I Must Be Taking Crazy Pills Here
July 25th, 2007Am I the only one in the world who doesn’t consider $200 for Rock Band reasonable?
Look, a next-gen game is $60. That means you’re being charged $140 for 4 toy instruments (and calling those drums an “instrument” at this point is a bit much). I don’t know off the top of my head what these things cost to produce, but I’m going to go out on a limb and bet that it’s a hell of a lot less than $140. Plus, you pretty much need friends who are playing to realize its potential, so you won’t be able to play this much in a year or two, when everyone’s moved on themselves.
Unless there’s a drastic change of direction here, I’m probably going to pass - great track list or not.
Posted in Geoff, PS3, Xbox 360 |
July 25th, 2007 at 5:01 pm
GH = RB = WiiFit = casuals = not for me.
July 25th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
So because something is marketed ata casualy gamer you can’t play it? That’s horribly limited thinking. Raving Rabbids, Guitar Hero, Mario Party, all those are great games.
July 25th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Well, first, let me say that I TOTALLY AGREE with Geoff. I thought I was totally alone in my disdain for rock band based on price. Not ONLY will you need friends to play it with you, but if you really want to get the most out of it, they will also need to own the game so they can practice their instruments.
It will be lame if your friends only play it at your house, and you’re really good and they are just mediocre.
Anyway, as for the casual comments for esperanza, I have to disagree about GH. That is one game that transcends the categorization of casual or hardcore. It is both and neither. My wife loves to play songs like Surrender on easy. We have gaming night parties and its a huge hit with casuals. Then I’ll have some buddies over from work and we’ll see who can get the highest scores on expert. It get very intense, as much as any LAN party of FPS rally I’ve attended. Its just a great all around game for everyone, (assuming you are interested in music/rhythm games).
July 25th, 2007 at 10:57 pm
I haven’t seen that many people talk about it being a good value.
But in any case, I think people are seeing the value as somehow something like this:
$70 for RockBand (I don’t know why)
$50 for Guitar
$50 for Drums
$30 for Microphone
Why? I have no idea, considering that even the 360 version of Guitar Hero 2 with a guitar cost $90. But for some reason, people apparently seem willing to pay just about anything for these games.
July 25th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
“That is one game that transcends the categorization of casual or hardcore. It is both and neither. ”
I usually use that description for gems like Pacman, Tetris, most 2D mario games, and similar masterpieces…
July 25th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
PS: It seems Next Gen has an article diving into rising game prices, and the fact that gamers are eating them up. Although GH or RB i think are exceptions and not the rule, certainly $60 games are really something to watch out for.
Especially when you think of the same 360 shooters that are on the PC are cheaper at $40 or so. Console lovers, esp. 360 and PS3, are getting ripped off.
I also believe that rising game prices are really bad not just the customer. Think about this:
Most must-have games are AAA, meaning they are $60. This rise makes the average gamer buy less games. So, they need to sacrifice buying for certain games. Those “certain games” are not the must-have titles, of course, but the other, “optional” titles.
What I’m trying to get here is, thanks to the price rise, not only are console gamers getting shafted, but so are makers of low-key, sometimes-innovative but certainly less must-have titles like Okami or Zack and Wiki. And no, talk of inflation is irrelevant, if only because our wages are not increased relative to how much the game prices increased. Also, this will cause a rise in game rentals or used games market. And THAT is not good for the content-makers.
July 26th, 2007 at 6:50 am
@esperanza,
“What I’m trying to get here is, thanks to the price rise, not only are console gamers getting shafted, but so are makers of low-key, sometimes-innovative but certainly less must-have titles like Okami or Zack and Wiki.”
I totally agree. I personally blame MS and Sony (especially Sony) for foisting HD gaming on us before it was ready for prime time. (and blue ray of course) Don’t get me wrong, HD gaming is some pretty shit, but when you consider the massive cost of such games being shouldered by developers you can understand why prices are high and development budgets are squeezing companies like Clover out of business. I’ve read that you need to sell something like 500K copies of a game on PS3 to even break even. Thats insane. Nothing but “sure-thing” games will be greenlit on a system like this. That scares the hell out of me as a gamer.
July 26th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Wasn’t it this blog that ran an article about how stupid it was that GH2 fans bought so much of the overpriced marketplace content?
This is aimed at the same crowd. The same people who paid 80 bucks for a game, and 10-20 bucks later for content.
And given how the media has been spooging all over this game, I have no doubt people will wlak all over each other to rebuy the same songs.
July 26th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Dave -
Touche. Although I can’t believe that the market of idiots with $200 in disposable income is that high. I may see that what they say about a fool and their money is true, but my mental health requires blocking it out.
July 26th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
disclaimer; i might not be the best critic of other spending habits since I just put down for a 120 gig 360 HDD. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but i’m in a bit of a galss house.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:26 pm
You actually bought a 120gig proprietary 360 HDD?
>_>
July 26th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Yep. Glad i did. It doesn’t take away from the ridiculous price of the thing, but I have no regrets. There is just somehting inherently awesome about having 30 demos on the thing and not even having used up a quarter of the available space.
And I anticipate heavy Video Marketplace use once it gets to canada.