I'm curious how pricing and game length affect everyone's buying decisions.

When you're deciding whether to purchase a game:

How important is the price?

Does the expected length of the game influence your decision?

What do you think is a fair price for a game and include what your expected duration would be for that?

Do you judge a game's value by hours of gameplay, replayability, overall quality, or something else entirely?

I'm interested in hearing what makes a game feel "worth it" to you and whether your expectations have changed over the years.

Thanks for sharing!

Ana

For me, it depends on the game. For a long-awaited Witcher or Vampire Masquerade game, I will pay the full price the day it is released.

For adventure games, yes, the hours of gameplay and replayability matter in whether I pay full price or wait until it goes on sale.

I have purchased games that were less than stellar because I want to support an indie developer.

My favorite games are adventure games with humor ala Monkey Island, Discworld, etc. The length and price are not as important as being able to get lost in the plot and enjoying the ride. I also have a soft spot for games with good puzzles.

This might be a long answer so I am putting it into a word doc to contemplate what I want to say. I will get back to the thread in the future.

If a game has a compelling story I will be very likely to give it a go regardless of the price 👍

The price is not my biggest criteria (and can vary so much depending on the type of game anyway) nor the graphics quality level, but I probably wouldn’t go for a really short game and would certainly hope for a trouble-free “techie” experience, considering what’s available these days.

So major features for me, personally, are a great story and definitely being able to save at will, irrespective of price

I think I would set the bar for games that are too short for me at 4 hours. I'd like to see at least 8 hours of adventure gameing for a new game price of 25 to 35 dollars. I'll buy a game for full price when it comes out if I am familiar with the developer and want to support them, but otherwise I tend to wait until I have finished the game I am currently playing and by then there are usually several games I am interested in getting, and some of them are typically on sale. Possibly this will change when I retire and have more time to spend on gaming.

I judge a game mostly by how much I can be immersed in the game world, and how satisfying the puzzles are. Good voice acting, decent graphics (not too pixilated) and a thoughtful story arc are part of the immersion for me.

I put my time limit of true enjoyment at a minimum of 20 hours +or- and that game would have to limit story, talking and reading the 3 things that could destroy my game play enjoyment. Of course I have played and enjoyed many adventures that have been much shorter.

Now this brings to my mind a different question for you all...
What is the most you have ever Paid for an Adventure Game?
The most I paid for an Adventure was way back in the ancient times before the Internet and Online purchases and you had to literally have to visit all your local stores daily for new releases in hopes that they have in stock a game you have wanted and this was in the Big Box era and this sometimes took weeks after a release date was mentioned in a gaming magazine and not always available then as stores took a while to get their physical stock.......'Phantasmagoria' in 1995/96 which is also the game that got me hooked on Adventure Gaming. Can't remember the price exactly but it was over $60 and I bought it from a Department Store, Montgomery Wards. My second highest was a few months later, 'Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within' was $56 and I purchased at Circuit City a PC store.