
The return of the $70 video game has been a long time coming - zdw
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/07/the-return-of-the-70-video-game-has-been-a-long-time-coming/
======
hellcow
This "article" was written and published at the same time across many
different publications. Ars, IGN, and more published this PR piece in full:
[https://icrowdnewswire.com/2020/07/10/the-return-of-
the-70-v...](https://icrowdnewswire.com/2020/07/10/the-return-of-the-70-video-
game-has-been-a-long-time-coming/). Search for this title in DDG and you'll
find many results.

The question is, who paid to publish the press release? Pushing a press
release through a PR firm that would get you wide coverage like this ain't
free, and it doesn't happen on its own.

I haven't seen anybody asking that question or pointing out the conflict of
interest.

~~~
syspec
The `icrowdnewswire.com` link says it is written by "Kyle Orland"

> Kyle Orland is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, writing primarily
> about the business, tech, and culture behind video games.

I couldn't find the IGN mirror of the article, but I did find this article
which points in the other direction:

[https://www.ign.com/articles/why-70-ps5-and-xbox-series-x-
ga...](https://www.ign.com/articles/why-70-ps5-and-xbox-series-x-games-make-
sensebut-the-timing-couldnt-be-worse)

I think this is more a result of NBA2k's decision to charge $10 more for PS5
Xbox Series X titles.

------
falcolas
Disclaimer - the $70 and $60 price points refer to AAA games and game
developers, not indy games, which often run closer to $20-$40.

So with that disclaimer, any time someone (like the author) says that games
have never been cheaper at the $60 price point, I like to point out that the
AAA game developers have never turned higher profits than they are right now.
Activision Blizzard is reporting over 4 billion (yes, ‘B’ billion) dollars in
_profits_.

> It's time

If this author really thinks that a price hike of _the minimum game experience
they’re selling_ is going to stop any of the predatory behaviors, they’re
being incredibly naive. AAA game developers don’t just want your money, they
want as much of your money that they can squeeze out of you.

Fifa - the only game confirmed at this new price point so far - is
particularly bad about this, with individual players occasionally spending
tens of thousands of dollars on this game.

~~~
pcwalton
> I like to point out that the AAA game developers have never turned higher
> profits than they are right now. Activision Blizzard is reporting over 4
> billion (yes, ‘B’ billion) dollars in profits.

In 2019 ATVI made $1.5B profit on $6.5B revenue, down YoY from the previous
year. During the same year Google made $34B on $161B of revenue, up YoY from
2018. Apple similarly had a gross margin of about 38% on $89B of revenue.

Relative to companies that actually _are_ making profits hand over fist, I
find it hard to muster any outrage toward labor-intensive entertainment
businesses.

~~~
falcolas
I was looking at the gross profit figures, since we’re explicitly talking
about the cost of making video games - not marketing or executive/corporate
costs. > Activision Blizzard annual gross profit for 2019 was $4.395B

But, even with “only” $1.5B profit they’re doing pretty amazing - that’s just
shy of a 25% profit/revenue split. That’s better than Google, which I’m sure
you realized.

And if billions of dollars of _profit_ isn’t “hand over fist” money, I don’t
know what is.

------
reaperducer
As a greybeard, I think paying $70 for a video game is crazy.

Then I have to remember that in 1982 I paid $50 for a copy of Atari 2600 Pac-
Man. That's $135 today.

So maybe I should shut the hell up.

~~~
cco
For fun:

Federal minimum wage in 1982(2020 dollars): $3.25 ($9.11)

Federal minimum wage in 2020: $7.25

So that copy of Pac-Man was 15.38 hours of minimum wage labor in 1982, a $70
game today is 9.65 hours of labor. Minimum wage is slightly lower today than
it was in 1982, but video game production has apparently become significantly
cheaper.

~~~
CoolGuySteve
Production costs have increased by several orders of magnitude. Just look at
the credits of a modern game vs something like those 80s Activision titles
that were developed by a single person.

A larger video game market has created economies of scale that make larger
development budgets viable.

~~~
cco
Ah yeah, you're right for these AAA games, it is economies of scale that have
made it cheaper, not lower production costs.

------
henryfjordan
I'd like to see market size considered here too.

Games cost a fixed amount to develop regardless of how many copies you sell.
How many copies did developers sell 20 years ago compared to today? If you
sell 2X the copies, the game can cost half as much and yet the profit would
stay roughly the same.

~~~
LanceH
Marginal cost has gone way down as well as there is often no physical copy
(and no physical store, etc...)

~~~
google234123
Yet Steam still takes 30%, it's not all fun and roses.

~~~
dlp211
Getting 70% from digital is still superior to the 55% you'd get at retail.

------
chasingthewind
I remember paying $60 (or $70?) for Ultima VII in 1992 which would be at least
$110 today. But there's no chance I'd pay $70 for a digital download today.
The market has changed a lot!

~~~
scarecrowbob
Can't digital download a map printed onto a piece of fabric tho :D

------
webwielder2
"I'm sorry, honey, but those games cost up to and including $70." —Marge
Simpson, 1995

------
thekingofh
I used to play on consoles, typically would have 2-3 of them each generation
and buy up the biggest AAA titles. God I can't imagine how much money I spent
during those years. These days I spend most of my gaming on the PC, where I
don't feel this constant urge to keep up. The games are reasonably priced and
there's plenty of free-to-play options that actually end up being the more fun
games anyways. If I feel like spending money on in game items I will, but
generally I spend a small fraction of what I used to. There's no way I'm
spending $70 on a video game unless it's something I see myself playing for
years on end. Think Elder Scrolls. Suspect the vast majority of games don't
fit into this category though.

------
walrus01
If you wait just a few months after release you can almost always get pristine
copies of xbox one and PS4 physical disc-based games for a lot less on eBay. I
think I paid $19 for Assassin's Creed Odyssey including shipping.

~~~
listenallyall
Or at GameStop. Despite that, criticizing GameStop and wishing it would go out
of business seems to be a favorite hobby of many HN'ers

~~~
walrus01
I think it's the gap between the buy and sell prices that offends people.
Bring in a pristine copy of a six month old AAA PS4 game and get offered $6.50
for it, they'll sell it for $28.99. That and the pushy sign up for membership
sales tactics their management forces the retail floor workers to hassle
customers about.

------
Koshkin
Simulators, for one, are very complex and take a lot of time to master, and
buying them for that much (or more) money is well worth it. It is like buying
a $200 math or physics textbook: you'd spend so much time and effort studying
it that the price would not seem to matter in comparison. (Not sure about
other kinds of games; vendor's focus on the DLC might be the biggest problem
there.)

~~~
chrisseaton
> It is like buying a $200 math or physics textbook

Well that's bonkers in the first place.

------
rffn
I don't think that video the game price is going to change for me. I have a
large backlog of yet-to-be-played games from bundles, sales, etc.

I usually buy games below $20, many below $10. If it takes the AAA title a few
years to get there, then this is fine. It gives them time to remove the
nastiest bugs and combine all the extensions into a Game of the Year edition.

------
redisman
Inflation.

------
lupinglade
Anything but micro transactions and subscriptions. Can we stop dumbing down
games too?

~~~
Shish2k
> Anything but micro transactions and subscriptions.

Are you implying that hiking up the base-price of a game will stop companies
from wanting post-sale monetisation? That seems optimistic :P

