Video Game Movement Aims For Lower Prices
Fed up with the extortionate prices of videogames? Then visit the site of ‘Fairplay’, an organisation aimed at reducing the costs of videogames in order to broaden potential markets and turn around the distressing trend of revenue losses in the industry.
It’s British in origin but the message is still the same: Videogames cost far too much. They encourage supporters to join the one week boycott of buying games from December 1st - 8th in the hope that it will draw attention from publishers that consumers are sick of paying high prices. They DON’T want you to stop buying games full stop but just not to buy a game between December 1st - 8th.
Here’s some snippets from the site:
“The interesting thing about this protest is that it’s not just consumers who want the price of videogames significantly reduced. The people who actually create the games - the designers, the artists, the musicians - want prices slashed too. They’re sick of seeing interesting, innovative, creative game ideas fall by the wayside because people are scared to take a risk buying something new and different when it costs 40 pounds. They’re tired of having to spend all their time making the same games over and over again because the high price means that people will only buy things they already know.”Check out Fairplay to learn more.“Fair Play doesn’t want to destroy the videogames companies. It’s the belief of almost everyone in the industry, from consumers to journalists to game developers, that significantly lower prices would ultimately bring MORE money and profit into the industry.”
Fairplay
Developers are echoing these sentiments.
And so are respected magazines like Edge and Computer Trade Weekly:“I absolutely agree that games are overpriced at the moment - what happens is that every time there’s a successful product at a high price, everyone thinks they can jump on the same bandwagon. What you end up with, of course, is a lot of publishers not making any money and trying to recoup it by pushing prices up further in hope of the One Big Hit…” - Peter Molyneux, head of Lionhead Studios, creator of massively successful titles like Populous and Black&White.”
“At £40 for a game people are very cautious. Now films usually cost £20, and at £20 you’re prepared to take a risk and buy a film that you’ve heard is good… you’re not sure, but you’ll take a chance. But £40 is too much to do that” - Charles Cecil, head of Revolution Software, creators of games like the popular Broken Sword series.
“Gaming’s utterly rigid price structure, where all new console games cost roughly the same, is harming the industry. It is harming the industry because casual browsers can’t be sure what’s in the DVD box they’re buying and because, at over £40 a throw, it’s difficult to justify a purchase with a question mark over it. Easier to go for a couple of DVDs with pointless featurettes and unwanted extras. You know exactly what you’re getting.” - Edge magazine, October 2002.Check the site out fully to understand where they are coming from and vote with your wallet. Power to the people! http://www.fairplay-campaign.co.uk“The price of games is crippling innovation - with people buying so few games, they take very few risks, so publishers play safer and safer, so sales slip further downwards (how many driving games and beat-’em-ups do you need?), so games get more expensive to recoup the losses, etc etc.” - Computer Trade Weekly
posted by Meifumado · at 3:08 am · filed under News
What i want to know is, can a games producer afford to lower the price? or is every thing governed by the distributors? I know the guys here at Big Kid are in the games industry, maybe they can give an insight as to whether Head Honcho’s in games companies can trim the fat off? will that mean artists and programmers have to take pay cuts? or is there another solution?. I know personally i hate buying crap games for 100 bucks a piece. I have stated it here before there is nothing worse, 100 dollars is a lot of money everyone. any idea’s people?