Game studios need money to survive, it’s simple. Their one goal is to make a profit, that’s why so much money is pumped into making the game itself and marketing. So, if something isn’t selling well and not making enough of money, they need to rethink their strategies. Videogames for next-gen systems now are really getting expensive — in the UK around £50 for a PS3 or 360 game, £40 for a Wii game. For a single game, especially if it turns out to be a bad one, that’s a lot of money. But, the prices are staying at this price for one reason and one reason only: people are buying them. They may not like the price they’re at, they might think it’s too much, but they want the item and they buy it. So, prices stay the same, and RRP game prices stay at the same level. Sure, maybe you buy online (like I do) and find games for cheaper prices, but the majority of people use game shops regularly, so usually pay the full RRP.
Poor sales force game manufacturers to re-think their selling tactics, primarily their price point, and it can force them to drop it. Take the PS3 for example. It was released over here at an extortionate price of £425. It didn’t sell badly, but not as well as Sony had hoped in relation to the competition. This might have spurred them onto revising their price point, releasing a £300 in a hopeful bid for sales. And, despite the removal of PS2 backwards compatibility from the cheaper version, it seems to have worked. This, along with other similar events, indicates that you do have a voice when it comes to price, and you can vote with your spending pounds/dollars if you think something is too pricey. If you do think something is too expensive, don’t buy it, because that will mean the price will drop if enough people take that stance. You might think you not buying something won’t make a difference, but if there are other people who do the same, it will.
The same goes for downloadable content, or DLC. They can be notoriously expensive. So, if you don’t want to pay £5 for a couple of new maps, don’t. If enough people do the same, the price will drop like you wanted. I personally think all DLC for a game should be free. You’ve bought the game for what is a lot of money for what it is, you shouldn’t need to pay more simply so you can play on a couple of new maps online. Really, think about how much you really want it too. Do you really want this extra map? By buying it, you are casting your vote in the direction of keeping the price the same for that specific DLC, and maybe some future DLC. If you don’t buy, your vote is in the direction of price change — specifically a price drop. It’s not fair for a company to put an advantage such as new armour or weapons on sale, where some people may not be able to afford it and then be at a disadvantage over another player during the game. Sarcastic Gamer proved something similar to this when they boycotted EA’s plans to release planned DLC with their soon-to-be-released game — Battlefield: Bad Company. They were planning on releasing 5 weapons on a pay-to-play status, and as is obvious, this would put the people who bought the weapons at an advantage over the others for their wider selection of weapons, however much EA might have claimed it was all balanced out. Thanks to the boycott, the 5 weapons will now be available for a free download, which shows that everyone does have a voice when it comes to situations like this, when companies charging for DLC is unacceptable for many people.
Games companies shouldn’t be charging for these things, and hopefully in the future they won’t, but the same goes for every other purchase, such as a console or peripheral. The message of the post is: if you don’t think an item is at a reasonable enough price, don’t buy it. It’s impossible to put this into practice all the time, but with things you don’t really need, it’s worth thinking before you shell out your hard-earned cash.
