Now this is what I’m talking about! RANT 2: Consumers are @#$^!*% Morons, an editorial on the pricing of games and how we consumers are responsible for price creep. This discussion is primarily about console and handheld games because we know MMOs cost 11 billion dollars to develop so they’re a bargain at any price.
1 thought on “We’re Morons”
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I like this rant. I’ve been quite irritated with the console game market recently. I’ve done my share of purchasing games when they hit $39.99 mark. Although, I’m finding it hard to turn off the urge to jump at the PS3 once it releases. I’ve been wanting HD games for some time now. I suppose I’ll have to go another year without a new console in order to justify the purchase of a PS3.
The article touches on the fact that royalties are paid to the console makers and hopes that the price is fair. However, I’m wondering if that royalty price is not fair. When Microsoft released the original XBox, they were taking a massive loss on each and every one they sold. The number was something in the $100 range. They didn’t worry because they were counting on royalties of software to make up for it. I’m wondering if part of that extra $10 is coming from the royalties to make up for the losses that Microsoft has to be taking on the Xbox360. How many games would Microsoft collect royalties for in order to make up for the $150 or so loss they have on the console? Assuming a $20 royalty, which is a large margin, each and every XBox360 player would have to buy 5 games just to make up the console loss….. and they’d have to buy more just for Microsoft to make a profit. How much room does that leave for the developer to make any money?