With video game prices once again on the rise, I’m sure many of us are being more critical of our purchasing decisions. Games costing $80 is a tall ask, but to be honest, I stopped buying them on launch day once $70 became the norm, with one notable exception.
The only time I’ll ever break this self-imposed rule is if there’s a collector’s edition from a franchise I love, and that collector’s edition better be something special.
Collector’s Editions Are Worth the Asking Price to Me
The biggest gaming releases often include a number of versions or editions you can purchase. It’s almost laughable that companies often feel compelled to release graphics so that you can discern what each edition includes. Nonetheless, something that always catches my eye is a comprehensive collector’s edition.
Now, when I mention a collector’s edition, I’m not talking about a game that comes with an art book and maybe a mini-soundtrack. For me to bite the bullet, it has to include something completely unique. For example, my favorite game isFinal Fantasy Tactics, so you better believe I preordered theFinal Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice ChroniclesCollector’s Box. In it, you’ll find a couple of things related to the game’s art, but it also has three chocobo plushes, a Ramza Beoulve figure, a Zodiac Stone magnet set, and this amazing pop-up art of the Outlying Church location.
I hate to admit it, but it being limited also increases its appeal to me. I fully realize companies that do this are exploiting FOMO (Fear of Missing Out), but I adore everything aboutFinal Fantasy Tactics. As someone with every edition of the game, as well as the figures associated with it, the value is there for me.
Make no mistake, spending $200 on the Collector’s Box isn’t something I do lightly. Ever since games started to hover around the $70 price point, I’ve been much more selective about what I’m willing to purchase. In fact, I’ve never paid $70 for a game that wasn’t a special edition of some sort, and I’ll certainly maintain that streak for $80 games, for a variety of reasons.
Games Often Have Problems on Release
I’ll be blunt and say that with the state so many games release in now, I often feel like a beta tester. I understand they are significantly bigger and more complex than they were years ago, but that doesn’t excuse launching something that clearly isn’t optimized, especially for PC players.DOOM: The Dark AgesandMonster Hunter Wildsare just two recent high-profile examples. I should note the latter is still getting review-bombed because, despite coming out in February, PC players continue to have serious performance issues.
Think about some of your favorite games that came out within the last five to 10 years. I’ll bet any amount of money that playing most of them now is a significantly better experience because the developers added quality-of-life changes and optimizations based on player feedback. I know the famous “day one patch” and numerous title updates will make a game better, so why would I pay full price to get less now than I would if I waited for the developers to iron things out?
Frequent Sales and Discounts Provide an Incentive to Wait
Speaking of paying full price, your purchasing restraint is often rewarded with a sale of some kind. Between Steam, PlayStation, Microsoft, and Nintendo, there’s almost always some kind of sale happening. Steam in particular is known for its frequent sales, with its biggest ones coinciding with every season of the year. This means every three months or so, there’s a good chance that the game(s) you’ve been eying will be discounted.
Nintendo may be notoriously stingy with discounting first-party games, but most publishers also host their own sales, as well as random events where their games are far from full price. I remember Square Enix used to have warehouse sales where physical copies of games were around 70% to 80% off. I got some amazing games that were hard to find at the time, like the Nintendo DS version ofChrono TriggerandDirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII.
Too often have I felt the sting of finally buying a game I wanted, just to see it heavily discounted a week or two later.
“Complete” Editions Often Come Out Later
One of the biggest reasons I don’t pay full price for games, at least AAA games, is the release of a better or “Complete” edition down the line. If a game has an expansion or season pass of some kind, a comprehensive package with everything included will often come out later. In some cases, this final version is cheaper than the original game was at launch.
One of my favorite examples of this isStreet Fighter V, abrilliant game that made a terrible first impression. As someone with thousands of hours inStreet Fighter IV, I was more than excited about the sequel and even got into one of the beta tests. The game itself played fine in the beta, but the state it officially launched in was laughable.
At release, we had only 16 characters, a bare-bones single-player experience (not even Arcade Mode was included), input lag, netcode problems, and a lack of online modes present inStreet Fighter IV. That’s not even taking into consideration how many season passes the game has (five, by the way), so if you wanted every character, the DLC was an added cost on top of what you already paid for the base game.
It took several years before the community’s perception ofStreet Fighter Vbegan to change for the better. Now, if you buyStreet Fighter V: Champion Edition, you’ll get all the content from the original release andStreet Fighter V: Arcade Edition(excluding certain costumes and Capcom Pro Tour DLC), which includes game mode additions and balance updates. Essentially, you’ll get the best version of the game.
On a similar note, did you know that whenSpyro Reignited Trilogylaunched, only the first game was on the disc? That meant if you bought the physical version and wanted to play the other two games in the trilogy, you needed an internet connection to download them. The whole point of buying a physical game is to have it all on the disc, and it wasn’t until the game was reprinted later on that players actually had access to every game in the bundle.
There Are Plenty of Cheaper, Amazing Games Out There
We live in an age where expensive AAA games are far from the only ones to choose from. Some of the best experiences you’ll ever have are from tiny studios and developers, and at a fraction of the cost. Games likeClair Obscur: Expedition 33andThe Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remasteredare truly incredible adventures that will keep you entertained for dozens of hours while being $20 less than most of their competitors.
For those looking for good multiplayer games, the free-to-play space is brimming with options, with one of my personal favorites beingMarvel Rivals. Games likeRocket League,Apex Legends, andFortnitecan all be enjoyed without spending a dime, though you can buy cosmetics and characters.
I’d never tell someone how to spend their money, but, for every game coming out, chances are there are others that play similarly, and at a lower price point. For instance, I mentionedMonster Hunter Wildsearlier. There are at leastseven other games to play if you loveMonster Hunter’s gameplay loop.
Despite the many negatives I’ve discussed, I know you can easily justify paying full price for a game. Naturally, there are plenty that launch content-complete, and with minimal issues for players. What I am saying, however, is that there’s always an argument that can be made for us to wait before we buy them.
