Game Publishers : Stop Raping Gamers' Wallets
- Thread starter Neil79
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It's not exactly shocking news that video game publishers hold their customers in contempt. My opinion is that the quality of video games is declining and prices rising because producing them is shifting from being an art to becoming a job.
Had he been pirating them you might be right. But EA are specifically screwing over the second hand market, they even included a 'free 10 day trial' to allow for renting, though i guess this is only a 1 time thing which will **** off any number of people who maybe want to rent something again at a later date.
This.... It's got nothing to do with piracy, renting or the second-hand market. It's about making money. They just put one of the above covers on it to disguise the fact.
The transparency of how the industry has changed became very evident when that CEO of Activision said they won't be focussing on anything that does not have the potential to be a £20million franchise or something thereabouts. To think it won't spread to other publishing houses is very very shortsighted.
Its worth noting that although this is a key point, its very hard to talk about as the quality of games often comes down to a matter of opinion and eventually becomes a flame war.
So because he's been sensible with his money he should be punished? Sorry, but its story time:
My parents bought me and my sister a PS1 during the late nineties and I would play for hours, to date I think I've clocked up over 500+ hours on Final Fantasy VII and for the original £20 I paid, I don't feel that is a bad investment. Plenty of other games (Gran Turismo, Tomb Raider); many of them defined as classics also gave me hours of enjoyment, often taking me weeks to complete.
Fast forward to about 1 and a half years ago, I'm living at University and there is a rental store just down the road. Over the course of a few months I rented several titles from there whilst also buying some games at full price from other retailers.
I paid £35 for Killzone 2 upon release, around 10 hours later I'd completed the single player campaign and had my fill of the multiplayer. £3.50 for each hour of enjoyment.
In comparison I rented Mirrors Edge which cost me around a fiver, I completed it in 5 hours and took it back the next morning.
Now, If I'd paid full price for Mirrors Edge (£40) it would have cost me £8 for each hours enjoyment, renting saved me about £7 per hour. Yes it was a good game but should I really be looking to pay so much money for such a short game? I did eventually pick it up for a few quid not too long ago just for nostalgias sake but have not had the motivation to get past the second level, the time trials also hold very little excitement and I don't see the point in hoping that trophies = fun.
As I've already said, its a matter of opinion but one thing you can't deny is that games are getting shorter. You are getting much less "bang for your buck". For me, an 8 hour single player campaign is not worth splashing out £40 for and neither is a game that focuses solidly on a (often bad) multiplayer system.
A lot of companies are all too happy to rest on their laurels (see: Square-Enix and Final Fantasy XII) and for some reason are surprised when the latest incarnation of a popular title is received poorly. It's not the publics fault, its their own. Profit maximisation has become key (Kotick) and as MystaEB has rightly said:
Just look at all the recent reports of worker unrest at Rockstar and other companies. Devs are being forced to work overtime to meet harsh deadlines just so publisher shareholders can get another paycheque.
You know publishers get money from rentals right?
comparing to a £12 movie you buy on dvd if you watch that 4 times you talking maybe roughly £1.50 per hour or £3 if you only watch it twice
a £30 game that takes 10 hours to complete is twice that at £3
or even a game that looks good so you buy it but is essentially rubbish so you only play for 5 hrs £6
comparing to FF7 i to spent 500hrs + on it and we are down to 6p per hour
interestingly MMOs with the subscription it would seem on this balance for a £10 subscription you would need to play ~ 3 hrs a month to be the same level as a normal game or ~8 hrs to be at the same level of a DvD purchase
but as far as i see it gaming can be both a more expensive and a cheaper medium of entertainment than DvD just need to ask how much time you are willing to put into a game
my last purchase (global Agenda) i have put 40hrs into thus far so i'm down to about 80p per hr well worth it afaic
anyway draw from that what you will just writing some thoughts down
a £30 game that takes 10 hours to complete is twice that at £3
or even a game that looks good so you buy it but is essentially rubbish so you only play for 5 hrs £6
comparing to FF7 i to spent 500hrs + on it and we are down to 6p per hour
interestingly MMOs with the subscription it would seem on this balance for a £10 subscription you would need to play ~ 3 hrs a month to be the same level as a normal game or ~8 hrs to be at the same level of a DvD purchase
but as far as i see it gaming can be both a more expensive and a cheaper medium of entertainment than DvD just need to ask how much time you are willing to put into a game
my last purchase (global Agenda) i have put 40hrs into thus far so i'm down to about 80p per hr well worth it afaic
anyway draw from that what you will just writing some thoughts down
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Subscription fees would never work for most games. Sure in theory you could say theres an option to pay say £5 a month and if you got bored of something like BC2 or MW2 after a few months, you'd be saving £10-20 off a normal purchase. But can you honestly see the greedy ****s at Activision charging £5 and not trying to get £10-15 per month?
WoW and other MMORPGs rely on giving you endless hours of gametime that can last months purely because players want to go back to it and have tons of options available. I can't speak for everyone but i'd assume most people that play WoW spend at least 50-75% of there gaming time on it and don't play as many other games.
That is effectively what they'll be trying to turn gaming into. Charging for second hand games is just the first step.
WoW and other MMORPGs rely on giving you endless hours of gametime that can last months purely because players want to go back to it and have tons of options available. I can't speak for everyone but i'd assume most people that play WoW spend at least 50-75% of there gaming time on it and don't play as many other games.
That is effectively what they'll be trying to turn gaming into. Charging for second hand games is just the first step.
I consider £30 to be acceptable for a game at the top end, any more than that and I think twice.
The £25 I paid for Just Cause 2 is AWESOME value.
Equates to 31 pence per hour - LOL
The industry is going through a change at the moment although at the other side, I imagine the entire industry will be stronger because of it.
Essentially, now developers can self publish, the publishers are now merely investors and have less power now than they used to.
AAA titles will still be produced.
The Indie scene will continue to grow.
PC gaming will rumble on.
Consoles will fight for survival as theyre entire model is based on one of OLD business. What happens when the consoles have AAA titles as download only? It WILL happen despite what some may say.
THE END.
The £25 I paid for Just Cause 2 is AWESOME value.
Equates to 31 pence per hour - LOL
The industry is going through a change at the moment although at the other side, I imagine the entire industry will be stronger because of it.
Essentially, now developers can self publish, the publishers are now merely investors and have less power now than they used to.
AAA titles will still be produced.
The Indie scene will continue to grow.
PC gaming will rumble on.
Consoles will fight for survival as theyre entire model is based on one of OLD business. What happens when the consoles have AAA titles as download only? It WILL happen despite what some may say.
THE END.
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Soldato
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I miss you Looking Glass Studios 
That's simply what they're using as an excuse. The actual reason why they're doing it is out of greed.
Soldato
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Steam is the best platform to stop these issues. no resell options unless u wanna sell ur whole account.
The thing about consoles is the only way they can progress is to become more like a pc, sure they will still lock the options to 1 set of hardware which is always nice for developers, but in the end the reliability will always be a problem.
Indeed, people know exactly what they get when they buy a game on Steam. Some people are fine with it, some people complain about it... yet buy the games anyway despite alternatives.
Besides, when you buy publisher superpacks when they go on sale over christmas you can't help but feel you got a ridiculously good deal.
Indeed, people know exactly what they get when they buy a game on Steam. Some people are fine with it, some people complain about it... yet buy the games anyway despite alternatives.
Besides, when you buy publisher superpacks when they go on sale over christmas you can't help but feel you got a ridiculously good deal.
Soldato
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What about Ubisoft, save games are kept online and the game connects to the server everytime you launch it
Seemed quite good, although I bet hackers have figured it out already
What about Ubisoft, save games are kept online and the game connects to the server everytime you launch it
Seemed quite good, although I bet hackers have figured it out already
And how is that different to the Steamcloud? The difference is if you can't get online you aren't royally ****ed. The save files are stored locally and synced to the cloud so you can access them anywhere if you need to. Clearly integrating it as a *critical* part of the saving process would be dumb... oh wait.
What about Ubisoft, save games are kept online and the game connects to the server everytime you launch it
Seemed quite good, although I bet hackers have figured it out already
yup they have lol, and it works just fine.
