monetization in games

[Logan]

sup fellow old people

the few of us that linger here as adults with disposable income, how do you feel about games nowadays and their monetization?

are you a fan of the subscription model like gamepass?

when was the last time you bought a physical game?

do you think the 70 dollar new standard they are pushing is justified?

discuss

 

[Dave]

Although I haven't stepped foot in a GameStop (or any store for a video game outside of gift buying) in years, I do miss the novelty of going into stores for a game, midnight releases, etc. GameStop will be a relic of the past soon. It just makes so much sense though. You sit down, click a button a few times and it's done. I've had Tears of the Kingdom downloaded for a week, ready to roll on Friday. Compare that to going out on Friday and trying to find it in store. Doesn't even make sense to compare the two. It's a different world now.

Pricing being the same, if not more, digitally doesn't really bother me. Just the cost of doing business now. Distribution has always been of trivial cost to the game's industry in general. In fact, since a lot of distribution has gone digital to online publishers it may actually cost the developers more due to the platform cut, e.g. Steam taking a 30% cut. The vast majority of cost is in the production of the game, so that is what they developers/investors are trying to recoup, and for triple A games that's just getting more expensive.

 

[Patrick]

I'll speak to the $70 pricetag for now. In short, it makes perfect sense. N64 games were 49.99 and up, weren't they? Adjust for inflation and it standard games should actually be more than $70. People that want it will pay it, and others will wait for a sale.

Now, for me personally, I'd almost never buy a game at full price. I could play other games that have been out for years, or are included in my PS+ membership. I don't really feel the need to play things right away anymore.

 

[Logan]

My dear momma bought Turok for like 70 dollars back in 1997

Travis break out da n64 toys r us scans

 

[Logan]

Think the last physical game I bought was breath of the wild for the wii u.

So convenient just to go digital, but I fear the day they just decide to take my accounts away invoking some arbitrary eula clause.