How long should a game be? 6 hours? 10
hours? 20 hours? 100 hours?
That question can't be answered simply,
but nonetheless it is one of the most important things a customer
wants to know about before purchasing a game. But why is the focus so
strongly on length nowadays?
The Order for example has many
problems, but it's mostly the length the people talk about. And I
don't think that this is fair. By solely focusing on the length we
limit ourselves to a small amount of games. Not every game can be
hundreds of hours long like Xenoblade Chronicles or Skyrim.
So are the customers at fault here? Of
course not. We have every right to demand a specific value for the
money we spend. Critics often try to compare an evening at the cinema
with a game like The Order and argue that the Order offers a better
value than the movies. I don't agree with that. Firstly cinema is not
an every day activity, while video games pretty much are. Also this
calculations always include the prices for food and drinks with the
tickets, well then we also should include the prices for the
countless chips, drinks and other things you consume while playing a
game. Looking at it that way makes the Order probably more expensive
than three visits to the cinema. (I'm talking about solo visits of
course.)
But that all doesn't matter. The time
should be a non factor when talking about the quality of a game. It
is however a factor when talking about if a game is worthwhile. The
game can offer the best 2 hours of my life, but if it costs 70 bucks
I probably won't think it has a good value. And this is the core of
the problem. Not the length, but the prices.
I've talked about it when I wrote about
mediocre games and Horror. The problem is the industries
unwillingness to crack open the triple AAA price model. You either
have indie games, which can't cost more than 20 bucks or AAA
productions, which sell at 70. And this is a huge problem.
One publisher, who does things right in
that regard, is Nintendo. They offer a healthy variety of different
games and price models. You have smaller titles like Dr. Luigi or NES
Remix and big full price releases like Mario Kart 8, Super Smash
Bros. or Mario 3D World. But you also have the third variant. More
moderately priced games, which fit between AAA productions and the
indie stuff. Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, Donkey Kong Country:
Tropical Freeze, The Wonderful 101, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse. All
these games are priced at 40 bucks. And all of these games are more
than worth it.
And that price changes the perception
of these games a lot. With a 60 buck price tag I would find it hard
to recommend Captain Toad to others, but with it's current price I
don't have a second thought about it.
The problem is not the customer, like
the industry tries to make you believe. The customer may be stupid
from time to time, but he's never at fault. If people don't think
that a five hour game with a 70 bucks price tag is worth it, then
it's not worth it. The industry has grown to immense proportions. If
I'm unhappy with the offered product today, I can choose from
hundreds of other possibilities, be it AAA or Indies.
Then how can such five games sell? With
a smaller price tag. Your game is a short, cinematic experience with
only single player? No problem, but I won't pay 70 bucks for it. Sell
it for 50, 40 or hell even 30 bucks and people will be easier to
satisfy. I only have money for one full price game each month, so why
should I buy the order, when I can also buy Majoras Mask 3D and a
good indie, which will probably entertain me for 50+ hours.
By creating this price system the
industry has moved itself into a swim or sink situation. A game needs
to be profitable in the first weeks, because after a month the first
price cuts happen. With a more modest price at the beginning the
profits in the first weeks wouldn't be so high, but in the long run
they would probably increase, because you could easier justify
keeping the game at this price.
The customer needs to feel that the
game holds a certain value for him to purchase it. If you can't
achieve this value with the game you're offering, then it's time to
lower the price. Maybe your game isn't worth 70 bucks. That's not a
bad thing. You just need to adjust your product to the expectations
of the customer.
TL;DR: A games length isn't a factor of
quality. It only comes into play with high price tags. By breaking up
the stiff price system and allowing even AAA games to be sold in the
30-70 range this problem can be solved.
A five hour game for 70 bucks is hard
to justify, but the same for 40 bucks isn't.
and as always
thanks for reading
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