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Fallschirmjager -> Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 5:40:51 AM)

I did a little bit of budgeting back in the fall and realized just how much I was spending on games each year. It was a lot.
Most of it was paying full price for new console releases. I built a new computer back last spring after letting mine get too old. I then started using Steam, GOG, GamersGate etc. and playing on the PC a lot more than any of my consoles.
I started buying almost all of my games when they were on sale though digital distribution platforms. I also almost completely stopped buying console games unless they were old and heavily marked down.
It turns out that I ended up buying even more games than in the past but also spending a whole lot less. I got $150 in pre paid gift cards for Christmas and bought almost 50 games with it.

It has been a little bit 'tough' doing without some brand new releases like Shogun 2 and the upcoming LA Noire. But I simply became tired of paying top dollar for new games only to literally see them much much cheaper 3 months later.
The breaking point came last summer when I purchase Victoria 2 on pre order for $40 in August and then with Steams Holiday sale it was sold for $5

Maybe I am a bit weird. But one reason I started this thread is I actually feel a bit bad about my buying practices. Not so much for the big time games. But for the smaller companies like the Paradox's and Matrix's.
What if everyone adopted my approach? Games would no longer be made.



sabre1 -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 5:53:10 AM)

That's so true, but the economy is tight, and people are losing jobs, and spending your money the way you see fit is nothing you should feel bad about. You earned it, you get to decide how to spend it. UUUUUUUU, could I take this one to another whole level, and get the thread locked down. [;)]

It's Matrix's job to determine how to market, so you part with your hard earned money.




Fallschirmjager -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 7:15:22 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: sabre1

That's so true, but the economy is tight, and people are losing jobs, and spending your money the way you see fit is nothing you should feel bad about. You earned it, you get to decide how to spend it. UUUUUUUU, could I take this one to another whole level, and get the thread locked down. [;)]

It's Matrix's job to determine how to market, so you part with your hard earned money.




Well that is another thing. Money is not really a problem for me. I am by no means rich. But I am in my mid 20s and single with no children and gaming is my primary hobby. I am recently graduated from college and doing better than most people my age but I don't have an endless supply of money.
I can't afford my gaming habit of buying games at full price. But I am being spoiled by the likes of Steam and the GamersGate. If I can be patient for a few months almost every game I could possible want I can buy at a massive discount.
Digital delivery is a great thing for me because I can play more games than ever at a much cheaper price. But is it good for the gaming industry as a whole?
I will admit that I don't really know how Steam and the like works. Maybe when they run sales Steam is the one to take a loss or less profit when they put a game on sale. But I just can't see a company like Paradox making the same amount of money on someone buying Victoria 2 on pre order vs waiting 4 short months and getting it for 5 dollars on a Christmas sale.
I have already decided that I want Crusader Kings 2 but there is no way I am going to buy it upon release since I am almost 100% sure that if I wait for 6 months I can get it for 20% of the price. Or if I wait 12 months I can get it along with the inevitable expansion pack.
Yet at the same time I want companies like Paradox to do well. But my penny pinching habits certainly can't be good for them.

I mentioned earlier about the AAA companies. Even they would begin to feel the pinch if a large portion of their customer base began to buy like I do. They already release too many cookie cutter games and sequels. If they begin to feel that original titles will not sell and are not worth the investment then I think we all lose.
Games like Grand Theft Auto IV are big budget on par with modern movies. GTA IV cost $110 million to make [X(]
As games get better and their budgets increase so does the risk.
Console games are more resistant to how I buy games now. I have to wait much longer for the price to drop on them but they eventually do.
I used to buy sports games from year to year, but this year I have pledged to myself to wait 6-9 months and then get them at a discount. It will be hard not to have Fifa and the NBA 2K series at the beginning of the season but I just can't see myself paying $60 for a new game now that I have experienced gaming on the cheap.
I mentioned LA Noire at the beginning of the thread. I am looking forward to the game but I imagine it will be 12 months or so before I get to play it due to refusing to buy it at full price. There is also no PC version currently planned so there is no chance to get it on the cheap through a sale.

Maybe I am way over-thinking this issue. But lately I have been thinking about the video game industry and how it has changed. I do fear that original and unique games are not being made and that small companies are being squeezed out of business.
I don't know the economics behind it, but I do see one bright light at the end of the tunnel is that in some way digital distribution is a good thing for the industry. Maybe it will cheapen the distribution part of games.
I wish that consoles would go this way and completely get rid of physical format discs and flaah cards and go pure digital. But I don't see that happening in the next generation.

Also, I do make myself feel better about my new buying habits by telling myself that is companies really are losing money on these huge sales that Steam and GG are able put on, then they would not give their permission for their games to be discounted this much.

One last thing. I also think that digital distribution platforms also extend the life of a product. Just in the past month I have purchases Jagged Alliance 2 Gold and Temple of Elemntal Evil. JA2 from Steam and ToEE from GOG. Even though I paid next to nothing for them it is still a tiny bit of income that the developers get for the product that they otherwise would not have gotten.

I am interested in other peoples thoughts of this issue.



sterckxe -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 7:50:47 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager
I have already decided that I want Crusader Kings 2 but there is no way I am going to buy it upon release since I am almost 100% sure that if I wait for 6 months I can get it for 20% of the price. Or if I wait 12 months I can get it along with the inevitable expansion pack.


The question is : do you want to play the game now, when it's hot - or not ? It's the same with movies. You can go see it in a theater right now or wait 6 months for it to appear on cheaper channels (dvd, cable tv, ...)

As long as enough people want the new hot game/movie *right now* there's not a problem and I don't see any signs of wargame companies not getting enough business.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx




ilovestrategy -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 8:49:04 AM)

For me, I just don't have the money to buy a game at full price. It's that simple. 



jomni -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 10:54:24 AM)

I will adopt this policy as well so I am skipping CMBN for now.  I will wait for expansions and a bundle.
But not Matrix games as these don't seem to drop drastically.  Maybe only during the holidays.



diablo1 -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 11:17:24 AM)

quote:

What if everyone adopted my approach? Games would no longer be made.


Don't worry Barnum said there's a fool born every minute and most of them live so there's plenty to keep paying those full retail prices for you. Enjoy the savings I've been doing it for years since 2003 and saved $1000's of dollars. Be careful though what you might end up doing is buying everything below $10 but many of them will be fails and that's still wasted dollars. Even buying frugally I still spend upwards of $400-$600 a year in gaming but like you I got loads of games for my money. I might buy 1 or 2 retail games a year if they are really popular and the reviews are solid.



warspite1 -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 1:14:30 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: diablo1

quote:

What if everyone adopted my approach? Games would no longer be made.


........ Even buying frugally I still spend upwards of $400-$600 a year in gaming.......

Warspite1

How many games do you buy a year?! And more to the point, how do you find time to play them all?? Diablo1 are you the Imelda Marcos of the gaming world? [;)]



diablo1 -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 1:22:44 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: warspite1


quote:

ORIGINAL: diablo1

quote:

What if everyone adopted my approach? Games would no longer be made.


........ Even buying frugally I still spend upwards of $400-$600 a year in gaming.......

Warspite1

How many games do you buy a year?! And more to the point, how do you find time to play them all?? Diablo1 are you the Imelda Marcos of the gaming world? [;)]


That's not just PC games warspite, it includes monthly sub rates for MMO's. Plus hardware upgrades are included in gaming budget. I did buy 47 games last year though just checked my budget report. Who's Imelda Marcos? Oh and I'm semi-retired so I have plenty of hours to play them. Wives are gone (somebody else is footing their bills and GF's cost a lot less and you get a lot more at my age from them). Children are way grown and have their own family and headaches. So it's just me an my pups and a handful of ladies who like to cook for me. [:)]



ilovestrategy -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 2:08:04 PM)

Imelda Marcos was Ferdinand Marcos' wife. She was infamous for collecting shoes. I would post a link but I'm on my phone ATM.



Phatguy -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 2:39:13 PM)

In the last year I only bought two full price games from the "big" companies.Shogun II and Victoria II.. And maybe 3 or 4 from Matrix.....The rest? Cheap bargain basement stuff or Steam. In the last few years I've gradually shifted over to board wargames and LOTRO....



carnifex -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 3:15:14 PM)

You pay how much you want to pay. There are thousands of free games out there, and there are many many people willing to trade.

You want the latest and the greatest, it's strictly a voluntary thing.



sterckxe -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 3:33:53 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: apathetic lurker
In the last year I only bought two full price games from the "big" companies.Shogun II and Victoria II.. And maybe 3 or 4 from Matrix.....The rest? Cheap bargain basement stuff or Steam. In the last few years I've gradually shifted over to board wargames and LOTRO....


In the pc world releases I even want to play are few and far between - just 3 games last year, so I don't mind paying full price for them. It's May and the counter is still at 0 for this year.

Where I spend 90% of my entertainment budget (and time) these days is boardgames and tabletop stuff - that's where the interesting and innovative stuff is getting produced.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx



ilovestrategy -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 3:53:47 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: apathetic lurker

In the last few years I've gradually shifted over to board wargames and LOTRO....



I made a kin with my alts. I named it The Law Office of Smeagol and Gamgee. [:D]



Canoerebel -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 4:06:07 PM)

I've bought three games since 2002 and gladly paid full price for each: Uncommon Valor, War in the Pacific, and WitP: Admiral's Edition. That's about $20 a year spent on computer games. I doubt I'll purchase another game until WitP II is created (if that should ever happen). If it's created, I'll gladly pay full price for it and thank Matrix for the chance to do so.



SuluSea -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 4:22:33 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I've bought three games since 2002 and gladly paid full price for each: Uncommon Valor, War in the Pacific, and WitP: Admiral's Edition. That's about $20 a year spent on computer games. I doubt I'll purchase another game until WitP II is created (if that should ever happen). If it's created, I'll gladly pay full price for it and thank Matrix for the chance to do so.


What no WPO, you're no fan of the series[;)][:D] Joking of course. I'm taking this approach as well for the most part, my next game I'll buy is WITP2 or Carrier Force (which from what I understand is not happening), I have too many great games that I bought that see little to no play time.

I started playing the Japanese is AE so now I have a whole new game.[:)]



Terminus -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 4:43:10 PM)

I wouldn't feel bad for Paradox. They're hardly "small" anymore.



d0mbo -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 7:39:34 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I've bought three games since 2002 and gladly paid full price for each: Uncommon Valor, War in the Pacific, and WitP: Admiral's Edition. That's about $20 a year spent on computer games. I doubt I'll purchase another game until WitP II is created (if that should ever happen). If it's created, I'll gladly pay full price for it and thank Matrix for the chance to do so.



Where can we sign the WITP II petition to get things moving? :)



Hertston -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 7:41:41 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

Maybe I am a bit weird. But one reason I started this thread is I actually feel a bit bad about my buying practices. Not so much for the big time games. But for the smaller companies like the Paradox's and Matrix's.
What if everyone adopted my approach? Games would no longer be made.


I wouldn't worry, it's a complex market and it keeps changing.

I guess I'd group the games (PC only, not having a console) I buy into four catagories;

1. Wargames. Now Battlefront have managed to p*ss me off to the 'never again' extent, that pretty much just means Matrix plus the odd indie if one should happen along. I grouch about the price sometimes, but usually end up paying it. Maybe five a year; depends on the year. It's a niche market and that means you don't pay the same prices as games with a much bigger potential market.

2. Mainstream stuff I want. Pre-order stuff. Maybe four or five a year; this year probably only Portal 2, F.E.A.R 3, SotS 2.

3. Stuff I'd quite like, but.. will wait for the Steam/GG sale. The Christmas ones just get crazier and crazier.. like 30 quid for the whole Paradox catalog last Christmas?! That was insane, even if you had a few already. That's also when I buy 'adventure' games; I've always liked the genre but a reply value of nil means I never pay full whack for them. I've got half-a-dozen queued up; I doubt the lost cost me more than £20.

4. Impulse buys. Mainly the £10 or less stuff on Steam. Hit and miss, but as many turn out to be gems as full price releases these days; that's the sector where all the freshness and originality is. It's also where a lot of the quality is as well; as the 'full price' market is more and more dominated by a few publishers and even just a few franchises, everybody else is moving to mid/cheap price to sell (hopefully) in volume online.

I probably spend too much on games. As it's nothing like what I used to spend on booze and fags in my younger days (I now neither drink nor smoke) I don't much care.




andym -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 8:08:47 PM)

Having got burned several times last year with games being released that had such promise then turning out to be ****e,i now wait untill at least 2 months go by,looking at various forums and then seeing what new games are being returned to game stores,THEN i will get a game i have my eye on.



diablo1 -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 8:55:36 PM)

quote:

As it's nothing like what I used to spend on booze and fags in my younger days


Ain't that the truth. I used to spend $1200 a year plus on just cigarettes. Quit smoking 5 years ago and put half that savings into my gaming budget. The other half in the bank.



Perturabo -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 9:36:38 PM)

I rarely buy new/full priced games nowadays. The last one that I bought was TacOps and I already regret paying the full price for it as I'm not spending a lot of time playing it and I can't even participate in the TacOps forum discussion because Battlefront doesn't want Linux users on its forums.

Generally, to me, full-priced games are very expensive due to that idiotic economic stuff - for example a 50$ game costs 21 minimal hourly wages here instead 7 minimal hourly wages. Like work of a person here would be 3 times worse than work of a foreigner[8|]. This world is a sad joke.

When it comes to first hand games in last year I have bought TacOps (100 PLN), Raptor: Call of the Shadows (13 PLN ) and Duke Nukem the Manhattan Project (9 PLN) - both bought during the holiday sale, Humble Indie Bundle 2 (18 PLN). That's it.
In 2009 it was just Knight 'n' Grail [Premium C64 Disk Edition] (70 PLN), Psykozone ( 10 PLN ), Sean O'Connor's Windows Games (100 PLN ), War Plan Orange (6 PLN ) Battles in Italy ( 6 PLN ) Battles in Normandy ( 6 PLN ) - these are the only Matrix Games that I have bought - they were in a bargain bin in Tesco and I have found it kinda sad that they just lie there, with boxes that are getting more and more damaged, so I have bought them. Too bad that Wine still isn't able to render the map in War Plan Orange[:(].

Most of the games that I buy now, are vintage games that I collect. Nice big boxes, paper manuals, maps and stuff like that. Also, they are rare which makes their value real.



Fallschirmjager -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 9:57:21 PM)

Looks like I have some fellow bargain hunters. Now I don't feel as bad. Don't forget that Steam and other like sites also have a summer sales the last week of June/First week of July that is usually as big as their after Christmas sale.


Like Diablo I probably bought 60+ games last year. And I am not even retired [:D]
But with the mega sales it is hard not to buy 20-30 games at a time and then wait until the next sale. That is what I did at Christmas and I am just now downloading and playing the final games I purchased.

I would however pay full price for a handful of war games assuming they ever got made. If Matrix does anything with an operational level Vietnam game or Korea. Or a UV game set in the Atlantic or med, any WW1 naval game or age of sail game. I would buy any of those on release day at full price.
But Matrix has hit a dead spot with me lately. Everything they release or announce I have next to no interest in. It is the same tired WW2 theaters over and over and over.
I bought WitE at full price in December but regret it. It was very expensive and I put maybe 7 hours into it. It is not a badly done game by any means. I just simply could not get myself worked up enough to play yet another WW2 land game on the Eastern Front.



Fallschirmjager -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 10:01:24 PM)

I also just learned that Battlefront released a demo of CM Normandy. No one on this board even mentioned anything. Where are you guys when I need you [:D]
I am going to download and try it. But I don't have high hopes. CM SF was one of the most disappointing and downright awful war games I have ever played. And the asking price of $60 already puts me off.



Dixie -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 10:10:30 PM)

I'll pay full price if I really want a game that badly. I'm not going to feel bad about not paying full price, the company isn't going to feel sorry for me if I spend too much cash [;)]



berto -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 10:27:33 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: d0mbo

quote:

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

I've bought three games since 2002 and gladly paid full price for each: Uncommon Valor, War in the Pacific, and WitP: Admiral's Edition. That's about $20 a year spent on computer games. I doubt I'll purchase another game until WitP II is created (if that should ever happen). If it's created, I'll gladly pay full price for it and thank Matrix for the chance to do so.

Where can we sign the WITP II petition to get things moving? :)

+1

I largely agree with Canoerebel. I would be happy playing nothing but WITP:AE (or a WITP2) EXCEPT ...

There's no way I can abandon my "life-long dream come true" HPS American Civil War series EXCEPT ...

Setting aside my aversion to Paradox, I will certainly purchase Magna Mundi when released late this year. I worked on the MM mod team, and the MM subject matter completes my triad of ultimate gaming interests.

Beyond that--sorry, Matrix--I will most likely never purchase another game (with the exception of WITP2).

Any one of those three games alone could occupy my full gaming time. Where is there time for anything else?

Not mere words. Last week, I uninstalled all of my other games (including, sadly, TOAW and several other Matrix & HPS titles; I did retain UV & the original WITP, though). It really is now down to just those three top-listed games (rather: the two now, the third when MM is released).

Finally curbing my life-long game collecting addiction as I near old age.



Fred98 -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/12/2011 11:13:32 PM)

I bought 2 games in 2010 one of which I don't play.

I bought 1 game in 2011 to date.  Can't see anything on the horizon for the rest of 2011.

I prefer to play very few games well rather than a lot badly.
-



Fallschirmjager -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/13/2011 12:26:02 AM)

I have a very broad range of tastes and can't play just a handful of games. I guess that is why I am not very good at MMO's. I just cannot put in the hours needed to succeed.
But I do like a very wide varaity of games. I can play old turn based war games and enjoy them and I can play the newest console shooter with it's shiny new graphics and enjoy it.
I cannot imagine playing just a handful of games each year. I would never make it.



wodin -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/13/2011 1:28:04 AM)

I hardly buy games these days....play the demo and no likey most of the time...get given a few oldies here and there....infact I've been on a Chaos Gate tip recently and been playing a few free games by indy developers on the net...

Only games I can see myself buying this year are Red Orchestra 2 and Team Assualt...will try the demo of The Witcher to see if the combat is any better.



ilovestrategy -> RE: Not paying full price for games any more (5/13/2011 1:55:00 AM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Fallschirmjager

I can play old turn based war games and enjoy them and I can play the newest console shooter with it's shiny new graphics and enjoy it.




This is me in a nutshell. Exactly. I can play anything from a turn based strategy game to a rts to an rpg to a brand new shooter. Doesn't matter of it's console or PC. I enjoy them all. [:D]

Just don't ask me to watch Disney's Pearl Harbor movie.



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