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For the cheapo gamers... what would make you buy day 1 for full price?

post #1 of 40
1/26/12 at 8:50pm
Thread Starter 
We have some threads going on about how it's so nice to be a PC gamer and be able to snag all the great deals. But back in the day, many of us used to run out and buy the hottest game as soon as it hit the store. I can tell you from personal experience, that prior to the release of the 360, I was the type of guy that would buy at least one brand new game each month. I'm talking full price, $49.99 or $59.99 or whatever it cost.

I wanted the game the day it came out.


Nowadays, it would take an Extinction Level Event for me to run out and buy a brand new game on day 1 for full price. I just don't do it anymore. The question is.... what would actually make me run out and buy something the first day?


For me, it would take one of those games that just totally shook up the industry. One of those games that when it came out, you knew that gaming would forever be changed a bit because of it's existence. It has to be a game that really turns gaming on it's head. Back in the days, I remember in 1990 when the very first John Madden Football came out on the Sega Genesis. That game changed the video game world at that time. It was so far advanced compared to every football game that had ever existed. The 3D scrolling perspective basically revolutionized football video games.

Think about it.


That freaking viewpoint is still used to this very day. Sure, it's more of a legit 3D viewpoint, than the prehistoric view on the first Sega Genesis version, but you get the idea. That game CHANGED things.... At least when it came to video game football. Every football game that came out since then copied that design.

Another game that springs to mind is Doom. Doom flipped the video game world on it's head. You knew the first second that you saw Doom in motion that gaming would forever be changed. Think about the impact of that game..


The original Tomb Raider on Playstation 1 (or PC if you had a 3Dfx card!). That game was a watershed moment in 3rd person action gaming.


Super Mario 64 on the Super Nintendo. Basically set the stage for every 3D platformer to follow.



Where are the games like that this generation? Don't get it twisted, there have been some really great games like the Gears of War series, Bioshock, Fallout, Uncharted, etc, etc. But has any game come out and really flipped video gaming on it's head? Everything just seems to be a much more polished version of what we've been getting for years. I'd honestly say that maybe the first Crackdown on Xbox 360, was a game that really changed shXt but, it's just a riff on the GTA concept, so hard to really give it too much credit.


I think it's going to take a new console from Sony or Microsoft, to actually get me off my arse, into my car, driving down to the local best buy to get the game the day it comes out. There will surely be a launch game that will at least "seem" like it's going to a whole new world, even if it ends up ultimately being disappointing.
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post #2 of 40
1/27/12 at 4:45am
I'm not sure how much room there is on the AAA side of game development to revolutionize gaming in the way the games you mentioned did. But, I hope the new consoles will get developers to make strides in increasing realism.

Physics and AI really need improving, and while I like Nvidia's CUDA, we need uniformity by developers going with OpenCL for these aspects in game development. Given the ubiquity of the prior versions, I would think that the newest revision of Unreal Engine will bring all of this together. Unfortunately, an AMD 6670 class GPU in the next Xbox doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.
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post #3 of 40
1/27/12 at 5:08am
Quote:
Originally Posted by MSmith83 View Post

Physics and AI really need improving, and while I like Nvidia's CUDA, we need uniformity by developers going with OpenCL for these aspects in game development.

This, to me is what a next gen machine should be all about. Effects that today's machines just can't deliver. Sure, photo-realism sells. But it's the little things like better effects and smarter or more enimies that show off newer hardware.


Quote:


Given the ubiquity of the prior versions, I would think that the newest revision of Unreal Engine will bring all of this together. Unfortunately, an AMD 6670 class GPU in the next Xbox doesn't inspire a lot of confidence.


I bought a pre-built Gateway for my son with an i5 cpu. I added a HD6670 to it and it can play nearly everything at high @ 1680x1050. A console with a similar card with games built around it would be able to do real 1080p gaming without any problems. The consoles cpu would have to involved with the physics though. But since consoles only do one thing at a time, this shouldn't strain the cpu much. I bet we'll be stunned when we see and play the games on the new consoles.

Sure, it wouldn't advance things a lot on the pc side. But console manufacturers couldn't care less about that. And developers wouldn't care too much either because porting from consoles to pc's makes life easier for them.
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post #4 of 40
1/27/12 at 6:49am
Good point. I often overlook the overhead and general optimization (or lack thereof) considerations that surround the PC computing environment when compared to consoles.

Couple that with the high likelihood of console games aiming for low target resolutions (compared to something like 2560x1600) paints a much better picture overall.
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post #5 of 40
1/27/12 at 11:30am
I can tell you after recently firing up Skyrim, wow I can see paying full price for that one. I got it for around $20 cheaper by waiting a few months, but if I would have paid full price on day one, I would have not cared a bit.

Also, I am considering buying Metro: Last Light for full price on release day, just to support one of the rare developers that still only develop for PC only. This would be my statement to developers that there are still die hard PC gamers, and there is still a market out there for us. As a big time PC gamer, the PC developers are more likely to get full price on day one from me.

I am too lazy right now, but someone should make a list of developers that specialize in PC exclusive games. 4A Games and Blizzard come to mind at the moment.
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post #6 of 40
1/27/12 at 12:17pm
I've bought a few games brand new at or near release over the years. But they've always been gifts for either my sons or nephew. And I always try to get the best deal possible. Very rarely will I pay the full $59.99 for a game. Hell, I even bought the pc version of Skyrim for my son at a small discount on Amazon for Christmas.
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post #7 of 40
1/28/12 at 4:35am
It's too bad the game engines don't come packaged with AI. I guess it consumes much more programming hours to build a great AI package, considering all the variables of player input, large maps, multiple weapons, CG cutscenes & story pathing, etc. Sadly the last really great leap in CPU AI I remember was OG Half Life in '98. Since then it's been either copycatting or incremental improvements.
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post #8 of 40
1/28/12 at 11:03am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by mhufnagel View Post

I've bought a few games brand new at or near release over the years. But they've always been gifts for either my sons or nephew. And I always try to get the best deal possible. Very rarely will I pay the full $59.99 for a game.


But what would would it take to get you to run out to the store and buy a game on it's launch day?


Would it take a new system launch?


For example, let's say just for the sake of argument that Nintendo has an amazing Mario game for their Wii U system, and after seeing tons of coverage of it at this year's e3, you decide that you're going to buy a Wii U on launch day (I know this might be a very unlikely scenario, but just go with me on this one...)

Normally, when people buy a brand new console on it's day of launch, we like to get at least one game to go with the thing. Normally on the day of launch there isn't any deals available, you have to settle for the full $59.99 price. Maybe there will be a bundle where you buy 3 games, and the Wii U and you get some free accessories or something, but let's just pretend that there isn't any deal whatsoever....


Would you end up buying a brand new, full pop, $59.99 game along with your Wii U for launch day? (remember, we are pretending that you're really, really hyped on playing this truly High Def Mario game on the first day it's available)

-----------------


For myself personally, there are really only two things that will get me to buy a brand new game for the full $59.99. One of them is a console launch. The other, is a game that I end up seeing somewhere, that just totally blows me out of the water, and I recognize that game as a total game-changer, type game. I'm not talking about just pretty graphics either. I'm talking about a game that in some way takes gaming to a new level that it hasn't seen before. Like Doom or Super Mario 64 or the very first Unreal game on the PC.

(Yeah, I know that the first Unreal game on PC was mostly just a graphical explosion, but if the graphical explosion is so far beyond anything else out there, then that could be enough to get it done, but the graphics would have to be mind-bending, because I didn't run out and get Uncharted 3 or Gears of War 3 or The Witcher 2 at launch. All 3 of those had amazing graphics, but they weren't so far ahead of any other game that it made it an absolute must have, launch day purchase, at least for me....)
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post #9 of 40
1/28/12 at 2:23pm
Really though, most of us don't have to drive anywhere to get games anymore. I pre-order my games form amazon or steam etc. they get here on launch day..... So I guess it really takes nothing for me to buy on launch day lol.
I generally buy everything but food on the net, that an big TV's.
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post #10 of 40
1/28/12 at 2:29pm
Like N8 I pre' my games and get them at launch. Llife is too short to wait for the price drops, esp when you are my age.
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post #11 of 40
1/28/12 at 6:30pm
The price doesn't steer me away.....my problem is I have too many games to play and no enough hours to play them. I just can't justify spending full price on a game when I know I probably will play it for 10 minutes, then shelve it for months until I complete whatever game I'm working on. Later, when I'm actually ready to play the game, it's already down to $20-30

So, I just curb my enthusiasm, and enjoy the games I have. This also cuts down on big money wasted for worthless titles.
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post #12 of 40
1/28/12 at 7:10pm
Wait a week no matter what, never preorder, or day 1 buy. Too many games screw you over.

After a week the only reason I will buy a game is if the reviews are decent and it is a MP game that I am really looking forward too.
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post #13 of 40
1/30/12 at 10:13am
I'm a cheapo gamer and I can't think of anything that would make me pay full price for a game. There are a number of reasons for that too. I have a backlog of games that will keep me occupied. I want to read the reviews because too many times have I been excited about a game and then find out that it isn't worth my time. There are numerous things competing for my disposable income, so any thing I purchase has to be worth it. Finally, IMHO, no game is worth $60. I don't pirate, but no way am I paying that much for any game.
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post #14 of 40
1/30/12 at 11:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony1 View Post

But what would would it take to get you to run out to the store and buy a game on it's launch day?

Like I said, it would have to be a gift. I've pre-ordered games as gifts. And like I said before, I always look at deals. When I bought Skyrim for my son, it was a pre-order at a reduced price. But I bought Black Ops for my younger son at full price. For myself, used console games or dirt cheap new games is always the case.

Quote:


Would it take a new system launch?

Bah, I never by a new console at launch. It takes at least 6 - 12 months before there are enough games for a new system to make buying it worthwhile. Then you have to deal with A) stupid people inline for the console or B) people who think they can sell it to you for double the price. Buying a console on launch is never worth it. Those launch games will still be there next year, along with a bunch of better ones. As an added bonus, not buying a console on launch gives you some time to see if the thing is worth it in the first place.
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post #15 of 40
1/30/12 at 6:42pm
Sim City 5, although just a glimmer in my eye, would be a day 1 purchase.
GW2 will be a day one purchase.
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post #16 of 40
1/31/12 at 11:29am
Console purchases are usually pre-orders for me...consoles only come out once or twice a decade now, so I'm willing to float a few hundred and pray the thing doesn't suck, assuming it has at least one or two games I really want to check out. But now with so many games in my current-gen backlog, I'm not sure if i'll be getting any NextBox or PS4 love until the reviews are out.

As for games that would make me want to buy on Day 1? Almost none. One, I don't really do multiplayer anymore because the experience is so shallow.....FPS's are more like Sports games than feeling like I am actually in combat. Co-Op is the only draw to me and so few games have any instances of that these days, it is depressing.

So we lean on Single Player......and there is where you have to ask "Do I really want to drop $50 or $60 bucks on six hours of entertainment?". Crysis was the last game where I really felt I got "my full monies worth" because it was a long campaign......I'd prefer a long campaign with more repetition to something shorter with no repetition......thats just me, its the 'perceived' value of length.

(thats what she said!)
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post #17 of 40
1/31/12 at 12:14pm
Nothing. There are way too many quality games under $10 that I have yet to play. Even a new console wouldn't convince to go buy a new game at full price.
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post #18 of 40
2/9/12 at 7:18pm
Nothing would make me pay full price for a game, especially with all the drm that comes on them. 15 bucks is my max
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post #19 of 40
2/9/12 at 8:11pm
I can easily see not wanting to pay more than a few bucks for games plagued with always-online DRM, like some Ubisoft games. That kind of garbage needs to end.
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post #20 of 40
2/9/12 at 9:03pm
I paid full rip for Skyrim and don't regret it at all. The game is amazing and well worth the price of admission.
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post #21 of 40
3/2/12 at 11:46pm
The Last Guardian, that's about it, didn't even do it for BF3 so pretty much nothing is worse that kind of money.
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post #22 of 40
3/3/12 at 5:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kingcarcas View Post

The Last Guardian, that's about it, didn't even do it for BF3 so pretty much nothing is worse that kind of money.


You know... You might want to change your mind about that one. I've heard some very bad things about Last Guardian. Apparently Sony has several studios trying to help Team Ico with the game. They have Sony Santa Monica helping them, as well as a couple of other Sony Studios. Fumito Ueda resigned from Sony, but is supposedly staying on the project as a "consultant", and is working as a freelancer.

Rumors suggest that he had certain ideas for how the game was going to go, but Sony Corporate felt that he was being unreasonable, and too ambitious. They wanted him to change the design of the game to get it out sooner, and supposedly the design has changed several times. It's almost like Duke Nukem Forever type drama. Ueda quit at one point, but Sony was able to convince him to stay on as a freelancer.

Now they have all these other studios trying to help get the project finished. It sounds like it could end up being a train wreck.
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post #23 of 40
3/3/12 at 8:31pm
Metro: Last Light and maybe Mass Effect 3. Battlefield 2143 if its made...and a good D&D game where they go back to the roots, where magic is rare and special, with a good sword combat system...
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post #24 of 40
3/3/12 at 8:45pm
I don't buy PC games first day cause PC gaming sucks. There's just not a lot to choose from and it's all the same stuff. Was at a friend's house today and watched him play Madden 12, SSX, and Soul Calibur on the 360. I can't say "Well at least I got Skyrim and he doesn't" cause it's for the 360 as well. Around the death of 3dfx, PC games became incredibly focused and limited. Not to mention the loose coding...
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post #25 of 40
3/10/12 at 8:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Afroteddy View Post

I don't buy PC games first day cause PC gaming sucks. There's just not a lot to choose from and it's all the same stuff. Was at a friend's house today and watched him play Madden 12, SSX, and Soul Calibur on the 360. I can't say "Well at least I got Skyrim and he doesn't" cause it's for the 360 as well. Around the death of 3dfx, PC games became incredibly focused and limited. Not to mention the loose coding...

*sigh*
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post #26 of 40
3/10/12 at 8:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Afroteddy View Post

I don't buy PC games first day cause PC gaming sucks. There's just not a lot to choose from and it's all the same stuff. Was at a friend's house today and watched him play Madden 12, SSX, and Soul Calibur on the 360. I can't say "Well at least I got Skyrim and he doesn't" cause it's for the 360 as well. Around the death of 3dfx, PC games became incredibly focused and limited. Not to mention the loose coding...



With the exception of a handfull of console specific titles, most games released on consoles are available for the PC, usually (but not always) with improved performance, graphical tweaking options, textures and of course resolution and control options. Since you quoted the "Death of 3DFX" one must assume you have been stuck under a large stone for some time......have you played Half Life yet? Its by Valve, its pretty kick ass!
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post #27 of 40
3/10/12 at 8:42am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Afroteddy View Post

I don't buy PC games first day cause PC gaming sucks. There's just not a lot to choose from and it's all the same stuff. Was at a friend's house today and watched him play Madden 12, SSX, and Soul Calibur on the 360. I can't say "Well at least I got Skyrim and he doesn't" cause it's for the 360 as well. Around the death of 3dfx, PC games became incredibly focused and limited. Not to mention the loose coding...


wow... you poor lost soul... continue to enjoy your subHD resolution upscaled to 720p+ on your console, while i play in native 1080p and in 1080p 3d 60hz each eye.

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post #28 of 40
3/10/12 at 11:40am
I always wait for games to get cheap before buying.

The new SimCity will be a pre-order.
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post #29 of 40
3/10/12 at 8:07pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Threefiddie View Post

and in 1080p 3d 60hz each eye.

What display and video card are you using to get 1080p at 60 frames to each eye? Are you using Dual-Link DVI ?
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post #30 of 40
3/10/12 at 8:33pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Threefiddie View Post

wow... you poor lost soul... continue to enjoy your subHD resolution upscaled to 720p+ on your console, while i play in native 1080p and in 1080p 3d 60hz each eye.


Huh?? You think good gaming is all about resolution? Nintendo is laughing at you.
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