Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => General chat about Amiga topics => Topic started by: ElPolloDiabl on November 23, 2010, 04:34:19 AM
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I was down at the EB games store and I couldn't believe how low the prices of recently released games are. I'm going to get a few titles on payday.
So, in my opinion piracy was a factor in getting prices lower (not to discount mass market too) then it was truly a Robin Hood affair.
With PC games cheap, how about cheap Amiga games in our very own App store. Could we ask one of the current retailers to look at this for us?
What are your thoughts?
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Seems to me, prices for modern game systems and PC's are at a steady all time high. Newer, current releases that is. Even Wal-Mart has PC stuff for $60. PS3 and XBox 360 all share that price point too it looks like.
What games are you seeing that you think are cheap and what are their prices?
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Actually I agree with the original poster. While initial release prices are often much as theyve always been prices seem to drop very quickly. A game like Alan Wake for example can now be picked up new for under $35 AUD. It seems brand new releases are lucky to hold thier price for any more than a month these days. Not just this, but games that have only been around for 6 months or so are already sub $25 aud games almost without fail. In addition to this there's always various deals around, on both new and older games.
Slightly off topic, but I found a nice resource for ps2 and xb1 games for $2 or less recently,.... going to have to splurge on payday :)
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Are we talking something like the XBox Live store, where indie Amiga developers could get easy distribution of their low-priced software? Or are you suggesting that old Amiga titles be released via digital distribution? Because I'm damn well not paying for a download if it's just going to some publisher who's snarfed up the rights to games they didn't even make. Eric Chahi's Another World re-release? Sure, I'll pay for that, because the money's actually going to Eric Chahi. But if I'm going to be forking over money to someone who didn't even make the game I'm buying, I at least want a tangible item to show for it.
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Piracy rates for PC games are something like 90% on a good day, so once sales drop off (which is within a couple of weeks) they ditch the price to hope to get a few more people to go out and buy it late.
If its a title that earns longevity, like Diablo, it'll be in "greatest hits" boxes at walmart for a long time
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Better not buy Amiga Forever then.
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Piracy rates are pretty meaningless really. Everyone who buys a game actually plays it, while the majority of pirated software either gets played very briefly or never gets installed to begin with.
As far as prices go, PC games have only gotten more expensive if you ignore inflation, and console games are cheaper than ever.
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Piracy rates are pretty meaningless really. Everyone who buys a game actually plays it, while the majority of pirated software either gets played very briefly or never gets installed to begin with.
As far as prices go, PC games have only gotten more expensive if you ignore inflation, and console games are cheaper than ever.
Right, but even if 8 of 10 people who torrent Call of Duty black ops or whatever just end up having it sit on their hard drive, there's still 2 people who play it, and didn't pay for it.
What gets me going is the snivelling midgets who will loudly proclaim that they are "boycotting" a game because of some imagined slight of the developers. Except boycott means torrent the game and play it for free.
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I thought that with more games switching to subscription based that the possibility of piracy was coming down fast?
You'd need to start stealing peoples identities. i.e. paying gamers user accounts or something?
I think that would be a moral line that most casual pirates would not cross don't you think?
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I think what the subscription model does is shift the actual piracy to the server side, where an unauthorized third party server could potentially charge people for their pirate service. It's happened with WoW already.
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I heavily doubt that torrented games just lurking on someone's hd. They can be played briefly but for sure when someones downloads a games *will* try i out eventually. Take a look at comments over tpb and other torrent search engines; 90% of the leechers want to play almost any game over internet multiplayer. This actually means that they will invest time on the game itself. Moreover, I took a look last weekend to some very specific game's genre like offline beat 'em up and to my amazement I saw over 1.000 seeders on budget/mostly unknown new games. This is a huge loss for any small company (1000 users x 10 euro = 10.000 euros). OTOH, it seems Skidrow is alive and kicking, lol. Personally, I believe that new games have pretty high pricing level but are deteriorating faster than a decade of fifteen years ago. Perhaps the new medium of online downloading via developer's sites or steam - like services must have a role also.
As for an amiga app store, I believe it is impossible because we do not have the huge collection we did in the nineties.
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Okay checking out there (EB) website there are only handful of recent games that are discounted. But it use to be that not until a game was a year old that you could get it for half price, now it only needs to be 6 months old and you get the 'supposed' limited edition as well.
If you want a cheap gaming fix on the PC check out GOG (Good old games) dot com. They could be one place that could put out an old Amiga compilation, I'll email them an ask.
As for an Amiga App store that would be a place to encourage new indie developers on the Amiga (all versions).
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As for an amiga app store, I believe it is impossible because we do not have the huge collection we did in the nineties.
And with your mentality we will never will get it. A chiken and egg situation? An Amiga app store could atract developers even if they are casual and bedroom (now are named homebrew, as always the industry rename and old concept so it sound something new and modern) it could make an impact
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An Amiga app store could atract developers even if they are casual and bethroom (now are named homebrew
I do my best development in the bathroom.
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I do my best development in the bathroom.
By all your comments in Amiga.org I believe it :rollingeyes:
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By all your comments in Amiga.org I believe it :rollingeyes:
Seriously, as a developer, I've had some of my best moments if inspiration whilst on the throne or in the bath, shower or whatever.
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Actually I agree with the original poster. While initial release prices are often much as theyve always been prices seem to drop very quickly. A game like Alan Wake for example can now be picked up new for under $35 AUD. It seems brand new releases are lucky to hold thier price for any more than a month these days. Not just this, but games that have only been around for 6 months or so are already sub $25 aud games almost without fail. In addition to this there's always various deals around, on both new and older games.
Slightly off topic, but I found a nice resource for ps2 and xb1 games for $2 or less recently,.... going to have to splurge on payday :)
Where are you? PC games sure seem high to me, normally $59.95 on release and for 6-9 months or so after release. Certain stores like Best Buy might have a sale on newly released games for $39.95 if you pick them up the week they come out, but that is not with every title. New games still seem very high.
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Yeah.... The US is really different in its gaming prices from elsewhere. PC games are a little cheaper than console equivalents, and come down in price a little sooner. But not much. Typical AAA console (PS3/X360) title is now 59.99 or 69.99, and pretty much stays there for the better part of a year. Typical PC (and Wii for some reason) AAA title is going to be 49.99 or 59.99 and stays there for about 6-8 months. The Platinum Hits X360 lineup is usually a good deal, but you wait *AT LEAST* a year for a game to make that. Usually more like 1.5-2 years.
So, US prices start high, and stay there. Probably so the distributors can post such insane "loss" numbers due to piracy. They still call downloads after 6 months or more as full price losses.
And I still can't say it enough... 1 download does not equal 1 lost sale. It just doesn't. There's lots of kids who just download to say they've got it, but never even unpack it. There's lots of people who download on a whim something they might never get around to playing, or play for 15 minutes or less. There's TONS of people who download out-of-region unavailable titles. It's certainly not a lost sale if you couldn't buy it legally in the first place! And the list goes on... Anyhow, enough of that rant.
As for an Amiga App store... Interesting concept, but what would the apps be, and what would they be for? Are we talking ADFs for emulators, new apps for OS4/MOS/AROS, or what? Those two things would seem to be very different markets and approaches.
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Seriously, as a developer, I've had some of my best moments if inspiration whilst on the throne or in the bath, shower or whatever.
Thirded. Laugh if you want, but it's a great place to collect and distill your thoughts on something.
Also, the "piracy is killing the gaming industry due to lost sales" thing is an enduring myth, just like the "piracy is killing the music industry" canard, just like the "broadcast taping is killing the film industry" whopper. It seems to make sense on the surface but doesn't hold up under closer examination, and it's gleefully perpetuated by folks like the RIAA who want to use it as leverage to legislate themselves into even more control of the media market. That's my two cents, anyway.
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Where are you? PC games sure seem high to me, normally $59.95 on release and for 6-9 months or so after release. Certain stores like Best Buy might have a sale on newly released games for $39.95 if you pick them up the week they come out, but that is not with every title. New games still seem very high.
Actually, I was quoting console title prices. Pc games are cheaper on release and drop even more quickly. As for where I am,... seriously ? :P My post has clues ;)