What would it take for you to pay extra for a game?

[Don]

And by extra I mean like a lot more, like the kind of money F2P games usually expect you to pay (after all someone's got to pay for a game). Let's say we're talking about double the usual price, whether it's a retail game or a subscription based game.

For me, beyond the easy choice (content that is good), I think I'd pay for graphic customization that actually look good. That is, I don't really care too much if you can pay for an extra uber looking sword because everyone else can have one, but I do care if I get extra freedom to make what my character look like. Whether it's as far back as Phantasy Star Online or the recent Champion Online, that's something I'm willing to pay more for the extra freedom (though not sure about double, but I'll at least think about it).

I'll also buy power provided it's a lot of power.

[Zeus]

You have to be a little more specific. Are we talking about paying to play the game (like WoW), paying for additional DLC, paying for a "special edition" in stores, etc? Or are we just talking about game content where the game is charged a premium price for some reason?

[Don]

Hmm, let me frame it as such then: what would take you pay twice or more money compared to the game's normal cost.

So for normal retail games that'd be around $100+, and for a subscription based game you'll be looking at $30+/month.

I'm also willing to pay $20 for a $10 game if it gives me some kind of god mode. Granted, I think that should be included in the game, but if the game is actually good I don't mind paying $10 extra to be actually able to finish it since I suck at a lot of action games.

[Shrinweck]

I wouldn't pay that much extra for a game unless it was a somewhat equal increase in content time-wise. For me, it comes out to how much I'm going to get out of it. If a game was $100 and had 10 hours of game play, unless it was some of the most superb gaming I've ever taken part in, I'm going to call bullshit. It's hard enough for me to commit the $10 extra for a brand new console game if a better version is coming out on the PC, even if it is months later.

Also for $30 a month I would expect perfect servers and close to no downtime. I would also expect an incredible amount of options for what class to choose from or at least a very intricate detail in skill trees with lots of branches. At the very least, I would expect to be getting 20+ hours of playing a month.

Edit: I'm probably willing to pay more for gaming if they decided to raise prices across the board to reflect how $50 in the 90s is not in any way the same amount of money it is today if it meant an increase in overall quality and them fucking right off with debilitating anti-piracy bullshit. Anything more than linking a CD key with a nick name, password, and e -mail address is just annoying.

[Zeus]

For me to pay $100 for a game, there had better be some kick-ass extras that come with it. Extras generally are packaged items, like the duffel bag and lock box that came with GTA4 or the locker/DVD rack that comes with NBA2K10. I like to see some good docs and stuff on a bonus disc as well, like the quality of the ones on the MGS4 limited edition. But I'd also like some nice in-game bonuses, such as the expansion that's coming with Dragon Age Limited. But on top of everything, it had better be a game that's either a) a kick-ass lookin' sequel to a kick-ass game (like Gears 2) or b) a game with a strong pedigree behind it (like, say, a new Kojima or Miyamoto game that's a new IP).

[Julius Seeker]

Either a peripheral or the game is exceedingly rare and I want it. I doubt I would hesitate to drop 2-4 times as much on the FFL2 remake if I had to.

[Tessian]

Assuming we're not talking about the game just being bundled with a peripheral or collector's edition... it would have to be double the length of a normal game. It would need to feel like at least 2 games in order to justify it.

[Zeus]

One "collector's" version you should never get and epitomizes industry greed: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - Hardened Edition. This is not the one that comes with the night vision goggles, that was the Prestige Edition (actually, for $70 on top of the Hardened Edition, it's actually a decent value for full-functional, low-end night vision goggles). I think down in the US it was a $30 premium but up here in Canada, it was actually a $35 or $40 premium over the regular edition, depending on where you bought the game. And what do you get for your hard-earned cash? An artbook, steelbook case (similar to the Gears 2 one), and a token to d'load Call of Duty 1......that's fucking it. Tell me, is that worth $30 or $40 more? If you assume that the d'load is a $15 item and you would actually be willing to pony up that much for it when you can find it anywhere for $5 used, that means the steel case and artbook cost you $15 to $25 (up here, it was the latter). That's fleecing to an insane degree.

Just to compare, when I bought the RE5 Collector's, which was also $30 more, I got the steelbook case, a figurine, emblem patch, necklace, totebag, and extras disc of stuff. To me, even that wasn't really worth it. Shoulda been $20 more IMO. Glad I didn't pay that kind of premium (I only paid $10 extra myself since I fully prepaid it when it was $20 less in their system; gotta love EB's pre-purchase policy). When I got the GTA4 uber-set, there was a decent-sized lock box, keychain, small-sized duffle bag, and an artbook. That's a fair premium price IMO and I gladly paid it in full, that's a pretty kick-ass set of extras. When I got the Dragon Age Collector's Edition for only $10 more, there was a cloth map (kinda meh quality), some exclusive in game items, a steelbook case, and an extras disc with a whack of stuff on it, including a soundtrack. Well worth the extra coin there. Hell, on top of that, every single copy, including the regular ones, got the expansion that sells for $15 on its own and some exclusive ingame inventory (to reward people who buy it new and punish the used guys like me).

But the Hardened Edition? A complete ripoff. The stuff that came with just the regular editions of Dragon Age was almost as good and you paid no premium. They shoulda been $10 more for what you got (there isn't even an extras disc for cryin' out loud) but because it's Modern Warfare 2, they tripled the premium. Wow, that was bad.

[Mental]

It must be an extremely fun toy, one that connects with me, and that's about it. I don't care about graphics or anything else really - audio is my favorite, the only good game I might not play is one with bad sound and music - but in general, I don't have hard and fast rules.

[Julius Seeker]

I like the idea with Starcraft 2. Essentially: if I buy the first part and don't enjoy it, I can ignore the other two portions. Same deal with Phoenix Wright and other episodic games.