PC game pricing creep

[rob4001]

So one of the major advantages of having a PC was generally the prices of games where cheaper than consoles. Looks like marketing bods don't care about that anymore. At least with consoles you can sell on your games. Not so much with steam.

[Biscuit]

I know that EA have been particularly offensive with their pricing strategy of releasing a game for £40 that only has 40% of the content then charging you another £40-50 for a season pass that contains the rest of the stuff that would traditionally be expected to be included. This really irks me for sure!

[kalniel]

So one of the major advantages of having a PC was generally the prices of games where cheaper than consoles. Looks like marketing bods don't care about that anymore. At least with consoles you can sell on your games. Not so much with steam.

PC games seem to be much cheaper than console versions for me. But then I'm not so much into shooters.

[Bluecube]

Can't say I've noticed but then I never buy games on the day of release nor am I particularly enamoured by the so called AAA titles that are cranked out year after year... It's a rare day that I spend more than £20 on a game.

[rob4001]

Can't say I've noticed but then I never buy games on the day of release nor am I particularly enamoured by the so called AAA titles that are cranked out year after year... It's a rare day that I spend more than £20 on a game.

Thats pretty much what I do cheaper and usually patched by then. Its still annoying they insist on using the console model for PC games.

[Mystogan]

Same here. I don't buy games at launch or pre-order as they're usually chocked full of bugs and glitches, whilst still being at close to RRP price.

I just wait it out a few months, by then most of the problems should have be ironed out and also the game should be on sale.

Sure, you won't be up to date with latest AAA titles using this but that's the price you have to pay for the big discounts. It doesn't bother me that much as I still have a huge backlog to play and so little time to play them all.

All in all it's still much cheaper than console gaming.

[Ravens Nest]

I agree to an extent, i wanted Fallout 4 but i couldn't afford it when it was available on pre-order for £23 now i have been paid i went looking and its £35 at its cheapest to buy but i can get it on PS4 for that amount.

I think PC should be cheaper Microsoft, Nintendo or Sony do not get a chunk of the sale and PC gaming can be a nightmare.

An example of this is i bought my son COD Black Ops 3 for PC after he played it round a friends on xbox one, runs fine on xbox but i spent 3 hours trying to get it to work on PC pulling my hair out until i solved it eventually with help from people on forums.

No such problem with console gaming so why should i pay the same for PC with all the headaches that can entail.

Saying that i got batman arkham knight for £15 and witcher 3 for £25 with all the dlcs on PC (Then again i have had problems with both these games lol) , so its swings and roundabouts i guess.

And Christmas puts the prices up i notice too.

[ceejays88]

PC games have slowly been getting more expensive recently, due to the fact alot of "console gamers" are going down the PC route.

[spacein_vader]

I would suggest that PC games generally aren't getting more expensive, but AAA PC games, particularly in the run up to Xmas are.

PC games had tended to launch at retail for around £30 since the mid 90s until the last year or two IIRC. That's quite a long time to ignore inflation. Recently the likes of EA, Activision & Blizzard have brought their multiplatform release prices in line with consoles it's true.

On the other hand, PC games generally have gotten cheaper in the last 10 years or so. The PC has led the way in digital distribution and the lack of console licence costs & the fact that there is competition between stores has led to prices falling. This is partly down to publishers realising that a game can still sell more than 3 months after release now that there is effectively unlimited shelf space and the rise of indie devs targeting lower pricing as people are beginning to understand that not all games need to be 200hrs long or using the latest graphics to be worth buying.

Granted we don't have the ability to sell these games on as the consoles do, but the flip side of that is that while console games generally never drop much below £10-15 its very easy to buy 2+ year old high end PC games for £2.99 in a sale.

[shaithis]

Go to key stores and purchase all new titles for around £20.

I never buy boxed or direct from Steam/Origin/uPlay

[madmantheonlyone]

prices are still very reasonable going through allkeyshop.com ... I dont even remember the last time I bought anything on steam directly, even with their big sales (winter/summer/whatever sale), allkeyshop is just cheaper, so no point

[ceejays88]

prices are still very reasonable going through allkeyshop.com ... I dont even remember the last time I bought anything on steam directly, even with their big sales (winter/summer/whatever sale), allkeyshop is just cheaper, so no point

Thanks for that site, I have only used cdkeys.

[spacein_vader]

Thanks for that site, I have only used cdkeys.

If you don't use it already http://www.isthereanydeal.com is a tool that lets you create a wishlist of games, set a level (either in currency or % discount,) at which you'd like to be alerted and then it scans a wide variety of sites and emails you when conditions are met.

[big_hairy_rob]

As I see it, it costs more and more to produce a game. Increasing wage costs, along with production, hosting and storage mean that games do cost more. Big releases often follow months of advertisement aimed at increasing interest. Plus even at £39.99, game prices have not really increased much from the 80's. That's certainly how much I paid for Super Mario Brothers 3 in 1988.

Imagine that nearly 20 years later games cost the same amount, yet cost far more to produce. While it's also true that far more people have a game console or computer potentially offering higher profits through potential volumes, I still believe that £50 is cheap for a AAA game. While many have subsidized their profits with updates, dlc or season passes these are not always essential parts of the majority of a game (ignoring MMORPG's or Online maps) and consumers have a choice whether to purchase them.

As for keysellers, I avoid them the same reason that I avoid a DVD seller in the pub. It may be cheap, but inevitably it ends up hurting the producers.

[cptwhite_uk]

There's plenty of places to still shop for PC games cheap, instead of Steam's silly prices.

G2A.com and CDKeys are my go to sites at the moment.

[ceejays88]

If you don't use it already http://www.isthereanydeal.com is a tool that lets you create a wishlist of games, set a level (either in currency or % discount,) at which you'd like to be alerted and then it scans a wide variety of sites and emails you when conditions are met.

Thank you - It is a shame they dont have something like this for xbox or ps4 too.