Are Single Player Only Games Overpriced?
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve more than likely noticed that multiplayer only titles usually sale for the discount price of $30-$40. Games that provide months, sometimes even years of gameplay, (Warhawk) sale for half the price. Meanwhile, games that provide a mere 8-10 hours of gameplay, with no multiplayer, continue to sale for $60. Is it not fair that single player only games sale at a discount price as well?
There are many that would argue, and rightly so, that developers need to make money. They continue to work hard (in some cases) to provide us with quality material that usually warrants the price of admission. It is also common knowledge that value is often attributed to the longevity of a particular product. Although there are exceptions, this is generally the case. It is my belief that either single player only titles are overpriced, or games that include both an incredible singleplayer and multiplayer are underpriced. It is my opinion that its the former, rather than the latter. To some this will seem like a radical statement, but in actuality there is something here worthy of consideration.
How is it that games such as COD4, Gears of War 2, Killzone 2 and countless others which offer both an exhilerating single player experience, along with a fascinating multiplayer experience, sale for the same price as inFamous and X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Meanwhile, it is acceptable for games such as Warhawk and Socom to sell at a discount, while games such as Wanted: Weapons of Fate ,with its 6 hours of gameplay, continue to demand a $60 price tag. How can you defend paying whats equivalent to $10 for each our of gameplay. Keep in mind, this is not MGS4 gameplay, I’m talking about Wanted: Weapons of Fate and many others like it.
I am aware that at times developers invest much time and resources to many of these experiences, thus demanding proper returns. I am also aware that developers do not have to work to program in the countless interactions that can occur while having a multiplayer experience, being that most of the content and experiences are created by the community. I am merely suggesting that publishers consider the quality and replayability of their offerings given the changes of what gamers demand out of the product. There was a time where the single player aspect of a game was all you needed to warrant a hefty price tag; that time has passed. Many games have upped the ante by providing both.
Written By: bakerboy
not only SP games all games in general.
i mean the US there expensive in the US 60 bucks per game is alot.
but here in australia as ushual were getting the royal screw job.
most not all but most brand new ps3 games are 120 bucks.
last time i checked USD $60 = AUD $80 so for each game were paying 40 bucks more.
and consoles its even worse 1 ps3 80GB USD $400 same thing AUD $700.
last time i checked USD $400 = AUD $585.
so were paying $115 bucks more per console.
SCEA you realy need to pull your finger out of your ass and organise yourselfs, i mean 90% of the games we get at least 3 weeks later.
half of the games we miss out on like deamon souls.
the aussie PSN store has half of the content that the US one does.
and were paying more.
so were paying more for way way less makes sence huh?
now i understand why australia is xbox country.
sony if you want to sell more than the xbox if you want to win this so called “war” and come out of 3rd place you need to change this shit and organize your selfs otherwise your going down big time.
This is a very good topic for open discussion.
I personally think that our industry needs to embrace a more organic pricing. Something like a mixture of books (individually priced), movies (bundles, and different pricing depending on the distribution), and music albums (digital, cd, singles).
Publishers shouldn’t be afraid to price their games according to the production values, the popularity, and the time that it has been in stores.
I think that a game like Wanted would sell a lot more units, and even surpass the revenue that the current price is making, if it were priced at $40 or less.
I do believe that games should have a cap, unless they are released in CE packages with extra goodies for hardcore fans.
But the idea that single player game should cost less than multiplayer ones is not viable, because both require considerable resources, and the fact that multiplayer is mostly about repetitiveness (a map, modes, stats, balanced gameplay, items–weapons, armor, gadgets, power ups, etc…), while single player experiences require the same things plus, plot development, presentation, dynamic soundtrack, voice acting, extra polish, progression balance, etc…
It is very tricky to dictate how much games should be priced , for instance, I believe that fighting games are well priced (mostly), because I’m a fanatic and I play them for months and maybe years, but some people may disagree.
So was Fallout 3 over priced? Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion too? Valkyria Chronicles? Star Ocean 4? or any RPG for that matter? was UT3 worth $60, essentially it was Multiplayer only. I think I just ended this argument… games are worth there dollar if they are good enough…
@hydro
First of all, you spelled dollar wrong. Secondly, don’t attack my article since I didn’t talk to you on skype lol. Third, I mentioned in my article that their are exceptions, and even if I didn’t RPG’s would be the obvious exception. UT3’s single player is pretty much going through the multiplayer levels against bots. Finally, as you can see all of the games you listed were in fact RPG’s that all provide hours and hours of gameplay. I was referring to the “run of the mill” single player only titles that release with a $60 dollar price tag. But of course you knew this already, don’t be a Tordavis.
LoL @ hydro
any way nice article baker boy. But i have to say Bioshock was a good game and it was single player. Even though the sequel is going to be with multiplayer Bioshock one was a buy for me . Assassins Creed is another good game repetitive but a good game.
I would never pay more for a game because it has multi-player. The Single player is where it’s at for me. There are no cutscenes in MP, no score, no story. Just the same repetitive stuff over and over. It’s fun sometimes for a while but I couldn’t buy game after game like this with only MP. It comes down to taste and preference.
As for game being overpriced. Wanted went for $45 in like a week of it’s release and doesn’t that have MP? Even games I wouldn’t buy I could still tell were valuable to a lot of gamers but even then I still don’t see them as valuable to me so unless it’s like a year late port or a cheaply made game you can’t really make a decision on how to price it. I mean there are games like fallout 3, far cry 2, prototype, FF13, gtaiv, bioshock, assassin’s creed and so on that I have no interest in buying. Then there are less important games to the masses like Wet, stranglehold, and turok that i’d only pay $20-$40 for so it really does just all depend on the person.
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