62% of Hardcore Gamers Avoid Paying Full Price for Games, Survey Finds
While there are still a lot of people that buy games at full price, waiting for solid deals have become just as normal these days when it comes to new games. With the start of this generation of consoles, prices for big AAA games have gone up with some titles already reaching around $80, like Mario Kart World.
Because of this, many players are becoming more careful about how they spend money, choosing to wait for discounts, subscriptions, or better deals instead of buying games at full price, and it seems there are a lot of hardcore gamers who wait for discounts before shelling out the cash for games.
More Gamers Are Skipping Full-Price Games Now
According to a survey done with Kantar and the University of Berkeley in the US, UK, and Australia, 62% of hardcore gamers no longer buy games at full price. The numbers also change a lot depending on age.
For example, 38% of Millennials and 42% of Gen Z still buy games at full price, while only 20% of Gen X does the same. This shows a clear change in habits and in how people approach gaming today.
The Games Business co-founder Christopher Dring explained the reason behind this, saying there is simply too much content available now (via VGC). “The market has shifted, consumers are ‘full’ in terms of things to play, watch, and read.” He also said that games often release unfinished or need updates, so players don’t feel the need to rush and buy them immediately.
“The upside is that games are living for longer, and it’s not unusual for big games to sell for years and decades,” he added. “There is a generational shift, too. Although I am cautious of drawing too many conclusions here. A lot of the buying and playing habits of older gamers might be due to the fact that they have less time and more money, versus younger generations, where the opposite is true. We’ll see how that plays out over time.”
The report also shows differences in how players discover games. Gen X mainly uses Google, Millennials prefer YouTube (about 85%), and Gen Z mostly uses social media.
Preferences are different too. Gen X prefers single-player games, Gen Z prefers multiplayer, and Millennials are in between.
The way people play has also changed. Gen X and Millennials often go back to finish or master games, while Gen Z is more interested in new content, customization, and community features.
In related news, a recent survey from the industry analysis firm Circana confirmed that exclusive games remain the number one reason people purchase a specific video game console.
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What counts as ‘hardcore’? I think actual ‘hardcore’ gamers are the ones like myself who buy at least 2-3 games a month. Take this month for example; I’ve got 007, Lego Batman, Rugrats Collection and Cthulu to purchase. I’ll probably get Bluey and Nick Tennis as well for the kids.
I play games every day. It’s the main thing I do and I’ve been doing so since Atari came out. I’ve got plenty of time and plenty of money.
So why do I wait for sales? Exactly BECAUSE I play so many games!
If I went down my relatively small wishlist, it would cost about $500 for the games that are already out. But I’ve got several games installed right now that I haven’t started, so why would I put seven more games in the backlog at full price?
I completely stopped buying day one partway through the PS4 cycle. Too many patches and DLC before you got the whole package in a good state. When I subbed to Plus, it also made much more sense to wait on sales because it was really the only benefit that made it worth the price. Now, even that has changed as Plus is more expensive and the extra sale discounts are meager and laughable.
Saros looks awesome but I’m just not willing to pay $70 when I know it’ll be cheaper by the time I get around to it. I can’t think of a single game that would get me there day one or at full price.