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Software PlayStation 3 Games Priced at $59.99
Marcus Yam (Blog) - September 27, 2006 9:28 AM
Print 31 comment(s) - last by gchanjam.. on Sep 28 at 12:34 AM

+

= New game
Sony's pricing for PS3 games mirrors the XBOX 360

With the rising cost of game development, it was only a matter of time before the costs were passed onto the consumer. Higher resolution graphics means that more attention and effort must be placed into the artwork and more complex game engines require a greater amount of programming. It should come as no surprise, then, that PlayStation 3 games are to be priced $10-20 more than PlayStation 2 games. 

While Sony has not made any official announcement concerning the average selling price of its PlayStation 3 software, everything is all but confirmed after browsing through Sony’s own e-commerce site. SonyStyle.com lists seven titles for pre-order: Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII, Tony Hawk Project 8, Call of Duty 3, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Sonic the Hedgehog, Full Auto 2: Battlelines, and Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. 

Many XBOX 360 games already carry this next-generation price tag, although most first-party titles carry a $10 break at $49.99. Nintendo has also confirmed that its first-party games for the Wii will be under $50. While there is little information on whether or not third-party Wii games will come at a premium, a quick browse through Wal-Mart and Amazon shows that some third-party titles are sticking to $49.99. However, Activision’s cross-platform titles (Tony Hawk Project 8, Call of Duty 3, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance) all retail for $59.99 regardless of console.

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See, this is why I stay clear of consoles!!
By Spinne on 9/27/2006 10:50:53 AM , Rating: 3
I played the Il2 series ($20-$30 each) and LOMAC ($30) back in the day and bought a joystick and pedals for them. The other day I went out and bought GTR 2 for $20 at BestBuy and am now enjoying driving around in accurately modelled cars on real tracks. Granted it won't be that hard to drive a well modelled car on a console, but if you're a flight sim enthusiast and like keeping up with hardware, why would you ever plop money down on a console setup?




RE: See, this is why I stay clear of consoles!!
By Kilim on 9/27/2006 10:57:11 AM , Rating: 2
Simple. There are games you can get only on the PC, and there are games you can only get on a console.


RE: See, this is why I stay clear of consoles!!
By rushfan2006 on 9/27/2006 11:41:03 AM , Rating: 1
quote:
Simple. There are games you can get only on the PC, and there are games you can only get on a console.


Not "that" simple.....if you want some gaming depth and you want options (mods, maps, tools, etc. etc.) that no console can even claim to reach.....go PC......as for the games that you can only get on a console....well the good games that do really well WILL (I can all but promise you) end up on PC anyway...it only makes good business sense...if something sells extremely well why limit it to consoles only when you have a huge PC gamer base to cash in on to?

The same is NOT true for PC to console games....(further increasing the value of PC gaming over console IMHO).

Finally, there are only about three whole games that I like enough to really go "darn wish my PC could play them"....3 games doesn't warrant the better half of a grand to buy the console to play them.



RE: See, this is why I stay clear of consoles!!
By Zirconium on 9/27/2006 11:53:40 AM , Rating: 3
There is one factor you are missing: you can't have a few people crowd around a PC to play a multiplayer game. This opens things up for a whole other experience. I never play console games alone, but IMHO, it is hard to beat 4 player Powerstone 2 on my Dreamcast. There are plenty of games that are like this; pretty much the entire GameCube lineup seems to be this (Mario 4 Player Fun Time #8). Is it worth it to buy a console? Well, if you have no friends or don't like to play those games, maybe not. Otherwise, people who buy consoles then to get a good return because if you are just bored hanging out with a few friends, you can just play a game.


By rushfan2006 on 9/27/2006 2:32:42 PM , Rating: 2
Not a thing I'm missing. My post was from MY pov, I don't care about yours or others...you love consoles...that's great...play consoles. Impacts me none. I'm not standing up for any point but my own, others are welcome to do the same.

There are only two types of games that I ever agree are more fun playing with others "crowded around" ....sports games and racing games. And I personally don't play them more than maybe a few times a YEAR. So the point of playing together with folks in the same room/console is really of no value whatsoever to me.

Multiplayer? That's what I do on my PC almost every night.



By AzureKevin on 9/27/2006 6:29:50 PM , Rating: 3
Four-player Smash Brothers. :-P

It's all about personal preference, as well as budget. I generally prefer PC gaming, since a PC will always have better graphics and control (FPS especially). However, I'm also a fan of Final Fantasy games, and that's one thing I will never have on a PC. It's all about what you want, how much money you have, and whether or not you're willing to spend it. There's no "PC is better than console" or vice-versa. They both have their pros and cons.


RE: See, this is why I stay clear of consoles!!
By KayKay on 9/27/2006 12:08:34 PM , Rating: 2
I'm quite disappointed that call of duty 3 is not being released on PC. The game reached its popularity mostly on the PC, I think it deserves to have a PC version.

I think that the reason why it's on console only is due to the "next-gen" graphics that they have in it.


By Pirks on 9/27/2006 1:26:16 PM , Rating: 1
no, it's because cod3 is too old to move to dx10 and noone actually cares - people who want cream of the crop go crysis on dx10, and cheapos with consoles play cheapo last-gen (_not_ next-gen :)) cod franchise and the likes ;)


RE: See, this is why I stay clear of consoles!!
By Hemipower on 9/27/2006 12:10:39 PM , Rating: 1
While I agree 100 percent with you on the pc being better, some games just play better on a console. Sports games are better on a console especially when you play with other people. Platform games as well are better on a console, try playing God of War if it were available on a pc. FPS play better on pc as well as rpg's and rts. But each has its benefits.
P.S most people have more than 3 games they like on a console that either doesn't play well enough or doesn't play at all on a pc.


RE: See, this is why I stay clear of consoles!!
By rushfan2006 on 9/27/06, Rating: 0
By Murst on 9/27/2006 2:46:42 PM , Rating: 2
Then post your comments on YOUR blog, not in a discussion.


By gchanjam on 9/28/2006 12:34:13 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Not "that" simple.....if you want some gaming depth and you want options (mods, maps, tools, etc. etc.) that no console can even claim to reach.....go PC......as for the games that you can only get on a console....well the good games that do really well WILL (I can all but promise you) end up on PC anyway...it only makes good business sense...if something sells extremely well why limit it to consoles only when you have a huge PC gamer base to cash in on to?

The same is NOT true for PC to console games....(further increasing the value of PC gaming over console IMHO).

Finally, there are only about three whole games that I like enough to really go "darn wish my PC could play them"....3 games doesn't warrant the better half of a grand to buy the console to play them.
quote:


You seem to be forgetting that consoles are starting to take advantage of online content so it's only a matter of time before mods, tools, etc.. end up available for consoles.

Also most good console games do not go to PC. Some XBOX games do because of MS but I can just about promise you that most of the successful PS3 and obviously Wii titles will not be going to the PC and the ones that do are rare and buggy ports like FFVII and MGS2.

Plus in case you didnt know, the PC gamer market is small pickins' compared to the console market so companies have to think twice abour releasing console games on the PC.

Finally just because there are only 3 games that you want to play doesnt mean anything to the rest of the world.


By reboos on 9/27/2006 1:29:16 PM , Rating: 2
I remember paying $50 for Excitebike at KB Toys on the NES when it first came out. I have no problem with a little inflation.


Justified?
By CKDragon on 9/27/2006 9:52:42 AM , Rating: 2
I suppose you could say that the $60 price tag is justified considering inflation & that new Nintendo games in the mid-80's retailed for $50.

That doesn't mean I'm going to pay it. :P




RE: Justified?
By Webgod on 9/27/2006 10:24:31 AM , Rating: 2
Yeah, I suppose they're getting the gamers who have to buy a hyped up new game, but you have to guess they will lower prices on individual titles eventually. They've got the greatest hits titles and so on for $30 and $20 on the PS2.

The inflation argument works I guess, but they need to realize who their target audience is (kids and young adults) and work on keeping the prices lower. Despite the huge costs of owning a PC I guess one thing is that great PC games are routinely $35 and $45, although maybe not at first.

I gotta disagree about rising costs of artwork and programming. With console games the art has always started out high quality which then had to be resized to fit into a console's limited memory. With middleware I wouldn't think the developing situation is too different from last generation console programming.


RE: Justified?
By heulenwolf on 9/27/06, Rating: 0
RE: Justified?
By lwright84 on 9/27/2006 11:24:06 AM , Rating: 2
uhh.. my NES was $200, don't know what 80's you were living in.


RE: Justified?
By MrPickins on 9/27/2006 2:01:58 PM , Rating: 2
I got mine for $150, and that came with the gun and power pad. :D


RE: Justified?
By Arkham1 on 9/27/2006 3:00:08 PM , Rating: 2
I think games back there were about 40-50 bucks too. (At least, CDN.) I paid about 250-odd bucks of my hard-earned money for my ColecoVision when it first came out in 1982. Even before that I remember my Epyx Galaxian, Stargate, Coleco PacMan etc standalone games were about $80 bucks. Gaming's not a cheap hobby. ;)


RE: Justified?
By The Sword 88 on 9/27/2006 4:57:28 PM , Rating: 2
$1000 is a lot of dough to drop on gaming?
Not to long ago an FX-62 cost $1000 and people bought them and then a pair of $500 GPUs and then all the other required PC stuff. That ended up being way over 1K for the ultimate PC gaming rig.


RE: Justified?
By shabby on 9/27/2006 5:39:15 PM , Rating: 2
I remember when the snes came out, some were even priced above 60 bucks. Take into account inflation + developement time and were still paying 60 bucks for games. No one should be whining about game prices.


RE: Justified?
By RogueSpear on 9/27/2006 8:23:39 PM , Rating: 2
If I were a big time game player I'd be pretty upset with the price, but in all reality my PS2 is nothing more than a Grand Theft Auto playing device. If they suddenly decide that GTA4 is going to sell for $100 I have to admit that I would pay for it - and it would be worth it to me. The sad thing is that I can hardly think of any other games from recent years that are worth more than $30.

Before my PS2 I had an Xbox (the DVD drive died just after the warrant expired). I bought into the hype and got Halo on launch day. Realistically speaking it was so so and not worth $50. Unfortunately that was the best of all the $50 games I bought for the Xbox. When I got my PS2, I bought GTA3 and it's sequels as they came out. Best money I ever spent on video games. Also close on the list was Gran Turismo 3.

You really know that there's something wrong though when you spend 5 bucks to rent a game and still feel as though you got ripped off. There's just too much crap out there days.


Pretty much what I figured
By 05SilverGT on 9/27/2006 10:33:22 AM , Rating: 2
I didn't think the price of PS3 games would be anymore then XBox360 games despite all the hype. Now what would piss me off is if Wii games carried anything over a $50 price tag. Since it's really not Next-gen hardware wise I don't see where the additional development costs to justify the price come from.




RE: Pretty much what I figured
By Hemipower on 9/27/2006 12:03:31 PM , Rating: 2
Its not like last gen games werent made with the whole hd thing. They were just not on consoles. You could play most if not all of last years games on a pc with a lot higher resolutions. So for anyone including microsoft, which most people here give them a break, to charge 60 dollars while the pc titles cost 30 and offer better resolutions, free add-on, etc is rediculess.


RE: Pretty much what I figured
By Chillin1248 on 9/27/2006 4:35:38 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
By 05Silver:

Since it's really not Next-gen hardware wise


Anyone programming the lead Wii titles will most likely have to program for the new controller algorithims as well, this I would say would most likely increase the price over a familiar control pad.

-----
Chillin


Same price...
By therealnickdanger on 9/27/2006 9:43:22 AM , Rating: 2
... for old games. There are a couple new ones in there, I suppose. Was the $60 price tag a suprise to anyone?




RE: Same price...
By Brandon Hill (blog) on 9/27/2006 9:48:34 AM , Rating: 2
Some sites were reporting $90 for PS3 games in Japan.


RE: Same price...
By Frank M on 9/27/2006 9:51:36 AM , Rating: 2
Yeah, but everything's $90 in Japan. I once had a $200 cab ride in Tokyo. Apparently, you don't take a cab from the airport in Tokyo.


New Titles??
By djcameron on 9/27/2006 10:12:23 AM , Rating: 3
How many of those are actually new titles? I suppose I wouldn't mind paying more money if they weren't just repackaging the same old game with a new coat of paint and a new version number. Come on game insdustry, let's have something revolutionary for a change!




Down from $70
By Trisped on 9/27/2006 2:58:08 PM , Rating: 2
Looks like Sony decided to start playing ball with the other guys rather then sit on the side lines with their $700 system and $70 games. Good for me, might lower XBox prices a little.




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