Bethesda Why I Didn't Buy Skyrim... : V - Skyrim

» Tue May 15, 2012 1:21 pm

Sorry, but this is a product created for the consumer. I get that it also gives you an experience, and probably a damn good one. But no it most definitely is a product made for me to purchase. I have to treat these games as such.

By that narrowminded logic, you would not pay 20.00 for a wonderfully made, delicious steak dinner because they charge you more than McDonald's. After all, food is a product created for the consumer. I get that good food gives you an experience, and probably a damn good one. But no it most definitely is a product made for you to purchase. You have to treat food as such.

Your argument is fallacious at best and you know you're wrong. Just admit it.

» Tue May 15, 2012 11:03 am

Two things are going to happen before anyone reads this:

1. It's going to be disregarded by the community as a whine and not read
2. What's said is going to be justified by those who made the purchase

... neither of which help me. But I feel it needs to be said to the company should anyone care to read it.

Now to set the stage, I've watched this game for a LONG time. I juggled a pre-order on it for many months and just waited to see. I'm now seeing the rave reviews and friends comments and want the game even more now. Except for one thing... the price.

Now I get it. The social and industry norm now is that PC gamers buy games at console pricing. All part of an inflated market for those trying to make an extra dollar. But I can assure you that I have NO plans to EVER purchase a PC game for $59.99. I wont do it, and wont even give it a second thought. I wont go into the details other than I've been gaming for YEARS when new top titles released at $19.99 on CD-ROM and 5 1/4" disk. I saw the industry adjust with the times and slowly go to $29.99 then $39.99 and then stick for many years at $49.99. This new "concept" of paying now another $10 and often times for digital downloading is absurd and frankly disappointing that you'd think me that stupid.

So Bethesda... plan on something soon. Drop the price to a normal respectable PC price ($49.99) and I'll gladly pay it. I have every intentions on owning this game when the price is right. I want very much to experience the game and enjoy it... but I absolutely refuse to contribute to the inflation. Now of course the argument could be made that with my IGN account I could have purchased it from D2D during the pre-order period for $47.00. Trust me I wish I had. But the thought of it originally being a full $60 pricetag from the start bothered me. We're now seeing EA doing it, Activision, and others. Bethesda is one of the latest to fall victim to the "norm".

I guess I should also say that I own a PS3 and 360 (among almost every other console since the Atari). I've paid full price to include $59.99 for console games for a long time... but I accept that for consoles. I don't for PC's. Again I wont go into the reasons because I don't want a flame war. But Bethesda... please drop this price soon so I can enjoy the game!

I started to read this, and only got as far as seeing you whine like a Bosmer about the price. Seriously? Do you realize how much effing content is in this game?! Do you have any idea how much production goes into a game like this, over a game like Modern Warfare for example? Honestly, if Bethesda says TES VI will cost 200 dollars I will pre-order the day it is available to do so. Now man up.

And Bethesda, if you are reading this, thank you very much for all the hard work you pout into this game. Most of us love it.

» Tue May 15, 2012 4:52 pm

Here is why:

Games are more expensive to make now. Like alot more.

Some games buy license of game engines to save time on creating their own (still it cost alot). Skyrim developed a new game engine
http://www.ausgamers.com/news/read/3006733
That requires lots of work and money.
Old games never require heavy game engines that calculate so much lighting and physics.

Graphics are much better for a reason. More game artists will work on a title than it used to. It takes longer time to create a model, texture it, rig and animate it. There are more items in game. Demands are higher. Game artists are paid a few thousands a month and there are many in a crew. Some projects go on for years. What game companies are earning now through this particular title, will go on to fund their next project.

Scale of game. Gamers complain. Developers listen. They make next game better and game world just gets bigger and bigger. Bigger games are more prone to bugs. Testing a game requires a crew that takes months. Any bugs reported will take the crew months to solve it.

Please do not compare old games to new games.

To PC gamers. PC games ARE MUCH MORE PROBLEMATIC. Gfx errors. Compatibility issues. Costs the company months to solve it. They have to pay a dedicated crew to tend to this problem.
And turns out piracy chews off their income. Why do they bother? Cos cosumers demand.

Respect the artists. Respect the developers. They take pride in their own work. Buy the game if you like them.
Yup you can screw the businessmen I don't care.

» Tue May 15, 2012 8:53 am

Get a job

» Tue May 15, 2012 11:49 am

Its a great value for the money. Hundreds of hours of fun. This compared to just a few hours fun for most FPS games

» Tue May 15, 2012 11:18 am

I love console GAMEs bashing.

I have no problem with Bethesda's revenues - as long as they don't try to cheat you out of your money. A lot of companies do. Advertise more, sell crappy halfass games.

» Tue May 15, 2012 3:40 am

OP, download Oblivion - next one after Morrowind.

It's on Steam real cheap. By the time you finish that, Skyrim will be at a reduced price.

My perspective is that it's a superb game (except for a few problems with the UI), and knowing that I'll probably play this close to 400-500 hours, or likely more, it's worth the price. I also purchased the game guide, with shipping I think the whole thing was around $91.00.

But, everyone has to make their own decision. You took a stand and that's cool.

Good luck.

» Tue May 15, 2012 11:17 am

I don't agree with op, but in his defense it's hard for us to quantify all that. Especially as consumers. We don't see these things happen.
We see a dvd case with a booklet, and disk. That's a lot of money to be paid for that amount of material.

I personally wasn't able to play video games when the switch from $50-$60 dollars happened. Needless to say I was surprised when
I came back to the market.

Before this turns into a long winded rant, I'll just state a few things about how I buy video games. If it's from a series I've been playing for
years (TES, CoD, RE, Doom, etc...) it's a new release purchase off the bat. If it's a title that looks fun, but I have no experience with, I wait
until it's used bargain bin prices.

What is your experience with the elder scrolls series op? Have you played them before? I don't remember seeing anything about it. Could that be affecting
your decision in purchasing this?

Look at it this way- do you have any idea what the game economy has been like over the past 20 or so years? In two decades we went from 8 bit Nintendo to the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and the incredible graphic/quality PC games. What other industry has grown and developed that far, that fast in the same amount of time? Not movies. They're still churning out the same old crap. Sure, CGI was improved, but the QUALITY of the product has just gone from VHS to blu ray in that time.

YET- you've gone from paying 3.00 for a matinee to 12.00. You've gone from paying 30 bucks a month on cable to over 100 in some areas. You've gone from 1.00 popcorn to 5.00 buckets. Movies have increased their price over 300% over the past 20 years.

When Nintendo released their first console over 20 years ago, games were 50 bucks.

You just paid 60 for Skyrim.

Gaming has changed exceptionally over the years, and the price has barely budged. It's time for people to get over it.

» Tue May 15, 2012 2:40 am

its a fair price for this game. i'd pay more and I will when DLC comes out.

» Tue May 15, 2012 2:27 am

LuLz^^

-Goes back to playing Skyrim-

» Tue May 15, 2012 12:56 pm

Quite. Like I said, it's a principle issue... much like paying increased pricing for Netflix which made MILLIONS leave the company. What's a few dollars? More than you paid before.

Well here's another principle to familiarize yourself with: Inflation. It's actually quite impressive how steady prices for games (both console and PC) have held for around two decades straight now. Adjusted for inflation your $50 PC games even around the time of Morrowind would be about $65 now.

» Tue May 15, 2012 12:36 pm

Your loss.

"I've paid full price to include $59.99 for console games for a long time... but I accept that for consoles. I don't for PC's. Again I wont go into the reasons because I don't want a flame war."

You won't go into the reasons because there is no logic behind that statement. If you're ok with paying the extra $10 on consoles then there is no reason you shouldn't accept the same price on PC. It's the same inflation. If it's that big of a deal to you then it shouldn't be acceptable on any platform.

Regardless, it's still your loss. Of all the games released in the past few years, Skyrim is the one that is absolutely worth paying full price for. I'd pay far more than $60 for it if I had to. I've already put over 50 hours into the game and I've only done 2 MQ's and 2 Thieves Guild quests. That's not even 10% of the game and it's already lasted longer than pretty much any other game on the market... aside from other Bethesda games that is.

» Tue May 15, 2012 11:42 am

OP, you got a PM.

» Tue May 15, 2012 4:04 am

Wow, OP, I can't believe that you make as much money as you do, yet fail simple economics. A product's pricing is based on a supply curve and a demand curve. Production cost is factored into the equation, but its impact is only so great.

The game costs what it does because people are willing to pay for it (and lots of them, if you look at the sales numbers!). If you're not among them, then that is your decision, but you don't get the right to come on here and demand that they lower their pricing on "principal." They're a business, following the natural laws of economics. Deal.

» Tue May 15, 2012 5:26 am

Inflation dawg /endthread

» Tue May 15, 2012 3:23 pm

See any other game that are super cheap when released... no you don't. So stop complaining about dumb stuff that won't change. I don't see your point in this topic completely waste of time.

These forums aren't you personal diaries about how you feel.

» Tue May 15, 2012 12:15 pm

lol i can see you sending a similar message to the oil companies when gas hits the next dollar mark

» Tue May 15, 2012 11:53 am

There's also the level of how much of your worth you're getting here. What's better a game with a few hours of content that was 90% copied from last year's edition of the game (I won't say names but I bet we all know which of the many series could fit this definition) for $50 or a game that has been being worked on nearly 6 years by a team probably about 5 times the size of those other games with hundreds of hours of content for $60? It's like saying a nice porterhouse is a rip-off at 8 bucks because you can get a crappy fast food cheeseburger for five.

If you're sold on your decision that's your choice as a consumer. It's one only you can make. But hey there is an upside; if you're getting it on PC odds are good it'll be down to $45 or so in a few months.

» Tue May 15, 2012 3:54 pm

The game is well worth it. You're the one cheating yourself, not Bethesda

» Tue May 15, 2012 6:21 pm

lol i can see you sending a similar message to the oil companies when gas hits the next dollar mark

^ win.

» Tue May 15, 2012 4:47 pm

You want to know how I know this is bs because your [censored]ing about the price of the game. That's just my 2 cents in this lol

this is the most stupid statement i've read so far, you know why people who have a lot of money are that way ? because they are careful with their cash , You cant judge someones wealth on the basis of their views and attitudes towards cash. Unless its some toothless croan in the street burning a 20 quid note , in that case you can be pretty certain that [censored] is skint

» Tue May 15, 2012 11:59 am

I read the OP's post and I am only going to comment on it. Your post seemed to boil down to you being unwilling to accept that this is what the game is going to cost and that instead of accepting it or just deciding that you won't get it, you want Bethesda to change it so that it will fit your wants. Now I can agree that Digital Versions should not be priced the same as hard copies since there is no physical copy being made,you can't trade it in at a later time to offset what you spent on it and Digital versions can't be refunded.

Now about this thread being dismissed as a whine thread, You give no real reason why they should be charging less then what is considered normal for their Industry other then the fact that you were around when games were cheaper and that you want them to stay cheaper then what is considered the norm today. I don't see your belief in not giving in to the inflation that is affecting the PC gaming Industry as a reason for Bethesda to lower the price of their game. Thats a you thing,not a their game thing. Either stick to your beliefs and not play the game or decide that it is worth paying the extra ten dollars for.

Of course you can wait for a price drop due to enough time passing or find a Used copy(if those still exist for PC)

» Tue May 15, 2012 5:12 am

I understand your point however I don't think this is the proper venue. Next time, try facebook. Or, you can dodge the molotov cocktails and sixual predators and join the OWS movement. Demand a free game because..well stuff should be free. Posting it here is a waste of bandwidth and peoples time.

» Tue May 15, 2012 6:47 am

I have a job. I make almost $100,000 year with my overtime (base pay is $72,000). That is of course irrelevant and the principle is what I'm discussing. Which has already been disregarded as I thought it would in the first couple replies.

For you I understand it is the principal, but to come on here on a public forum to rant over $10, come on.

» Tue May 15, 2012 6:21 am

Would Bethesda make a worse game if it were to be priced at $50 or lower?

Yes. Bethesda is a company out to make money. If they were to cut the cost down by $10 they would chop $10 worth of content out of the game. You are getting better graphics and more advanced technology in Skyrim than any of those cheap oldie games you used to buy. Naturally it's going to be more expensive to produce and therefore will cost more to purchase. How people fail such simple logic I will never understand.