I've seen it all. From 'way back' when games were a couple of quid, through the boom period when games were £50-plus (and often much more on import), to current special edition boxed-sets with associated paraphernalia for well over £100. Despite all these peaks and troughs, bargains and rip-offs, discounts and import duties, we've generally come to expect big name titles at big name prices, with a gradual rise in line with inflation. But lately, there have been some game changers. Online, iPhone and micro-payments. Okay, okay... pedants may argue that these overlap - and, of course, they're right. But I just - for the ease of categorisation and comment - wish to simplify things to enable perspective. It should also facilitate the comparison to other forms of entertainment. So, what's going on and what impact is it having?
Online - plug in, pay up, play on.
The advent of online multiplayer gaming has led to the development of a service tax (for 360 users at least), wherein you pay for your online connectivity on top of your games purchases. Live subscriptions, steam accounts, they're all essentially the same - pay to support your play. But they have also opened up revenue streams for developers through the serialisation of games episodes, or the sales of add-on packs. So develpers get to use a supported service to deliver their product and commercialise their games for further revenues (aside from traditional games-purchase-only-payments). Winner! So this means they can make better games and support communities with further products? Sort of - in reality it means that sometimes you get less for your money initially, and then pay for the remainder of what you used to get in instalments. But the plus side is that if you don't like the stripped back bit you buy initially, you don't go down the micro-payment/add-on route and you don't spend as much money. Great. Developers (Treyarch anyone?) must also beware - shoddy patches and updates for BlackOps could be costing you any future revenues which you may have earned from DLC sales. Perhaps they'll need to look for new content delivery models....Which could lead us on to pay per play... but that's for another blog post. So, what else?
iPhone - moving with the times
The bargain basement. Free apps, 59p wonders and 'expensive' £3.99 studio-pocket-lining-classics. And yet people still complain - the mind boggles. Truly we are spoilt with puzzle classics (Drop7), retro revivals (Monkey Island) and novel touch-based experiences (anyone heard of Angry Birds?) and all at a price which largely amounts to the loose coins in your pocket. Free apps are even making a mockery of this token pricepoint with many a happy hour of finger swiping and jabbing to be had for no cost at all. A clear threat to developers, since not every app is a surefire Angry Birds-esque hit. But it has seen the bedroom coder re-born - and as a pre-school for development talent, this can only be a good thing. Big studios have embraced the platform and delivery method and it looks like this one is to stay - perhaps complementing big studios' other, more substantial, development projects. Good for gamers, good for them.
Micro-payments - low cost, low enjoyment?
This generic catch-all includes all small add-ons of negligible value, which when adopted even by a small proportion of a large user-base, adds up to substantial sums for developers. This should support cheaper games prices by opening up longer term revenue streams, but largely enables cash-rich, time-poor users to circumvent time-sinks and enhance their playing experience. Sadly, those willing to commit greater amounts of time don't seem to get any money back, so this tends to be more of a tax than a subsidy. A pity.
So, we're getting more choice about how we spend, how we play, how we engage. Which should enable us to vote with our wallets. But are we? Charts full of rehashed sequels, successfull bolt-on packs that really should have been included in the original release, converted IP released on new formats - sometimes we're getting a bargain, but sometimes we're being tricked into splashing the cash in small instalments. If it's only a few quid, who really cares. But add it all up - are you really spending less on your entertainment? Or are you paying more than the days when you'd save for three or four killer titles a year?
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