Windows A price increase?! I am OUTRAGED! You should be too!

Why the hell Blizzard/Activision is charging $10 more for their PC games (starcraft 2/diablo 3) all the sudden after MW2?? Is this becoming the norms? I refused to buy MW2 because of this reason. I am not complaining about the extra $10 as the tangible value of it as much as I am complaining and protesting the violation of a principle. This is not fair or justifiable. I can't believe they can get away with it while eveyone else is not protesting the price increase and just busy hyping their games! They are not paying royalties to MS or Sony, therefore, why are we paying the same price as console gamers?? Is it not enough that they are cutting all sorts of PC exclusive features (server support, mods, etc) or the fact that we have to put up with all kinds of DRM crap that they bundle with their products?! If we don't stand up to Blizzard/Activision now and vote with our wallets, other publishers will follow suit soon. I am OUTRAGED!

Tareq

 

Welcome to the internet, Mr. First Post Angryman.
Congratulations on being the first ever person ever, honest, to have discovered the concept of voting with your wallet. Perhaps you should start a campaign!

 

No, this is not the case. I'm a daily bit-tech reader and a pc modder myself so i'm fully aware of the PC gaming scene and I am aware of the consolification of pc market. However, i'm outraged as to why this is not bothering anyone. Why it's not being brought up in podcasts and blog posts. This is what really is bothering me.

 

They don't make you buy it, so don't. Games cost more and more to make, so they're going to have to sell it at a higher price. Why don't you start a company, spend loads of money to create something and then get a Mr. First Post Angryman come and say why is it at such a high price.

I think you need to learn some business skills.

 

The prices will come down. It's probably to do with the fact that console suckers are used to paying much more for their games than PC gamers, so Activision and the like are hoping to shift a few copies of their PC games at higher prices to consolites hooked by MW2 who don't know better. In any case, pay what you think the game is worth. I, for example, kinda wanted S.T.A.L.K.E.R. but didn't want to pay full whack for it, nor did I consider £30 a reasonable price for such a buggy game. These worries were assuaged by paying less than £3 for it in a Steam sale. It's much the same with MW2 - since I'm uninterested in the MP I won't pay £40 for a six-hour SP experience; I'll just catch it in the bargain bin in a couple of months.

 

Thankfully, I have a bachelor in finance and minor in economics. Therefore, I do have extensive knowledge when it comes to business. If your statement is true then console games price should go up as well to compensate for the increased costs but this not what is happening. In addition, how is it possible that other software publishers are making PC games just fine with current retail price?

 

I agree with you. However, if the starting price is $60 then you will have to wait longer than usual for the price to go down to something more affordable or to find it in the bargain bin.

 

Boycott them. Seriously!

EDIT: I've been waiting for CoD4 to enter the bargain bin since it was released Nov 2007 and it is still £29.99 ...

Activision are feckin delusional

 

I know plenty of people willing to argue otherwise if you have a finance degree under your belt...!

 

I am not here to discuss the how valid my business degree is. Never the less, I feel that big publishers are bullying us over with these prices and are hindering the pc games industry as a whole.

 

Oh no, capitalism! RUN!

I just got the new STALKER game for €10 new and i couldn't be happier, actiblizz can go hide in a corner and die for all i care.

 

looool, I know right!

 

They can because it would sell for $100 a pop. People still play the original Starcraft - that's 12 years of gameplay from a £25 purchase in 1998.

 

Sorry First Post guy... the industry charges retailers what it wants. In turn retailers charge what they want.

Be it beans or games.... shame

 

The people on these boards are not daft enough to pay full price on products anyway, a simple rule really, you want something? Shop around for the cheapest deal.

Sam

 

Yes, this is somewhat true. But not everyone is still playing the game and you don’t know if battle.net will still be operational in 12 years. When you see games like Mercenaries 2 being shutdown within 18 months, there is nothing you can take for granted. Now, I know Mercenaries 2 is not a Starcraft. However, I am speaking in general, as this might become a trend for all PC games.

 

Great games become classics and people will play them for years and years.

Unfortunately with actiblizz and EA around there aren't all that many great games nowadays that give you hundreds of hours of fun. There's no need for them with the attention span of consoletards. When i had XBL gold i had a hard time playing anything in multiplayer because 2-3 months after release everyone moved onto the next significant game in the genre.

You don't get that on PC.

 

The price goes up not because they're Triple A titles, they're more like Triple A* titles. They'll sell no matter how high you price em. I'll buy Diablo 3 for £100 cuz I know I'll be playing that for the next...ooh 5 years.

 

I won't pay more than 30 quid for a pc game and will only pay that for a game i really really want , otherwise its wait for the bargain bin /steam sale time....

 

I agree, but, I am more interested in creating a collective sentiment that disapprove such price hikes and discourages further advancements by other publishers. I would want PC game/hardware sites to write about it and voice the opinion of their readers.