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Next-gen games launching price difference between consoles and PC, it's disgusting, and we need to talk.

LectureMaster

Gold Member
Yes, I am talking about next-gen games priced at $69.99 on consoles vs. the same games priced $59.99 on PC platform. Noticed that and complained about it when The Quarry came out, but this nonsense is getting worse.

To begin with, tell me why the next-gen version is 10 bucks more expensive than last-gen version? Because you get better graphics, higher frame rate, new features on next-gen version.
If this is indeed the justification, now let's talk about the PC then. If better graphics, higher frame rate and additional features are worth more money, then a player with RTX4090 with all graphic bells and whistles should be charged 10 more dollars for the same game than a player with a 1060 card. You get the most advanced graphic techs!

That's utter bullshit, if they really did this to PC, they would be pushed back to hell.

Then how come those shady pricing strategies get away on consoles? The graphic advancements comes from the more powerful consoles, I already spent the money to upgrade it to get a better experience of games, much like a PC player upgrade their graphic card.

Of course, someone is bond to bring up that price increases because the development cost increases, I get it. For the record, I am not bitching about games' increased price tag overall. It is what it is. I have huge backlog that I can comfortably play and wait the games I am interested in go on sale.
The issue here is the still the disparity. If PC and last-gen versions are priced lower, does that mean PC version uses the last-gen build? Does that mean a PS4 version development cost is effectively 15% cheaper than the PS5 version? Those publishers are just disingenuous and anti-consumer.

I have way less problems with a consistent price overall platform. Forspoken, for instance, is $69.99 on both console and PC. The game is probably gonna flop but I don't hate it in this regard, at least SE is not taking you an idiot.


The Callisto Protocol:

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Hogwarts Legacy:

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Dead Space:

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Atomic Heart:

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Guilty_AI

Gold Member
The digital market in the pc ecosystem is way healthier and more competitive than the one on consoles (where the console maker basically monopolizes it), with the average PC user having zero issues putting games like Cyberpunk or Elden Ring back on the top charts again during some 30/50% discount. No surprise they'd think twice before selling something for $70.

Call it the 'convenience fee', which also includes having to pay for online play, or poor regional pricing policies.
 
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k_trout

Member
callisto - 69 dollars vs 49 pounds, only like 8 pounds difference, and for that 8 pounds the consoles got a working game at launch
 

Sleepwalker

Member
Callisto full price is $45 in my steam regional store lol.

Meanwhile console games in cad:



Last gen they were 79.99 then up to 89.99 now at 94.99.
 
Gaming has mostly ignored inflation for the past twenty years so this isn’t much of a big deal, and tbh, just wait for a sale and you’ll get games much cheaper. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy games at launch for full price.
 

Sleepwalker

Member
That's crazy. Amazon AU have pre-order up for $79.99 AUD
It actually comes to around $110 give or take after taxes in Ontario which is crazy. I wait for sales to get my disc games or sometimes second hand.

Steam is much more cheaper for me in comparison whenever I wanna get something for the deck.
 
Gaming has mostly ignored inflation for the past twenty years so this isn’t much of a big deal
That's true but can you imagine walking into a store and paying $200+ for a single game? There seems to be so many more games available nowadays too so it would never work. People wouldn't be able to afford to play as many games as they do now.
 

Magic Carpet

Gold Member
They get away with it as long as I play on console. The Series X and the PS5 are currently more powerful than my PC. I don't mind 10 bucks to play a studder free game.
The games are a disappointment but the machines are well made and quiet and fast.
PC is currently going through a crisis in my mind. PC industry including the PC gaming industry needs to have a major get together and start ironing out the mess they are in.
 
It does seem insane to me that people are willing to pay 70-80€ for games. I don’t play games at launch though so I don’t really care.
 

OZ9000

Banned
callisto - 69 dollars vs 49 pounds, only like 8 pounds difference, and for that 8 pounds the consoles got a working game at launch
Those numbers do add up over the year. Also I don't think that difference is only £8.

Why pay more when you can pay less?.

Edit: console games actually cost £70 holy fucking shit.

That is a £20 difference.

Personally I am in no rush to play video games as I spend most of my week working. I'm more than happy to wait for lower prices.
 
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clampzyn

Member
Gaming has mostly ignored inflation for the past twenty years so this isn’t much of a big deal, and tbh, just wait for a sale and you’ll get games much cheaper. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy games at launch for full price
You have a point but the number of gamers today isn't the number of gamers 20years ago, gaming is much more accessible now than 20years ago even if the development costs has gone up.
 

Klosshufvud

Member
MS and Sony have monopolies in their respective stores. I would like to know how a physical game that is shipped across the world is often cheaper than digital data. MS/Sony/Ninty are abusing their digital monopoly and reaping the billions from it.
 

Kenpachii

Member


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Hogwarts on PS5

Hogwarts Legacy: PS5-versie​

Warner Bros. Interactive
10-2-2023 00:00 CET
PS5STANDARD EDITION

€74,99

Lol.

The problem consoles have is that there is no competition on there platform. U have PlayStation u are bound to there store. The physical copy's are never on discount at the start and are forced i think to sell at top prices. It's also a reason i went for the steam deck vs switch, as the switch prices of games digital are just insane, well it was one factor.
 
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geary

Member
Gaming has mostly ignored inflation for the past twenty years so this isn’t much of a big deal, and tbh, just wait for a sale and you’ll get games much cheaper. Nobody is forcing anyone to buy games at launch for full price.
Yea, but MTX pretty much makes for all the inflation in the last 20y and the userbase pretty much grew exponentially.
 

Crayon

Member
I was already pretty stingy about spending 60 so it doesn't feel all that different. I just heard ratchet was $30. That was a long wait. Longer than it was before. But there are more games than ever so I just wait longer. For my buying habits, nintendo seems like the expensive one because the sales are rare and my patience seems useless.
 
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Larxia

Member
It has always been like this though, at least in europe.
When games were 60€ (ps2), they were 50€ on PC. With the ps3/360, games went to 70€ instead of the previous 60, but remained at 50€ on PC until something like 2013 where 60€ started to be more and more common on pc.

Maybe in the US it's new, but in europe there's always been a 10 to 20€ difference between console and pc games.
 

tusharngf

Member
some japanese games are much cheaper on PSN store compared to steam. But overall PC has more stores and 3rd party key seller so there is competition. Epic is offering a $10 coupon discount every time there is a sale which makes it even cheaper.
 

Lasha

Member
console players accept "next gen" pricing for the same reason they happily pay a subscription to play online when PC players can cross play on the same servers for free. Consoles are a closed ecosystem designed to milk more money out of customers in the long run by lowering the price of entry.
 

hinch7

Member
Activision Blizzard games have gone up to 60 pounds for new releases (not WoW expansions, but those too have a price hike).

Modern Warfare 2 is £59.99 on Battle.net and Steam. Was £49.99 for last, last year for Vangard, which was a lot for a PC game. Especially for a self published one on their own store.

Really offputting prices imo. Definately buying less games as a result. And if do buy its 95% going to be from a third party key store for a cheaper price at launch.
 
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rofif

Can’t Git Gud
It’s still 60 on pc because pc gamers are spoiled by all the freebies… so buying 70usd gave is crazy to them. And piracy
I don’t mind paying for quality. 70 is a lot but it’s fine.

I am polish. 70 bucks for me is like 300 to Americans. If anything, I should complain lol
 
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Ar¢tos

Member
Buying games at launch = paying to beta test and dealing with the frustration of bugs/glitches/crashes/bad performance.
If it's not a FROM SOFTWARE "souls" game, then it can wait until it is under 20€ (its the max I'll pay for a game).
 
Damn im not a PC gamer but considering Steam adjusts prices for different regions...Calisto Protocol is $35 here and Harry Potter $37 XD So even a bigger jump in price on consoles for me. Even so I always wait for sales.
 
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Ar¢tos

Member
From Software, the expert in high quality PC ports with no bugs, exploits or bad performance.
I never said they were bug free, I meant that they are the only ones I'm willing to pay full price to "beta test" . I don't play on pc, so far I haven't had many complaints regarding bugs on From Software games on console, only performance issues at launch.
 
Having to pay Sony or Microsoft for a subscription service to play online games, whilst it is free on pc, is something that needs to be looked at.

It's another example of console players being milked by cynical corporations.
 
PC games are cheaper because there is more competition. a game could be £60 on epic, £55 on steam, £45-50 on GOG, or £35-40 on a site like cdkeys.

on consoles you only have one place to buy your games so if the PS store says a game is £70 then that's what you need to pay.

either try find it cheaper on a physical copy, wait for a sale, don't buy a console. if you pay that £70 then you're telling Sony you're fine with the prices and they will not change anything....well they might try charge more in the future.
 
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ScHlAuChi

Member
The digital market in the pc ecosystem is way healthier and more competitive than the one on consoles (where the console maker basically monopolizes it)
Sorry, but you are spreading fake news here - the PC ecosystem is not competitive or healthy at all, due to Steam´s absolute domination.
And before you call me a liar - please refer to the official court findings in the antitrust case that is currently happening against Valve.

with the average PC user having zero issues putting games like Cyberpunk or Elden Ring back on the top charts again during some 30/50% discount.
Such sales happen on consoles too, and they have nothing to do with the platform holder!
Those discounts are set by the PUBLISHER and not by Sony, Microsoft or Nintendo - unless its their own game.

No surprise they'd think twice before selling something for $70.
The reason console games are sold for a higher price is because usually they also have a physical edition which does cost extra to make.
Digital console versions cost the same as its hard to communicate 2 different prices without confusing the buyer.
PC physical has pretty much died, hence the difference between prices.

Call it the 'convenience fee',
That "convenience fee" applies to all digital games.
If you look at physical console game prices, they drop ALOT faster than digital console and PC game prices.
A game like for example GunGrave GORE still costs 50€ on Steam/PSN/XBS, where the physical versions are already below 30€
So your logic only applies when you buy at launch or during the first few months.

which also includes having to pay for online play, or poor regional pricing policies.
Regional pricing isnt only a PC thing, its just a little easier to do there.
There is nothing stopping you from making a PSN/XBL/NSW account for countries where those games are offered cheaper.
I have done that many times, and yes it is abit more inconvenient having to have multiple accounts - but it is doable.
But why even go to the hassle when physical is way cheaper than digital anyway!
 
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Midn1ght

Member
PC having more competition, etc...

Consoles have the advantage of physical release though, I saw people selling their copies of Forbidden West for 40€ only 2 weeks after launch.
You can also resell your games on consoles if you buy them physical which is an advantage. If you bought a bad game at 50€ on PC and played it for over 2 hours, you are stuck with it.
 
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