shponglefan wrote on Nov 25, 2011, 11:52:
For point #2, I can't entirely speak for games pricing. However, $60 for a game today is cheaper than games were 15-20 years ago on an inflation-adjusted basis. And in the past, you'd still get games that would last 8 hours, yet would cost more in today's dollars. I think gamers are a little spoiled in this regard.
A game is worth what your market is willing to pay for it, that's all. Now, I understand the concept of high production values, quality over quantity, etc. Portal 2 was a short experience but it was worth it IMO. Significant inflation may have occurred in the past 20 years, but middle class incomes have stagnated and the market has grown massively, which throws off a purely inflation-based adjustment of price. Piracy is also much easier now than it used to be, both console and PC, and you can't get rid of piracy in its current form without instituting a complete lockdown on the internet and, frankly, killing any spirit and sense of freedom it still contains.
Actually, on the pricing front there was
a blog entry by the creators of Avernum, Geneforge, and Avadon, who for the longest time kept their 90's shareware prices and have only recently realized that the market has changed and you can't charge what you used to. Of course there's a big difference between the low budget indie marketplace and the marketplace of AAA games from major studios, but a lot of his points have similar or identical parallels in the mainstream market.