Has the App Store changed your perceptions of games pricing?

One great thing about console games is that your purchasing hardware.
You can resell this hardware or trade it online through websites like goozex.com.
Once you buy a game from the App store, its yours, forever. Once youve played it and beat it, you're out the initial investment.

So if you buy a $60 xbox game. Put your 30hours into it. You can trade it for a game of the same value. That is another reason why its worth it to still buy console games.

 

Not only can you resell console games, but they are actually a "physical item" not just a download. There are so many differences between iuphone games and console games its ridiculous to compare them when talking about price.

 

That is a very true statement. But even still a dvd doesn't cost you much more than a dollar so technically you are still paying for a downloaded game, only its downloaded to a dvd vs a solid state drive in the case of the iphone. Also as an avid videogame trader, I can say that I would much rather have a game permanently stored on itunes than to keep buying and selling my ps3 or xbox 360 games because I always end up wishing that I never traded them back in in the first place I've had soooo many great games only to trade them in for newer games and end up dissappointed at myself for doing so. And end up buying the same game again just because I missed it soo much.

 

Nothing wrong with the way you like it. But these posts are kind of explanations of why iphone games are cheaper... and why most of them should be.

 

I was talking about this with my mom the other day... I've used my share of the iTouch already, I bought it with my own money and it's paid off. Granted, I've spent around $75 in apps, but that being compared from 50+ apps to console games, it's much cheaper. The amount of playing I have played on this is also more than I would normally play on a console because I can take it anywhere, and it's so easy to start playing.

 

Ive literally stoppled playing my xbox because of the massive amounts of games on my girlfriends touch. I even went as far as organizing the pages of apps like i would a drawer full of 360 games.

 

Not really. It isn't like I wasn't buying buying budget PC games before or like there aren't many download services that offer great older games or new indie games for 5-10 bucks, both for PC and for consoles.
Rush to 1$ I don't like and I am not much for casual games actually, but I really don't think that raising upper price limits is indicated.

 

Not really. It's a completely different market. I could never imagine charging 60 bucks for those small flash games that were developed by two guys.

The larger games that are 60 bucks have huge teams of developers and they take years to complete the game. I think 60 bucks is a fair price for the time and effort they put into it.

The iPhone is a great device for a gal like me. I can develop a game in less then a month that's fun and addictive and have people buy it for 99 cents. I couldn't do that on ANY other platform.

 

Well, the Appstore definitely changed what I'm prepared to pay for "pop-corn" gaming. Ever since I got my iPhone 3G, I stopped buying games for my DS, especially those of the "short and sweet" mini-game variety. Sure, I get the occasional must-buy, but I never impulse-buy anymore. On the other hand, there's literally only a couple of iPhone games that could put a dent on my home console and even PSP gaming time.

 

Totally agree! I think the charm of iPhone/iPod game is that we won't see this style of game for sale elsewhere (As for the time being). It is something like "better than flash but not that console" feeling.

Wonder what will change after new iPhone released.

 

You know, this is odd. I follow a lot of indie devs, and even small games like "And Yet it Moves" is about $15 dollars, and you won't find a game over $10 in the app store.

The culture that the app store created is expecting more for less. It seems to have begun with Aurora Feint, which put out a great, high quality, polished game for free. From then on, people wait for price drops more often then buying something based on quality.

Myself included.

Though I'm actually more for helping the little guy, and if s/he loses time and money after selling for .99 vs. 4.99, there should be some consideration.

That being said, there seems to be a huge dropoff in impulse buying from .99 to 1.99, so cheaper may in fact be more profitable.

 

It has TOTALLY changed my perception of game pricing. I got the iPhone when the 3G came out and started buying games as soon as they were available. Ever since then the amount of games I purchase for consoles or hand helds has gone down dramatically. In fact, I can't remember the last time I bought a 360 game. I'm so busy too that I hardly have time to finish large console games anyways. So ever since last summer It's been mainly iPhone/XBLA games. Now whenever I think of getting a game and look at the $60 price tag I cringe. I can get 6-60 games depending on what it is I download from the app store for that same price. I'd much rather do that. Even DS games are looking a bit pricey now.

 

Also one thing worthy of mentioning although it might not be fair, is that iphone users have one more thing to pay for that console gamers dont...their monthly phone bills! Doesnt really have anything to do with the price of games but I'm sure it factors into the equation somehow since the games are associated with the phone.

 

it doesnt and its not really fair to associate the 2, but since the games are associated with the phone in the back of your mind you may be saying "how much do I want to pay for things that have to do with just my phone? I already have a phone bill to pay for, I dont want to add to much to it"

 

I love the iPhone for gaming. I used to be a hardcore PC gamer but I just don't have the time these days (30 with 2 kids). The iPhone with it's huge selection of extremely cheap games means I can have a new 59p game every single day for a month and that's still cheaper than a console game. Sure most of them are short, don't have much replayability but I'm spoilt with a huge wide range of games.

I long since got bored of playing FPS 16, Racing 23, Platform 14, etc. Main stream games are just the same stuff over and over again. They stick to what they know will sell well so there just don't push the boundries anymore. Obviously being a bit older there was when I was younger a much wider selection and type of games. The iPhone brings that back to me.

On the PC I've brought virtually no games for a huge period of time. I played Counter Strike for years which was a free add-on made by people in their spare time for Half Life. It simply was the best FPS of it's time and hugely addictive.

At present I only play DOTA which is a free custom map for Warcraft 3, I've been playing it for years. It's got a huge following and is featured in many series gaming tournaments. But again it's made by someone in his spare time and given away for free.

Yes a lot of these indie developers can come up with junk just as much as big game publishers but they are prepared to go out on a limb and give me a game which isn't the same as the last 14 versions of that game pretty much. And this is what I think makes iPhone gaming exciting.

It is still a handheld so you need to take that into account but I still play Galcon because the multiplayer on that is so addictive. I also play UniWar regularly and probably will be playing that for quite a long time to come as well.

Also remember 3.0 is now coming. It'll give us local play over bluetooth, integrated voice chat in games, push notifications for massively multiplayer games, etc all made extremely easy for the developer to implement. This such give us a lot more online games which is what the iPhone really needs because ultimately for me, long term replayability is only found in online games.

Finally it takes time to get used to a platform and make in depth games for it. Look what we have now compared to when the App Store launched. Look at the effort EA made with the Sims 3 for the iPhone for instance. It's an impressive bit of work even if the Sims isn't my cuppa.

Give it a year or two more guys and then see how you judge it again. It might never be a 360 or PS3 but it certainly can top the DS and PSP by a huge margin. The 3G S hardware I think shows just how serious Apple is about making sure the phone is a hugely powerful gaming platform.

 

I bought Chrono Trigger ($30) on my DSi a week ago and I gotta say, beats the crap outta every iPhone game I've ever bought. Just thought I'd say that.

 

They won't, these are considered smaller versions of games. If they did do that, no one would buy any games. The reason why people call them expensive is because there are 30k+ apps in the app store. People buy a ton of apps, problem is is that it's short. People need more "entertainment" so they buy more games, but cash in their pocket goes down a lot faster than buying xbox 360/ps3 games. That's how apple makes money, collect...15% (correct me if i'm wrong), of the profit.