<eddysterckx.RemoveThis@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:7e2c4793-36d3-41cf-86dc-08c4c13550a3@e10g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
> Is it just the $50 price tag which makes us investigate games so much
> before purchase ?
>
> I was just thinking that a movie for 2 + candy stuff + drinks
> afterwards usually sets me back around 30 Euro, which is $50 - double
> that if we're having a light dinner there first, so from a pure price
> point of view I should investigate movies just as much before I go
> watch them. Which we don't. We rarely know which movie we're going to
> see until we get there and have a look at what's available. Then we
> base our decision solely on the movie poster, maybe influenced a bit
> by a particular actor being in it, and how many weeks it's already
> been playing - but that's it.
>
> So why do we completely forget we spend $50 on a stinker of a movie
> the day after and don't blame the cinema complex, nor the developer
> for ever releasing it, but react completely differently when it's
> about a $50 wargame ? Is it because we care more about wargames ?
>
I think you've got a really awful analogy going here, Eddy. I can't even
see how you can compare the price of your movie 'date' with your
wife/girfriend/SO with a wargame you pick for yourself. In the case of a
movie date you don't always pick the movie because quite frankly a wise man
will almost always let it be the woman's choice - if you want a happy and
compliant gal interested in 'further fun' after the dinner and movie, it
starts by seeing the movie she wants to see - movies with titles like "A
time for Roses" versus "Total Mayhem IV". And if she just saw a movie that
she enjoyed but you hated - well, payback for your discomfort can be a lot
of fun too. And if I'm going to be seeing a movie with a woman I don't
really know well -ie, a 'first' date - I damn well better know everything
about the movie before I take her to it. This is also know as the "Nine and
1/2 weeks" syndrome for the un-initatied... It all looked like such a good
idea in theory...
<weak grin>
A dinner / movie date with a potential (or actual) sexual partner has so
many more postive nuances than a computer wargame you can't even compare
them. What you get back for you 50$ investment - actually it's only a 25$
investment since you are paying for her pleasure - can be substatially more
memorable than a game can compare.
Personally I think an analogy between game reviews and book reviews is much
more appropriate. In either case you have immediate purchase decisions at
full release price (hardbound books/ boxed games) versus later purchase at a
reduced price (remainder or paperback titles / discount or cd-case games).
When I read a book review on a title I'm interested-in I'm almost certainly
trying to figure out if the novel or history is worth the 30 or 40$ price
right now to me. Or can I wait until I find it a year of six months later
as a 12$ paperback.
When I read a PC game review I'm typically looking for 'buzzwords' that will
negatively impact my purchasing decision - in the case of computer games
'RTS' simply means no-sale to me. While 'turn-based' perks my interest
dramatically. I'm also not particularly keen on 'computer boardgames' for
the PC - if what I see is hexes with little squares with numbers upon them
and faux-dice rolls it's typically just a big yawn to me. So I can't really
say when I look at a PC game review I'm looking for positive info to drive
my buying decision - it's much more like I'm trying to figure out what I
know I won't enjoy just to to avoid buying it.
Plus you can add the whole issue of hardware stability and OS compatibility.
Despite what the game box might aledge are the required system stats - I'll
read a game review with the intent of figureing out is this an actual
finished product or just a bug-ridden Beta-test version. Unlike a movie or
a book where my only concern is whether or not the old MK.I eyeball is
adequate for my viewing requirments.
So I just think looking at game reviews closely before spending money is
just a result of the state the game-industry is right now. If the companies
put out stable games that weren't bug-ridden and could be trusted to provide
what the box promises, I don't think people would be so careful. Or care so
much afterwards.
If I spend 50$ for a movie-date with a woman and we both have a good time
over the entirety of the date, I won't feel ripped-off at all if the movie
is a 'stinker'. But if I pay the same amount for a boxed game and it
crashes my game system or won't run well or is nothing at all like the box
described - ie, short play time , awful AI, etc - I will feel royally
ripped-off.
--
MJB
Mr. Tin's Miniature Painting Workshop:
http://web.newsguy.com/Mrtinsworkshop/
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