Why does the price of video games stay the same?

But even as development costs grow, the price of games stays at the same level because we’re not willing to pay more than that to get the product we’ve gotten for cheaper for so long. Publishers know that games will sell at this price, so it’s beneficial to keep it stable and make money in other ways. What does that translate to?

How much does a video game cost in the UK?

Recently, it’s become quite noticeable that digitally-distributed video games are somewhat over-priced in the United Kingdom compared to the United States. A simple Google search currently displays Overwatch, a recently released game, in the UK PlayStation store as a whopping £54.99; after perusing the Xbox Live store, the price is again £54.99.

Why are there so many discounts on video games?

Steam and other online retailers have thrown a bit of a wrench in the model with frequent sales that have gamers slavering for discounts—many people wait until big titles go on sale to purchase them. But without the cost of producing a physical game, publishers still do well from digital sales.

Where does your money go when buying a video game?

From every $60 video game sale, we can estimate that roughly 27 of those dollars go to the publisher (Ubisoft, for instance), $15 goes to the retailer (GameStop, Target, or other stores), $7 each goes to returns (games that don’t sell) and the platform (such as Xbox), and the remaining $4 goes to distribution and cost of goods.

Is the price of a video game going down?

But if you think that all of a sudden games will be 20% cheaper, you’re kidding yourself. More than likely either the console or the publisher will pocket the different and keep charging you the same. For as much as people like to claim the $60 game is going away, I have my doubts this will ever come to pass.

Can a video game be sold for$ 70?

Sales projections are all different. Take, for example, this thought experiment. If you could sell a game to one person for $70, or two people for $50 each, you could feasibly make more money at the lower price point. But if both people were willing to buy the game at $70, then by lowering the price, you are losing money.

How much does a video game console cost?

There are lots of other ways that video game companies have come up with for you to spend more than $60 on video games, but the base level, entry level price for a blockbuster video game on a console is now $60. There was certainly a time period where games cost anywhere from $40 to $80 in the Nintendo, early Nintendo Entertainment System era.

Why are used games so much more expensive?

Many stores actually take a hit on stocking new games, which is part of the reason used game stores like GameStop offer little cash for used games but sell them at a much higher price—used game sales are what keeps the company afloat, not the revenue from new games.