I can't remember the exact prices of video games in the NES, SNES and Genesis era, but I remember Street Fighter 2 Turbo was about $80, Chrono Trigger was $70 and I remember paying $60 for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie game for the SNES. Times sure have changed since then, where retailers seemed to have found a standard price for games. $60 is what we pay today for a new game, $50 for the Wii ones, but the Wii U has also joined the $60 club. I know what you're thinking right now, you're thinking that when we had games at $80 a pop, $60 doesn't seem to be that much, we're getting a bargain here. Actually we're not, cartridges were more expensive to make and these extra costs were passed on to the consumer. These days it is not as expensive to make copies of a game on a disc and put it on a store shelf. Granted the plastic boxes are made out of plastic which is petroleum based and paper has gone up in price over the years, but it still doesn't compare to the work that went into a cartridge. Now that we've reached this $60, how much does it really cost a retailer like Wal-Mart or Gamestop to buy a game? Well unfortunately the prices vary according by source, but there is some information that gives us a number that seems to be in the ballpark. First let's talk numbers, according to some websites the cash received for a game breaks down like this:
20% goes to the console maker, such as SONY, Microsoft, Nintendo
20% goes to the retailer. Wal-Mart, Gamestop, Toys'R'Us
15% goes to the marketing company
15% goes to the developer
30% goes to the publisher
This seems to be the standard, but don't be fooled. The developer doesn't always get the short end of the stick, take games such as Black Ops 2, Halo, Final Fantasy and even Zelda, where they have proven to be a success every time a new one comes out. In this case developers get a much better cut of the earnings because the publisher knows those game will sell a lot more copies than an average game. Now what I am about to say next may BLOW your mind, but believe me it's the truth. Retailers are the ones that get the worst deal when it comes to the prices of video games, well retailers and us consumers of course. On average, a retailer gets about $12 for every $60 game you buy from them. Sure you think $12 sounds like a good deal right I mean they pay about $48 for a game and then sell it to you for $60 it seems like a nice profit, only it isn't. From the information we have gathered, retailers like Wal-Mart may get a better price just based on the volume of games they buy from the distributors but it is not that much of a difference, maybe they make $15 off a game instead of $12. Still they are almost forced to sell these video games simply because companies like SONY and Microsoft say, if you don't sell our video games and consoles, you can't have our TV's, Computers, MP3 players, Printers, etc. You get the idea. Now you may say, well Wal-Mart has a lot of money, Amazon.com does too and Gamestop steals from us with their prices on used games. You would be surprised on how untrue this is. Wal-Mart is the most successful retailer in the world and hey I mean we do get a lot of cheap stuff from them don't we? We're focusing on video games here but let's look at the big picture, a friend of mine just bought a TV at Wal-Mart for $178 a 32-inch flat screen for his room, this was on Black Friday so ok it's a little cheaper than usual. About a year ago I bought a 42-inch TV for $540 to me that was incredibly cheap and that was just a normal sale. If Wal-Mart wasn't paying for video games, I would've probably pad way more for that TV or maybe it would not have been in stock. Now let's take a look at Gamestop, they are all about Power to the Players, which yes you and I believe it's a big fat lie. They give you $20-$30 for a brand new game if you resell it to them and then turn around and make a nice $25-$30 profit on it when they put it back on the floor as a used game, and sometimes they make even more when they have $40 games that they give you $3-$5 for and still sell for $35. Gamestop though doesn't get the same deal Wal-Mart does, and they only sell games, a few other things but not the type of things parents rush into Wal-Mart or Target for. Gamestop is a business that needs to make a profit, and yes I admit that even I believe it's abusive at times, but you know what is much worst? Companies like SONY wanting to not only make the future consoles unable to play older console games but they want to make them unable to play used games at all. This would effectively kill the Gamestop business strategy and we would have to buy NEW games at all times. Do you see how this becomes a problem for us? If not, let me give you some information, first of all you have to consider that you would be paying $60 for a game that may be a stinking pile of shit "Duke Nukem Forever" "Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City" I actually enjoyed this last game, but the majority of you didn't by the comments I have heard and I get it, I am not exactly the biggest Resident Evil fan, but you know what? we all paid those $60, Duke Nukem was reduced to $10 almost right after it's release. I don't know about you but Gamestop is starting to sound real good right now. I don't mean to say it's the best or only way to get money for your games, heck I sold Black Ops 2 one day after it's release for $40 to a friend. Why did I do this? I hated the game but I had already used the NUKETOWN code so it only seemed fair because he may have to pay for it later. Gamestop would have given me about $30 store credit and even less in cash, but now I understand why they do it that way, and like I said it does not mean we have to go to them, but imagine if you could only play new games on your consoles because SONY or Microsoft said so? Would you still play video games? I sure as hell wouldn't. I am a PS3 fanboy big time and I don't hide it, I hate the VITA with a passion though and I think the Kinect is the best Motion gaming platform right now. I am not PS biased just because I like their current system better than the others, but believe me if SONY decides that the new PS can only play new games and other systems remain the same, guess who's not going to be a PS fanboy anymore? This guy right here writing this article. I guess at $42 I can understand why $60 has become the industry standard to the consumer, but what happens when you pay $60 for a game that's worth $5? Remember when Dead Island came out? How the game would constantly delete your progress and there was no patch for the longest time? Did you know that if you open a game and you take it back to Wal-Mart claiming it doesn't work they will only give you another copy of it, they won't return your money? When I buy something and it doesn't work I expect my money back, I lose faith in a product and this is how our problems start with games, because readers let me tell you we're being spoon fed turds and we've been letting it happen for too long, which brings me to my next point, why isn't it wise to pre-order a game.
Stay tuned for Part 2 or our article to find out why we should not pre-order games and how because of our consumption we have created a problem for ourselves as gamers. If you have any thoughts or comments be sure to post them down below.
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