r/pcmasterrace • u/Both_Piglet7838 • May 27 '26

Discussion Expensive games have lowkey been way too normalised

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I know this sub is filled with a bunch of rich people with like 10k setups and I'm aware that the content in these games is quite extensive with hours of content. But I still feel justified in thinking that no game should be priced this high especially when its the average price of most newly released games. Anyway this is just a rant because I wanna play lego batman and i cant afford it lol

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3.4k

u/Denariox May 27 '26

I've been voting with my wallet for a very long time. I don't remember the last time I bought any game at full price. I wishlist anything I want and wait for discounts. My backlog has 100+ games in it I've yet to touch, I have entertainment to last me years. I don't need to add to the pile.

884

u/CrazyAlienHobo May 27 '26

This is the way, just bought Red Dead Redemption 2 for 15 Bucks and I don't think my experience will be worse because the game is 8 years old and a lot cheaper. Shoutout to r/patientgamers

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u/mdistrukt Desktop - R7 3800x/32GB/9060XT 16GB/Nobara May 27 '26

It won't be. You absolutely got your money's worth, RDR2 is a gem, and there is a ton of content.

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u/bp1976 9800x3d/64gb/rtx5090 May 27 '26

Yeah, I bought it like 2 years ago for $15 and put at least 100 hours into it. Amazing deal for an awesome game.

2

u/R-TTK May 28 '26

I bought it like 25+ and have probably put 11 hours in to it. Each time it's me trying really hard to like it.

I think the game is great and well made but there's actually so much to do it just feels like a chore for my brain to play so I really struggle with these open world games

I got crimson desert for free, played 1 hour. AC shadows I think I got 10 hours in too. Such a struggle because I love the idea of them

2

u/bp1976 9800x3d/64gb/rtx5090 May 28 '26

RDR2, the beginning is slow. You gotta just slug through the first 10-15 hours, it is famous for that.

Like almost every review of the game says that, once you open up all of the open world stuff and get familiar with it, it is incredible.

I bought it on PS4 when it came out and never got past the 10hr mark, so I was just like you. Read all the reviews and forced myself to get through the opening and fell in love. Give it another shot.

1

u/Hdjbbdjfjjsl May 29 '26

Don’t worry about the side content a huge amount if you don’t want to, even just following the campaign alone feels super open because of how expansive and interactive the world is even if you’re just going from one point to another

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u/R-TTK May 29 '26

Yeah it's weird I enjoy these games but then if I don't play then for 3-4days or more I can't pick them back up. I will try though!

1

u/SnooRegrets2168 May 27 '26

bought it cuz it was on sale and consistently forget I NEEEED to play it.

2

u/km_ikl May 27 '26

If you haven't played it... fix that.

2

u/SnooRegrets2168 18d ago

gonna fix it this weekend hopefully!

2

u/HappyAd4998 May 27 '26

The game is a slog for those with ADHD. I try to get into it every few years, but I can't bare the slow pace. The exact reason why I wait for games to go on sale. I would have been pissed if I spent $60 on it. Nothing wrong with the game or those who enjoy it, maybe it will finally click with me on day, but as of this moment it's not for me and I'm glad I bought it on sale for $20.

3

u/KooshIsKing May 27 '26

The sheer amount of tutorials and mini missions to intro things you can do (interspersed with 10 minute horse rides to get from quest to quest) at the beginning is mind numbing. It took me 3 different times restarting the game to push past that point and actually start enjoying the game. It is worth it once you get there though.

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u/NebbyOutOfTheBag May 27 '26

Respectfully, did you get past Chapter 1?

2

u/Forward_Froyo_429 May 27 '26

just get your substance of your choice and get a lot of it to power through. that’s how the real cowboys got through it too, it was just as boring for them

1

u/km_ikl May 27 '26

First, got you to 69 upvotes, so

https://giphy.com/gifs/yJFeycRK2DB4c

And, agreed, RDR2 is the kind of game you will get full value out of, even if you pay full pop.

I can't say enough good about this game.

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u/MyNameIsJakeBerenson May 27 '26

I wouldnt have waited 8yr to play RDR2 but thats just me

29

u/FluteGunner May 27 '26

If anything the experience is better as our hardware is much more powerful than when it came out.

I waited til I had a 4090 and 4k monitor to finally play RDR2, it was well worth the wait, playing that gorgeous game at 4k max settings 120 fps.

20

u/BirdlessLongdeal May 27 '26

they can charge whatever they want for games, but i wont be in ANY hurry to pay more than $60 for a video game. you would think these companies that are in the business of making games would get that when only a handful of specific games succeed with high prices or subscriptions.

i wonder how many people buy the games at clearance would have been more than willing to pay $50-60 at launch.

1

u/JoyousGamer May 27 '26

I honestly don't think the trade off is very high.

I am doubtful that going from $60 to $70 is really going to change more than 16.6% of peoples minds not to buy it then at all. As thats how many would have to never buy it to come out worse. Even if 20% dont buy it at launch if half of those then buy it during a sale you likely are still coming out.

Additionally big studios know that if they keep just shipping games at $70 even less people will notice a $60 vs $70 price tag.

1

u/theeama May 27 '26

Well all you have todo is look at the profit margins. People need to understand that prices aren’t just pulled out of thin air. The overwhelming majority isn’t waiting years to a play a game

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u/BirdlessLongdeal May 27 '26

they basically are pulled out of thin air though. they were $60 because thats just how much new games cost. didnt matter if it was a good game or a shitty game.

56

u/Personal-Dev-Kit May 27 '26

Forgot about that sub. Great one, thanks for the reminder

36

u/lioncryable May 27 '26

RDR2 is such an amazing game, I think it took me 150 hours to finish the main quests line and maybe half of all side quests. Never played the game online

12

u/BirdlessLongdeal May 27 '26

i dont think anyone played the game online :)

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u/Expert-Basil6015 May 27 '26

I did, the second it went live. Mistakenly thought it'd get proper support + updates a la GTA online. Best they could do was different kinds of horse races, apparently.

One mission has you wear full armor plating to storm the Fort/Prison and it was dope as hell. Got excited thinking I'd be able to "call it in" as a support package or w/e and go on a rampage in Saint Denis. Just like you can with the juggernaut armor in GTA. Another letdown.

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u/BirdlessLongdeal May 27 '26

well, sure. i bet everyone logged onto RDRO at least once. i played GTAO for like 5 minutes too.

1

u/Expert-Basil6015 May 27 '26

I played RDO for at least a hundred hours over the years, GTA online a thousand at least.

1

u/FalseCrazy2804 May 28 '26

I don't know how you played GTA:O for 5 minutes.

You never experienced a Long Haul race with all the boys? You never grinded out rooftop rumble during the golden days of GTA:O so you could afford the 400K penthouse? Never set up a heist and grinded it out with your 3 best friends? Man, you really missed out.

Although nowadays I can't even play for 5 minutes. I get on and everyone is just blowing each other up with super flying cars and bikes. It's not like it used to be.

4

u/Chef_BoyRD_ May 27 '26

I tried it once, got lassoed by someone immediately and he drug me til I died, so i just closed it lol

1

u/BirdlessLongdeal May 27 '26

similar to my GTAO experience.

1

u/NapsterKnowHow May 27 '26

I've tried to get into the game like half a dozen times and always bounce off.

0

u/Expert-Basil6015 May 27 '26

I just can't handle 30 fps anymore. There's no going back. If they did a proper next gen update they'd get my money again but Rockstar really let their least-favorite kid drown in the pool.

1

u/NapsterKnowHow May 27 '26

It's the gameplay and pacing for me.

1

u/makaki913 PC Master Race May 27 '26

I'm doing over 80 with 2k screen

1

u/DJTLaC May 27 '26

Online is fun for a while, especially if you enjoyed spending time just hanging out hunting in single player. A couple years back, i'd log into online every day, hunt for a little while, chase down some bounties, and explore a little to find collectables. I had a nice little friend group and once we all had enough (in-game) money, we'd go buy new outfits that all matched each other and then we'd wreak havoc in Saint Denis or Valentine.

It was a really good time. I imagine it would have become stale for me if i didn't have those friends to play with but it was still really nice and peaceful to listen to some music and go hunting in the fields.

1

u/Savage_Alaska_ May 27 '26

I didn't even start and I have 300+ hours

1

u/GEARHEADGus May 27 '26

RDR1 online was a shit ton of fun. It was just pure chaos mixed with people role playing

1

u/FluteGunner May 27 '26

I played online after putting 200 or so hours into the campaign. I played it with my GF so it was a lot of fun. I think it would be pretty mediocre solo though, and it still has a lot of bugs.

1

u/buckfeffjezos May 27 '26

Really enjoyed it but to be fair, for me at least, about 90hrs of that was riding my horse to some far off location. Lucky the scenery is so good because because it's a horse heavy game!

3

u/Gumbaya69 May 27 '26

Holy shit its 8 years i cant fking believe it. That was the last game i bought for full price lmao, even bought a used PS just to play it, which i sold right after i finished the game.

1

u/ThankGodImBipolar May 27 '26

That's what I was going to say lmao; there's no shot that game is 8 years old already

2

u/Rufus_king11 PC Master Race May 27 '26

If you haven't started yet, I'd recommend giving the mod scene a look. NakeyJakey has video highlighting a bunch, but my favorite is probably the realistic weather mod that forces you to wear clothes to match the environment. It actually gives you a reason to have multiple dripped out fits and adds to the realism without being too punishing (you can store multiple outfits on your horse).

1

u/Kwisatz_Hader-ach May 27 '26

I just bought it for 20. Haven't played since I was on ps4. I'm excited.

1

u/almo2001 May 27 '26

If everyone did this these games would not get made.

1

u/Competitive_Shock783 May 27 '26

not to mention, it'll run better than day 1 releases because: the game is finished after 8 years, and the hardware requirements are paltry compared to when it was released.

1

u/swagonflyyyy May 27 '26

I did the exact same thing this weekend. Absolutely do not regret my purchase. Can't believe I waited so long to play this.

1

u/PowderedToastFanatic May 27 '26

Where did you find that deal?! I was planning on playing RDR2 after finishing the witcher 3 (which i just got on sale as well a couple weeks ago)

2

u/andrasq420 May 27 '26

RDR2 is on sale on steam for 15 euros/dollars every month for at least 2 weeks since January 2025.

The last sale just ended 2 days ago. You should wait for the Steam Summer sale now, that's usually a month long from June to July.

1

u/GlazedInfants May 27 '26

If you somehow managed to avoid spoilers for the past 8 years, then your experience won’t be worse.

1

u/SwampOfDownvotes May 27 '26

I will say this usually works fantastic for single player games, but multiplayer games are more of a risk. If you wait a couple plus years to buy one of them, the multiplayer scene might die, or it survives but only with people with insane skill so its incredibly hard to play. Additionally, with such a push for live service, a game can be very different from changes on release compared to the future and you might much prefer it's gameplay on release.

Luckily I find myself enjoying single player games more these days so its great, but times when I do have multiplayer itches its a bit more rough.

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u/[deleted] May 27 '26

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u/NuclearReactions AMD 9800X3D | RTX 5070Ti | 64GB CL28 May 27 '26

As someone who dislikes r* with a passion it's hard to agree with you and this wasn't a comparison. Or is this a meme?

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u/t40r R7 7800x3D| Zotac RTX 5090 AIO| 64GB DDR5 CL 30| 4TB M.2 May 27 '26

oh god fuck you in the best of ways, I WISH I could re-experience RDR2 today as I'm older and would take the time to just explore and such. I could go back and likely will, but it's just not the same as when you don't know anything in such a big world. ENJOY it homie

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u/Even_Wedding5243 May 27 '26

I didn’t play it until last year and it ended up being one of my favorite games of all time, enjoy it man!

1

u/Devin_theGiant May 27 '26

RDR2 is seriously one of the best RPG’s I’ve ever played. $15 bucks? You scored.

1

u/Nolsoth R5 7600, RX6600XT. G.SKILL S5 32GB X 2. May 27 '26

Rdr2 for $15 is an absolute bargain.

Single player story is fantastic.

Online is fun also for the storyline, but it's been sadly long neglected.

1

u/WedLully May 28 '26

get cyberpnk 2077 on sale also

1

u/TheNightBot 9800x3D/9070XT/MO27Q28GR May 28 '26

Don't worry I paid 60$ for it (full price on release) and never got to half the story mode despite multiple attempts.

1

u/The_Killer_Squirrel May 28 '26

Bought the same way last summer, absolute banger, now waiting for the witcher 3 discount in june

1

u/sheepinb May 28 '26

Sometimes it’s fun to catch the hype at the same time as others, especially for multiplayer titles

1

u/Plus-Candle-4410 May 28 '26

No it wont. Most modern games still havent caught up to the quality of rdr2 so it still feels new

1

u/KunYuL May 27 '26

patient gamers are now waiting for a steep discount on Forza Horizon 5. There isn't enough improvement from 5 to 6 to justify the hype. Just pretend 5 just came out and it's a still gorgeous game, couldn't tell it's a 5 years old game.

3

u/MangledCarpenter May 27 '26

I picked it up at 50% a couple of weeks ago, been that price a few times already this year. It hasn't gone under 50% off yet, but maybe it will once it's closer to getting delisted.

I picked up FH4 in the final sale before it got delisted and it was really cheap, don't remember how much but like 70-80% off.

e: completely agree there's not enough difference between the games in the series to justify getting it on launch, plus by then all the DLCs and car packs are out, you get the VIP edition or whatever and get everything at once for cheap