Gaming: That Thing You Can No Longer Afford.

If you would of told me even just a year ago that games were going to go to $80, I would’ve laughed at you. Not because you’re funny, but because the industry couldn’t possible be that stupid, right? Fucking wrong. By now we all know what’s going on with Nintendo and their upcoming console, the Switch 2. That showcase was amazing for what it was, and there were quite a few games that I considered trying out or getting at some point, assuming whenever I would decide that a Switch 2 would be worth the investment. However, there was a catch, as there always is. We won’t get into the fact that they’ve put a price on things that should essentially be free of charge, that’s somewhat expected, albeit retarded. Or, how they basically dodged giving us prices even though we had to find out anyway.  The focus is that they’ve basically pioneered the birth of $80, stating that Mario Kart World is worth that value. Really? A game where I drive with dominantly Mario characters and some other Nintendo characters? Did anything in that game based on what was shown tell you that it was worth $80? I’ll wait. Actually no, I won’t because there’s not a damn thing there to justify it. We can give it the ol’ “It’s big by Nintendo standards so it’s fair.” argument, but that’s just being dumb. Back when The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom dropped, they released it at $70. Which wasn’t even that justified outside of the fact that the game did have more there in terms of exploration and options to innovate compared to their Breath of the Wild game, but they treated that game as if it was apart of the newer consoles and quality conversation. I do still love playing that game, but I won’t justify that decision, especially when Breath of the Wild is still selling for $60. So here we have them selling games from over 8 years ago for full price, then selling the sequel for $10 more on the same old hardware, and now selling a game for $10 more on the next console they release. Based on the level of “quality” they said. As if you didn’t just show me a brand new, open-world looking, Donkey Kong Bonanza game that somehow costs $70. Which makes me think, “Huh? Does that mean that this game is less valuable than the ones that are $80?” Let’s be clear, Nintendo doesn’t have anything worth $80. Or even $70 if we really want to have that conversation again. Couldn’t care less than they’ve reached a “modern” console. It doesn’t mean they have to let that shit go to their heads and price the living fuck out of everything that comes with it.

Now, because of Nintendo, these actions are pretty much the straw that broke the camel’s back. Recently it was announced that Xbox will be going up on their game prices too, around the holiday season. They’ve already raised the prices of their consoles and services, which will likely increase more for gamepass overtime. A dumb move on their part in terms of getting more sales and outreach for Xbox, but maybe a great move for ending the path of traditional gaming and exclusivity, which is what their vision has been for some time now. So far, Playstation hasn’t made that leap with any games, but you know that they will. It seems like the smarter choice would be the wait until they see how the other competitors fair with their prices before changing their own. Each company has a loyal fan-base that’ll grovel at their feet and buy every little thing. At this point, they could probably put a piece of shit inside of a case and sell it for full price. Oh wait, they’ve done that before with a good amount of games by now. The fact that they want us to pay full price of a bunch of games that aren’t even finished. How often is it that when you get a game, you don’t have to update it? There’s always a patch because they’re less focused on putting out a quality product and more focused on what benefits the shareholders by a certain time in a sales period. By now we all know that it’s not about the gamers, it’s about the profits. Which is why a lot of these studios are having lay-offs or just blatantly going out of business. There’s word going around that this is all because of the tariffs and how it impacts trade and development costs, but we all know that’s bullshit. They were planning on doing this anyway, and this allows them to ease into that a lot easier. It let’s them have a scapegoat for their egregious business decisions. Not that it matters, because people will continue to buy and justify the prices. “Oh, games were this price in the 80s or 90s.” Don’t act like the economy was the same back then as now. Even if a game did cost that much, it’s also about the things that are happening around it. I have to pay for my console, I have to pay for my game, I have to pay for the subscription to play online (Even though I already pay for internet access), and then if I enjoy the game, I have to pay for additional content that often times should’ve just came with the base game. Whatever prices we were paying before, or had to pay, were coming with a completed product. That’s clearly not the way gaming works for the most part in this day and age. So, having games priced at $80 significantly impacts the kind of people who could be involved in gaming. Some people juggle school, work, family, and other responsibilities that are financially strenuous. “Stop being broke.” Is the kind of shit that people will say to either troll or give as a genuine answer. Even if someone has a bunch of money to buy $80 games at their leisure, it doesn’t change the fact that the price is too damn high for what’s being given. Then, the companies want to find the need to come out and say that the price of development has gone up. Okay? How the fuck is that my problem? As a consumer, I’m supposed to be getting sold a product that I would assume is finished and worth the money that I pay. Just because you can’t figure out shit behind the scenes, doesn’t mean that it’s my problem. Imagine a mechanic is fixing your car and then he tells you “Wow, this is gonna’ require much more expensive tools to do the same thing that I’ve been doing to your car for years. I’ll have to charge more. Even though the old tools still work just fine.” Why is that? Just use the same damn tools you’ve always used to service the car. Don’t charge me extra unless I agree to those newer tools and have seen that they provided any difference or value.

Don’t give me an $80 game until I’ve seen and have experienced that the game is worth that money. Which brings me to my next gripe, they fact that they charge all this money for these games, but don’t even give us demos for them. So, let me get this straight. You want me to pay $80(basically $90 since it’ll be closer to that once the tax hits) to play a game that I’ve only ever seen trailers and gameplay for, but never got to experience at all? I never even got to feel the game for myself and you’re telling me to bend over and take it up the ass, because fuck me. Right? Some games have already built a track record for themselves in a way where fans and gamers can come to the conclusion that they’re likely quality products, but even then we deserve a little more before we invest. Remember back when we use to be able to engage more with the game developers, ask more and learn more about what the game is like or what to expect? That’s become less and less, and I think that’s partially because they know it’s likely not worth what they’re asking. The only time you do see them being that open about it, is when they’ve received some kind of backlash about the game before it releases, and then they have no choice but to strategize and actually market the game to us like something they actually want us to buy. It also doesn’t help that almost all of these newer games are using Unreal Engine 5, which is a great option, but not perfect. And often times, the games look the same. By now, how many of these muted colored, action games that look like Dark Souls have been made? How many fighting, simulator, or open-world rpg games have been created with the same assets and no real soul. Or even that memorable. Gaming has taken a hit because there’s less risk being taken, and less reward being given. That, now paired with the fact that you’ll have to sell your organs just to have a few of them, is causing this hobby to become a luxury. It was already a luxury hobby for its own reasons, but now its causing a clear divide. What should be accepted or not? Like I said, at the end of the day, as long as the people keep buying these things at these prices, they’ll keep fucking us over. It’s like this shift in gaming has happened as consumers where we use to be the ones getting services, but now we’re the ones giving more than we’re getting. It’s because of all of the brain-dead people out there not willing to call out things for what they are. Actually, they do. They just don’t stand for shit. They’ll be the first ones yelling “That’s crazy! How can this be?! You surely won’t be getting my business anymore!” (In the most annoying tones ever), and then you see them lined up on release day at the store to get the products.

I won’t pretend that there’s no choice but to subscribe to these things, so long as they keep happening. If there’s a game I really want, and that’s the price they’ve sold it to me for, then that’s just something to deal with. Even if you wait for a sale, they’ll likely be about 20% or 30% off. Which funny enough, is basically like paying for the game at the price that it should actually have been anyway. So you’re really being tricked to pay full-price for a game but at a “better deal”. I mean, shit. That’s not even to mention the fact that you don’t even technically own these games anymore. At any point, especially if it’s digital, they can remove it and not give it a second thought. Even if you have a physical copy, you won’t ever be able to play an optimized version if you’re not downloading the patches and updates. Nintendo takes this further, now that they have this weird as product key thing that comes with physical games. You buy the game, then have to get access via the key to then download the game. It’s just a fucking digital copy. One that you went out of your way to go and buy, because maybe you wanted a shiny new case with it, but that won’t even matter once the game has outlived its time and can’t be played. For now, the best value for getting games is Game Pass on the Xbox, but you can bet that it won’t last. Not in the way that you’re comfortable with currently. I’m definitely curious to see how this ends up going forward. I mean everything has increased in prices, but I’m curious that even if prices were to go back to a stable place, would they then fix the prices for that. I wouldn’t hold my breath about it, because we already know the truth. Anyway, that’s just where we are with it, and I’m curious to know what people will do, or what this means for the future consoles.