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?
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.