Overpriced games

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 7:25 am

Just saw an advert on this site for Planescape: Torment for the ridiculous price of $69.90, surely nobody pays that sort of money for games, let alone old ones you can buy on EBay for a fraction of the price? If there are I have the sole rights to some prime land in Florida I'd like to sell them, bring your own waders mind!!!

sear · Post by **sear** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 10:15 am

It really is a shame that Planescape hasn't shown up on GOG.com or some such yet. I imagine there must be some issue with the copyright surrounding the game, since it's one of the most well-remembered PC RPGs of all time; it makes absolutely no sense to not be selling it somewhere or other.

I ran into a similar issue with trying to find Baldur's Gate and Icewind Dale... the only way I could buy them was on Amazon or eBay used, and then usually for outrageous prices.

rmemmett84 · Post by **rmemmett84** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 6:56 pm

Are any of the new games priced any better? Even at Wal-Mart all the newer games are $40. The only way I get a game is as a present or once its old enuf to be in the $10 rack.

DesR85 · Post by **DesR85** » Sat Jul 24, 2010 9:39 pm

I won't be surprised if that game sold poorly thanks to that price tag. I'd laugh at whoever priced it if he bitched about how crappy it sold.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 12:54 am

Actually, I did a search for PS:T on EBay.ca just now out of curiosity..
While nigh on $70 is on the high end of the spectrum, it's not terribly out of the norm either.

I think this is common for good out of publication/hard to find older games.
PS:T is widely considered to be one of the best RPGs ever created (if not *the* best).
So frankly, all things considered, I'm hardly surprised.

When it comes to buying games, I often like to wait for the sales rack, especially with titles that I know are lacking in their vanilla form (like Oblivion, for example), but with high quality stuff, if I'm feeling fllush I sometimes cave.

Happily though... I still have my original copy of PS:T and all the other old infinity engine games..

DesR85 · Post by **DesR85** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:38 am

dragon wench wrote:Actually, I did a search for PS:T on EBay.ca just now out of curiosity..
While nigh on $70 is on the high end of the spectrum, it's not terribly out of the norm either.

I think this is common for good out of publication/hard to find older games.
PS:T is widely considered to be one of the best RPGs ever created (if not *the* best).
So frankly, all things considered, I'm hardly surprised.

I sometimes really wonder how desperate that person will have to be if he/she wants to buy an old game at that price.

If I was somebody looking to play an older game, I'd rather borrow it from someone or buy it at bargain bin prices than paying that sum for it.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 1:47 am

DesR85 wrote:I sometimes really wonder how desperate that person will have to be if he/she wants to buy an old game at that price.

If I was somebody looking to play an older game, I'd rather borrow it from someone or buy it at bargain bin prices than paying that sum for it.

I guess it all depends on perspective... in that situation if I had cash to blow, I'd probably be more prepared to spend that money on a mint condition copy of PS:T than many newer titles I could think of.. Fable I/II, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Bioshock...

However, yes, the ideal would be to find it at bargain prices (very unlikely with PS:T), or simply borrow it.

As Sear mentions, it would be great if PS:T could be bought from GoG.... I'd think, given the demand, that they have either already tried and given up, or they are actively working on it.

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 4:30 am

Having just bought the game for the equivalent of $15 (US) on EBay, and it wasn't a one off copy, the price seems outrageous to me. I'll be interested to see what all the enthusiasm on here was about that's for sure. No way in Hades I'd spend around seventy bucks for it though.

Xandax · Post by **Xandax** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 5:01 am

Hmm - maybe I should put my PS:T game up for sale and earn some cash :laugh:

jklinders · Post by **jklinders** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 7:59 am

The buyer determines the price. A sensible person would not buy a PC game at that price. But if some idiot shells out the money for it then the price is right. I'd love to see how long it takes to move a copy at that price though

sear · Post by **sear** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 8:14 am

Xandax wrote:Hmm - maybe I should put my PS:T game up for sale and earn some cash :laugh:

I think that makes you a blasphemer, or something.

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:15 am

Just to prove I'm not making it up here's the page the RPG store links to.

Note the bargain $10 reduction!:laugh:

Crenshinibon · Post by **Crenshinibon** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:37 am

I was lucky enough to get my copy of PS:T for two dollars, with five dollars for shipping and handling. This was between three to five years ago, for the 2 CD version, and I have to say that I thought it was a steal.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines cost me fifty dollars though. It's a well known fact that prices of games skyrocket as soon as they're out of print. My girlfriend has been seeing Pokemon Red for about fifty dollars around different shops. I'm really surprised that Baldur's Gate isn't fetching such a high price on the market though, being older than PS:T.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 11:06 am

galraen wrote:I'll be interested to see what all the enthusiasm on here was about that's for sure.

RPGFan Reviews - Planescape: Torment

Lady Dragonfly · Post by **Lady Dragonfly** » Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:34 pm

galraen wrote:Just saw an advert on this site for Planescape: Torment for the ridiculous price of $69.90, surely nobody pays that sort of money for games

Some people do.
70 bucks is mucho cheapo, all things considered.

Like, for instance, a "new" (where the heck do they get "new" DOS games today, I wonder) Ultima VII can be yours for $179 and Third Reich -- for $229.

I guess some "collector" might shell out a couple of hundreds -- for the original game, with the original manual etc. but the Amazon games are more like reprints, I think.

Now, check this out:

Man sells old video game for $31,600 after reading CNN.com - CNN.com

20 years ago I got in the habit of disposing of my "already played" games.

The huge boxes were taking up too much space. What a terrible mistake!

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:10 am

Seventy bucks might be considered cheap if that was the best price you can get, but not when you can get it elsewhere for fifteen bucks without looking too hard.

MrTrampek · Post by **MrTrampek** » Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:18 am

Happily I live in Poland where Planescape: Torment is cheap (4.74$). I don't know from where they get your prices. That game was out in 2000, that's a lot of time and I don't think that I would pay so much (70$) for something so old.

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 8:32 am

I was just doing a little surfing and came across some material that might be useful or informative:

Who owns the rights to Planescape Torment? - General discussion - Forum - GOG.com (discusses the high price of PS:T and some of the reasons)

Planescape: Torment Mods/Patches/Installation Guide :: Alphabetti Spaghetti (a guide to playing a fully modded game on a modern machine)

galraen · Post by **galraen** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 9:52 am

I don't get the 'high price' bit, haven't they heard of EBay

OK that's on EBay UK, surely it can't be that different in the US?

Mine arrived this morning, I bought the £10.99 with free P&P deal. New, stil in it's wrappings, DVD version with manual on the DVD. Working fine, and so far fun, although I've yet to get out of the starting area.

PS I just noticed the price advertised on here has gone down to $32.50!!

dragon wench · Post by **dragon wench** » Wed Jul 28, 2010 10:47 am

galraen wrote:I don't get the 'high price' bit, haven't they heard of EBay

OK that's on EBay UK, surely it can't be that different in the US?

Mine arrived this morning, I bought the £10.99 with free P&P deal. New, stil in it's wrappings, DVD version with manual on the DVD. Working fine, and so far fun, although I've yet to get out of the starting area.

PS I just noticed the price advertised on here has gone down to $32.50!!

I do agree, those prices are high. And, I also know that were I looking for the game I'd be exploring every possible place selling PS:T before I'd consider paying $70. As I said though, were I feeling flush and in dire need, I'd be more likely to blow my gaming budget on PS:T than most newer games. In my view, excepting that demand (and therefore, frequently price) tends to be higher for out of publication anything, I don't think the age of a game is all that pertinent to its monetary value. It's about quality. The average new game costs between $40 and $80, give or take; in terms of quality, the vast majority aren't worth more than about $20, tops. Yet, people still willingly buy them.

Myself, I usually wait until titles come down in price, even better when the series is bundled into a value pack (the **only** way I'd have ever paid for Oblivion). However, I will occasionally pick up games when they come out, if friends or review sites I trust speak highly of them.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy PS:T.

*hint* ... Mage is the way to go!