Are AAA games worth the $70 price tag these days?

[Veronica Winston]

I've been seeing a lot of new AAA games coming out with a $70 price tag lately. It's got me wondering if they're really worth it. I mean, sure, the graphics are usually insane and there's tons of content, but I've also been burned by overhyped games before. Plus, with all the DLC and microtransactions these days, it feels like you're not even getting the full game sometimes. What do you all think? Are you still dropping $70 on day one, or are you waiting for sales? Or maybe you've switched to indie games instead? Just curious about everyone's take on this.

 

[Colif]

No, they not worth it but alas people pay it, so they charge what they can get away with.

I haven't bought a game on day one in years. That and the $70 only applies to US Buyers, a new game is easily over 100 here. Main difference is conversion rate but prices like this sure make you stop

I only buy a new game if I really want to play it and know I will get a fair amount of time playing it.

 

[Brian Boru]

My take on this is:

Patient Gaming

Gadzooks, we don't have a thread to which we can direct the unfortunate! How… er, how unfortunate :rolleyes: We're all sorry about this—since PCG stands for Patient Clever Gamers, there's just no excuse for such an oversight :oops: What is Patient Gaming? Not a genre or style of play, but...

forums.pcgamer.com

 

[ZedClampet]

I've been seeing a lot of new AAA games coming out with a $70 price tag lately. It's got me wondering if they're really worth it. I mean, sure, the graphics are usually insane and there's tons of content, but I've also been burned by overhyped games before. Plus, with all the DLC and microtransactions these days, it feels like you're not even getting the full game sometimes. What do you all think? Are you still dropping $70 on day one, or are you waiting for sales? Or maybe you've switched to indie games instead? Just curious about everyone's take on this.

They aren't worth it to me, but I'm also not a AAA type person. I mostly play games by small/solo devs.

 

[Rolfil]

No, not just AAA games but buying most games when they are first released. Also you might not even have decent enough hardware to play it with all the nice shiny graphic options turned up.

Just look at your Steam and Epic libraries instead. Probably full of games that you meant to play but didn't get around to.

Then there are plenty of decent free games to play as well.

If there is a new game you like the look of then add it to your isthereanydeal profile and buy it after a year when it's like 50% off.

 

[ZedClampet]

It actually just depends on your financial situation and how badly you want to play the game. If you know it's something you would love and paying $70 is not an issue for you financially, then go for it.

I pay more than that for many things over the course of a few days or a week. Last night I ordered food for 3 people that came to $90. I could have cooked a meal for far less than that, and it was all gone in less than an hour. A good game can last you for years.

You need to prepare for the future and have enough money to cover emergency expenses, but you only get one life. If you aren't putting yourself in a bad situation financially, then buy things when you want them.

 

[Johnway]

you know me, at 70+ for a game? absolutely not. hell, the AAA can afford to sell the game cheaper with the millions they make and the constant MTX they insist in shovelling down our throats at times. But as already mentioned, whilst enough people will buy it at that price, the AAA(A) industry won't change tact. Hell i find it somewhat tragic people defending the practice and high prices. As if a big multi millon/billon dollar company needs protecting. "oh this is the price we should be paying if we take into consideration for inflation!", "game gvies me thousands of hours of entertainment so its a bargin!", "they're a business not a charity" etc etc.

No, i won't pay that price and i can perfectly wait whilst those more willing can sample it first. if anything with various season passes and expansion packs, i have all the more reason to wait. i have a big backlog of games and classics to play.

The only time it doesn't pay to wait? multiplayer games. But since this doesn't affect me and FOMO for 99% of games doesn't concern me i'm still a winner.

 

[Zloth]

Pthtththth, even the "AA" games are worth more like $100 to me. Just don't tell the publishers!

 

[ZedClampet]

I'm telling people to go ahead and pay $70 for a game, yet I refuse to buy any game over $25, and I complain if it's over $15.

 

[Frag Maniac]

I never buy games at full price, so the release date MSRP price is less of a concern for me. I'm the type that would rather wait a year or more, and get several games at half price on a holiday sale.

 

[Brian Boru]

I heard about this $70 thing before… so it's real then, not another gaming legend?

Where I heard it was also talking about GPUs for $1K and more—yeah seriously, expected me to swallow that load of horsepuckey —so you can see why I doubted the $70 claim.

Is $70 worth it?

I suppose if it's an apprenticeship for game QA or a similar career, it would be cheap, wouldn't it? Get in early, help iron out any bugs in the MTX system, and the devs might be so grateful they'd take you on as a freelance QA tester. Then you're all set as long as the studio doesn't fold or get folded just before your first invoice comes due.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

Had this particular Steam account about 12 years, and have paid full AAA price for about 5 games in that time.

Most likely if Im paying full price its either something I know Im really going to like, or its something thats been out a few weeks and really want to play right now.

I'll sometimes pay 20 or 30 for an Indie game Ive heard really good things about, because for me its not all that much and its nice to support smaller companies. I'll also sometimes buy DLCs on top for the same reason if I really like them.

 

[Colif]

Only AAA game I might have bought on steam around release date was Civ 6. Looking at payment history I appear to have pre ordered it. Most of the games I have bought on steam came in under $20
Diablo 4 may have been last AAA game I bought. At release. But one AAA game every few years is almost value for money.