For those of us who own a gaming console such as a PlayStation 3 or XBOX 360, we all feel the pinch whenever we're buying a newly released game that typically cost about $60. For me, I usually wait for the hype to die down before I make my purchase so that the prices by then would probably have been lowered already and all the necessary patches for the game are more or less released. Does anyone of you out there do such a thing also or are you those who would queue in line just to be the first to lay your hands on a new game title regardless of its price? Do you all feel that these video games are really worth the price they are being sold at?
I've never bought into the hype of newly released video games before. I hardly have time to play games so there's no way I'm spending all that money on one game. And you never know if the game is good or not either. So, I like to wait a bit so that I can read reviews and opinions about a game before purchasing it. A price drop is nice too. But I want to know that I'm paying good money for a good game not for something that is overly hyped.
I'm not too fazed by the $60 tag. It's something that I have chosen to do, so I can pay the price when it is first released, wait until it drops or stop playing games. If it's a game that I know I plan on playing as soon as I buy it, then I'll get it first day and enjoy my purchase. If I know that it will go in the backlog, then I may consider waiting.
I generally buy used or get the "Greatest Hits" edition, but if I have a game I want and I have the avaliable funds I am totally okay with spending 60 bucks. I mean Skyrim ended up being like 60 hours just slashing my way through the all the quests, then I spent another 15 making sure I got all the achievements and maxed out all my skills. So that is 75 hours of enjoyment which is totally cool for 60 bucks. Batman was a little less cool for 60, but I ended up getting 25 back so I only spent 35 which I'm better with.
There are very few games that I will buy immediately upon release. That being said, the ones that I do buy shortly after release I can justify the price tag as I typically spend plenty of time playing them. Realistically, I'd say the $60 tag isn't too bad compared to other forms of entertainment. For example, on some online shooting games I've spend literally days playing them a year after their release. If I spent 3 days or 72 hours playing a game that cost me $60 to buy, I'm basically getting entertainment for $0.83 an hour. Obviously the more I play the better that ratio becomes. Compare that to seeing a movie where two hours may cost you $5-$7 an hour. Finally, for a lot of games you can typically sell them on Ebay and get a decent return on your dollar too. Going back to the online shooting game, I could sell my game I bought last year for $15-$25 before the new edition comes out. This not only narrows my entertainment divided by cost of game formula but also gives me some cash to spend on my future gaming purchase.
I only buy one game when it's released, the Call of Duty franchise, and everything else I pick up after it has been out awhile, trade with friends, etc.
I definitely am the person who will wait until a year has passed before investing an a game or console. However, I can afford to do this since I'm not a very good gamer by far. I tend to give up before I even have a chance of finishing the game. I usually only stick to trying to get a couple different series however, and I just know the others I don't have a chance of finishing. The only system that works for a "gamer" (loosely used term here, mind you) like myself is the Wii, even then I waited a whole 2-3 years before I bothered with the Wii Fit.
I just traded in about 4 games that wasn't playing and got the new Spider-man for about $13. I played it out in less than a week of not even really playing it. It would not have been worth $60. I would have been very disappointed if I payed full price. I will trade it in towards something else I want when it comes out and so on.
I don't buy new games I'll wait just like you do until the price goes down. Most of the time I can find it on Amazon for half the price used, and I'll purchase it that way. I've never stood in line to purchase a game, I think that's a bit much. I play games to pass the time, but I'm not a die hard fan. I'm hoping the prices for these games goes down because they're way to expensive for the average consumer.
If it's something I REALLY want I will buy it immediately upon release. For example, I am a huge pokemon fan so I buy those games when they are brand new. Also, pokemon games are not that much cheaper at the retail stores than they were 2-3 years ago in some cases. Pokemon Soul Silver still sells for around $34.99 at my local Target store. If it's something I want, but not urgent, I will wait. For example, I wanted to buy an Xbox 360 but I'd rather spend money elsewhere. I will probably wait until they release the Xbox720 or whatever to buy it lolz.
I usually get my games from Ebay or amazon. They're pre-owned, but I've never gotten one from these places in poor condition. I must have saved a small fortune not buying them brand new. Unless you're a collector, I don't see the point in forking out the full price when you can wait a couple of weeks and get them for much less.
We have bought games as soon as they have came out only to be disappointed in them. Now we wait for the prices to come down before buying them. If it is a game that we really want to get when it is released, we will rent it and see if we really do like it or not before actually purchasing it for the higher amount.
I usually buy games when they've been discounted or are used. It's just not a justifiable excuse for pissing away 50-60 bucks. The only game that I bought here recently when it was released, brand new, was Duke Nukem Forever. Here lately, I've been buying downloads from the PS3 network ( discounted ) or downloading free demos.
Countries such as Australia experience around a price of $120 from top retailers for a new game, poor them. Games can be surprisingly cheap especially the newer ones, it's just a fact of doing some research and finding a good legitimate site to get your product. In fact, If you have good internet I highly suggest looking at a few sites which give you the product instantly via download, the product is usually 60% less than the retail price.
I rarely buy games new, choosing to wait until a used version shows up at Gamestop or other used video game outlet. I just don't feel as though $60 is a price point that offers value to the gamer, especially when most games are beaten within a week or two.
I buy my games off of ebay. I just got a brand new never opened glee karaoke revolution for $7.00 on ebay. If I want something, then I just wait until I can get a good deal on ebay. I only like to buy brand new games on ebay though. I have received dvd's that were used and had disgusting and dirty covers, so brand new is the only way I buy from auction sites. There are definitely good deals out there, if you can wait a while.
The $60 price tag is actually pretty cheap to me, and by that, I don't mean that I'm rich. What I mean is, I buy a lot of imported games made in Japan. And how are their prices per game? $80-$100. I always pre-order them, and I usually even go for their collector's edition versions and whatnot, which may range from $120-$250 (highest I paid for was $250).
Wow you seem like a really serious gamer! I guess the higher prices are probably due to regional controls and also shipping fees maybe? Or are they excluding shipping? Certain regions may cost slightly more due to bonus content not made available to other regions. As for the collector's editions, that will go without saying that the prices will spike simply because the game producers know that their fans are willing to spend just to get that extra content or memorabilia that comes exclusive with the collector's edition. I personally would not pay for a collector's edition since the additional stuff that comes along are usually figurines or replicas of in-game items meant for displaying and collecting dust...
The only time I buy newly released games at full price is when I'm Christmas shopping for my kid. I have a mental block against spending $60 on a game for myself ,knowing that it will be $20 or less if I wait long enough, I finally bought Blue Dragon for XBox 360 for $7. It was $60 when it launched. It's still the same game at $7. I mostly buy used games that are complete with manual, case and artwork. Sometimes I find brand new games marked down. I think that as an adult, I don't experience peer pressure to have the latest games, as a teenager would. So I can be incredibly patient and wait as long as it takes for the price of a game to be acceptable to me.
I'll only buy/ pre-order a game at it's full price if i'm 100% sure it's amazing(skyrim, dark souls, bioshock/half-life series, etc..) and buying a game new supports the developers and publishers. When i think the game is too expensive i'll just wait for a steam sale . But if i pay full price, i'll be picking at every flaw the game has, something i won't do if i buy the game for a lower cost. But complaining about price seems a bit foolish, N64 from my memory cost just as much back in their day if not more (and more with inflation of course) I remember getting something like $60-$70 in cash for a Bday when I was younger and having to spend it all on Diddy Kong Racing at Wal-Mart. Games now take quite a while to develop, there are lots of people developing, thus they cost fast more to develop and passing $10 on to the consumer compared to last gen isn't that big of a deal.
