Well, everyone likes the looks of the new consoles and all, but...I'm not exactly thrilled with the prices these things are getting to. I don't even think I'll be getting a PS3 until God knows when, if ever. $500-$600 for a console added to another $60+ per game? Sure, I could afford it. I could waste every ounce of my paychecks on video games. But I really don't want that feeling of regret when I look back at how much I've been spending on these things, and realize it'll probably have been thousands of dollars that could've been put to far better use. I never actually thought I'd be growing out of gaming, but I really dunno if this hobby's gonna be worth it anymore in the coming years. I'm still planning on getting a Wii, which looks like a promising system that won't rape my bank account. But as for PS3, and whatever the hell the gens after this will be made up of...I doubt I'm gonna be willing to pay prices much higher, and I'll probably slowly stop gaming almost all-together in a few years at this rate.

So, question of the topic is this. Do you all think over time these prices are going to turn you off of gaming with new consoles? Or will you continue paying assraping expenses for a hobby, as long as the systems and games continuously get better?

well i agree the ps3 is extremly pricey. specially here in canada. i was watching some show on tv and they said to buy ps3, a few game, and a controller it will be around $1200
but no worries when im rich and famose from gaming ill get it all for free and spend the rest of my money on deez sunglasses and hoes

Games have always been around $60 - $70 here, so expensive games is something people in Europe are already used to.
As for the console, well if I trade up to a better model car, then I guess it's natural that you'd have to pay for it. Not fun, but it's something you have to accept.
Most of us who play games are now grown up with a financial income of our own.
Even so, I'll probably wait a while before I pick up a PS3.

I can at any given month easily buy something that costs $250 if I want to. If I save up for a month or two, I certainly can afford something that costs 500 - 600.
Sounds to me like a lot of people have a hard time saving up their money. I never had that problem.

QUOTE (Athrun @ May 24 2006, 09:03 PM)

Games have always been around $60 - $70 here, so expensive games is something people in Europe are already used to.

Yeah but doesn't that mean they're going to jump that much higher for you, like say $80-100 in that case? Isn't it ever "too much"?

QUOTE (Athrun @ May 24 2006, 09:03 PM)

Sounds to me like a lot of people have a hard time saving up their money. I never had that problem.

It's not a problem to save the cash if I wanted to. Truth is, I could afford a PS3 now if it were out. It's just that there's a point where it starts feeling like too much to blow on something like games, you know?

It reached that point for me months ago, I don't buy games anymore, I rarely play them, In fact I'm thinking of selling them to get some shred of my cash back.

Gaming feels like a chore to me now.

I don't know what the games will cost in Europe, but Americans will experience what Europeans have for years now. Ever since the PS2 was released.

Allow me to share with you an anecdote on this topic.

Games used to be even more expensive back in the day. I remember 10 years ago, my brothers and I were looking to expand our SNES game collection and we really, really, really wanted Super Mario RPG. At the same time, we were dirt poor. My parents kept saying, "No, we can't even buy that for your birthday because it's $70." We now have around 30-odd SNES games, including some rarer ones like Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen, Final Fantasy III (VI), and Indiana Jones' Greatest Adventures, but we still don't have that one.

I guess there's really no moral. Just games have been expensive before, and people still bought them then. Besides, the Wii remains the poor man's alternative. Just because the PS3 costs about as much as a Black Lotus doesn't mean that nobody will game on any next-gen systems, or even that nobody will buy a PS3.

Where there's a will, there's a way. And it's hard to break the will of a bored middle-class teenager.

I think the most expensive games over here were the N64 games. With todays Dollar rating, these games were easily over $90.
So I wouldn't complain about $60 games if I were you guys.

The problem is with the developers now a days. You pay all this money for a system and you just keep getting a bunch of sequals. I wouldn't mind paying the $600 if there was at least a game that would make that purchase worth while. I'm going to have to play the waiting game on PS3 not only because of the price, but because of the lack of 'Must Have' games around launch. Hopefully when the games come out the system will have dropped in price.

I wont buy PS 3 for a long time because I cant afford it. When the PS 3 comes out,I'll buy PS 2,and I'll play the RPG-s which I couldnt before.
PS 3 is really expensive. 500 euros is way too much cash. I wonder what will be different in PS 3 from PS2.
I guess it must be a supercool machine if it is that expensive,or it is maybe expencive because it is very popular.
Games have become really expencive. In Serbia( lol,I cant even call it "Serbia and Montenegro" now) there were piracy shops before,so we could order cheap games.But now the police closed every single shop,and now we have to buy originals.People only sell piracy PC games on the street but there are no PS games,so if I buyPS 2 I dont know what to do.
With these huge prices,the game industry will go down (sorry,my English) and eventually, less-and less people will buy games.And when they realize that,it will be late. It was the best when I was little,then you could buy every game you wanted here.

I hope I wasnt off topic that much

They're not appealing to the rich, they're appealing more to adults. A pricey all round entertainment system with (hopefully) more mature games appeals to the older gamer. They make plenty of money off kids getting games as gifts and presents and whatnot, but now they've finally decided to tap the market that has a steady job and reasonable income. If parents have the money, logically the next step is to target the parents.

Yes, I believe a history lesson is in order. Too bad you're looking at the wrong person.

I basically agree with LoM.
But LunarMaster, I disagree. I see a bunch of original titles (not RPG's, sadly) that aren't a "bunch of sequels" on the 360. Honestly, I'd much rather see some original titles than sequels, but the big names sell, and those are going to be around launch to.

Just look at what you're paying for though. We've moved into the age, and if you think you are going to enjoy gaming and have nothing else, why not? If gaming is a chore for you (The Melancholy of Soul Reaver) then just let it go.

What's your definition os sequels? That the same character appears in the game?
Mario Galaxy, different gameplay. DMC 4, different gameplay. Final Fantasy XIII, different gameplay.

As long as the gameplay is interesting, I don't mind... no I even prefer sequels, as a matter of fact.
There will always be sequels, but I see original games among them as well.

I'd like to see a fair balance of both than all sequels. Some games don't even mix up the gameplay, after all. I mean, sometimes you get sick of the same old characters, etc. And sometimes its just a really big hassle to understand the backstory of the previous games when delving into a game, especially when the previous games are rare.

Even if the gameplay engine is fun, why not make a new title with the old engine?

But we've been seeing a lot of original titles as of late, so I'm not complaining. This isn't the thread for i-oh wait.

I agree that there are some new ideas coming around, but many of the big companies seem to be playing it safe. We need some new game themes to appear rather than the save the world plot(unless it's done in a unique way). I think Wii has some original mechanics to the games, but I still see it more as a gimmick than a whole new way of gaming(I hope I'm wrong). I'm really looking foward to Assasin's Creed or Spore because they seem to be taking new approachs to gaming. I'm also looking foward to some of the Live Arcade's homebrew games( I really like the games on there now and can't wait to see some new ones).

there is nothing a few people complaining will do, one company will always sell for more and one always for less. WAY OF LIFE.

Companies do this so they can make billions of extra bucks and it sucks. But, this will not turn me off, although I'm not thrilled over the outrageous prices for anything these days let alone consoles and games. *Sigh*

Oh my god a business thats out to make profit instead of complete total loss.
What a shocker.

Hush, Vinsfeld lol

We all know that they do this on purpose, I was just saying

Well they're hardly going to accidentally raise prices to make a profit.

Lol. It used to be the same with me too. Whenever I wanted a game for my Playstation, or a long time ago my Megadrive xD, it was always dependent on whether my parents could afford it. Games and consoles were just too expensive for my parents to afford sometimes, and indeed I don't think I would be too out of line to say most workingclass families. Even if you are a young working adult and earn enough money to afford most games and consoles, it doesn't mean that they are more worth the money because you have the money. I would love to get more into gaming myself, but aside from the one factor having no time, gaming at the moment is just a hobby I cannot afford to undertake. Simply put I do not have the money to buy the new consoles or handhelds, never mind the games to go with it. (Hence I am still lingering on the PS1 xDD).

In my opinion, it would be only select games I would buy if I knew I would enjoy playing them, but even so I still don't think they can justify some of the prices charged for them. And by buying the games at these prices we continue to feed this form of extortion. But what else can you do if you love gaming, and have to have the latest revelation in the field? It is a shame JD that this has sapped away your enjoyment for gaming =(

I rememeber the PS2 being something like $400-500 when it came out, and I payed something like $70-80 for FFX. Now I can go out and buy a PS2 for what, around $200? Top name games are like no more than $40, $50, $60?

Just wait a year to buy a PS3. Prices will have dropped significantly. Games that you actually want will be coming out then. And it's lafespan will have just begun.

I'll be getting one at launch anyway XD I already have a 360, and the PS3 and Wii are both on my list of stuff to buy. It's nice to be independent.

Gaming is quite expensive already, but if this keeps on going, I might stop my hobby.
I like gaming and all, but lately I haven't touched anything, cause I am not interested in it lately, although I said I will be gaming till the day I die. I think it might come to and end sooner then expected, cause prices are rising and fast.

I can afford it though, but the problem is, I don't wanna spend that much money on gaming, I have other things I wanna do aswell, like going out with friends, going on holidays, traveling and whatnot.
I hope that this won't continue, cause then there is definatly gonna get an end, or I will wait for a year untill things are cheaper.

I think you might want to specify those are Canadian dollars before somebody says "It was only $300!"

True, but I was getting more at the difference between "Then" and "Now". The console itself dropped in price like 50%. And the prices for the games droped significacantly as well.

I just think to much fuss is being made over launch prices. Rememeber, Sony is losing money on these things. Wait for the technology to become a little dated before we all quit gaming

Oh, And I see more posts from Canadians and Europeans around anyway

Edit: I just thought of something else. PS2 games are still going to be made for another year or two, right? Think we'll see a price drop in those games soon? Maybe...

I agree with how JD feels on this topic, as well as SR. But more on what SR said; for me it's like a waste of money and a chore to play it because you're getting the same things for a higher price. Or something you're not used to and wish you waited for it to drop in price. I don't think I'll be buying many RPGs at release anymore. And when I bought Fatal Frame III for 50 bucks, that was the biggest waste of money ever. You have to really think carefully when it comes to buying games now. Like Hiku I can buy anything over or under 250 like I want, but let's be serious here, you don't know what you're really getting til later on. I bought the PS2 at release for 300$(317 with US tax) and it took me a month to get a memory card cause of the worldwide shortage. FFXI was the first game I bought. At the time 300 for a system already felt like too much. But then again, I wanted the Saturn at release and look what happened to it .

It is not exactly a hobby for the rich, but for the amount you are paying to continue being a part of this hobby is becoming stupid. Sequels are nice but rarely do they outshine thier predecessors.

Well. Consoles used to be a hell of a lot more expensive. So I think the prices for these next gen consoles are amazingly cheap and fair. I will only be buying an Xbox 360 and a Wii because I don't like Playstations, but as I said these prices are cheap and fair. Although the games are still quite expensive and always will be

Hmm. Sony is causing much turmoil with it's prices. Perhaps it really is the time for it's giant fanbase to take a dent? The Wii is very inexpensive, and the 360 is still far less then the PS3. Have these even been considered by all the sony fans I wonder? Not aiming that at anyone specific, BTW.

Not a Sony fanboy, but I'll answer this anyway.

I think there's a good chance it would dent the fanbase some. The sorts of people who get screwed by Reaganomics yet play video games would very definitely be turned off by the PS3 price, but some of the people who bought a PS2 along with every Madden reincarnation would not be turned off. The upper middle class high school jock idiot types that I wish weren't in my study hall. The Sony fanbase is probably more likely to turn to the 360 though. =/

QUOTE (Hylian Girl @ May 27 2006, 11:57 AM)

Well. Consoles used to be a hell of a lot more expensive.

There's been previous consoles "a hell of a lot more expensive" than $600? O_o I think maybe you meant games themselves, not consoles.

In which, yeah, they have been $60 and higher before too, some N64 games being the most recent examples I can name. And I really wouldn't be complaining about $60 a game, if it wasn't for the fact that I'd have just blown so damn much on the system itself. $60 may not be a new price or a lot on it's own, but... 5-600 + $60- +$60 + $60 + $60 + accessory expenses...You get the point. It all adds up, and a bit too quickly. And as Shion pointed out, buying games is always a gamble anyway. Just because it's a next-gen game doesn't mean it's going to be amazing, and you're probably in for a let-down on 50% or more of what you buy. Things will follow the same satisfaction/disappointment ratio that they always have, only now it's more of a kick to the face with higher prices you just paid.

That's why it is recommended first to see the game at your friend's,and if you like it,then to buy it.It is always risky to buy games on blind,because you never (well,almost) know what you get.
Or that's why this site is here,to read good revievs about games,so you can spend your money wisely.
And yes,accesories are expensive,and PS 3 will probably have a lot of them because it is high-tech

Well I just watch the adverts on TV, ask my friends, read reviews, etc. Unless it's a Zelda game then I buy it by default No questions asked, I just buy it lol I don't need to read the reviews or whatever but of course I do read them. I'm just saying I don't have to read them to go out and buy it

So yea, it can be risky, but if you look around enough, you're just fine.

You know, I don't know where you guys get " rich " from 600 dollars. It wasn't too long ago where most systems released for 300-400 dollars... What's a few more to get systems that have true power? It's not like you're not getting your monies worth with these newer systems.

I can seemingly afford one, a 21 year old guy who pays bills and rent, and honestly it's not going to be a problem for me to make the purchase. Am I going to have to tuck a bit of money aside for the console? Yes, but I definitely have the funds for it. As for games, well it's not a big surprise that they're going for 40-60 bucks now. That's nothing new whatsoever.

Sure the cost of gaming is expensive... But it pretty much always has been. Most of you guys drop countless amounts of cash on games as it is, so what's the difference? You're investing into something you enjoy, and will continue to enjoy. Make the right game purchases and don't waste your money on crap, and you're going to get the total value out of the game you've paid 60 dollars for and the console that you've payed 600 for.

Now if they wanted to charge me two grand for a console... We could start talking. What's happening is that there's newer and better technology coming out, and some companies are choosing to go with the killer hardware rather than thinking of piecing together a 200 dollar console.

Amazingly enough guys, they have these things called jobs... And you earn money from them that you can use to buy goods and services. Some may want to give it a shot.

QUOTE

Most of you guys drop countless amounts of cash on games as it is, so what's the difference?

Not really. I've spent probably no more than 300 in the last year. Buying mostly older games in fact, since it's not too often that a game interests me enough to pull $50 from my pocket right at it's release. Which is even more so true for anything higher in the coming gens.

QUOTE (The Evil Dead @ May 28 2006, 03:39 AM)

Amazingly enough guys, they have these things called jobs... And you earn money from them that you can use to buy goods and services. Some may want to give it a shot.

Yeah...I have one of those "jobs" you speak of. The thing is, I don't intend on living in my mother's house until I'm 30 because I continuously blew all my cash on ###### video games, starting with a good $600 chunk. Let alone the fact that most games these days aren't providing much more than a few days of fun at most for that $50, online play aside with a couple exceptions. In the end I'd actually like to, you know, have a bit left over to save up for other purposes after I'm done paying bills and buying a new console with some games here and there. After I've moved out, and I have a higher paying job, then maybe it'd be a different story. But that's at least a few years down the road. Point being, with high console/game prices, I, and a lot of people, don't have an endless cash flow to use on both games and responsibilities/bills/life. Job or no job, $600 +hundreds more for games isn't something I'd feel great blowing on a hobby all at once.

Gaming is a hobby that cost money. There's quite a few hobbies that cost money. Just because they cost money doesn't make it a hobby for the rich. If you feel like your wasting money on such a hobby, then stop. If your money need to be directed to other area, such as living expenses. Oh well, that's life.

Gaming becoming a hobby for the rich is still very away. I'm not sure if many of us will be into games when it does become extremely expensive to buy a console. So, I'm not really concern with it at the moment since it's very far off. PS3 expensive? That might be one, two or three weeks pay depending on how much you make. It's not all that expensive.

A couple of reasons why I won't rush out for PS3 is the game that will be out for it and my experience with PS2. Not buying one of those console just to have it break, because of dust like my PS2. Don't feel like wasting my money on buying a console that will break shortly after.

Anyway, if you have the cash and still enjoy gaming, then just buy it. Of course, we'll always grip about prices and it's easy to say we never had a problem with the prices with games before after the fact. It's just a member if you want to spend your money on games or not. Gaming happen to be a hobby that cost money, like collecting anime and other hobbies that cost money.

I dont have the thing called "job" so I cant afford the console,and I'm totally dependent on my parents.
I still have to finish highschool and Uni and then I'll get a job.That's about 7 years,and maybe then the PS 3 price will drop,lol.
Things are different here.We dont have any jobs till we dont finish the schools.

So,basically not everyone has a job,and job is not always a solution to buy consoles.
We cant live from air,you know

QUOTE (Eva @ May 28 2006, 06:01 AM)

Gaming is a hobby that cost money. There's quite a few hobbies that cost money. Just because they cost money doesn't make it a hobby for the rich.

The topic title was for the future of gaming in general, not just these 3 consoles. Not claiming you have to be rich to afford $600, just that it's starting to climb up to that level it seems. Just to clear that up. And if the gen after PS3/360/Wii gets higher in price still, that'll be where I pretty much give up on the hobby. Though, I may just convert to strictly online multi-player games instead, since that's a 1-time buy that's more worth it in the end. I mean I've played Halo online more than all my other games put together, and I paid what, $20 for that? So yeah..it's an alternate solution to the problem for me. I may just invest in games like that in the future as opposed to countless 1-P titles. SSBB is my next big one. =p