Cost

All posts tagged Cost

Is Gaming Only For The Rich?

Posted by Karl Weller on May 9, 2025
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It’s fair to say that my zest for gaming has somewhat diminished over the past year. Now that’s not to say that there aren’t games that I would like to play. “Monster Hunter Wild” is still permeating as my next potential addiction. The “Elder Scrolls Oblivion” Remake is a wonderful, if curious surprise that I’d be very interested to explore. GTA VI, which last week received its obligatory delay is now 12 months away. Though I have my Switch 2 pre-order ready for next month’s release, that’s really a console used to entertain the family, rather than a system to absorb myself into. But aside from that I find there is little to be excited for in this industry. Now this doesn’t mean there aren’t great games being released, but with the looming industry rise in software cost potentially crippling the more casual consumer, you do start to wonder if you are being priced out.

It is such a huge risk now. Time as well as financial limitations dictate this hobby, especially at my age. If I’m not working, which currently involves overnight shifts, I’m sleeping. Which again requires me to sleep during the day. Then most of my time is dictated by family responsibilities. So finding any time to immerse myself in a game, particularly expansive open world RPG’s, with branching quests and narratives is a tricky thing to navigate. Particularly when you consider that the only time I get for myself is in the evenings. So because of work, I only get weekend evenings. By which time I’m liable to fall asleep with my character standing there, tapping his foot in frustration and tapping his imaginary wristwatch, wondering why I’ve abandoned him in a troll infested cave for 3 hours. And there’s the cost. What if by some miracle I’ve found the time to indulge in this expensive hobby? Can I really risk spending £70 on a game I don’t like?

Sure you can take the time to read reviews, gauge some kind of insight from public opinion. Even relying on instinct to make an informed decision. But that doesn’t guarantee you’ll like it. I was convinced that I’d love “Balders Gate 3”. Everything I’d read and heard suggested as much. And though I respected the game and the developers remit when it comes to creating games, I just couldn’t get into it. Now that’s not necessarily the games fault, and certainly more of a “me” problem. But it is still a lot of money to spend on a game you are not enjoying. It used to be that you could rent a game, a process that would give you ample time to assess whether a game was right for you. But even if renting was still such a thing, you’ve now got to find £80 worth of disposable income to purchase it.

Could GTA VI Cost More?

Posted by Karl Weller on January 23, 2025
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The price of gaming software has always been a considerable hindrance in anyone’s decision making ability. It’s a financial risk. It’s an expensive hobby, one in which you have to consider whether the price offsets the quality. A difficult question to answer when you have no idea if the game is worth it to you. Just because you’ve read every published review that corroborates your opinion that a game is worth investing in, doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to enjoy it. For instance “Baldurs Gate 3” achieved universal acclaim from both critics and the discerning general public alike. And though it is an objectively great game, it simply isn’t one I personally gelled with. My loss I suppose, but it comes at a cost. Everyone has their own idea of what a game should retail at. There are of course many intricacies that go into a decision like this. Triple A games having higher expense, boast significant graphical enhancements and naturally demand a greater price tag. Though that doesn’t always yield a profitable result. Indie games, cost less, have fewer staff but generally can’t afford to charge as much. Is the game multiplayer. Is it a single player game. There are so many variables that determine what people are willing to pay for a game. But the question that has always burdened the industry, is how much is too much.

It’s fair to say that the price of games has remained pretty consistent. Though other markets have seen a huge rise in costs, game software has been able to circumvent inflation. But now the debate in raising prices has once been ignited by industry “analyst” that “hopes” GTA VI will be priced as high as $100. Which to my British compatriots is roughly £82. But of course the conversation rate is always inflated for us, you are probably looking in the region of about £90. Now Rockstar has not confirmed any pricing on GTA VI as of yet, though I’m a little sceptical that it will in fact be released this year anyway. But that’s beside the point. The problem isn’t speculating on whether or not that it will, but rather if they can. And the answer is a resounding Yes! A game series as prestigious as GTA could almost command any price it desires, knowing full well most would pay for the privilege. Potentially igniting an industry wide inflation. The difference however is that Rockstar are in the unique position to demand more money for their IP, that others simply can’t.

Could you imagine Ubisoft trying to capitalize on software price hikes, by increasing the price of an “Assassin’s Creed” game and turning a profit? A decade ago maybe, but now, with the state of the IP, as well as the company relying on the success of “Shadows”, it would be a risky maneuver considering they would likely allianate what dedicated followers it still has. I can’t think of a single studio, however successful, that could secure such a rise. So yes, GTA VI could cost more at launch than most third or even first party games. And may inspire others to do the same. But it’s unlikely that anyone else would succeed. Not yet anyway.

Should “PlayStation Now” Be Part Of “PlayStation Plus?”.

Posted by Karl Weller on October 9, 2019
Posted in: Feature. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 1 Comment

PlayStation Plus has reached an inevitable impasse. Having introduced the mandatory subscription service to the PS4, if you wanted to play online games that is, Sony needed to justify the additional monthly tariff that consumers like me had no prior use for. An annual £40 surplus was a considerable investment, one that I initially felt was validated. Providing a select range of free games for the PS4, PS3 and Vita every month. Ensuring a more secure online network, an essential resource considering PlayStation’s infamous fallibility in this area. The capacity to save game data onto the cloud. All of this functionality was a clear and definitive incentive, albeit one passively enforced by Sony. But a lot has changed since then, most notably the price of subscription.

Being the purported “Sony Pony” that I am, with my previous statements advocating the online service that only further reinforces that sentiment, it can be rather difficult to accept failure in certain area’s. But I’m not so totally complicit with my allegiance that I can’t call bull when I smell it. And Sony’s currently inflated pricing of PlayStation Plus has a distinctly pungent aroma of a recently destroyed China shop. By increasing the price of admission you’d expect to be getting more for your money. In fact your getting less! Fewer games are now available monthly, with Sony depriving users of the PS3 and Vita titles. But neglecting to subsidise those loses by increasing the number of PS4 titles. Increasing the price by 25% isn’t so bad in and of itself, but offering less of a comprehensive service is! With only 2 free games being made available every month, with arguably only one of those being a recognised, critical title that most gamers have probably already purchased, PS Plus is just a antiquated reason to charge gamers to access online content. The only real solution to rectify this brazen manipulation of its fans is to incorporate PS Now into the price.

Comprising these two separate features into one comprehensive utility is really the only way Sony can justify the escalated cost, without further propegating the perception that Sony are simply greedy (like any corporation I guess). Its a mutually beneficial integration, one that at the very least makes the excessive price more alluring. PS Now as a separate entity simply isn’t viable. Its a service that really only holds a peripheral interest to me, as streaming games isn’t really practical considering the snail powered WiFi I have at my disposal. Though it’s possible to download games, it still doesn’t incentivize me enough to have it separately from PS Plus. But intergrated with it, to me at least is a much more feasible alternative.

With the announcement of the PS5, tentatively confirmed for late next year, PS Now should be a compulsory integration with PS Plus. This could be the perfect accompaniment. Permitting access to a wide range catalogue of iconic PlayStation games on a new generation of consoles. It’s the ultimate backwards compatibility. Something that makes PlayStation Plus a more inviting prospect.

Should PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now merge? Would you use PS Now if it were intergrated with PS Plus. Let me know in the comments below. Cheers.

Metal Gear Solid V: Pound Zero

Posted by Karl Weller on March 1, 2014
Posted in: Feature. Tagged: , , , , , , . 4 Comments

Screenshot 2014-03-01 at 14.13.53Do you remember when you would purchase a gaming magazine, browse through the contents absorbing all of the relevant information affiliated with a fabled game you desperately covet, while merely feigning mild interest in other auxiliary news and contempt for the titles that received exulted praise they didn’t deserve. The covers smooth surface, veneered in a protective coating to defend from prolonged exposure, decorated with vague quotations of a games review and snippets of news with the title embroidered like lavish tapestry of elegance. Can you also recall discarding the elaborately constructed packaging and removing the sensitive disc that remained benign behind the useless paraphernalia enclosed, and cautiously removing the sensitive demo disc from the corrugated sleeve before sampling a demonstration of its unreleased contents. Though such conformities to physical publications and distributed demo’s haven’t been consummated just yet, the advent of internet has receded the need to expedite such an extrapolating monthly cost. Trailers are readily viewed on YouTube, breaking new developments are far more immediately accessible with social media allowing for significant immediacy, with developers capable of convening with consumers more directly, rather than just through editorial mediators. Independent blogs can be published and distributed without ambivalence amongst the social equality of other gamers, making the digitalized world a far diminutive, but convenient playground to convene.

"I'm sure Ground Zeroes will be impressive. But not £28 impressive."

“I’m sure Ground Zeroes will be impressive. But for £28, I would want snake to cook me a steak (Medium) and chips, clean the house and wipe my ass. Without arousing suspicion obviously. He is spy after all.”

The symmetry of gaming has, and always will alter as time and technology accord. But demo’s–whether physical or digital have always been a prudent way of affirming a games core facets, even through temporary means, for free. It was then your own inclination that what you had experienced was enough to persuade you to retain a product or if you simply weren’t fussed. Now it seems that we are expected to pay for this privilege. I am referring to Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, which acts as prologue to The Phantom Pain. What’s relevance is this I hear you retort disinterested? (I know that isn’t what you said but tolerate the hypothetical) Well your anointed one, Ground Zeroes is a condensed demonstration of The Phantom Pain, that will ultimately cost you 30! Yes OK, it is a separate commodity from PP, but let’s not persuade ourselves that it’s a completely separate entity altogether, but merely an entertaining demonstration of the fox engine and a publicised advertisement that consumers will be charged to play. Perhaps there is a tangible sense of yearning from gamers for something to do with their new bloated console, that developers believe that consumers will feel passively cajoled into obtaining a compact abiding, simply to stem the content latency from Sony and Microsoft.

For me however this is just an aberration of a growing discordance that is becoming a perpetual blot on out industry; charging gamers for additional content through discriminative exclusivity. For instance a general release of a standard game will cost X amount, but why settle for adequacy of the general, impoverished natives when–for superficial fiscal extrusion–you can obtain additional, extended content that has little impact on the narrative, with supplementary attire for your character that the general peasants could only dream about possessing?! Perhaps my pious surmise has become so agitated by the extrapolating cost that I miss the point of such extravagant accessories. Maybe there is significant differential between standard and special additions, or that there is a benign benefit to releasing an exposition of the PP potential aptitude. But I think I’ll prolong my abstinence for a company that values me as a customer, a fan or even a consumer. Not as currency.

……Hmm? I could be waiting a while couldn’t I?

Will you be buying the Ground Zero? Or is it a needless expense? Let me know. Cheers.

The Ommitted Costs Of The Next Gen

Posted by Karl Weller on January 29, 2014
Posted in: Feature. Tagged: , , , , , . Leave a comment

screenshot-2013-06-12-at-21-28-341.pngOh the elation of the frequently touted next-gen that thou has blessed us with. The remedial allegiant against the stagnation of gaming adequacy, the anointed messiah that thy prophesied would lead us not into temptation, but into diverse world replete with vibrancy and abeyant nobility. Thou bountiful, though expensive gift is the potent contraceptive for any proposed nocturnal fornication, that grants us the purity of religious celibacy. Us mere mortals offer praise for this magnanimous contribution, by adorning our residence with decorative ornaments that allow us to lament our fraternised correspondence with the inferiority of archaic tech, a remittance on negligent aversion from as the reflective, spiritual enlightening of the next-gen. Let us unit in the holy consensus to pray for our continued consonance, purge the pestilence of inferior hardware and the divergence from the unholy, unsanitary composition of mobile gaming *Spits*. I solemnly swear to devote both time and fealty to the engraved serendipity of the PS4, with distributed convergence of serenity through the anonymity of wired headset, thereby evoking auditory communes with other enlightened Shida’s (that’s not a grammatical oversight). I will smite those that attempt to poison and corrupt my brothers. And you will know my name is the lord when I strike my vengeance upon thee! (I think that might be pulp fiction?). I will hereby convene with other enlightened souls with unflinching resolve for your evanescent aristocracy. Our exulted lord; Shuhei Yoshida.

"I need your clothes, your boots and your bank account details."

“I need your clothes, your boots and your bank account details.”

Can you hear a loud sucking noise? This sanctimonious, fastidious, but wonderfully articulated exposition isn’t necessarily a reciprocated affinity between the PS4 and myself (though its sadly rather close). I am however bored with referring to the inauguration of new consoles as “next-gen”, so from now on I’ll accredit it as Meredith Fosslebottom (Which incidentally is causing havoc with my predictive spelling audit). Now you’re not stupid, you understand the fiscal implications of the Meredith. That wealthy endowment is not simply an implication but one of assurance, but there are additional expenses that I didn’t anticipate. Once you’ve purchased your respective Meredith, admired its angular extrusions, or hidden its grotesque visage behind your stereo and revoked its access to the bell tower, then validated your asset by procuring a couple of accompaniment of games which reside with inflated price tags of around the 50 quotation, and your wallet will feel like its been defiled by RBS. Though most online games require the regulated premium service of PS+, you can acquire access to singular titles most notably Call Of Duty or Battlefield, with just the nominal transaction. Though I should indicate that these nominal transactions are 3/4 of the price of the premium service offered by Sony, making this gesture rather impotent.

Digitalized variations to physical copies are downloadable too, albeit with indistinguishable price differentials that also comply to suppressed publicity. The PS4 and Xbox One both posses 500gb hard drives to comfortably mediate your games, music, pictures, videos etc. But due to the expected technological ascension of content distributed through Meredith, games and perhaps other forms of media require innumerable availability to install, with some games (Killzone to be specific) requiring 6% of your internal RAM! Now you have to regulate your consumption of data, frugally analysing purchases with reductive clemency. Of course the PS4’s internal hard drive is mutually affiliated with any other external unit, so in theory you can subsidise the rather meagre unit for a superior 1TB HDD for further gaming affiance, but with further reductions  on your financial capacity (you sensing a theme here?). But Xbox One owners can’t even upgrade due to the latent ability to retract the HDD, so you’ll  be relying on economical prudancy, or ignoring the static storage system and transferring saved data through the USB port to an external hard drive. You may as well just utilise those pretty little clouds. There are of course benefits to being a contrived conservationist, due to the extrapolating costs of upgrading your internet connection that can administer such prodigious files.

"Money Fight! And this is just your internet suppliers. Excellent."

“Money Fight! And this is just your internet suppliers. Excellent.”

A standard broadband juncture simply can’t handle the perpetual streaming of such tremendous ethereal documentation’s. Games such as Killzone (again) if routed through a sparse 16 meg conduit, could leave you waiting in excess of 9 hours! That’s a customary flight time from London to Orlando, without tangerine attendance remitting corrugated sandwiches. This is just a sample of my experience that exemplifies the additional applications that are requisite to fully amplify your interactions with Meredith. Though my numeracy extends to no more than inferring how much tax has been deducted from my pay (stupid, dictating society) I can vaguely ascertain that you’ll be incurring affixed expenditures of around £100. That’s excluding the console. And games. Or supplementary peripherals. Or protecting your newly procured commodity with applied insurance. In earnest, Meredith is an aberration of contemporary gaming; one richly informed by attenuating progression of technology, honed to adequately suffice any supplement form of entertainment. It should no longer be regarded as simply a modest hobby, but an investment. A very expensive one. Good luck.

How much extra have you had to pay, if any? posited