Should price factor in to a game review?

[pistolpete2940]

"Joe Rybicki actually placed a note in his review to EGM Reviews Editor Greg Ford that his score should be dropped a whole point if the price was announced above $30"




OK, I understand that they have to factor in a game's value, as well as, the game play and all that other stuff. But isn't this a little extreme??? The game should drop a whole point if its not priced according to expectations?




What do you guys think?




http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3161677

[GenoBaby]

I don't think price should matter. The game is either good or bad. I don't see how price would affect that. If a game is terrible I don't see how putting it out at a lower price makes the game better. It's still a crappy game... or if a great game is at a high price, you may not buy it but it's still a great game.

[Strip Mahjong]

I think price is always a factor in determining how much you do or don't like something, even outside of video games, but how much of a factor it is boils down to personal opinion. Personally, I think game reviewers should consider the price of a game in their scores now more than ever considering the rising cost of purchasing them. So far, I've only bought three games for my 360 at full price (and only two of them were worth it). Everything else I either rent, buy used or on sale, because I think there are very few games being made right now worth a $60 price tag.

But again it's all personal opinion.

[xterc]

I've played Warhawk, it is worthy of a full $60 price tag (without the headset). Where value enters the equation is longevity of the title, if your buying an online game there is no 'end' as such.

If you play this game day in and day out, on a network that is free, I'm not entirely convinced a $10 delta should equate to a 1 point deduction in a review.

The consumer should be left to decide whether a purchase is worth spending their money on it. Value is not something that is quantifiable as $50 could be a lot of money to one person, and nothing to the next.

[Dungeonbuster]

But by that logic, Super Stardust HD can be priced $100 and still be fun. I don't think many people will be comfortable with that. My own point was that price can have a large bearing on someone's perception of how much enjoyment they should expect out of a title. Budget priced titles can be deceptively awesome, but some people will avoid those because they think they're cheap...in every way. Others will think AAA titles that offer only five hours of gameplay at full price might not be all that great because of what they had to shell out for the experience (or lack thereof), using phrases such as "worthy of a rental only", implying that they would not have spent the money because it was found lacking in ways to not make it worthy of a purchase. With more games today fighting for your dollars, more gamers are expecting what they buy to deliver the goods.

[pistolpete2940]

OK, I understand, but the price doesn't affect if the game is fun or not. If Super Stardust HD cost 20 dollars, does it make it any less fun?

[IcedEarthSoldier]

I definitely think that price should factor in.

What would you have scored Geometry Wars on Live Marketplace?

Now, what would you have scored the exact same game for 60 bucks?

[Dungeonbuster]

Personally, I don't put too much stock in gaming scores, but I think price does play an important factor in the perception of how much fun a player expects to get out of a title. I know that when I had played through Tomb Raider: Legend in only about seven hours, I was mighty pissed that I had paid sixty bones for what should have been a rental. Still, YMMV. Some people get a kick out of replaying a game dozens of times just to get their fix and it might be worth the sixty dollars to them. Here's another example: I purchased Overlord for the PC than for the 360 precisely because of the pricing. Buying it at thirty dollars less than the console version allowed me to focus more on the fun and at the end, I definitely thought it was worth the money. But would I pay sixty bucks for it? Not likely. It was fun, but not as fun as the Darkness which I thought was worth the full price, even with the broken multiplayer.