The $70 Price Tag Is Actually Indefensible (The Jimquisition) 

'Games are getting more expensive to make" I don't know maybe stop overpaying your CEOS

"There'll be less microtransactions!" No, no there will not. If anything, there will be more.

"Gamers DEMAND high intensity graphics" Highest selling game of all time: Minecraft

I'm officially in the "wait for two years then buy the complete edition at less than half price" club.

"Games are getting more expensive to make"" No, CEO's are getting more expensive to give bonuses.

"Movie ticket prices have been rising steadily" AND THEATER ATTENDANCE HAS BEEN DWINDLING STEADILY TOO, IMAGINE THAT.

Developers should unionize Pundits: no, don't do that then games will cost more! AAA game publisher: we're raising game costs to $70 Pundits: yeah seems fair.

$70.00 during a pandemic when people have lost their jobs, homes and can't even buy groceries? Greed has no limits.

1990s: Games are expensive because carts are expensive. When everything is distributed on CD it'll get cheaper. 2000s: Games are expensive because bricks-and-mortar retail is expensive. When everything is digital it'll get cheaper. 2020: $70 please.

Honestly, I've played $10 indie games with more value than some AAA games.

"Development costs have increased for the past 10 years, so 70 dollars is fair." "So, do you pay your developers more than 10 years ago?" "...... no, but....."

Yep. Every purchase over $50 for me has to be budgeted and planned for.

does anyone remember when horse armor was the most outrageous thing ?

"Poor people deserve to have fun too" the truth nobody says

Most games are already $70! They make a base game that's often pretty scarce, sell it for $60 and then add 2-4 DLC's on top of it. Making the price go over $70.

"Dev costs have gone up!" Even if they did, the popularity of digital storefronts have demolished physical media production and shipping costs.

"The cost of a movie ticket has gone steadily up over the years." Yeah, and the number of times I go see a movie in cinemas has steadily decreased over the years... gee I wonder what 2 factors caused that? . . . . Hint: Price, and quality

"Poor people deserve to have fun too" Cannot agree more. I'm digusted at all the idiots that seem to think poor people should just spend their entire existence working three jobs, eating and sleeping, and NEVER have the audacity to attempt any enjoyment of life

My backlog is too massive to even worry about new games at this point

The whole point of raytracing is that it's actually easier to code than traditional rasterisation

I really hate the "Development costs have risen" argument because the money's definitely not going to the developers. It never does.

I’m 99% certain anybody writing to defend the price hike haven’t had to buy a game out of pocket for the last two years.

I find it absolutly hilarious and also extremely sad that so much of the "essential" development cost goes to marketing, while the most talked about games this year are fall guys and among us, who mainly get their attention just by being good games.

Here's my formula to avoid all this drama : got me a gaming PC, a huge list of wanted games on Steam, and won't buy anything that's above $10. I've got more games than I can play.

Game companies: “Games need to be so expensive because game development is so expensive” Also game companies: *Gives multi-million dollar severance packages to corporate executives whilst laying off thousands of game dev employees whilst making billions during a global pandemic*

"The movie industry has been raising ticket prices for decades" Yeah and look at them now, literally everyone jumped ship the second there was an alternative way to watch new releases cause it's about 1/3 the cost.

This is why indie games like Undertale and Stardew Valley are so popular among people on my college campus. Prices you can afford, complete games with no DLC and hidden costs, and good writing. People aren't demanding high fidelity graphics that force the price up, people are demanding a functional product, which can be delivered for a very low price when the dev is actually trying to give that to you.

In Australia, the average new release already costs $100, with a range of $90-110. If you convert $60 USD to AUD, it's only $80, alas there's an additional $10-30 price hike for our games. They retain these prices even on the digital stores. There's no way shipping/additional taxes cost this much.

“70$ is not that much money” say the game journalist receiving free review copies

"The wait for a discount" generation.

When Extra Credits did a video defending a $70 price point years ago I stopped watching them forever. This was before we found out how awful James is.

"The development budget has increased every year.." YEah, right.. most of the development budget also mostly to pay millions CEO's bonuses. Just cut them bonuses and spend most of the budget to actually the develop the game, that would be more efficient.

Games are $60: "Here's your free review copy" Journalist: "Seems like a fair price to me!" Games are $70: "Here's your free review copy" Journalist: "Seems like a fair price to me!"

"Games graphics are expensive!" EA re-realeases the same sports games for at least the last three years with just a few name swaps. Yes, so much work.

I’m not buying any games above $40 anymore. Not even interested in buying a next gen console this generation.

"we need more money for games development! it's more expensive now!" oh so you are going to pay more to developers then? "oh god no"

"Games are getting more expensive to make" This argument is not even entirely true either, even if we look purely at development and not marketing. Sure, we could argue that as the need for more detail increases, development costs increases as well. However, this completely and entirely ignores the middleware industry, or even just the advancement in technology. Trees for instance. No big company in their right mind ever makes any tree models anymore. They use SpeedTree, software specifically meant to quickly and easily generate high quality foliage. Assassin's creed Valhalla? Yeah, that uses SpeedTree. That doesn't mean it doesn't take time. However, compared to modelling and texturing a tree from ground up? Simply no comparison. Level of detail meshes? InstaLOD. Realtime lighting and propagation? Enlighten. Physics? Havoc. Before we had to bake normal maps, light maps and whatnot. Nowadays? Use Substance for your textures (or something similar) and not only are variations easily generated, baking out normal maps and whatnot is super easy. We can't even call it baking anymore at this point. Sure, high quality models will still require sculpting, but the last time I looked, characters actually didn't increase in number by that much. That's not even mentioning scanned geometry. That Unreal Engine 5 trailer? Yeah, you can download the props used to make the cave environment from Quixel Megascans, _for free_ (provided you use the Unreal engine). I will fully admit that graphic engineers have a hard time with keeping up with trends and whatnot, considering that seemingly innocuous demands (higher resolution, higher framerate) can have massive impacts on how much optimization you have to do. Still, while demands have gone up, solutions to drive down development time have gone up too. Of course, you won't ever see anyone mentioning that.

"Never Pay More than 20 Bucks for a Computer Game" -Guybrush Threepwood

Me in Canada who paid $79.99 for a new game: now they know how it feels Me realizing I now have to pay $89 👁👄👁

"I'm pretty infantile with my money" - Jim Stirling, bogglin collector

Bobby Kotick could literally fund the next several years worth of Call of Duty games by himself. Think about that.

I love how triple AAA companies blame us for games with "more assets" have been giving us less content over time under the guise of live service

8:36 They even Admit that jacking the price won't do anything about microtransactions!

So I've been listening to the Jimquisition playlist at work. I had to take a break from watching these videos for mental health reasons, and I have to say...all of this naked greed and cover ups in the industry make me feel ashamed to be a gamer. Never stop what you're doing. Shine that spotlight and call them out. While I'm not sorry I took a break from watching, I appreciate all the bullshit you put yourself through to try to open people's eyes. On a slightly more positive note, I'm ecstatic that you have finally discovered who you truly are. It's allowed me to be more open with who I am as an individual. I may not agree with everything you say and believe, but I look up to you James Stephanie Sterling. You are a wonderful human being, and deserve all the love you can possibly get your hands on. Thank you for everything. ❤❤❤

The price hasn’t risen for years. But we’ve added micro transactions, season passes, etc. All that extra money they’re making but sure they’re doing it hard and need to raise prices. 🤬

“We need to raise prices due to cost of making incredible AAA games. Those cost millions more dollars with inflation!” ....Then why is Hades up for game of the year and only $25?

70$ is nothing when you earn a couple of thousand every month. Imagine living in Greece, getting paid 600 a month and still having to buy video games for the same price as the rest of the world.

"games have actually been getting cheaper for the last 15 years." Jesus.. Good video Jim.

Modern video games: - virtually nonexistent material cost due to the primary way of distributiuon being digital - also way reduced costs for shipping and logistics - production so acccessible a single person can develop a fully fleshed game, while in the past tools and knowledge were a pivilege of the rich and the elite - companies are way more structued due to years of experience - the most financially successful form of entertainment media - sponsorships and publishers fueling way way more money into a single game than ever before And you're going to tell me, that games got more expensive to make? If anything, they're becoming cheaper and cheaper by the minute.

The logic that consumers must pay for a business's inability to control costs is absurd. Particularly when cost control is used to justify mass layoffs, wage theft, and harmful working conditions.

As wages remain stagnant, consumer goods struggle to keep prices low by cutting corners to create the illusion of abundance and choice.

As someone going into the game design industry, this sort of thing just makes me question all my life choices. Why am I fighting so hard to become a game designer when this is how they are treated?

As the old wisdom goes: _"Never pay more than $20 for a video game."_ ...and stop with the pre-ordering!

They need the extra cash to legally intimidate and gaslight their abused employees

Meanwhile in Australia games have gone from 79 to 109, this, specifically in Demons Souls case.

"A pirate I was meant to be trim the sails and roam the seas"

Jim, we all know the real reason is: "Because we will get away with it."

"They could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and still get a 98 Metacritic average." Some great writing in this one.

a ceo somewhere needs another yacht guys, I'm willing to give them another 10 bucks to help out.

There are so many games available it is hard to keep up with latest releases. One advantage of this is I am always 1-2 years behind on releases and buy them for 50+% off their original price. After years of this I can't imagine buying a game for $60, let alone $70.

Games Journalists: "But movie ticket costs have been increasing!!" Yeah, and theater attendance in the US has been dropping since the early 2000s, sooooooo not the best model for AAA publishers to follow.

Haven't paid 60 dollars for a game in actual years. I've got too many damn bills to waste my money on broken pieces of shite

Back when they first raised game prices to $60 from $50, even I was skeptical as I knew full well that "AAA" games sold really well. Yet at the time, I still didn't fully know the economics of it. Yes, even not knowing it all I had reason for suspicion at the most basic of levels. As they kept throwing in more and more microtransactions and degrading the game quality to boot so they could sell people solutions, my list of publishers to not get games from grew more and more as it became very apparent who was doing it repeatedly. That all being said: I am astonished by the amount of people that repeatedly get duped by them game after game after game and continue to buy them. Heck, it's astonishing that even the new players are getting duped by them because every time they put out garbage, there's an outcry of people blasting them and their games which spreads far and wide. That should act as a warning to anyone, but apparently not. Unless it's just not reaching enough people... I mean yes, I do get that some people have an addiction to video games, gambling or both. Maybe even an addiction to spending. But those sorts of people are always the minority. So who besides them keeps buying them and their microtransactions, DLC, "cosmetics", season passes, etc...? There are so many better games out there to be played!

The more of these I watch,the more I appreciate being a retro gamer. When I buy a copy of Contra Force,Shenmue,Wario Land or Gex I'm sure I'm getting the whole game. On newer systems I usually stick to GTA and fighting games.

Video Game Company: Is scummy Jim Sterling: It's free real estate

When they talk about inflation,they forget that wages haven't kept up with inflation for over 20 years. So that excuse doesn't work and if they want $70 dollar games than raise people's salaries.

Coming back to this gem

It's even worse abroad. In Mexico, back in the PS2, Gamecube, even Wii era, a brand new game would cost around $1000 MXN, which is expensive AF considering how low the minimum wage is. Now, with our currency crumbling and the taxes at an all-time high, a brand new game costs around $1700-$1800, almost twice as much as they did 15 years ago.

"Games should be 70 dollars, trust me, a guy from (insert media outlet here) who will most likely get his copy for free as part of a review agreement." 🙃

Here in Hungary with all the taxes and stuff the "70" USD games became around 100 USD. Very generous bonus for games that are pretty much copy paste shit every year.

Me: It actually makes sense and seems inevitable that games will eventually retail at a higher price, due to inflation alone. What's the big deal? Also me: Never buys games until they're at least 90% off on Steam.

Every new console = +$10 games PC gamers, looking in awe:

I still remember all the "fun" I went through after working 60-90 hours a week in the industry for years only to be tossed out the door with hundreds of others when the big wigs decided to clean house.

I wish that making games 70 dollars would make games have no micro transactions in games as a guarantee or the game is fully complete at launch for justification for the price tag

Thank you, Jim. For just putting it out there

18:54 "Days since last layoff" that sonds almost cartoonish.

The actual developers, the programmers and artists in the trenches, really should unionize.

"If we pay more for games, the developers will make more money." NOT HOW IT WORKS. These games already have massive profit while the employees are paid as little as possible and let go at the first sign of profit loss. The extra money is going straight to CEOs, not employees.

The music you use is excellent. I cannot express enough how important you are to the community.

Thanks. Thanks for all these years, all these videos, and for still speaking out about this corporate bullshit.

Ah yes, the $70 excuse. I can see it fail big time, especially during a pandemic and near economic crash.

See a movie doesn't charge me $10, and then asks for another $2 every 15 minutes to keep watching the movie.

Damn those fidget cubes, ever since I was re-diagnosed it's the second most common gift I get next to beer plus socks.

just gonna say, that color of lipstick works for you jim, love it.

This is why I tend not to buy AAA games unless they're on sale, but will gladly pay full price for Indie games.

when I see the good old inflation argument, I can't help but think that it'd be also nice if income grew that fast

SUBSCRIBED!!! Cannot believe how long it took me to find this channel 🤣 keep up the great work! ♥️ From 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

"Games are getting more expensive to make" Of course they, because the companies are pushing for it "CEOs are getting overpaid" Literally by the millions vs the people who actually made the game and are not getting paid properly "It makes sense for game prices to increase" No, because in a rationally thought out world, the employees will be paid to better match the actually compensation required for the job. Also, during a pandemic? An economic recession? That's ok? "Digital prices for AAA games are fine, cause I can just get it on sale" I can find a used physical copy constantly on sale because physical prices drop way more often when as digital copies will always be sold at their max price online unless it's during a sale. It cost more money to get a physical copy produced and sold in stores, yet digital copies remain the same price even when it cost less to put up there. AAA studios are pushing for maximum monetization by whatever means necessary. Most popular AAA games aren't even fully complete with the "release it now, finish it later" model. I get so much more value out of a $15 Indie game than a $60 game. If your gonna support the game industry, support the real studios that actually pay their workers, don't rely on shitty business practices, and treat their workers well.

I barely ever buy games that aren’t on sale. I just can’t justify spending $60 on a game, never mind $70 😂

Who would win: 1 x $70 dollar game on an expensive machine reserved exclusively for playing these games OR 7 x $10 indie/older games on a laptop that also lets me do my own actual work

Ah yes, I needed this reminder, I almost forgot that Ubisoft ignored the s***** allegations

This is probably the best video you've ever done. You've absolutely hit the nail on the head. The DEMAND for $70 is disgusting

The reason it's $70 is because they don't think people are prepared to pay $80, yet

*stares at what EA is doing with the Sims*...............Yeah, I'm not paying over $700 for a videogame, especially not the Sims

In some parts of Europe it's even worse because they cost 79'99€ which is slightly higher than 95$

I really love going from barely affording the the thing I really love to just not being able to afford it in a year that most people will one day refer to as " a great year"

As a long time handled user, the 70$ price is unacceptable because 60$ dollars is already unacceptable. Finding that games now cost 50% more with the Switch was already quite hard to swallow.

Games Companies and Media: "Consumers demand high fidelity graphics in games!" Me: (puts 160 hours into Hades)

I like the part when Jim says “Triple-A”

Fantastic video, I hope people get referred to this when they decide to trot out the "well, game prices should be raised because..!" line.