Is there a such thing as gaming on a budget? With the record breaking prices on consoles, the litany of games released every year, and the amount spent per game, building gaming into a normal budget is difficult enough.
However, as gaming software gets more sophisticated, it seems like prices per game will begin trending up as well.
Matt Matthews from Next Generation analyzes the issue:
Now, 20-odd months on from the Xbox 360’s launch and half a year into the PlayStation 3’s life, we ask how the $60 game experiment is going. Are consumers buying those higher priced games?
We’ve analyzed prices of the top selling games for the past three years, with a special focus on the last 12 months, to get an idea of whether those more expensive games are selling well.
Our conclusions are as follows…
- Prior to 2007, the average prices for the top 20 games was around $40-$43.
- During the first half of 2007, prices for the top 20 games has been around $46-$49, without including Guitar Hero II. With Guitar Hero II, included prices are measurably above $50.
- As the Xbox 360 library expands, it will claim more and more high-priced games in the top 20 list.
- As Wii games replace PlayStation 2 games in the charts, it will keep the floor of console game prices right at $50.
- The last two points will together force the average price of top selling games well above $50 in the near future.
- The only downward pressure on average game prices is coming from the Nintendo DS.
So are consumers buying those $60 games? Yes, they are, and at an increasing pace. Here’s the detailed evidence…
I highly recommend reading the rest of the articles for the in-depth analysis of price trends.
Personally, I’ve become accustomed to dropping $60 on titles that I enjoy - the gameplay value per hour, especially on RPGs, makes it worth it for me.
Plus, thrifty gamers always have Ebay, Blockbuster, and Gamefly.
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