[Megathread] PlayStation 5

[Vash The Stampede]

Don't promote piracy or shady key resellers. -Edge

Shady is your opinion. Everything that's a discount is shady to you.

Hell, I got god of war for something like $30 6 months after its release.

Be careful now, that sounds like a shady discount.

Okay? The US economy experienced a far worse recession in 2007/2008 and games were still relatively more expensive than 70 dollars now.

Relative to what? Inflation? The only reason it isn't as bad as it was in 2007/2008 is because governments are giving away free money. Do you know how many people haven't paid rent since April of 2020? You're going to have a tsunami of problems coming up later this year when landlords are going to want their money. Pricing of games is all about what Sony can get away with, and right now they're getting away with a lot. Microsoft has surprisingly been lowering the amount they take from games much like Epic is doing, which is going to make pricing games at $60 a lot more comfortable on PC and Xbox than on Playstation. I haven't seen Nintendo raise their prices above $60 either.

The thing is that it isn't like Sony is Nintendo where their games rarely drop in price. I'm sure in a year Returnal will be like 40 dollars and in 3 years you can probably pick it up for 20 dollars or less.

Luckily piracy on Nintendo is surprisingly easy, to the point where you don't even need to own Nintendo hardware. Cry thief all you want but during these hard times it's a legitimate strategy for some people.

[hellhamster]

I remember getting RDR2 a few months after release for half price (or 40% off, can't remember) from the PS store.

[Vash The Stampede]

Yeah, the playstation store is shady as shit...

That's not what I meant, but since we're on the subject of Playstation stores, did you know Playstation Now is garbage? It's true, ask Linus.

[Poppincaps]

Shady is your opinion. Everything that's a discount is shady to you.

Be careful now, that sounds like a shady discount.

Relative to what? Inflation? The only reason it isn't as bad as it was in 2007/2008 is because governments are giving away free money. Do you know how many people haven't paid rent since April of 2020? You're going to have a tsunami of problems coming up later this year when landlords are going to want their money. Pricing of games is all about what Sony can get away with, and right now they're getting away with a lot. Microsoft has surprisingly been lowering the amount they take from games much like Epic is doing, which is going to make pricing games at $60 a lot more comfortable on PC and Xbox than on Playstation. I haven't seen Nintendo raise their prices above $60 either.

Luckily piracy on Nintendo is surprisingly easy, to the point where you don't even need to own Nintendo hardware. Cry thief all you want but during these hard times it's a legitimate strategy for some people.

Hey, if you're going through some rough financial times then that sucks for sure. I used to pirate games when I was younger because my family could only buy me 1 or 2 games per year. Do what you gotta do man.

But despite the poor timing of the price raise, the reality is that the beginning of a generation is the appropriate time to raise the price and inflation dictates that game prices should rise. They won't be 60 dollars forever. I personally feel pretty neutral about the whole thing. I obviously don't want to pay more for games, but this is also just how things work.

[Aeluron Lightsong]

Hey, if you're going through some rough financial times then that sucks for sure. I used to pirate games when I was younger because my family could only buy me 1 or 2 games per year. Do what you gotta do man.

But despite the poor timing of the price raise, the reality is that the beginning of a generation is the appropriate time to raise the price and inflation dictates that game prices should rise. They won't be 60 dollars forever. I personally feel pretty neutral about the whole thing. I obviously don't want to pay more for games, but this is also just how things work.

No it is NOT an appropriate time to increase video game prices, they are just being greedy. Its still a pandemic and the economy hasn't recovered a bit. Also don't thinkf or a minute they won't try to get more out of you even if the price went up. They will, just greed.

[PACOX]

Man listen

https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2020/...g-time-coming/



I remember when I was was a kid I saved up something like $40 - $50 for Starfox 64. A run in that game took me 2 hours if I kept pausing to do other stuff. I would be pissed if I paid $40,let alone its inflated value, today for the same game. $70 for Returnal was a buy I could sleep good about with the amount of overall polish put into the game. Like I said in a previous post, I'm holding future $70 games to its standard. Not so much that I think $70 is huge, it's not cheap at all but not boycotting expensive, but because as a consumer I've chose not to buy games at day 1 price unless the game meets certain expectations/i trust the studio. That $60 - $70 is still relatively cheaper than games generations ago. It is easy enough for me to wait for a sale (usually 3 months on PSN) or for a game to be part of some bundle/service nowadays vs Nintendo that holds on to old school rules (rare price cuts, full price remakes, etc).

[Vash The Stampede]

Hey, if you're going through some rough financial times then that sucks for sure. I used to pirate games when I was younger because my family could only buy me 1 or 2 games per year. Do what you gotta do man.

Being able to afford something is subjective and the mentality this forum has is stupid. I associate it with the Corvette tax in that when you own a Corvette you're expected to pay high prices to maintain and repair the car. Why? Because you own a Corvette. Even though it's a GM car that uses similar parts to other cheaper GM cars. If you can afford this then you should be able to afford that.

Most peoples finances are uncertain, and you may believe it isn't but it currently is. Everyone got stimulus money to throw around so of course what's an extra $10 towards a game? It's not about what you can afford but what's fiscally responsible.

But despite the poor timing of the price raise, the reality is that the beginning of a generation is the appropriate time to raise the price and inflation dictates that game prices should rise. They won't be 60 dollars forever.

Not everything goes up in price over time. Some things actually go down in price. Inflation is not an absolute but like a guideline that is poorly thought out. Video games were originally $50 on average and movies were $25 on average in the 80's and 90's. The cost to make a movie was more expensive than making a game back then. Super Mario Bros. 3 was $25 million to make while Terminator 2 was $100 million, but SMB3 made $1.7 billion while Terminator 2 made $520.9 million. Today the highest grossing video game is GTAV with it's online store making $1 Billion alone, not including sales which was $6 Billion world wide, while End Game the Movie made $2.7 Billion. GTAV cost $265 million to make, while End Game cost 356 million to make. End Game on Blu-Ray costs $15 while Grand Theft Auto is $25 on Amazon and $30 on Steam. Also, GTAV was released back in 2013.

Claim inflation all you want but movies cost more than ever to make while still retaining the $25 purchase price from the 80's and 90's. Games though make more money than ever and cost an extra $10 more. Sony is currently alone in their decision to charge $70 for a game. Considering the run away success of the PS5, I can't imagine this hurting them at the moment but in the long run...

[Edge-]

Video games were originally $50 on average and movies were $25 on average in the 80's and 90's.

Which completely ignores things like the huge increase in ticket prices at theaters since the 80's.

Super Mario Bros. 3 was $25 million

That was the marketing budget, the development budget was around $300K - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_...or%20inflation).

to make while Terminator 2 was $100 million, but SMB3 made $1.7 billion while Terminator 2 made $520.9 million.

That's just box office sales, so it's hardly a remotely fair comparison. That doesn't include licensing fees for television, that doesn't include VHS/DVD/BR sales etc.

And the $1.7B for SMB3 is adjusted for inflation, the revenue for T2 is not. This is a pretty terrible comparison, dude.

Today the highest grossing video game is GTAV with it's online store making $1 Billion alone, not including sales which was $6 Billion world wide, while End Game the Movie made $2.7 Billion. GTAV cost $265 million to make, while End Game cost 356 million to make.

Initial development cost, not the cost of ongoing releases and development which there is no comparison for End Game. GTA is also unique in having a huge online component that few games benefit from.

End Game on Blu-Ray costs $15 while Grand Theft Auto is $25 on Amazon and $30 on Steam. Also, GTAV was released back in 2013.

Yo, does my End Game copy give me access to an online viewable version of the movie that receives frequent updates? Or is it just like, a the product and nothing more?

[Jtbrig7390]

--snip--

Seriously why are you taking the bait. All he does is come into the thread, promote pricy, say buying something from ebay is a official sale, does a bad comparison and promotes pricy some more.

[StillMcfuu]

Has anyone gotten Returnal, it looks nice and I see some good reviews. I just wanted the sense of the game from people who aren't paid to make reviews.

[Vash The Stampede]

Which completely ignores things like the huge increase in ticket prices at theaters since the 80's.

Or the fact that people can spend $10 a month on Netflix or Disney+ and watch all the movies their free time has.

That was the marketing budget, the development budget was around $300K - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_...or%20inflation).

And?

That's just box office sales, so it's hardly a remotely fair comparison. That doesn't include licensing fees for television, that doesn't include VHS/DVD/BR sales etc.

So Super Mario Bros 3 didn't have licensing fees for television shows, toys, cereal, and still being sold today on the Switches store? It's harder to calculate how much money SMB3 and Terminator 2 made after the initial sales.

And the $1.7B for SMB3 is adjusted for inflation, the revenue for T2 is not. This is a pretty terrible comparison, dude.

I did not know that but plugging in $1.7B from 2021 to 1988 shows $1Billion. Specifically $1,052,734,630 .

Initial development cost, not the cost of ongoing releases and development which there is no comparison for End Game. GTA is also unique in having a huge online component that few games benefit from.

The sales is still $6 Billion, which is enough to beat End Game twice over. The online store is a $1 Billion bonus.

Yo, does my End Game copy give me access to an online viewable version of the movie that receives frequent updates? Or is it just like, a the product and nothing more?

Updates to a game is not a benefit to you. It's a benefit to the company who didn't finish the game by bug testing it properly. Do you want End Game to get patches because Thanos gets stuck in the ground when Iron Man snaps his fingers? No you don't. How many patches you see downloaded for Super Mario Bros 3?

You can try to justify it all you want, but the reality is the gaming industry is greedy. DLC, micro-transactions, and yet you're justifying the $10 increase. Sony's $70 price maybe enough to deter some people onto Xbox or Nintendo. Dare I mention PC. God knows you all flip out when I mention those two letters.

[Edge-]

Or the fact that people can spend $10 a month on Netflix or Disney+ and watch all the movies their free time has.

Irrelevant, those would be licensing deals similar to TV where the studio makes X amount of dollars for the show being on a third party streaming platform for Y period of time. If players think there's more value in that than a $70 game, more power to them.

And?

Differentiating development vs. development + marketing budgets matters. The Terminator budget was just for production, there's no data on the marketing budget associated with it that I can find.

So Super Mario Bros 3 didn't have licensing fees for television shows, toys, cereal, and still being sold today on the Switches store? It's harder to calculate how much money SMB3 and Terminator 2 made after the initial sales.

The Mario Show wasn't just for SMB3. And if we're extending beyond just the product itself, into merchandizing etc. that's an entirely separate ballgame. You're shifting those goalposts hard right now.

I did not know that but plugging in $1.7B from 2021 to 1988 shows $1Billion. Specifically $1,052,734,630.

It's not even a fair metric to compare a game that could potentially sell across 2 decades to a movie that didn't see 2 decades worth of theatrical releases (the SMB3 numbers are from 2011)

Edit: Looking at the source for the SMB3 revenue - https://web.archive.org/web/20121015...t_Selling_List

Yo, that includes bundled sales so that makes the T2 comparison way less fair/accurate.

The sales is still $6 Billion, which is enough to beat End Game twice over. The online store is a $1 Billion bonus.

Again, you're comparing apples to hand grenades. This is not a remotely fair comparison given that GTA has the Online portion which is generating consistent revenue through additional development of content, where there is no analog for Avengers: End Game. At all.

Updates to a game is not a benefit to you. It's a benefit to the company who didn't finish the game by bug testing it properly.

...do you know what GTA Online is? Do you know how it's monetized? The way you post this makes me think you don't know at all. I'm talking about GTA Online content updates that are developed and released as DLC, not bugfix patches which like, aren't bloody monetized dude? What game do you play that monetizes for a bugfix patch?

You can try to justify it all you want, but the reality is the gaming industry is greedy. DLC, micro-transactions, and yet you're justifying the $10 increase. Sony's $70 price maybe enough to deter some people onto Xbox or Nintendo. Dare I mention PC. God knows you all flip out when I mention those two letters.

Every industry is greedy, games are no more uniquely greedy than any other entertainment industry from music to movies to whatever you want. You're just tilting at windmills over what is, in reality, a tiny price increase for a product that's seen its base price remain stable for decades, and actually be lower than it once was when you used to have games that retailed for over $60 regularly. I genuinely don't think anyone is going to look at a few PS5 titles priced at $70 and say, "You know what?! Screw that! I'm gonna spend $3-400 ADDITIONAL dollars on a console I don't own to buy the $60 games on there, it's an incredible value! And especially the Switch, where Nintendo rarely runs deep sales on any of their first party games so I'm stuck mostly paying the MSRP for them."

[Tech614]

You can try to justify it all you want, but the reality is the gaming industry is greedy. DLC, micro-transactions, and yet you're justifying the $10 increase. Sony's $70 price maybe enough to deter some people onto Xbox or Nintendo. Dare I mention PC. God knows you all flip out when I mention those two letters.

Its deterring them enough that the PS5 is out pacing the PS4 in sales and they still can't meet demand... loooooooooooooooooooooool. Nobody flips out at you for the record. People laugh at you because you don't live in reality and make bad arguments for days.

[Jastall]

Updates to a game is not a benefit to you. It's a benefit to the company who didn't finish the game by bug testing it properly. Do you want End Game to get patches because Thanos gets stuck in the ground when Iron Man snaps his fingers? No you don't. How many patches you see downloaded for Super Mario Bros 3?

You can try to justify it all you want, but the reality is the gaming industry is greedy. DLC, micro-transactions, and yet you're justifying the $10 increase. Sony's $70 price maybe enough to deter some people onto Xbox or Nintendo. Dare I mention PC. God knows you all flip out when I mention those two letters.

They're not deterred that much given the thing is sold out everywhere. Why you insist on dying on this hill I have no idea.

And not that many people get a gaming PC if they want to do budget gaming in the first place, especially now when a decent GPU alone costs you more than a brand new console and a couple games on top of that.

[Smash Adams]

You can try to justify it all you want, but the reality is the gaming industry is greedy. DLC, micro-transactions, and yet you're justifying the $10 increase. Sony's $70 price maybe enough to deter some people onto Xbox or Nintendo. Dare I mention PC. God knows you all flip out when I mention those two letters.

Given the sales on the PS5, it’s a pretty safe bet that the $70 price tag isn’t a deterrent on a noticeable level. The idea that it might be putting people onto PC is laughable, absolutely nobody is seeing a ten dollar increase in game price, then deciding to go drop a few grand into a gaming PC. Ditto with Nintendo. At this point, Nintendo really isn’t operating in direct competition with MS and Sony. Maybe it’s driving some people to go Xbox instead, but again, the sales figures just aren’t really supporting that.

[Vash The Stampede]

Irrelevant, those would be licensing deals similar to TV where the studio makes X amount of dollars for the show being on a third party streaming platform for Y period of time. If players think there's more value in that than a $70 game, more power to them.

Wrong answer. The correct answer is Xbox Game Pass. You could spend $10 for one month of NetFlix or Gamepass and then cancel you subscription. Lots of people do that. Lots more people just use a friends or families account. Point is people have cheaper choices than movie theater tickets.

Differentiating development vs. development + marketing budgets matters. The Terminator budget was just for production, there's no data on the marketing budget associated with it that I can find.

Doesn't change that SMB3 cost less and made more money than Terminator 2.

The Mario Show wasn't just for SMB3. And if we're extending beyond just the product itself, into merchandizing etc. that's an entirely separate ballgame. You're shifting those goalposts hard right now.

And you're not? You're the one who mentioned revenue outside of initial sales. Clearly Nintendo made more money out of Mario than just video games. Also the Movie "The Wizard" was mostly about SMB3.

It's not even a fair metric to compare a game that could potentially sell across 2 decades to a movie that didn't see 2 decades worth of theatrical releases (the SMB3 numbers are from 2011)

Edit: Looking at the source for the SMB3 revenue - https://web.archive.org/web/20121015...t_Selling_List

Yo, that includes bundled sales so that makes the T2 comparison way less fair/accurate.

So? They still made a Billion dollars.

Again, you're comparing apples to hand grenades. This is not a remotely fair comparison given that GTA has the Online portion which is generating consistent revenue through additional development of content, where there is no analog for Avengers: End Game. At all.

Minecraft has made $3Billion in game sales alone.

Given the sales on the PS5, it’s a pretty safe bet that the $70 price tag isn’t a deterrent on a noticeable level.

I think it's more to do with backwards compatibility with the PS4. That and the PS5 is making PS4 games look better. Also how well did Demon Souls and SpiderMan PS5 version sell on the PS5? Demon's Souls didn't sell very well on the PS3 originally.

The idea that it might be putting people onto PC is laughable, absolutely nobody is seeing a ten dollar increase in game price, then deciding to go drop a few grand into a gaming PC. Ditto with Nintendo. At this point, Nintendo really isn’t operating in direct competition with MS and Sony. Maybe it’s driving some people to go Xbox instead, but again, the sales figures just aren’t really supporting that.

Xbox is kinda pointless to buy as there isn't any launch games worth it. Though you still can't easily find a Xbox Series X for less than $1k, so it maybe due to Sony able to produce more consoles than Microsoft was. The PS5 isn't much better but at least it has Demon's Souls. Nintendo is actually killing it right now with the Switch. PC though has a huge graphics card shortage that's mostly due to demand. That demand isn't from crypto mining either.

To put it simply, if your hardware can play games then it will sell out. The $70 price isn't deterring anyone because they just need the hardware. The PS5's sales success maybe more about COVID and timing. That's why I said the $70 price isn't going to slow down PS5 sales right now. Maybe in 2022 or 2023 when people maybe able to buy hardware for sane prices. Also the only PS5 game I can find that cost $70 is Demon's Soul. NBA 2k21 is $79 for the PS5 but nobody cares about that game, and you can pre-order Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart for $70. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales is $50 for the PS5 on Amazon. The $70 priced games aren't exactly coming out at full force here.

[Poppincaps]

You forget, though, that he's always right!

- - - Updated - - -


Based on posts in this thread about it, people seem to enjoy it.

Just read that post and yikes. Imagine being "pro consumer" but disliking consoles that make gaming more accessible for the masses.

[Video Games]

Anyway you dweebs can argue about sales of a 30 year game if you want but returnal is ok, however it gets really boring if you didnt make any progress in the previous run. I never really felt that with other rogue likes.

[Edge-]

Anyway you dweebs can argue about sales of a 30 year game if you want but returnal is ok, however it gets really boring if you didnt make any progress in the previous run. I never really felt that with other rogue likes.

Supposedly they're working on a mid-run save system (which made me look up Eververse and realize it has a similar system!) I'm glad, because whenever I get around to nabbing a PS5 I totally want to pick it up. Looks bloody fun.

[Video Games]

Supposedly they're working on a mid-run save system (which made me look up Eververse and realize it has a similar system!) I'm glad, because whenever I get around to nabbing a PS5 I totally want to pick it up. Looks bloody fun.

It can be, but you can go runs and runs without getting a permanent upgrade and so many things have a negative drawback that far outweighs the positives so sometimes you dont even get good run upgrades. It gets better when you get the hookshot at least