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NEWS > GAMES > ACTIVISION TAKES NOTICE AS GUY PAYS WAY TOO MUCH FOR ATARI GAME
ACTIVISION TAKES NOTICE AS GUY PAYS WAY TOO MUCH FOR ATARI GAME
April 15 2010
San Jose, CA – For the last three decades there has been one creative form that has seen growth like no other. Once the domain of after-school nerd fests video games have well and truly broken into the mainstream in the last decade, gaining respect 
from all quarters, drawing in fans of all ages, and breaking through into other mediums such as film and television. A genre that was once dominated by quarters now boasts multi-billion dollar companies taking along video games from a secret hobby to a badge of pride.
Because video games have become such big business in recent years, it’s inevitable that major players have tried to get a foot in the game. In the last decade companies such as Microsoft, Vivendi, Apple, and News Corp have stepped into the game, so to speak, to varying levels of success. It is companies such as Nintendo, Activision, and Electronic Arts, who have been playing for decades, who have continued to be the biggest players with only Sony being able to fully transition into the genre. Those major players have pushed the quality of games ever higher, but have also pushed the costs to previously unimaginable levels. Now with word that an anonymous bidder has won an auction for one of the rarest games ever made some are questioning whether or not the price of games has gone a little out of control.
“The cost of bare-bones games have actually dropped significantly over the last decade but the growing trend of special editions and adding peripherals has artificially inflated the prices doing what companies are ultimately trying to do, make people spend more,” said video game expert Mike Randle. “People are starting to catch on but these bundles are still coming out and people are still buying them meaning that the prices are going to continue to stay high. Of course we are still taking about packages maxing out at 250 bucks, spending 30 grand is something altogether different. Frankly, I think whoever bought it overpaid a little.”
Recently a copy of the ultra-rare Atari game ‘Air Raid’ sold for $31,600, the second highest fee ever paid for a game. Though it did come complete in box, the game offered no peripherals, strategy guide, or art book like many premium packages do today.
“Frankly this is a slightly disturbing event. If someone is willing to pay that much money for a bare bones version of a game for a defunct system then there is no telling what companies will assume people will pay for top tier titles. I would be surprised if we don’t start seeing higher and higher prices for non-bundled games as a result of this sale,” said Scrape TV Gaming analyst Graeme Hawthorne. “I mean $30,000 is a little much for the average consumer so that will likely not become the threshold but we might see the numbers pushing towards the $500 range with special editions clocking in at two to three times that amount.”
Cult game publisher Atlus has already announced that their upcoming PSP title ‘Persona 3 Portable’ will retail for $12.99, significantly more than other PSP titles.
“The industry is really at a crossroads here. They have a captive audience willing to buy, they’ve established that with special editions, but there is this fatigue and backlash against those products. People are starting to see them as a scam and so inevitably they will have to fall away and the standalone versions will see increases,” continued Hawthorne. “Of course it’s a matter of how much the market will bear. They can afford to see some people fall away with numbers that high, but not too many or they risk losing the game forever. While this game won’t be the standard, it will likely affect things upwards. Personally I think he got a little ripped off.”
Activison Blizzard has apparently been mulling a $999.99 price point for the much anticipated ‘Starcraft 2’.
Douglas Havermore, Games Correspondent
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