I don't play console games, but I DO know what they cost to buy new.
And the prices are not some magical 40 or 50 bucks in some magical frequent manner either.
My son requested adding Starcraft 2 to his collection via Santa. That game +taxes, is NOT 40 or 50 bucks. It will cost me as much as just about any real wargame will when I add taxes. Might be off by 5 bucks, maybe 10, but nitpicking about 5 bucks? That sort of crap is what I am used to hearing from 13 year olds on console gaming forums. 5 bucks to them, means the same as 50 bucks means to me.
Are wargamers whining that a wargame of absolute rock solid value, costing 80 bucks, is too expensive, no better than a whiny 13 year old? And all because you can get yesterdays crappy game on sale in a sale bin for 10 bucks?]
Every now and then, I encounter GI Combat on a shelf, covered in dust, with a 10 dollar sticker on it. It's not worth 10 cents. And measuring a game that IS worth 80 bucks, against worthless crap, well it's the defense of an idiot. Ya that is truly Les talking here, I don't mind saying it like I see it. I've no qualms labeling cheep buggers as just that.
You might not 'like' the design, but a game IS worth what it is worth, if it is at least considered a good game by the fan base. I'm no fan of 3d real time, but I don't think I'll be getting any argument from the 3d real time gamer base, that GI Combat, and every incarnation of it, was pure crap. And is NOT of any use as the basis of pricing out a game that IS great.
It's great that BBC BA was priced at 40 bucks. Of course it's great. I'm not afraid to say, it looks like it might have been less brain strain than WitE though.
Great games do not NEED to be monster games to be great though.
Sometimes you CAN buy a great game, and not suffer wallet fatigue.
But it shouldn't be used as a means to set prices for everything.
There's a good reason it costs less to buy even the most high tech bicycle than even a mediocre car. One is easier to make than the other. Best bike I have ever owned, would today be worth in the region of 800 bucks. Forget getting even the worst jalopy for 800.
Where a game is played can factor in to the price.
Cost me as much to buy Commander Europe at War for PC as it did for my Nintendo DS copy.
Generally speaking, just about any DS game will cost me 35 to 40 bucks.
You can find some fun titles for 20 bucks occasionally.
Those games are not cheaper for any magical reason, they are just normally less magnitude.
I have often thought, maybe we could have more wargames on the market, if more wargamers were more willing to get more wargames offered with less obsession with the wargame being all inclusive all encompassing with not one iota of the war left out.
I don't care for John's limited activations, but, his idea of no editor, and focusing on specific battles is his way of keeping open the option to make sales.
He could have just released a game akin to TOAW where every last one of his Panzer Campaigns for instance was a single purchase program that just had a lot of battles in it.
But he only gets one sale.
Would you begrudge him 100 bucks if the game was every single Panzer Campaign in one release? Damn right you would, you'd be all for telling him he was insane if he thought anyone would pay 100 bucks for one stupid wargame.
Yet all of his Panzer Campaigns added together as separate purcases is worth several hundred dollars instead. Ad everyone loves his games.
Price is not the barrier some need to claim it to be.
I see console gamers buying expensive console titles all the time. Some are of course clever enough to hold out for a used copy for that small price reduction (yes it is indeed small).
The only reason most console gamers are not wargamers, is no one is trying to sell them wargames much.
I laugh with the retailer most times I visit. 'Can I help you?' 'No, just confirming that there are still no wargames for console'
