IDK how to feel about rising video game prices. On the one hand, prices were stagnant for decades. On the other hand, companies can sell far more copies of games than they could back in the 1980s and 1990s. The cost of games is all in the development. The more you sell, the cheaper the price can be. They cost next to nothing to package and distribute (or are distributed digitally.)
On one hand, games are a lot more complex and expansive than they were back in the day. On the other, game devs now have tools the creators of old couldn’t even dream of. No one is hand coding the next Mario game is assembly.
There’s a lot of variables here. And it’s really just hard to make a fair judgment about it.
In many ways I think rising prices could be great, but in reality, they won’t be. With the technology available today, we could have even cooler games than we do, and more games, and more great games. We could have more diverse and experimental games. It would be lovely if solo indie developers were able to make a living from making great games, rather than basically needing to chase a dream akin to getting drafted into the NBA. Game developers are seriously underpaid, it would be great if they got paid as much as other software developers, especially since their work is equally complex and usually more stressful.
In reality, rising game prices will not help with any of those things, and will just make the C-suite richer. The one silver lining is that this may allow small indies to start charging a more livable realistic price for their games.
IDK how to feel about rising video game prices. On the one hand, prices were stagnant for decades. On the other hand, companies can sell far more copies of games than they could back in the 1980s and 1990s. The cost of games is all in the development. The more you sell, the cheaper the price can be. They cost next to nothing to package and distribute (or are distributed digitally.)
On one hand, games are a lot more complex and expansive than they were back in the day. On the other, game devs now have tools the creators of old couldn’t even dream of. No one is hand coding the next Mario game is assembly.
There’s a lot of variables here. And it’s really just hard to make a fair judgment about it.
In many ways I think rising prices could be great, but in reality, they won’t be. With the technology available today, we could have even cooler games than we do, and more games, and more great games. We could have more diverse and experimental games. It would be lovely if solo indie developers were able to make a living from making great games, rather than basically needing to chase a dream akin to getting drafted into the NBA. Game developers are seriously underpaid, it would be great if they got paid as much as other software developers, especially since their work is equally complex and usually more stressful.
In reality, rising game prices will not help with any of those things, and will just make the C-suite richer. The one silver lining is that this may allow small indies to start charging a more livable realistic price for their games.
If they’re turning billions of dollars in profit each year, there’s no reason to raise the price. Fuck them
Yeah but BOTW has already made them rich. Development is finished and even the next game is 2 years old. I call it pure greed.
Steam takes 30% cut. This, of course, does not apply to nintendo, but still