$60.  This price has become all to universal in a gamers mind lately.  To most, it means a new and extraodinary game, to some it means another title to own in three years.  In that three years,however, the game may drop only $20 despite the technology being outdated. Games are releasing at high prices, staying at high prices, and coming out like rapidfire.  Mix in some DLC and the person's hobby has become thier life, all they can pay for. The result? Buyer Loyalty.

Buyer Loyalty may seem like a good thing for developers, but in fact it may be leading to a cataclysmic revolution.  To understand, one must think in economic terms.  The title Call of Duty is a perfect example of this.  Infinity Ward developed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, which turned out to be a groundbreaking game.  When it came to be Treyarch's turn to make the game, they went back to the old WWII setting that had been used many times before.  Call of Duty: World at War had great success, but disappointed some who were looking for the modern combat.  Infinity Ward then used a marketing tactic to great success.  They called it Modern Warfare 2 instead of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.  Now, if you look at the case of your copy you will see that this game is very much Call of Duty.  This is due to licensing issues, but because Modern Warfare 2 was so groundbreaking, people will recognize that, and some have already forgotten the Call of Duty name.  What does this mean? Treyarch better pull some Nazi Zombie madness out of Berlin if they expect to use Call of Duty with WWII settings.

So when does this cataclysmic event take place? It already has.  This event I'm talking about is inbreeding of games. Due to the loyalty, smaller developer companies have a harder time staying afloat, while larger developers will continue to dump out the same over and over as long as your willing to buy it. How does this create inbreeding? Lets say you have a choice of three huge titles released at holiday times, and you get to choose one. One of them is a sequel, two of  them aren't.  If you have played the base game of the sequel, chances are your buying that one.  If you haven't, chances are you are not buying it until you bought the first one.  That leaves you with a choice between the other two games.  If one of these has a sequel in a few years and you chose the game that didn't, you could be left out. How can you know which one of these is going to have a sequel? The truth is you can't. For any future security in your investment, your going to have to call Miss Cleo, or sadly, jump onto the bandwagon. 

As prices go up, buyer take more risk in straying away from the juggernaut.  The higher risk in buying the game usually results in less purchases for the game. Small developers cannot afford to have failures like the big developers can, so they are less likely to put a large budget into a project.  Buyers look for the best bang for thier buck, which usually results in going for the one with the highest budget.  Bye-Bye small time developer. Now, a small developer can make the games a cheaper price, but the problem is many people have the 'the more expensive it is, the better quality it is' philosophy.  This leaves the games for those who cannot afford the more expensive games.  Unfortunately for these gamers, if the developer cannot make enough money (which if it starts out reduced price, its probably struggling), then there won't be a sequel. Developers have to eat too.

So what is game inbreeding, exactly?  Well, when the juggernaute developer notices what the buyers want, they make more of it.  What do the buyers want? A better game. How do you get a better game? Spend more money. How do you sell a high budget game? Raise prices! (which is good for that said developer as it kills competition in its quest for monopolization)  As long as this cycle continues, you will see more polished versions of games you've played a million times.  The higher prices rise, the harder it is for new developers (and new ideas) to come into the market.  Staying on this path there will eventually  be an oligopoly of a few developers charging whatever price they can to keep your eyes on them.  But as gamers, how much control do we really have?  All of it. In this type of competative market, prices are driven by the consumer. 

Don't want to pay for games that aren't the best? Don't! Go for the games that have been out for awhile that you had to sacrifice to get the game you have had for a long time now.  Heck, with the reduced prices, you can probably buy a few of those old games.  This will force developers to produce games that are long lasting. This will truly pushing technology further and promoting innovation for far cheaper. You will get to enjoy those old classics you thought you would never have a chance to enjoy also.

Remember, the future of videogames rests in your hands, gamer, and may ease up on your wallet a bit too.

What do YOU think of this matter?