How much should video games cost?

How much do you think video games should cost?

$19.95 is a fair price. I do have a subscription to get games at $6.95 and that to me is a killer deal but I am not sure how that works for the game developers. They are in this business to make money. I would pay $30 if it was a high-end, superb graphic, never-ending game but I would not get too many of them as that would stretch my budget too far.

I completely agree with Gamey... $19.95 is a very fair price. I have gotten a couple games for cheaper, $14.95 for one, about 50% off for a couple others and found that to be an excellent deal... but I'm always willing to pay $19.95 for a game when I know that it's a good game with enough re-playability for it to be worth it and when I know that the money is going for the game developers to create a new masterpiece.

Did BF just do a poll similar to this?

I think the $19.95 price is just right. If you push the average price to $29.95; more people will think before making that spur of the moment purchase. $14.95 is just not enough for what is put into producing the game.

The subscriptions for a reduced rate are great especially if the monthly credit doesn't have an expiration date. BF's do not but RealArcade's credits do expire (and, try to get out of the subscription; reminds me of the days of trying to get rid of AOL).

Interesting question, gamey, I oftened wondered if the reduced rate affects the developers. Maybe we will see an answer. Not that I'm loyal to any other gaming developer. LDW has stolen my heart.

Okay, enough sucking up.

For a game like the VV, $19.95 is a perfectly fair price. It all depends on replayability. I won't pay $19.95 for a game I am going to play once and beat in less than one day. The simpler games that are BORING to replay. I got my Shockwave unlimited so I could play those games that are fun for a few hours without having to shell out $19.95 every time.

I would definitely pay more for a video game that I knew I would play for a while, and I knew the company was good (like LDW). I think some are highly overpriced.

If I could afford it I'd definitely buy any other LDW games at $19.95. For our PS2 we usually buy the games used...because it doesn't hurt our pockets as much.

I'll be saving my money for when the new one comes out!

THe VV games are definitely worth $19.95 each. They are great games.

I think the price set ryt now is great (19.95) really 5.00-20.00 is ok with me as long as I know that I am not waisting my money (which I know I am not) even though I did vote 4 14.95 but I am ok with paying 19.95 because it all goes to LDW & I know it is a gr8 game !!!!

I always think $19.95 is a good price for games and though free would be nice, it's not possible to get good games. So, those who say free, you're not paying, but you're playing not-as-good quality games. So, I think $19.95 is a good price.

I did the math the other day, and I think $19.95 is the perfect price for the casual game/gamer.

For instance: I have a game club membership because I find myself wanting more than 4 or so games in a year, @ $20 a peice, 4 or more games is $80+ bucks. My club thingy gives me 12 games for about $84. This is a great deal for me, (but even I find myself with 4 or so extra credits at the end of each year, but i give these as gifts and it evens out)

If one doesn't play this many games..... Maybe 2 or 3 in a year, then they should just pay regular price and save the $25 or so.

And the conscious consumer would gage these numbers and do what's right for them. If the price were any higher you would be pushing away a more casual audience, and if it were lower those that sell subscriptions would probably lose subscribers!



Buying subscriptions is something that will only appeal to a certain kind of gamer.

im kay with the price it is now. but 14.95 would be kewl

Well, I (being my usual pragmatic self) have two answers. I think $19.95 is a fair price for a new non-core game. Core games obviously require far more development so can and should get a higher price, but as somebody said above that limits the number of people who will buy them.

Answer 2, After a game has been out awhile and recouped the intial investment and a decent profit, then the price should be cut. This is how I got started on VV, I was walking through Walmart and found VV1 for $10. I picked it up (a spontaneous buy) and have been hooked on LDW ever since. Now that I knew the quality and fun of the games, I had no hesitation about paying full price for VV2, nor will I hesitate to pay full price for VV3. Discounting games after they've been out awhile is a great way to draw new customers. It's what has started me on some of the core games for which I later paid much more for new versions and or expansion packs.

just free is the way for me.

(only cuz i hate spending mulah)

$ 19.95 should be the best.

The only games I play are LDW games. I'm not a games player otherwise. I'm not really sure why I decided to try VV at first; I know that I clicked on an online advert by accident and thought that it looked good, but why I downloaded the trial not being a games player (even a casual one) I can't tell. I do know that once I'd tried it I was hooked! I might have been put off buying it if the price was any higher, though.

$19.95 seems a fair price to me for the sort of game put out by LDW. I would imagine that other much more 'core' games, developed by large corporations such as EA, can command a higher price.

Arnie, we are so glad that you did click on the link. We're lucky to have you here. Even though you're taking up chewing on your beard hair. Eeeeewwww

It's interesting that a couple people said that it should be free...

The question for them should be: how would be then pay the artists, engineers, musicians that work on the game?

Carla, I bet if you offered VV fans a chance to work on the game.. they would do it for free! Lol.. dunno what the quality would be, but I think we're pretty bright.. we would learn fast!

<blush>How sweet of you, QuickStorm!

Chewing on my beard has one advantage; if I'm feeling hungry I can always finish up last night's soup.

I don't know what the pound to the dollar is. But it's worth the asking price, for all the hard work that goes into them.

I think that $9.95 is a better price. I don't buy games very often, and it has to somehow prove to me that $19.95 is worth it. (That happened with Fish Tycoon over two years ago, so for me, LDW has a good track record.)

OTOH, if a game is $14.95 or $9.95, I'm more likely to buy it and take the chance, even if I end up being disappointed. So I think that a lower price will bring in enough buyers to make up the difference in cost. Especially for downloadable games where there isn't any packaging overhead.

OTOOH, IMHO, it would be nice if "loyalty" discounts would be given (maybe $5) off of the $19.95 price when people come back to buy additional games.

Roughly, two dollars = one pound at the moment. $19.95 is therefore about £10, although I think VAT has to be added on top for us in the UK.

EDIT: Hey! That was my 2,0000th post!

Arnie, soup is always better the second day but I don't know how it tastes when its been left out overnight on hair. You called me sweet! OMG, I'm printing this out and showing my family and friends.

FYI for those who asked -- today's conversion rates (3/29/08)

$19.95USD =

12.63978 Euro
9.97450 British Pound
63.16050 Argentine Peso
21.69374 Australian Dollar
20.29952 Canadian Dollar
12.63978 French Franc
24,462.7 Iraqi Dinar

there is not French Franc any more, it's Euro.

I didn't pick that one up. Most of the countries using Euro were marked, I guess I need to get my eyes checked.

Generally, I will buy a game depending on price and replayability. Such as I have no problem (ok yeah I do but I do it anyways) paying $30 for an expansion pack for the Sims2. Other games that are played and won fairly quickly I might pay the $20 for them if I've played them through a trial and really really liked it. For the games that either I've never played and unsure of or have played but didn't buy immediately I don't mind paying $10.

For the LDW games, I would pay the $20 for them. I play all kinds of games online and with the CD. I had never bought a game online even if I liked it I waited for it to come out retail. However, once I played the hour trial version of Virtual Villager I was hooked and had to have it right then I wasn't about to wait for it to come to the store. Virtual Villagers was my very first online game purchase. Since then I've purchase maybe four more, but I still tend to wait for them to come to retail.
Brat

9$ is the best deal

Only $9, Chaitanya? There are going to be some very hungry artists, producers and designers. Heck, they need to eat too.

This one is hard... I'd say either 14.95 or 19.95... but I'm not sure which I really think is best...

I bought a 2 years old SpongeBob SquarePants pc game for like 70 dollers no joking

Even though I would love it if all computer/video games were free, it is fair that you should pay for them. I think that $19.95 is a fair price because of all of the hard work that the developers put into making the game.

Also, free games tend to be beta or development versions, or simple games. Making games like vv free might lead people to think that it is still needing development

I agree with $19.95, it's a fair price with all the hardwork that goes in to the game.

I would pay 20-30 dollars, like I do for LDW, and Sims 2 expanisions.

40-50 ONLY if its HUGE, like the base game of Sims 2.

It really depends. On games that have heavy graphics, like that almost look real, or the game is really big I think it it fair that they would cost more. But, if the game is small and doesn't have good graphics I think it should have a lower price.

I won't pay more than $30 for a game. Many aren't worth even that, so the $20 option is more likely to get me to buy. There was only one time that I bought a game for more, and that was a three-in-one set, so really it came to under $20 per game.

9.95