This is something that's been going on for a long time. This generation has really introduced us to the idea of paying a small chunk of money for a smaller downloadable game that generally contains a much shorter experience than a disc based product. I've actually found that the majority of my enjoyment from games this generation has come from downloadable games. Games like WipEout HD and Critter Crunch are two that stand out to me personally.
Here's the issue though. For services such as PSN and XBL for the most part a game will come out and cost $10. Something like Super Stardust HD for instance runs for $10 and will probably supply you with hours upon hours of gameplay. Granted there are add on packs that you can purchase but you don't need those. However when a game comes along that breaks that $10 dollar price point and goes to $15 all hell breaks lose and people are ready to revolt. We'll be super pumped about a game but as soon as we hear that it's going to run us $15 instead of $10 suddenly that game isn't worth it anymore?
Earlier this week my friend and I were talking about Limbo and DeathSpank. I had been playing DeathSpank and he had played through the demo of Limbo. After he described to me how amazing the demo was and how it wasn't like anything else he'd played before my friend made this comment. "The only thing is it's $15 and I just don't know if that's worth it."
I couldn't help but feel so very confused. Here's this game that my friend was just loving every second of but that five dollar difference some how made it worthless? But lets save that for later. I finished DeathSpank last night and I've spent the majority of my time since then thinking about the game itself and how I feel about it. From starting the game up to finishing it 100% with all the trophies DeathSpank took me about nine hours in total. Some people have accused DeathSpank's $15 price point to be too much. Maybe it's just me but there's something wrong here.
Why is it that we're so willing to shell out $60 for a game that may or may not be good that we can finish in under 8 hours and probably won't touch again. However somehow $15 is TOO much? How many times have you or someone you know said "I'd pay $60 for Portal" or any other small game like that? Portal was about a 3 hour game depending on how good you were and many people have freely stated that they wouldn't have an issue paying $60 for it because it was THAT good.
When Fallout 3 came out I bought the Collector's Edition for $80. I'd seen the gameplay videos and I read up on everything I needed to know about that game. My friend and I both stood in line at midnight to pick up the game and I went home immediately to play it. I hate Fallout 3 and in many ways I consider that purchase to be one of my worst purchases of this generation of gaming. To me the game was bland, boring and I just couldn't stand playing more than a hour or so at a time. Here's this game that I was confident I knew would be worth that premium to get the Collector's Edition and I hated it.
On the opposite side of that here's this game called Flower. Flower is $10 on PSN and while I had played flOw and like it I just wasn't sure about this Flower game. I took a leap of faith though and bought it. Flower only lasted about 2 hours or so but it remains to be one of the most unique gaming experiences I've ever had. While I've only gone back to Flower maybe once or twice since playing through it for the first time that night I still look at it in high regards. It reaches this point where what I paid for it doesn't really matter...and it shouldn't.
Last December I was able to pick up Prince of Persia for $20. Anyone who had bought it when it first came out obviously would have spent the full $60 on it. I can honestly say though that getting it cheaper didn't make me like the game more. It was a good deal but it didn't affect my opinion on the game itself. This is how it should be.
DeathSpank is a good game. It does have it's issues but there's fun to be had with it. The humor might not hit every time but when it does it's hilarious. While I haven't played Limbo I can't help but think that that game holds an experience unlike any other game out there. You see $15 is not bad at all...in fact it's a great deal.
With the exception of RPG's many retail games today will run you around 6-15 hours of gameplay. Online games will often allow for a much larger amount of gametime but for now lets focus on the single player side of things. For retail games we're willing to spend $60 on a game that we're not sure if it's going to be good or not. On a game that looks and plays exactly like every other game in it's genre. We're so willing to spend a rather large sum of money on games that really aren't offering all that much in originality. But as soon as a game like Limbo comes along that is offering something totally different from what we've ever seen before suddenly paying 1/4 the price of what we are used to is "too much".
When I think about what games we might remember ten years from now as games that were "special" i can't help but think that every one of the ones that I will remember are download only games. I'm going to look back and remember how Flower made me think about gaming in a totally different way. Or how Braid had the whole industry up in a frenzy when it first released. I'm not going to remember the Uncharteds and the Call of Duty games or God of War or any of those games. I'm going to remember how for a fraction of the cost I was able to get just as much if not more enjoyment out of a downloadable game then I have ever gotten from a disc based game.
I think we need to reach a point where we realize we're not entitled to expect a $10 pricepoint for downloadable titles. These games are often created by a very small group of people who work their butts off to make a game that people will enjoy. But for some reason people are refusing to pay for these unique, fun, original games and instead we go out and buy generic shooter number 64.
I've always found it funny that as gamers we always complain about the lack of originality in games yet we're so quick to shun the games that ARE original. We need to support these $15 games because if we don't it won't be long until all we have are generic, boring and over done concepts that no one wants to play.
*** DISCUSS ***
