Video games are a form of entertainment, just like movies or other activities. Though some may say that the price of entertainment is a tad too high. It all depends a lot of factors which are different for certain people. I would like to deny the statement that video games are overpriced and here's why.
As I've mentioned, video games are a form of entertainment. Of course, most of this generic entertainment costs money, as we all know. Say you're going to the movie theater to see a 2.5 hour long movie. The ticket cost you $10. That's equivalent to $4 an hour. Now lets take Bethesda's Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim into comparison. You bought it at release for $60. Certainly there are lots of things to do in Skyrim and I know people who have spent an unimaginable amount of hours playing it. Simply put, a game like Skyrim can entertain you for a pretty long time. But lets say you played it for 100 hours. That's 60 cents for an hour long gameplay. As a gamer myself who really searches for entertainment in video games rather than elsewhere, this deal seems quite attractive.
When speaking about the past prices of video games, they were actually worse than now. Honestly, now is the cheapest time to be a gamer than ever. Nintendo 64 cost around $200 when it came out, while the prices of games like Mario 64 ranged from $60 to $80. There was noticeably more flexibility for retailers in terms of game pricing back then. Nowadays, there are lots of ways to purchase games - you can rent them, buy used ones and ultimately there are lots and lots of free to play games with decent potential.
Another fact worth mentioning is that there's no need to buy a video game the moment it's released. Once the hype goes down, which usually doesn't take long, probably a month or so, we can definitely buy games even cheaper when they're on sale. Take in mind that the budget to create a game these days is severely bigger, while we're paying the same amount of money, or even less.
Ultimately, there are people who never buy games, but download cracked versions instead. In conclusion, it is a great time to be a gamer, even if video games seem a little bit pricey. The money does not go to waste, though. A decrease in sales would probably lead to worse quality content. So keep supporting your favorite developers by buying and enjoying their games.
Thank you for reading and share your thoughts!
