new. As much as Call of Duty’s multiplayer has been criticised for hacks and trolling, it is extremely popular due to its easy accessibility.
Arcade and Indie gaming on Xbox Live have proved to be very popular amongst the community but Games on Demand has been a major let-down. The Arcade provides developers with feedback to games which may have gone on to become full retail releases. Titles such as I am Alive, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare and Castle Crashers. The Indie game Marketplace gives inexperienced game creators the chance to show what new and fresh ideas they can create with a relatively low budget. The only good part I can see from Games on Demand however are some titles which have yet to be released on disc, Crysis, Resident Evil 4 and Code Veronica X HD to name three games which are featured in Games on Demand. However, the pricing is far too expensive for most games. Halo Reach which had been released in September 2010 was still £39.99 on the Marketplace more than one year later. Pricing such as this will continue to persuade people to surf the web to look for the cheaper alternative.
The internet is the most impersonal way in which to purchase video games. Where is the service? The friendly chatter? The sense of satisfaction? You can’t have a conversation with your computer monitor regarding where to find all the hidden packages in Grand Theft Auto can you? As much as this is missing from websites, the current state of the economy will dictate how we spend our money and this will obviously make gamers spend their money online. So whether it’s from Amazon, Play or similar websites, we can all find that great deal that will have us smiling that we have saved some money… As long as we are willing to wait.
Back to my original point in that do we gamers believe we are getting value for money? The short answer is no. Of course there are a few ways in which we can find a great bargain, Deals of the Week via XBL, deals on websites or waiting for deals to happen in retail outlets. But for the majority of the time a lack of service, poor trade in prices as well as additional online pass codes which need to be purchased in most instances, I beg that the games industry takes a good look at itself and repay the faith in which the community has shown this great culture. Can we also make gaming easy to access as well? Let’s turn this expensive, ‘Supersized’ burger into a small, Value burger. They’re both burgers aren’t they?
If this article has made you hungry then I apologise but it’s really about the gaming J.
@SimonMarshall
