""The most obvious defense against lower game prices is that it costs more to develop games than it did in previous generations, therefore the price should reflect the increased development costs."
Spoken like a true whipper-snaper. Us old gamers will tell you, before the Playstation era (discs instead of carts) games would run $70, $80, even $90 or more (depending on the title). Generally speaking, when I pay $60 for a new game, I am paying less actual cash than in previous generations, then consider the inflation adjustment. Consider the actual product you are getting now in comparison to then, add in the fact that (as you rightly pointed out) development costs are orders of magnitude higher than in previous generations, and I think you have a strong case for the fact that developers are doing well to keep prices where they are.
In short, you make a good case for game prices being lower, but I don't think it will ever happen. As long as we still have big titles at retail, the price will go up over time from where it is now. The only thing that might change that is media-less consoles, though to this point, games you can get at retail as well as download cost the same price, so I don't see much hope there, either.
".. regardless of the drivel spouted out by Luis there, Aaron, you *are* a games journalist. Those things you mentioned in the article are *supposed* to be important to you, as it is large part of your life. If they were not important to you, you would not be very good at your job.
Of course, the importance of video games pales in comparison to that of a friend dying of cancer. But, *everything* pales in comparison to a friend dying of cancer. It is kind of a big deal, and pretty much anything compared to it will seem trivial.
In, short, try to keep things in perspective. Just because someone else is dealing with something extraordinary and life altering does not trivialize what happens in your life.
So sorry to learn about your friend. She is fighting one of the most powerful foes there is. She had victory once, so do not lose heart. I'll pour out a blot in her h"
"hink Glenn Beck *is* ignorant, and a moron, but I guess he just automatically gets the "racist" tag because he is conservative, eh? Granted, I have not listened to him all that much, but I have never heard him say anything racist.
The Dixie Chicks backlash was not becasue of their opinion, it was because that opinion was thrown out on foreign soil in an effort to cozy up to that crowd by badmouthing her president. Some things are just bad form.
But what Joseph said was correct- every dollar spent these days is a vote for something or someone somewhere. I wonder if Gerry's opinion extends to corporate or union contributions to political parties, lobbyists, PACs, and the like.
Have"
"eed with all of the above... it will not play the games I already have, it will not use the memory cards I already have, it will not use the TV cables available for later models (I have a launch system, so no TV out for me), it has a smaller screen, and costs more. I can see Sony has learned absolutely zero from the PS3 launch.
Funny thing, I went into Best Buy today to get GT Mobile. (They didn't have it.) While I was waiting, I looked around for the Go. I finally found a few hanging near the accessories. No big sign showing off the latest thing, no special display, it wasn't even with the display models you can try in store. I wonder if this is Best Buy's reaction to the download only system. Anyone else seen interesting things regarding the Go at ret"
"I remember record stores... closest thing around here now is FYE, and I have a few pointed suggestions for them about various bits of their anatomy, and interesting things they can do with"
"mers are used to backward compatibility in their consoles. It's been in video game consoles that are part of a company or brand lineage."
In my recollection, the PS2 and the Wii were/are the only mainstream consoles with true BC. None of the 8 or 16 bit consoles had it built in, nor did the N64 or later Sega consoles. The PS3 promised it, made fun of MS for not having full BC, then dropped it. At least *some* of the more popular Xbox titles can be played on the 360. Nintendo handhelds have, but I don't think what a handlheld does should set the bar for what people expect from a console.
Full BC would be great- I would love to be able to shelve my PS2 and Xbox permanently. But the fact is, BC is expensive and difficult to do, and these companies would much rather *make* money reselling you games you have already bought (or missed the first time around) than giving you the ability to play them on the new hardware for f"
"... and here all this time when when I played GH or RB, I thought I was just enjoying some music and having some fun.
I think it possible to just have fun with a game without over-analyzing it to the point of absurdity. These games are not meant to teach *anything*- they are meant to kick back and have a good time.
As for Cobain, this is another subject I think has been run into the ground. No one can speak for him, except him, and he is not going to do a lot of talking. I never was a Nirvana fan, and my opinion of the man himself could not possibly be lower. Putting him on the anti-establishment pedestal, when he signed with a record label like anyone else who gets a chance, seems ridiculous at best.
I will never understand the hero worship that guy rec"
"ave that game in a box somewhere. I tried playing it years ago. I remember thinking I was liking it, but I got to a point where I got stuck- like there was a glitch and I couldn't proceed. Reading this is making me think I might dig it out and try it"
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Spoken like a true whipper-snaper. Us old gamers will tell you, before the Playstation era (discs instead of carts) games would run $70, $80, even $90 or more (depending on the title). Generally speaking, when I pay $60 for a new game, I am paying less actual cash than in previous generations, then consider the inflation adjustment. Consider the actual product you are getting now in comparison to then, add in the fact that (as you rightly pointed out) development costs are orders of magnitude higher than in previous generations, and I think you have a strong case for the fact that developers are doing well to keep prices where they are.
In short, you make a good case for game prices being lower, but I don't think it will ever happen. As long as we still have big titles at retail, the price will go up over time from where it is now. The only thing that might change that is media-less consoles, though to this point, games you can get at retail as well as download cost the same price, so I don't see much hope there, either.