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Should Consumers Bear The Costs Of Production?
Gamers have grown accustomed to paying standard prices for games, depending on the platform. New PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 releases are typically priced at $59.99, and Wii games go for about $49.99. Handheld games are a usually a bit cheaper, with DS titles going for $29.99 and 3DS games at $39.99. Capcom's Resident Evil: Revelations is bucking that pricing structure, with the 3DS release selling for $10 above the norm, at $49.99. The publisher says it's because the game is shipping on a larger cartridge. Our question is simple: Is that your problem?
A company representative explained the decision in an e-mail to Kotaku: "A true console experience on a handheld device, Resident Evil Revelations is an epic title that offers both a single-player campaign for that classic survival horror gaming experience, and an additional RAID mode that can be played cooperatively or single player. To handle all of that data Resident Evil Revelations requires a 4GB cartridge, resulting in a higher price point."
That certainly makes sense. The game costs more to produce than ordinary releases, and the company is choosing to pass the additional cost to consumers instead of absorbing it. The funny thing about that, though, is that this is a situation that publishers regularly encounter. For example, the Xbox 360 version of Rockstar's L.A. Noire shipped on three discs, which certainly increased manufacturing costs associated with pressing, packaging, and distributing the game. That game sold for the usual price of $59.99. The same thing happened with Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIII.
Is this kind of price difference enough to keep you from buying a particular game? Are you more likely to wait until the game goes on sale or is discounted? Do you think this is simply how the free market operates, and consumers will vote on Capcom's decision with their wallets?
Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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