I’m currently watching a Marvel Wolverine review bash video, as this is the cool thing to do right now. I don’t even own a Playstation 5. Why do I watch that video? Well first its a creator I like to watch and scondly, I am fascinated by the topic of not liking AAA games. Sometimes games aren’t bad, if the price is good. So the game isn’t actually that bad if you wait for a sale? Usually ratings are tied to the price of the game, and sometimes not.
And it got me thinking… we need a rating that does exactly that, a price recommendation when the game is worth to buy. In example an old classic might get a good rating, because the game itself and the emulation is good. But it might have a too high of a price and they did not add features or updated it to modern audiences, that it feels like a useless “remaster”. Or a game itself feels redundant, because there are better options for cheaper price, then the worth it price could be low. But that does not mean the game itself is bad, regardless of its actual price.
Some personal examples with games on Steam (I will round up prices to have whole numbers only):
Final Fantasy 7 (original version, not remake)
Rating: 10/10
Worth the Price: 10 €
Price on Steam: 13 € (currently under 6 €)
Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade
Rating: 9/10
Worth the Price: 30 €
Price on Steam: 40 € (currently 10 €)
I just noticed that I evaluated the worth price higher, because I purchased the games when it was more expensive. What do you think?
Okay, not totally sure do or did understand the point you’re making?
I’m counting how good a game is as one factor that contributes to the perceived worth (€) of the game to an individual. So a low price doesn’t make a game any better or worse, but if the price of the game is equal to or less than your perceived worth, you’re more likely to buy it.
But it is still totally valid to say a game is good, but not worth 80€ to you. That’s not changing how good it is, just saying it isn’t worth the money to you.
And back on the topic of buying old games now, if rereleases have some quality of life updates there is some value in that. But to me, not a lot. If it’s the same game as it was 30 years ago, they can go fuck themselves. I got FF7 in a shoebox of ps1 games for almost nothing at a garage sale 20 years ago. Them still selling the same game is just a side effect of the digitalization of game distribution. If they want my money now, they can make new games.
And to be fair, they did. I bought pretty much every Final Fantasy game that’s come out since I’ve been a teenager, from 10 to 16 and the first part of the 7 remake. Though I think I’ve bought them all on sale since 12, because I’m sort of begrudgingly a final fantasy fan ever since it stopped being turn based.
And there are many franchises that I got into from emulating old games, but when they released new games, I bought them. Everyone has their own imaginary line in the sand, but yeah, I’m not paying much for an old game.
Let me make a better example: I believe GTA 6 will be worth lot of money to pay, but it won’t be 10/10 game for me. I mean I’m ready to pay more money for certain games, that I evaluate lower in the overall rating.
I was more thinking of review outlets recommending games. But this applies to any of us too. The point is, games get sometimes bad reviews because the price is high. I say the price should not be a factor in the overall rating. Because later when the game gets a lower price, its still the same game. But it might got a worse rating than a game that launched at this lower price.
Also a game is less or more worth depending on what alternative exists. In example a high quality game that is good as the other games, but does not do anything different might be less worth than a game that is as good. This is hard to explain, let me make examples. Let’s say a Smash Bros clone comes out, that is as good as Smash Bros. It should get a rating similar to that game. But if the game is priced much higher, then it might be not worth it, even though its as good as the other. So the original Smash Bros is 10/10 and worth 50 Euros. The new clone is 10/10 and sells for 80 Euros and doesn’t offer anything different, so the “Worth” price is also 50 Euros. Nobody should rate the game lower in the overall rating, just because the price is too high.