How can they justify this?

[gudbuddy]

Why is it that multiplayer games are so much cheaper than single player games? Surely they incur similar development costs? I know they will always try for what the market will bear but as recently as 5 years ago a top game retailed for around £30 whereas now it is more like £50. Seems as if we are being ripped off.

 

[Slasken]

Examples of cheap multiplayer games please?

 

[Alm]

Multiplayer games usually have a lot of microtransactions in them and if not a lot of people buy them they shut the game down.

 

[Frag Maniac]

Multiplayer games usually have a lot of microtransactions in them and if not a lot of people buy them they shut the game down.

^This, also sp games have a TON of AI scripting, which takes a lot of coding and testing time.

 

[Zloth]

So five years ago, AAA games were $50. In fact, I believe they were $50 ten years ago. $40 was typical beyond that, and they were at $40 for a loooooong time.

P.S. I double checked to make sure £30 hadn't gone to £50 over the past five years. It wasn't even close.

 

[ZedClampet]

Why is it that multiplayer games are so much cheaper than single player games? Surely they incur similar development costs? I know they will always try for what the market will bear but as recently as 5 years ago a top game retailed for around £30 whereas now it is more like £50. Seems as if we are being ripped off.

We are definitely being ripped off. Publishers are making more and more money. But people still buy these games even though they are $70 now. If we stopped buying them, the prices would come back down. Or we can just become patient gamers and buy them a few years after launch.

 

[Zloth]

If they charged me $100 even two years later, I would still buy them.

Or should I not be saying that out loud?