Console vs PC: Cost of Games

Jase

Jase

New member
Since I am getting a Xbox next month, I decided to list all the titles I want to play, make a list and priorotise.

The very first thing that struck me was the cost of console games. Console games are upto 2/3 more expensive (from what I looked at) than their PC counterparts.

One would think with PC piracy so rife (as claimed) vs consoles that games would be more expensive and yet they are way cheaper.

So what is it? Development costs? Costs to Port? Middleman? Royalties?
 
Most companies sell the console in the first few years for a loss until they can make it cheaper etc... for example the PS3 Slim that will be coming out.

X360 Pro doesn't exist anymore. The Elite version will drop into the Pro price range now, excluding Special Editions like the Resident Evil 5 Red One.

Consoles make money from games, pure and simple :)

All games get developed on the PC in the first place. So you need to port everything over to the respective platform,test,de-bug etc. Very time consuming :/
 
Still doesn't make sense to me though. For example MS makes Xbox but a dev house will make the game. Does the Dev house / publisher then have to pay royalties to MS?
 
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Yebo yes. It's the same for the XNA platform aswell.
You have to pay for the privilege of putting it onto there platform ;)
 
PC is an open platform that's why the games are cheaper. For a developer to develop a game for any of the consoles he has to pay microsoft,sony or nintendo a fee. Then there's also the whole issue of them having too much say about what games are allowed on those platforms. Ceo of stardock had an very good article dealing with that in this months pc gamer if anyone's interested.

That's the reason why indie developers are on the pc and not on the console and the modding community thrives on the pc but is unwelcome on the xbox 360 .
 
The price of console games are ridiculous at best. It's why the PC is still more popular between hardcore gamers from my experience.
 
Stefan9 said:
PC is an open platform that's why the games are cheaper. For a developer to develop a game for any of the consoles he has to pay microsoft,sony or nintendo a fee. Then there's also the whole issue of them having too much say about what games are allowed on those platforms. Ceo of stardock had an very good article dealing with that in this months pc gamer if anyone's interested.

That's the reason why indie developers are on the pc and not on the console and the modding community thrives on the pc but is unwelcome on the xbox 360 .
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Isn't this why they started the whole XNA idea? So indie developers could program on it? I do understand what you trying to say, just weird that MS would feed with the one hand and smite with other 'is all...
 
Gradius said:
Isn't this why they started the whole XNA idea? So indie developers could program on it? I do understand what you trying to say, just weird that MS would feed with the one hand and smite with other 'is all...
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They may try to support the indie developers in making it easier to develop for the platform but they don't allow freedom like the pc platform. They aren't going to allow any content that they don't like onto their platform. At least that's my understanding from reading comments from some developers.
 
PC gaming can certainly be cheaper but can also be more expensive depending on the kind of person you are, and the games you like to play (often people are like - uber super max HIGH settings keel joo PC FPS's!!).

The main reason I like 'me' consoles is that they usually a lot less hassle free. Considering all the issues that can be associated with PC's, sometimes I like to just stick in a disc and play which a console can offer. Also trouble shooting a PC can suck, while when a console breaks it is easy - replace, or you may try repair service. Otherwise I certainly agree, the damn prices of console games can really get to a person.

At the moment a person gaming on a budget is muuuuch better off either with a modest PC, playing selective titles with no personal need to run everything on MAX, or perhaps a PS2 with its amazing library of games.
 
tehNihilist said:
PC gaming can certainly be cheaper but can also be more expensive depending on the kind of person you are, and the games you like to play (often people are like - uber super max HIGH settings keel joo PC FPS's!!).

The main reason I like 'me' consoles is that they usually a lot less hassle free. Considering all the issues that can be associated with PC's, sometimes I like to just stick in a disc and play which a console can offer. Also trouble shooting a PC can suck, while when a console breaks it is easy - replace, or you may try repair service. Otherwise I certainly agree, the damn prices of console games can really get to a person.

At the moment a person gaming on a budget is muuuuch better off either with a modest PC, playing selective titles with no personal need to run everything on MAX, or perhaps a PS2 with its amazing library of games.
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LOoooloool @ uber super max. Hey it does look a whole lot prettier though ;)
Either way it doesn't really matter to me,reason I own consoles are only for the games I really want to play that will never make it to PC.

Forza3,GT5,MGS etc... :)
 
Console gaming does not have to be more expensive, you just need to be smart about it.

Places like Zaps have a massive selection of preplayed games (in perfect condition) that sell for between R200-R400.

Also, every month different retailers have specials where you can by quality titles such as Bioshock for less than R300.

Admittedly, brand new AAA games that launch at R700 are a bit much for many, but if you are willing to wait a month or so you can always find them somewhere (legally) for less than R400.
 
I noticed that older console titles are way cheaper and I'll keep that in mind when purchasing games for my new baby.

Except for Dragon Age; must ...... have ..... ASAP!
 
Tinman said:
Console gaming does not have to be more expensive, you just need to be smart about it.

Places like Zaps have a massive selection of preplayed games (in perfect condition) that sell for between R200-R400.

Also, every month different retailers have specials where you can by quality titles such as Bioshock for less than R300.

Admittedly, brand new AAA games that launch at R700 are a bit much for many, but if you are willing to wait a month or so you can always find them somewhere (legally) for less than R400.
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Yes but won't most of those things you mentioned except for retailers preplayed game section also apply to pc games ?? Since they start at a lower pricing point when the prices start to fall they still end up being cheaper?
 
Pc games is cheaper yes, but what about the long run. Always upgrading to keep up with your modern age games. I prefer my xbox, everything works hehe
 
I am an x-pc gamer that plays xbox now, started console gaming cause of travelling with work and could not lug a PC rig around, console was alot easier, plus MP with mates was nice..... Since then i have slowly slipped into the console only world.

I do miss certian parts of PC gaming except one thing.... HAVING TO UPGRADE. It mite sound cheesey and lame, but it sucks going to a friends house and seeing how well a game plays on their rig, you go buy it and it runs okish on yours... when i go to a friends house and see an xbox or ps3 game run on there tv, i know it will look pretty much teh same on mine... Also for the price of a nice gaming PC i bought a 40" HD TV and an xbox and portable hard drive.... media centre and gaming :)

they both have there pro's and con's.... maybe one day i wwill have enough time and money to enjoy both :)
 
I imported Resident Evil 5 (PS3) from the UK for only R400, didn't even have to pay import tax :). At that time RE5 was like R700 in SA. So it's best to search around before buying.
 
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i have no issues about buying a 2nd hand xbox game. it works out cheaper for me...

..but buying a 2nd pc game?? thanks to "back up" games, i'll rather buy brandnew and now i get the original...

but

back to the topic, pc games might be cheaper, but you need to upgrade a lot (meaning more $$ spent) to keep playing the newest games at high res. so all in all, pc games sometimes work out more expensive
 
Thing is for me I already have a PC which I update on a fairly regular basis modestly to keep up to date with technology. It makes more sense for me to just put all my gaming on the one platform and just spend a bit every year for a new gpu or whatever. I don't have a huge TV and my pc monitor is better quality anyway. Consoles used to be cheaper than PC - but somewhere along the line the priorities got skew. Plus having to choose between three consoles is too much for me lol.

But I have to admit i'd love an xbox360...ah well.
 
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