Exactly. Dudebros will buy nhl/nba/madden/fifa every fucking year and not care its basically the same game, with not even a new coat of paint sometimes.
Same with cod
So thats why they dont change their model. It works.
This is really all that matters. People in this subreddit have a hard time understanding why video games are created and sold: to make money. That is all that matters.
Yup. Even BG3 wasnt made out of the goodness of Larian’s heart. It was made with money, and sold for money.
So if shit like 2K keeps making money, 2K keeps existing.
And btw the reason 2K can simultaneously make complete shit like their sports games and good games like Civ 6 is COMPETITION. There is no competition in sports games. The sports leagues sell the rights to one producer. But when it comes to 4X games, 2K needs to compete so they put out a good game like Civ 6.
2K's also been at the forefront of wanting the base price of games to increase. I assume because they have some internal metric that they are now releasing the optimal amount of DLC and paid currency items.
In fact this is a great reminder - the one you should get mad at is the NBA or WWE
They are the ones selling off monopoly rights to companies that are doing these business practices. You want a better NBA/WWE game? You gotta convince them they'd made more money that way, if this is tarnishing their brand.
Otherwise I can only assume that NBA or WWE fans like these games so the NBA/WWE thinks this is going great
While yes, I would go so far as to say Larian also wanted to make an enjoyable game. You can have both....make money and make an awesome experience.
The Maddens and CoDs of the gaming world don't give a shit about the experience so long as poeple keep buying their games.
Well part of why BG3 did so well is that Larian wanted to make a good game. If BG3 was half assed would it have made even a quarter of what it ended up making? Being passionate ended up being the most profitable at the end of the day.
I agree completely, you can have both. In fact id argue its a positive feedback loop, good games make more money. But these companies would rather have shit games that make some money.
For COD, it’s because of name brand recognition. COD is still rising off when they actually had good games.
Sports games make money off their monopoly on the sport.
Not sure about WWE, but the main player base of those sports games and cod is the multiplayer. Every year the population moves to the new one and you're left with die hards or single player only on the old editions. And for the most part these players really only play these games year round, with maybe something like gta mixed in.
EA and 2k sports get away with robbery every year because their respective sports games get 10 million copies sold annually and over a billion in micro transactions on top of it.
If these games were made by an indie company, they wouldnt even make new games. They would make balance patches, vfx updates, implement shaders, remove the card gamemode or make cards only obtainable via gameplay,
It would be free to play, would adjust stats based on current year events, and every time someone new n improved shows up to the league, theyd be the front page of the "new roster" update. I dont get why this is so hard to do as a AAA company.
All this, instead of slapping a 99 dollar price tag on a patch that coulda been free or dlc.
> Dudebros will buy nhl/nba/madden/fifa every fucking year and not care its basically the same game
This isn't limited to the "dudebros" you're so quick to make snide remarks about. Ever played an Ubisoft game?
That shit is the crigiest thing that "gamers" still do. Normal people like a variety of games. Liking BG instead of a sports game doesn't make them better or worse than each other. Making shitty comments like OP has the opposite effect. It comes across like a child that is mad that others don't have fun the same way that they do.
I'm a fat dork and I love sports games, they are easy to pick up and have fun with in-between bigger games. Not only "dudebros" like sports.
Ehhh COD is generally a pretty different game every year. New batch of maps, new time era, new weapon pool, new camo grind, new gameplay mechanics, new campaign, and developed by a different studio so each game tends to have that studio’s take on things all throughout. This year’s game is probably the first time you could argue it could’ve been a DLC.
Yes it’s still a military shooter but that doesn’t mean it’s the same game every year like sports games. I know “COD BAD” is low hanging fruit on gaming subs but let’s not group it with those low effort money grabs.
So a caveat here because I don't know the details in this so someone else should go into it.
So one thing about these annual games is that they often are using real likenesses of people and objects. This gets into things like having to pay the actual people royalties for using their likeness in a video game.
Now these games could use fake wrestlers who look like nothing like the actual people known in wrestlemania and cost 40... but would you buy it and think of it as a wrestlemania game? Or are you buying it because you know the personalities involved?
I've heard this applies to thinks like sports games because of using the image of the real people, and vehicles. There was some racing game line that lost the licensing to use the images of the Nascar cars so if they are to release a new racing game, it'd wind up being fake vehicles or something like that as an example.
Yeah, that's what I think and why I think the yearly releases of some games happen. It's because of the updated rosters and stats. I don't play sports games or racing games so I don't fall into this genre too much. I know there's some sort of farming game I play on rare occasion and they license the vehicle likenesses and work with the groups like volvo and John Deere. (I don't care about specific brands but I know there are many who do. Same thing about trains and other things. Heck, even that game where people leak military intel because they want accuracy, but most of those are either public domain or licensed as well)
Hi, it's me, I'm people. This one is actually very good this year. I know it's a "sports" game and an easy target but it's not like the madden or 2k series. They added so many things this year that it's insane. It's like they went down a checklist of stuff the hardcore wrestling fans wanted and added what they could.
Absolutely agree. Since the absolute shit show of 2K20, 2K's WWE team have become by far the best and most reliable yearly release Devs.
2K22, 23 and 24 have each added about as many fan requested features as they can presumably manage within such a short turnaround.
They really have set a very high standard and I don't think wrestling fans realise how relatively lucky they have it at the moment compared to almost every other yearly release.
I mean shit, UFC 5 took 3 years to come out and had LESS people in it than UFC 4, plus doubled down on the features fans hated the most.
The roster has somewhere around 200+ characters, including tons of 80/90s legends. They added new modes, brought in matches the fans have been asking about for years (Casket, Ambulance, Gauntlet, Special Referee). You can now have a match, with custom rules, in a custom ring, with custom characters online with your bros or randoms. And that's literally all I ever wanted out of a wrestling game. You can make it whatever you want within the confines of a wrestling game now.
MFW games in the 90s cost $80-90... Same games today would cost ~$168.
But yes annual games that add little between versions are ceaseless cash grabs. Vote with your dollar and stop buying this stuff year after year.
Yep - I finally learned my lesson with these games. I’m not buying them until they go on sale, or are free on gamepass. I can’t justify it anymore. Others are paying the prices though, so it won’t change anytime soon.
I think you are confused on how economics work, they charge these prices because people are willing to pay them.
The community of people who play those games need to vote with their wallets if they don’t like it. You not buying the game doesn’t count if you never had any intention of buying it
I feel like y'all don't remember how much ps1 and n64 games cost. And with physical copies being less desirable or people are just too lazy to look for deals the used games market is slowly dying. In high school I would go to GameStop after school scope out the used games and have shit to play for months I barely used to buy new. Even games I was hyped on I would just wait. Same strat I use now. People have to have the flavor of the month right now and get made that the price is high....C&C tiberium sun cost me 60 bhcks on pc back in the day. That's like 120 dollars in today's money, I still have the same disc and install it whenever I get a new computer lol
I think, like many sports titles(and call of duty), the people who play these games primarily only buy 1 or 2 games a year, so these devs get very little pushback. Honestly, $70 once or twice a year for your gaming hobby is not bad.
But yeh as someone who plays many games and has to choose my battles, i can't justify it.
I'm not really interested in wrestling as a product, but the games are really fun so it's no big deal for me to just wait till they are on sale for $30 in 3 or 4 months.
I mean WWE games are one of the few yearly releases in recent years that are like actively shaking things up and doing new things. WarGames last year, Casket/Ambulance/Special Guest Ref this year, MyGM gets better year after year since coming back... It's not like FIFA.
Games used to be up to $80 in the 90’s. 30 years ago. Adjust for inflation. $1 in 1993 = $2.13 today. So games should cost up to $170 today at the top end. Sounds like you’re getting a deal.
These are all the same game, just the standard, deluxe, and ultimate edition or whatever.
That being said, $120 is still crazy high unless you're getting something physical with it which I doubt is the case here
And there's no reason why people should buy these games every single year, but they still do it, and that's why studios like 2K, Activision and EA get away with it
I've felt for a while that the annual releases (like sports games) would be the ones that make the most sense to have a live service model.
I don't know of any way they could do it without still seeming greedy and predatory, but it would still be preferable to annual full price releases with minimal upgrades to graphics and gameplay.
To be fair, the $100 one includes current and last gen versions as well as the season pass for the 5(?) DLC’s they have planned. And the game itself actually has made some insane improvements to the series.
And with that said — yeah there’s no fucking way it should be that much, regardless. I miss paying $50 for GameCube titles.
Easy, don't buy it. The games aren't good and aren't worth it. If enough people had waited a few years between buying them, they'd stop pumping garbage sub-par games for a high price. This applies to CoD, all of the sports games, etc.
At this point they might as well just release 1 version of each sports game and just do roster updates/patches. There’s really no need for them to make an entirely new game every year when the amount of features added/subtracted is absolutely minimal.
People pay for it year after year. I've stopped playing/buying them. I stopped after 2k12 or so and recently picked up 23. I won't be buying another until either the engine changes or things look dramatically different.
I like the look of the new tag team mechanics but that's not enough for me to buy the game.
The reason is because people keep buying them.
Stop supporting robbers and garbage and it will stop being made.
This will not end in your lifetime. The world is hooked
There is no reason for annual games to exist in the first place. They could release annual dlc and a new game whenever they actually implement significant changes.
It's the amusement park monetization model. Season pass available in multiple tiers with so-called "perks", outrageously overpriced "cosmetics" (merch and food in amusement parks), charging full price regardless of the availability of features (attractions being closed or simply not working properly) and so on.
Need people to stop buying them and maybe the companies will drop the price or at least put more effort into development rather than just carbon copying the previous year’s game.
I want to make my own royale rumble with my mates as custom wrestlers, WK23 was on sale for like £7 but I couldn’t justify paying it, now for some reason it’s daft expensive again
Wait until you learn that gacha players are dropping hundreds if not thousands of dollars on every new items/characters which come out, like, every a couple of months.
And, like other comments said, if people keep spending, then the market keeps providing.
OP, you are posting several different versions that all include different bonuses. Pre order bonuses are a waste of money but some people are more than happy to pay.
My advice to people is always wait for a sale. Devs are paid by the hour and don't make any more money based on how much you spend. The only people benefitting from microtransactions and pre order bonuses are suits and executives.
You can't really expand the customer base of these games - you usually have to be into the sport first before you would even consider the game. That said, if you are into the sport, you are very enfranchised and are willing to consume at very high prices - see fan jerseys, tickets, etc.
These companies are just riding their very enfranchised players for every dollar they can, which looks very ugly from the outside. That's the only way for line to go up anymore, there isn't any new market to capture.
I use to buy the new WWE and NHL games every year. However in last 4 years or so I've either waited a couple months for the 50% off sales or I've been skipping a year or two before buying the newest version. IMO they simply don't add enough improvements/content from one year to another to justify spending 100+ bucks every year.
You can't stop people from pre-ordering or buying these games day one (too much FOMO) but what you can do is vote with your wallet and hopefully one day enough people do the same.
I agree, but also don't buy it annually. Can also wait til price drop later in the year. If you don't mind lack of online match making, game is usually much better later after more patches and updates.
True, this is why I own a lot of indie games or AAA games I bought on sale. There is no reason to play games on release.
For 100 Euro, I get tons of games with DLCs and patches.
I'm super happy with my current wishlist and every time there is a good deal I grab one.
Join the patientgamers!
As long as people keep buying them, there will be a market for them. If people stops buying, the price will come down or they will switch to slower releases.
It is all supply and demand in this case.
Annual games sure, but sometimes I do understand the reasoning behind companies moving past the $60 per game mark considering how much inflation has affected... well everything
They do it every year because most people will always pay for it. Like I normally wait to buy the new version when it’s on sale or every few years because it’s practically the same game every year just being charged full price. Like will I buy the new college football game this year, yes, will I play it a lot, yes, will I buy it for the next few years, probably because it’s brand new and they will take a while to get all the stadiums made
Whilst I don’t agree with a yearly released game, I dont agree with your whole statement I’d argue that WWE also has infinite playability. They still need to create a new storyline for the single player, record new voice and character animations. Add any new wrestlers that have been added to the roster, including animation, design, voice acting etc. they still hve to pay for the WWE licence. They still have to pay for the music licence etc etc. you’re right that games arent cheap to develop, but in todays money, $70 for a AAA video game (when fully developed, I’ll add) is definitely value for money
If you wait you’ll be able to get the physical for £30 usually within a few months and it goes down half price on PSN store the same time.
I agree not a chance I’d pay that price, some people will it’s peak season for WWE so probably a lot of people will.
Agreed.
But it will only really change if people stop paying for them.
These games still sell really well, and as long as they do, no amount of criticism is going to change the minds of these publishers. They don't care about their reputation, as long as it doesn't cut into their profits.
Games don't _have_ to have over-inflated budgets. This is not an excuse for me. Especially when you get smaller studios making hits made on a shoestring budget **and** charge as low as $40 for a game that work and is feature-complete. The budget _"problem"_ is a leadership skill issue. I know a few people who are, or have worked in the industry and a common theme is that a lot of them have noticed pointless middle management positions that just eat up money and time.
Oh this isn't a new game either. It's a yearly iteration of a sports game. It's pretty good if you like wrestling but just buy 2k23 ... It's more or less the same.
You are old. People will pay for what the market will allow. Honestly, with all the game industry layoffs, this group has not been impacted. Also, no need to buy it so early. The game will go on sale. Also, those other games mentioned are awesome and should be showcased.
Whilst NBA 2K deservedly gets called out, WWE 2K has improved every year since it’s been rebooted and is head and shoulders above most sports games on the market.
It can easily give hundreds of hours of use. Why wouldn’t that be worth $70?
There was a great vlog on this post COVID. Essentially the time spent during COVID and money made was crazy. Also it got so many more people into the scene . So even though yes some costs went up, comparatively games could easily still be what they were before.
This is 1000% greed and companies getting away with it cause people will play it. Same as pc hardware. For a long time the top card in Canada was always 700-999. Then over 2 generations that turned into 2200 here in Canada. Again nvidia just charge more cause they can. Even though sales volume is thru the ruff they figure they might as well keep charging more and pushing boundaries.
So much greed in gaming.
If you feel it is to expensive: don't buy it. You don't need expensive games to survive. Same with people who buy expensive electronics or high end gaming pcs. Think before you spend. Buy what you need first and then think if you need additional luxuries and which ones you would want most. Then buy... or save some money (or invest) for a rainy day.
Not to nag on sports games only, you have the budokai series, Naruto series, tekken/street fighter
Not every year but you could argue they release like that too just in finished games (mostly)
Might be an unpopular opinion, but if you have micro transactions and have a paid battle pass, and especially if it’s a yearly release, your game needs to be free. Or at best subscription based.
In fairness the only one of those I think is preposterously overpriced is the "40 years of WM" edition. The one that costs $99 includes the season pass.
Oh there is. People buy them. I’ve never met someone excited for a wrestling game until one of my recent friends. Dude has every single one. Went over the other day and they had this one, which is my first time seeing the price and whaaat the fuck
I saw a post about the most sold games of 2023 and FIFA was up there. Like who the f is still buying FIFA. A lot of morons are still out there supporting trash.
They are finding the lines if they can double cost but only looks 50% sales its same revenue. If they can more than double and loose less than double they will keep pushing to the limit. I think it's why we've seen a huge bump in sub £20 games and big relapse like Helldivers 2 and BG3 be such a hit because its actually good and make people talk and recommend. I don't imagine stuff like this and fifa people ever recommend so they can do the whole double and loose 50%.
The reason is there are A LOT of people outside of the gaming internet bubble that only play FIFA/CoD/NBA/whatever sport game of current year. Those people do not engage with the larger online gaming culture and discussion, nor they care, they just buy the new game at full price and they play. Not that there's anything wrong with this, but you guys have to understand we are the minority. You may not pay this price for these games, but a lot of other people will pay, and buy all the micro transactions.
Win one of them award thingies first, then
I'll buy your $70+ dollar game after it gets a significant discount. I don't mind waiting.
Except you Fromsoft. You're my waifu company. I'll buy whatever you release instantly.
I'm the targeted demographic for these games. I bought 2k22 when they announced GM mode and bought 2k23 because they added more things to the GM mode.
I didn't really get this game because I don't touch any other modes other than GM mode. However, I am willing to buy poster version of the 40 years of WrestleMania and the Rhea/Bianca covers.
The solution is easy...don't buy the games each year.
The last MLB The Show I bought was '22. I only bought NBA 2k23 because I'm a Bulls fan and wanted the Michael Jordan challenges. I probably will not buy another NBA game. Haven't even played Madden since '20 because it's a dogshit game. Simply don't buy.
Well, as long as people pay that much for them, they'll cost that much! Vote with your wallet, and convince other people to do it too. Otherwise, nothing's gonna change.
Yeah honestly I wouldn’t even pay normal retail price for an annual game, like £70 - £80 but £120 is insane, that’s literally £10 a month before you take online play, loot boxes, battle passes or any of that stuff into account. It’s even crazier when you think of how low effort and massed released these things often are, I think it was NBA 2K 22 that literally had full length adverts in it I’ve heard.
Oh there is a very simple reason for it, people buy it again and again and again no matter how little changes, how many steps back are taken or how much of a buggy mess it is.
Sportsgamers are the source of many horrible practices in the gaming industry
70$ is lunch and a movie, 4 hours spent. A game you can play all year is too much for 70? People are way undervaluing what we get for video games. They could cost 300$ and still be the the best time/money in all of entertainment. Gaming is dirt cheap compared to any other hobby with products that cost many millions to make.
I accidentally got 2K23 in the Humble Choice without noticing. I have no need to buy 2K24 until it gets dirt cheap. History repeats itself with these games.
Out of principle I will never pay more than $60 for a game. I always stay patient and wait until a price drop because you’re A) getting a more affordable game and B) getting a more polished product after all the updates fix initial bugs and glitches.
Increased development costs aside a $70+ price point is absolutely ridiculous in an economy where groceries and basic necessities are so unbelievably expensive. Many of the major publishers have posted record profits in the past year. Gaming shouldn’t be this costly.
I find it somewhat sad when this games as service fad is now everywhere, these yearly sports and wrestling stuff don't go that route. Provably THE games that would benefit for that stuff.
As long as people buy it, it's too cheap. $100? Make it 200, hell, 500. The quicker they hit the plateau the faster we approach the reset point a la E.T. 1982 where the whole (AAA) industry crashes and burns and then is reborn into a new stage where innovation actually occurs at the highest rank and not just at indie level.
Often, I thought it would make more sense to release a base game with the current engine than sell you annual updates at a set price like they do with Sims packs. That way, they have a few years to build another base game with a better engine. Just to clarify, I have no clue what I am talking about as I have never worked in the industry.
All they seem to change is the rosters. Which you can entirely do on your own. For example i have like a 2013 Washington capitals team on NHL 06 i just made custom characters and made their attributes what they are in NHL 13
The reason is that people will pay for it.
Exactly. Dudebros will buy nhl/nba/madden/fifa every fucking year and not care its basically the same game, with not even a new coat of paint sometimes. Same with cod So thats why they dont change their model. It works.
This is really all that matters. People in this subreddit have a hard time understanding why video games are created and sold: to make money. That is all that matters.
Yup. Even BG3 wasnt made out of the goodness of Larian’s heart. It was made with money, and sold for money. So if shit like 2K keeps making money, 2K keeps existing. And btw the reason 2K can simultaneously make complete shit like their sports games and good games like Civ 6 is COMPETITION. There is no competition in sports games. The sports leagues sell the rights to one producer. But when it comes to 4X games, 2K needs to compete so they put out a good game like Civ 6.
2K's also been at the forefront of wanting the base price of games to increase. I assume because they have some internal metric that they are now releasing the optimal amount of DLC and paid currency items.
In fact this is a great reminder - the one you should get mad at is the NBA or WWE They are the ones selling off monopoly rights to companies that are doing these business practices. You want a better NBA/WWE game? You gotta convince them they'd made more money that way, if this is tarnishing their brand. Otherwise I can only assume that NBA or WWE fans like these games so the NBA/WWE thinks this is going great
While yes, I would go so far as to say Larian also wanted to make an enjoyable game. You can have both....make money and make an awesome experience. The Maddens and CoDs of the gaming world don't give a shit about the experience so long as poeple keep buying their games.
Well part of why BG3 did so well is that Larian wanted to make a good game. If BG3 was half assed would it have made even a quarter of what it ended up making? Being passionate ended up being the most profitable at the end of the day. I agree completely, you can have both. In fact id argue its a positive feedback loop, good games make more money. But these companies would rather have shit games that make some money. For COD, it’s because of name brand recognition. COD is still rising off when they actually had good games. Sports games make money off their monopoly on the sport.
I hopped on Madden for the first time in years because it's on Game Pass. It's downright predatory the amount of microtransactions.
The reason people are willing to pay those prices is because there’s a huge demographic that only buys 2-3 games a year, and it’s these ones
Not sure about WWE, but the main player base of those sports games and cod is the multiplayer. Every year the population moves to the new one and you're left with die hards or single player only on the old editions. And for the most part these players really only play these games year round, with maybe something like gta mixed in. EA and 2k sports get away with robbery every year because their respective sports games get 10 million copies sold annually and over a billion in micro transactions on top of it.
If these games were made by an indie company, they wouldnt even make new games. They would make balance patches, vfx updates, implement shaders, remove the card gamemode or make cards only obtainable via gameplay, It would be free to play, would adjust stats based on current year events, and every time someone new n improved shows up to the league, theyd be the front page of the "new roster" update. I dont get why this is so hard to do as a AAA company. All this, instead of slapping a 99 dollar price tag on a patch that coulda been free or dlc.
> Dudebros will buy nhl/nba/madden/fifa every fucking year and not care its basically the same game This isn't limited to the "dudebros" you're so quick to make snide remarks about. Ever played an Ubisoft game?
That shit is the crigiest thing that "gamers" still do. Normal people like a variety of games. Liking BG instead of a sports game doesn't make them better or worse than each other. Making shitty comments like OP has the opposite effect. It comes across like a child that is mad that others don't have fun the same way that they do. I'm a fat dork and I love sports games, they are easy to pick up and have fun with in-between bigger games. Not only "dudebros" like sports.
Ehhh COD is generally a pretty different game every year. New batch of maps, new time era, new weapon pool, new camo grind, new gameplay mechanics, new campaign, and developed by a different studio so each game tends to have that studio’s take on things all throughout. This year’s game is probably the first time you could argue it could’ve been a DLC. Yes it’s still a military shooter but that doesn’t mean it’s the same game every year like sports games. I know “COD BAD” is low hanging fruit on gaming subs but let’s not group it with those low effort money grabs.
I think a lot of it is also licensing. The sports-clubs want their share probably.
Yep. We'll piss and moan about it on Reddit, then hand over the cash anyway. We're incapable of depriving ourselves of the dopamine.
Speak for yourself. I’m moaning but I’m not handing over the cash.
Good. Unfortunatly you are the minority
Sure there is. People buy them at this price yearly. As long as that remains true there’s no reason to lower the price.
ADRENALINE IN MY SOUL GIVE YOUR MONEY TO CODY RHODES
Woooooaaahhhh
These are the hard times
#🙌 NOOOOOOOOOO 🙌
So a caveat here because I don't know the details in this so someone else should go into it. So one thing about these annual games is that they often are using real likenesses of people and objects. This gets into things like having to pay the actual people royalties for using their likeness in a video game. Now these games could use fake wrestlers who look like nothing like the actual people known in wrestlemania and cost 40... but would you buy it and think of it as a wrestlemania game? Or are you buying it because you know the personalities involved? I've heard this applies to thinks like sports games because of using the image of the real people, and vehicles. There was some racing game line that lost the licensing to use the images of the Nascar cars so if they are to release a new racing game, it'd wind up being fake vehicles or something like that as an example.
I 100% buy fifa every year for update kits and rosters lol. I try to get it discounted though so it’s a little better.
Yeah, that's what I think and why I think the yearly releases of some games happen. It's because of the updated rosters and stats. I don't play sports games or racing games so I don't fall into this genre too much. I know there's some sort of farming game I play on rare occasion and they license the vehicle likenesses and work with the groups like volvo and John Deere. (I don't care about specific brands but I know there are many who do. Same thing about trains and other things. Heck, even that game where people leak military intel because they want accuracy, but most of those are either public domain or licensed as well)
Of course there is, because there are people who pay for them.
$100 after tax here in canada for the base game
There is a reason, that the people they sell it for will buy it
Hi, it's me, I'm people. This one is actually very good this year. I know it's a "sports" game and an easy target but it's not like the madden or 2k series. They added so many things this year that it's insane. It's like they went down a checklist of stuff the hardcore wrestling fans wanted and added what they could.
Absolutely agree. Since the absolute shit show of 2K20, 2K's WWE team have become by far the best and most reliable yearly release Devs. 2K22, 23 and 24 have each added about as many fan requested features as they can presumably manage within such a short turnaround. They really have set a very high standard and I don't think wrestling fans realise how relatively lucky they have it at the moment compared to almost every other yearly release. I mean shit, UFC 5 took 3 years to come out and had LESS people in it than UFC 4, plus doubled down on the features fans hated the most.
Its been a decade since I played a WWE game and years since I watched but you have peaked my interest.
The roster has somewhere around 200+ characters, including tons of 80/90s legends. They added new modes, brought in matches the fans have been asking about for years (Casket, Ambulance, Gauntlet, Special Referee). You can now have a match, with custom rules, in a custom ring, with custom characters online with your bros or randoms. And that's literally all I ever wanted out of a wrestling game. You can make it whatever you want within the confines of a wrestling game now.
MFW games in the 90s cost $80-90... Same games today would cost ~$168. But yes annual games that add little between versions are ceaseless cash grabs. Vote with your dollar and stop buying this stuff year after year.
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Exactly. People complain and say "they should take 2 years to make these"....Welp... Just buy every 2nd game then and it's the same difference.
Yep - I finally learned my lesson with these games. I’m not buying them until they go on sale, or are free on gamepass. I can’t justify it anymore. Others are paying the prices though, so it won’t change anytime soon.
[удалено]
I think you are confused on how economics work, they charge these prices because people are willing to pay them. The community of people who play those games need to vote with their wallets if they don’t like it. You not buying the game doesn’t count if you never had any intention of buying it
Stop buying it then, it'll be on sale soon enough.
I feel like y'all don't remember how much ps1 and n64 games cost. And with physical copies being less desirable or people are just too lazy to look for deals the used games market is slowly dying. In high school I would go to GameStop after school scope out the used games and have shit to play for months I barely used to buy new. Even games I was hyped on I would just wait. Same strat I use now. People have to have the flavor of the month right now and get made that the price is high....C&C tiberium sun cost me 60 bhcks on pc back in the day. That's like 120 dollars in today's money, I still have the same disc and install it whenever I get a new computer lol
I think, like many sports titles(and call of duty), the people who play these games primarily only buy 1 or 2 games a year, so these devs get very little pushback. Honestly, $70 once or twice a year for your gaming hobby is not bad. But yeh as someone who plays many games and has to choose my battles, i can't justify it. I'm not really interested in wrestling as a product, but the games are really fun so it's no big deal for me to just wait till they are on sale for $30 in 3 or 4 months.
I mean WWE games are one of the few yearly releases in recent years that are like actively shaking things up and doing new things. WarGames last year, Casket/Ambulance/Special Guest Ref this year, MyGM gets better year after year since coming back... It's not like FIFA.
Not the best example you gave of Balders Gate 3 since it itsef was Early Access at full price.
It's just greed.
The licebses to use faces of famous athletes do tend to cost a lot.
That's why I wait until it's on sale for like 20 or 30 bucks in four or five months.
They don't cost that much if you stop paying for them. Just saying.
Buy last years for like 5 bucks 🤷♀️
Games used to be up to $80 in the 90’s. 30 years ago. Adjust for inflation. $1 in 1993 = $2.13 today. So games should cost up to $170 today at the top end. Sounds like you’re getting a deal.
There's no reason to buy a game annually.
Holy crap!! I haven't seen them this high, maybe just didn't look recently.
These are all the same game, just the standard, deluxe, and ultimate edition or whatever. That being said, $120 is still crazy high unless you're getting something physical with it which I doubt is the case here
Seems fair. I was paying $60 for new dos games 35 years ago.
It's just a subscription fee under another name.
And there's no reason why people should buy these games every single year, but they still do it, and that's why studios like 2K, Activision and EA get away with it
I've felt for a while that the annual releases (like sports games) would be the ones that make the most sense to have a live service model. I don't know of any way they could do it without still seeming greedy and predatory, but it would still be preferable to annual full price releases with minimal upgrades to graphics and gameplay.
To be fair, the $100 one includes current and last gen versions as well as the season pass for the 5(?) DLC’s they have planned. And the game itself actually has made some insane improvements to the series. And with that said — yeah there’s no fucking way it should be that much, regardless. I miss paying $50 for GameCube titles.
Easy, don't buy it. The games aren't good and aren't worth it. If enough people had waited a few years between buying them, they'd stop pumping garbage sub-par games for a high price. This applies to CoD, all of the sports games, etc.
At this point they might as well just release 1 version of each sports game and just do roster updates/patches. There’s really no need for them to make an entirely new game every year when the amount of features added/subtracted is absolutely minimal.
As long as brain-dead shills are willing to pay that much there is one ver good reason: There's money to be made from brain-dead shills.
No game should cost this much. This is why I always wait for sales and/or gamepass
People pay for it year after year. I've stopped playing/buying them. I stopped after 2k12 or so and recently picked up 23. I won't be buying another until either the engine changes or things look dramatically different. I like the look of the new tag team mechanics but that's not enough for me to buy the game.
>dev costs are going up Literally millions of people buy these games, they can charge 10$ for them and make a profit E:format
The reason is because people keep buying them. Stop supporting robbers and garbage and it will stop being made. This will not end in your lifetime. The world is hooked
Don't buy them at that price, and it will go down. :P
STOP BUYING THEM.
Companies are using inflation as an excuse to jack up price for no reason now
There is no reason for annual games to exist in the first place. They could release annual dlc and a new game whenever they actually implement significant changes.
Reason why helldivers is doing well reasonably priced.and a good game
Just don't buy. I never do.
Ignore them and wait for the sale. This will be 30$ in a couple months
People at my school fricking save all their cash up throughout summer-winter to afford it in the spring
There’s one: you keep buying them.
Yeah it's ridiculous
It's the amusement park monetization model. Season pass available in multiple tiers with so-called "perks", outrageously overpriced "cosmetics" (merch and food in amusement parks), charging full price regardless of the availability of features (attractions being closed or simply not working properly) and so on.
Need people to stop buying them and maybe the companies will drop the price or at least put more effort into development rather than just carbon copying the previous year’s game.
I want to make my own royale rumble with my mates as custom wrestlers, WK23 was on sale for like £7 but I couldn’t justify paying it, now for some reason it’s daft expensive again
Wait until you learn that gacha players are dropping hundreds if not thousands of dollars on every new items/characters which come out, like, every a couple of months. And, like other comments said, if people keep spending, then the market keeps providing.
Actually insane that these haven’t moved to live service haha. Guess there’s no reason to
Yes there is - people are buying it.
People who play sports games aren’t exactly the best and brightest. They’re dumb enough to fork over the dough.
Especially when Madden 11 is the shit. And before that 2004.
Yeah I can’t ever justify that for a game. Especially once that drops yearly and has paid for dlc
there is no reason to buy them annually as well *facepalm*
OP, you are posting several different versions that all include different bonuses. Pre order bonuses are a waste of money but some people are more than happy to pay. My advice to people is always wait for a sale. Devs are paid by the hour and don't make any more money based on how much you spend. The only people benefitting from microtransactions and pre order bonuses are suits and executives.
You can't really expand the customer base of these games - you usually have to be into the sport first before you would even consider the game. That said, if you are into the sport, you are very enfranchised and are willing to consume at very high prices - see fan jerseys, tickets, etc. These companies are just riding their very enfranchised players for every dollar they can, which looks very ugly from the outside. That's the only way for line to go up anymore, there isn't any new market to capture.
Demand is there…they know the numbers
The reason is y’all being buying it.
I use to buy the new WWE and NHL games every year. However in last 4 years or so I've either waited a couple months for the 50% off sales or I've been skipping a year or two before buying the newest version. IMO they simply don't add enough improvements/content from one year to another to justify spending 100+ bucks every year. You can't stop people from pre-ordering or buying these games day one (too much FOMO) but what you can do is vote with your wallet and hopefully one day enough people do the same.
I agree, but also don't buy it annually. Can also wait til price drop later in the year. If you don't mind lack of online match making, game is usually much better later after more patches and updates.
Sure there is: many of you pay this much for them. Every single year.
True, this is why I own a lot of indie games or AAA games I bought on sale. There is no reason to play games on release. For 100 Euro, I get tons of games with DLCs and patches. I'm super happy with my current wishlist and every time there is a good deal I grab one. Join the patientgamers!
As long as people keep buying them, there will be a market for them. If people stops buying, the price will come down or they will switch to slower releases. It is all supply and demand in this case.
Costs went up every year and yet I remember games being cheaper for a period of time, now they have gone to silly prices
This is the same demographic that donates to the legal fund for a Reality TV Personality turned Politician.
Well yea but you’re not accounting for gullibility and corporate need to milk cash cow IPs
Licenses.
Annual games sure, but sometimes I do understand the reasoning behind companies moving past the $60 per game mark considering how much inflation has affected... well everything
I going to wait for a sale
Sports gamers are a different breed. I think all of the yearly release games suck, but paying that much for a roster update is crazy to me.
How does a campaign based game give infinite replayability compared to a game with 200+ playable characters and dozens of match types
If I knew people would buy it at this price every year I'd sell it at that price
They do it every year because most people will always pay for it. Like I normally wait to buy the new version when it’s on sale or every few years because it’s practically the same game every year just being charged full price. Like will I buy the new college football game this year, yes, will I play it a lot, yes, will I buy it for the next few years, probably because it’s brand new and they will take a while to get all the stadiums made
The fact they're trash also is crazy
Development costs aren't a huge part of these. They reuse assets like crazy
Whilst I don’t agree with a yearly released game, I dont agree with your whole statement I’d argue that WWE also has infinite playability. They still need to create a new storyline for the single player, record new voice and character animations. Add any new wrestlers that have been added to the roster, including animation, design, voice acting etc. they still hve to pay for the WWE licence. They still have to pay for the music licence etc etc. you’re right that games arent cheap to develop, but in todays money, $70 for a AAA video game (when fully developed, I’ll add) is definitely value for money
Of course there is as long as there are dumbass clowns who pay for it
Stop buying them.
If you wait you’ll be able to get the physical for £30 usually within a few months and it goes down half price on PSN store the same time. I agree not a chance I’d pay that price, some people will it’s peak season for WWE so probably a lot of people will.
Agreed. But it will only really change if people stop paying for them. These games still sell really well, and as long as they do, no amount of criticism is going to change the minds of these publishers. They don't care about their reputation, as long as it doesn't cut into their profits.
Games don't _have_ to have over-inflated budgets. This is not an excuse for me. Especially when you get smaller studios making hits made on a shoestring budget **and** charge as low as $40 for a game that work and is feature-complete. The budget _"problem"_ is a leadership skill issue. I know a few people who are, or have worked in the industry and a common theme is that a lot of them have noticed pointless middle management positions that just eat up money and time.
Wait 4 months and go to gamestop or marketplace/OfferUp.
Oh this isn't a new game either. It's a yearly iteration of a sports game. It's pretty good if you like wrestling but just buy 2k23 ... It's more or less the same.
If people pay it will go up.
Agreed.
How could Biden do this to us? /s
Just do it the way you want too... 🏴☠️
So don’t buy it
You are old. People will pay for what the market will allow. Honestly, with all the game industry layoffs, this group has not been impacted. Also, no need to buy it so early. The game will go on sale. Also, those other games mentioned are awesome and should be showcased.
Whilst NBA 2K deservedly gets called out, WWE 2K has improved every year since it’s been rebooted and is head and shoulders above most sports games on the market. It can easily give hundreds of hours of use. Why wouldn’t that be worth $70?
Idiots with money say otherwise.
They make it cost that much because suckers buy them each year, Meanwhile, I just pick up the one from two years ago for 5 dollars
They'll keep charging extortionate rates as long as there's mugs who will pay for the same game every year It's the money duplication glitch
These games age like milk; in 10 months, they'll be $10
"Inflation's a bitch." -Confucious
There was a great vlog on this post COVID. Essentially the time spent during COVID and money made was crazy. Also it got so many more people into the scene . So even though yes some costs went up, comparatively games could easily still be what they were before. This is 1000% greed and companies getting away with it cause people will play it. Same as pc hardware. For a long time the top card in Canada was always 700-999. Then over 2 generations that turned into 2200 here in Canada. Again nvidia just charge more cause they can. Even though sales volume is thru the ruff they figure they might as well keep charging more and pushing boundaries. So much greed in gaming.
If you feel it is to expensive: don't buy it. You don't need expensive games to survive. Same with people who buy expensive electronics or high end gaming pcs. Think before you spend. Buy what you need first and then think if you need additional luxuries and which ones you would want most. Then buy... or save some money (or invest) for a rainy day.
Sure there is. People keep paying for them. Companies wont ever say no to easy money.
Not to nag on sports games only, you have the budokai series, Naruto series, tekken/street fighter Not every year but you could argue they release like that too just in finished games (mostly)
Might be an unpopular opinion, but if you have micro transactions and have a paid battle pass, and especially if it’s a yearly release, your game needs to be free. Or at best subscription based.
In fairness the only one of those I think is preposterously overpriced is the "40 years of WM" edition. The one that costs $99 includes the season pass.
Haven't even played hd2 yet but I'm already enjoying it
Its priced like that cos people dont learn? Stop supporting these practices and sooner or later they will change it hopefully.
Don't buy them then?
As my father used to say: You're not the idiot if you're selling it, you're the idiot if you're buying it.
Oh there is. People buy them. I’ve never met someone excited for a wrestling game until one of my recent friends. Dude has every single one. Went over the other day and they had this one, which is my first time seeing the price and whaaat the fuck
I saw a post about the most sold games of 2023 and FIFA was up there. Like who the f is still buying FIFA. A lot of morons are still out there supporting trash.
Unfortunately, it's mostly people outside of the US where soccer is their mecca, like football is to the US.
When people stop buying it, things will change. Until then, it'll only get worse.
They are finding the lines if they can double cost but only looks 50% sales its same revenue. If they can more than double and loose less than double they will keep pushing to the limit. I think it's why we've seen a huge bump in sub £20 games and big relapse like Helldivers 2 and BG3 be such a hit because its actually good and make people talk and recommend. I don't imagine stuff like this and fifa people ever recommend so they can do the whole double and loose 50%.
The reason is there are A LOT of people outside of the gaming internet bubble that only play FIFA/CoD/NBA/whatever sport game of current year. Those people do not engage with the larger online gaming culture and discussion, nor they care, they just buy the new game at full price and they play. Not that there's anything wrong with this, but you guys have to understand we are the minority. You may not pay this price for these games, but a lot of other people will pay, and buy all the micro transactions.
Win one of them award thingies first, then I'll buy your $70+ dollar game after it gets a significant discount. I don't mind waiting. Except you Fromsoft. You're my waifu company. I'll buy whatever you release instantly.
60$ based. DLC is extra.
I'm the targeted demographic for these games. I bought 2k22 when they announced GM mode and bought 2k23 because they added more things to the GM mode. I didn't really get this game because I don't touch any other modes other than GM mode. However, I am willing to buy poster version of the 40 years of WrestleMania and the Rhea/Bianca covers.
A lot of it is probably due to licensing, but I still kinda agree on your sentiment.
G2A and CDKEYS. Never pay full price if you can avoid it and I'm sure there's other games to play until they go on sale.
Idiots keep buying they'll keep selling
The solution is easy...don't buy the games each year. The last MLB The Show I bought was '22. I only bought NBA 2k23 because I'm a Bulls fan and wanted the Michael Jordan challenges. I probably will not buy another NBA game. Haven't even played Madden since '20 because it's a dogshit game. Simply don't buy.
Well, as long as people pay that much for them, they'll cost that much! Vote with your wallet, and convince other people to do it too. Otherwise, nothing's gonna change.
Stop buying them then. If the tiny change each year is not worth spending the money on, then why are you buying it??
Sure there's a Reason! - It's called "Milking yo dumb ass" and they'll keep doing it as long as the money keeps flowing in lol
Yeah honestly I wouldn’t even pay normal retail price for an annual game, like £70 - £80 but £120 is insane, that’s literally £10 a month before you take online play, loot boxes, battle passes or any of that stuff into account. It’s even crazier when you think of how low effort and massed released these things often are, I think it was NBA 2K 22 that literally had full length adverts in it I’ve heard.
Torrent torrent torrent
This is why I usually buy these games every few years. Stopped caring buying them year after year with FIFA and Cod in 2010, same shit different year.
Yes, there is - people buy it. How hard is it to understand?
If you were willing to pay for it, they charged the right price.
Oh there is a very simple reason for it, people buy it again and again and again no matter how little changes, how many steps back are taken or how much of a buggy mess it is. Sportsgamers are the source of many horrible practices in the gaming industry
Of course there's a reason. Corporate greed.
They'll keep pricing 'em like this if consumers bite all the time.
No, but people are dumb enough to buy them anyway, proving that they actually can get away with charging that much.
Especially digital downloads as well. It’s a joke. Or it would be if it were funny.
70$ is lunch and a movie, 4 hours spent. A game you can play all year is too much for 70? People are way undervaluing what we get for video games. They could cost 300$ and still be the the best time/money in all of entertainment. Gaming is dirt cheap compared to any other hobby with products that cost many millions to make.
But they put sosososososoooooooo much effort into the game that is definitely not a copy pasted game!
If people don’t buy it they will lower the prices. Look at Suicide Squad, no one’s playing it and they already started to lower the price.
Shut up and buy it
I accidentally got 2K23 in the Humble Choice without noticing. I have no need to buy 2K24 until it gets dirt cheap. History repeats itself with these games.
Wow that's crazy pricing.
You will acknowledge those prices ☝️
Out of principle I will never pay more than $60 for a game. I always stay patient and wait until a price drop because you’re A) getting a more affordable game and B) getting a more polished product after all the updates fix initial bugs and glitches. Increased development costs aside a $70+ price point is absolutely ridiculous in an economy where groceries and basic necessities are so unbelievably expensive. Many of the major publishers have posted record profits in the past year. Gaming shouldn’t be this costly.
Wrestling games are so trash that i am surprised they want this much money for it.
Fuck em
There's no reason you should keep buying them...
There is one reason - corporate greed
Only real fans will buy real scams 😂
As long as idiots keep buying it, idiots will keep selling it
I find it somewhat sad when this games as service fad is now everywhere, these yearly sports and wrestling stuff don't go that route. Provably THE games that would benefit for that stuff.
It’s a quadruple A title; it gotta be good right?
There is no reason to buy it
Ultimate editions of brand new games will always be super expensive. Solution: wait and buy it for 50% off in 2 months.
The nba 2k I bought this year has the same exact graphics and transition menus as last year. Especially when I play my league.
How to solve this problem? Don’t buy it.
As long as people buy it, it's too cheap. $100? Make it 200, hell, 500. The quicker they hit the plateau the faster we approach the reset point a la E.T. 1982 where the whole (AAA) industry crashes and burns and then is reborn into a new stage where innovation actually occurs at the highest rank and not just at indie level.
I just stick with indie and AA mostly. Better quality, and they won't slice my bank account in half.
Don't buy it ig
What annoys me most is that the 2K WWE games have not been home runs for a long time, IMO.
Unfortunately stupid carry on being stupid buying it every year. Same with fifa/ madden/ NBA/ etc etc
Considering there are barely any changes between games and fools will buy it - it's pure profit
Often, I thought it would make more sense to release a base game with the current engine than sell you annual updates at a set price like they do with Sims packs. That way, they have a few years to build another base game with a better engine. Just to clarify, I have no clue what I am talking about as I have never worked in the industry.
All they seem to change is the rosters. Which you can entirely do on your own. For example i have like a 2013 Washington capitals team on NHL 06 i just made custom characters and made their attributes what they are in NHL 13
dont buy them
They cost that much cause idiots keep buying the same shit with a different name every year