August 2021 NPD: Ghost of Tsushima Up 108 Places Into Second Thanks to Director's Cut

Madden is number 1 here in the United States? YOU DON'T SAY!

I guess Director"s Cut of games were genius after all.

People complain about Madden every year yet its always number 1

@mrtennis1990 Why make use of the backwards compatibility when you can sell a game again?

Assassins Creed still in making it into the top 10 without any shenanigans, that’s ridiculously impressive for a game people keep claiming was “more of the same” and boring. Goes to show how out of touch many gaming personalities are with what players actually like.

Not sure if I'm more surprised by GoT taking #2 or TLOU2 still hanging around top10 PS games. Nice.

But but but PlayStation is bending us over! What happened to everyone who said they weren’t supporting paying the up charge or buying it again? I guess despite all the whining, people understand it’s fair and are willing to pay for quality.

Just started the directors cut and just got the Iki island. Amazing game and well deserved the sales. Nice little touches added to the duelsense as well.

@Octane yeap. I got to say I’m curious about how long this game will chart, though. I remember insisting I would not buy the base game until the inevitable PS5 edition was sold (because I was sure this is how Sony was doing to do it) but ended up caving on a “sale” (that ended up making the whole package actually more expensive for me…)

So I’m sure there are plenty of people that didn’t have the game and bought it for the first time, but how long will that keep the game up there in the charts?

@Tharsman "that’s ridiculously impressive for a game people keep claiming was “more of the same” and boring."

You could say the same about FIFA, quantity doesn't equal quality

@mrtennis1990 Question how do you feel about buying all your films again on DVD and then Blu Ray? Because that's pretty much what game remasters are, its not like GoT PS4 can't be played on PS5 either so really its down to choice like it is if you want a Blu Ray version of a film you owed on VHS and then on DVD.

@Octane @mrtennis1990 It's just a GOTY edition. Pretty standard for any AAA release with DLC

If this doesn’t take into account those who paid to upgrade then the numbers could potentially be even higher for GoT. Big win for Sony.

@Octane For what its worth, I feel Valhalla is a very solid game, even if its not what I would have wanted from an Assassins Creed game.

Ironic, because one of the most often complaint I heard was "more of the same" and here I am "no... they went to far away from what AC is supposed to be!!! what you mean no enough change???"

/shrug

Anyways, same for FIFA, usually the people complaining about these games (same for Madden or Call of Duty) are simply not the target audience. Not everything is meant to impress the Uncharted fans (to name one example.)

@WallyWest @Ralizah @AdamNovice I definetely agree when a game is resold with extra content included is no problem. I was referring to the idea that if for example, Sony charged close to full price for a Naughty Dog remaster with no extra content would simply be a cash grab (in my opinion).

@mrtennis1990 @Octane If we have to pay $10 to upgrade our vibrator experience, I wonder what we'll have to pay to upgrade to the PSVR2 version of these experiences? $500 for a PS5, probably $500 for a PSVR2. $70 for PS5 GoT DC, probably another $20 for GOT VR. It's a steal for under $1100! Hail Jimbo!

Well I’ve changed me attitude over the weekend you want you pay for it.
The UK government has just robbed me of more 1.25% on tax and let’s see that get wasted like the rest of the tax I pay, petrol is robbing us blind.
At least when I pay a bit for a game I get pleasure and enjoyment out of it.

@Netret0120 I would be laughing but its not funny and everyone asks here why they dont even try ok i have laugh. 😂

@WallyWest I have to agree with you on that it never has been a issue and now its a crime. 🤪

Anyway. It’s clear the tables turned the momentum upside down with the tide of hardware.
🥸

@DefiledViper yes your right. Sony being a 100 billion dollar corporation sure needs that extra $10 to survive. Why do people enjoy giving huge companies more money ?

Just amazed to see Cold War is no.1 for the year. Absolute sh*te game...

@WallyWest I like this comparison, and I’m one of those people who will occasionally buy a better version of a game or movie I really like, even if I already own it. That will be happening in November when Criterion releases Citizen Kane on 4k. Also, physical media degrades over time (sadly, disc rot is a thing) so it never hurts to have a more recent edition of media that you truly enjoy.

@uptownsoul I know. That's the horrifying part!

Bought IKI Island (fantastic expansion) but had no reason to buy (or play) GOT again.

People complain about not having BC, but then buy games again regardless 🤷‍♂️

• RE Village still at #3 for 2021... love it! (a must play)
• Assassin's Creed Valhalla still in the mix 👍
• No More Heroes 3 needs a PC version. Ouch!
• Humankind is on PC GamePass (that is $10) - yet it was the best selling game on PC at full price

@uptownsoul The WiiU ports are also still playable for people who own a WiiU. Doesn't mean either of them reselling old games with upcharges is particularly likable. Even if we ignore that WiiU->Switch is a lot more like PS3->PS4 than it is PS4->PS5.

I would say that the only people that could possibly want to go backward as the industry goes forward, and thinks some graphics slider changes deserve higher prices and new versions are people who've never gamed on PC (or XB more recently.) But, Sony's kind of digging their own hole in that one by stepping into PC full throttle and directly presenting themselves in comparison to that market's standards. Nobody's going to pay $10 to unlock the resolution slider on PC.... It starts having the same look MS has where PC players don't have to pay for Gold to play online and console gamers do.

@Octane

"...quantity doesn't equal quality"

I feel that seems to change depending on what bias people trying to justify at the time.

Change the name on the box and "more of the same" (sometimes literrally) at #1 prooves it is the best thing in gaming.

Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut is AMAZING Finally playing it on my PS5 Some bits when you look off into the distance(especially into the sea and looking at those ships with the Sun going down) it just takes you away to another place It's one of those games

@Carl-G Im jealous at you it sounds like the game is a experiance on its own. The PS4 is still nice but i would be lying if it would not want to have for the upgrade alone but also 3 games i need to play Demon Souls, Returnal and Rachet and Clank. 😁

@GamingFan4Lyf ikr. I wonder why

@uptownsoul It's not about the complete edition, it's about the upcharge for normal patch updates. And the onslaught of "remasters" of new games. If goty cost the same or less as launch + dlc it would be normal. Give the features to everyone, charge for the dlc, release a goty edition as a convenience or value and everything is awesome.

Dominated by Nintendo and playstation and not one single xbox game in sight, more proof that those getting xbox's are just interested in gamepass?

Also the directors cut just means it comes bundled with the dlc so I don't see the problem with it, loads of games do the same but call it something different like "ultimate edition" etc

Madden being in #1 despite how utterly trash it is happens to be one of the reasons why I've started collecting old PS3 and earlier games. Quality control is at an all time low.

@Jimmer-jammer it doesn’t take into account those who upgraded !

So yes it is very impressive !

https://twitter.com/matpiscatella/status/1437770600424951811?s=21

@Octane probably because
a) iki expansion/dlc whatever its called isnt included on og got ps4
b) people buying got dc are the ones that never played/owned the og game

so why buy the ps4 + dlc if u can buy the dc on ps5

@ATaco I tried that but all the games at the store were copies of Madden 08

@Netret0120 same with COD, Assassins Creed, etc. The people that frequent boards like these etc make up a very small population of people actually buying games. Unfortunately =/

@Netret0120

No accounting for taste - Madden is terrible. Sports gamers have very, very low standards judging by what EA and 2K get away with year after year. Basically that weird sub-group of bro gamers that play nothing but Call of Duty and Madden every year, and nothing else, keeps a lot of the garbage business practices afloat.

I could put a Stealers logo on a literal turd and sell it to one of them for 20 bucks, and you'd better believe they'd buy it.

Got a few friends who fall into this category and god bless them for their many positive qualities, but they are neanderthals when it comes to video games in general. They have never even heard of Ghosts of Tsushima and couldn't tell you the difference between Mario and Sonic.

Basically, godless heathens.

@NEStalgia

I think they are testing the market to see what it will bear. Experimenting with prices... that's the only way I can explain why Ghosts of Tsushima is $70 on PS5 while Death Stranding Director's Cut is $50. Both added content, so who knows the reasoning.

If the point of contention is a $10 PS4 to PS5 upgrade fee, that's a weird hill to die on considering how rampant predatory business practices are across this industry, i.e. microtransactions/live service shenanigans.

Your 10 bucks is getting you something tangible at least. Could it be a free patch? Absolutely. SHOULD it be a free patch? Well, that's a debate for the philosophers I suppose.

You are right though, its getting out of hand with all these remakes/re-releases.

@UltimateOtaku91 It's a mix of PS being the bigger install base, which we already knew, plus Xbox users in general being a lot less likely to buy physical. Most of the platform's differentiating features are digitally oriented, and it works best as a Steam-like environment, so physical sales will forever be in the pits on XB.

@UnlimitedSevens The $10 conundrum is kind of an "enthusiast tax" in a way. For the average gamer that buys 2 games a year, what's another $20 on games? For the enthusiast that buys 20+ games a year, that's a $200/yr charge. Plus tax. Basically, we were paying too much before for too many games, but as prices go up you have to look at what you're spending, and as they inch upward, you start saying "geeze, why am I paying that, for that?" Especially now with everything skyrocketing you re-evaluate. $60 for a piece of entertainment was expensive, but we learned to look the other way. But once you see that 7.....ooof, it makes you reevaluate what you buy and, with so many great games available, I don't need to play any of these until they're $40, honestly.

I went from buying almost every game that interested me to really scrutinizing, buying few, and looking at what's up on Game Pass and Now. I'm spending less on games than I used to, because the rising prices made me reevaluate what I'm spending and walk away spending much less after scrutinizing it.

It won't affect their bottom line, but among enthusiasts, these price moves certainly encourage a spending cut.

I think that's the thing with the complaints about $10. It's not about $10, but people reacting to the cumulative effect on their total purchases. It's also going to largely be digital buyers that are watching the "savings" of digital vanish as they try to double charge people who sell used games. I think they could mitigate it with some kind of a rewards club that rewards regular customers with savings.

@NEStalgia

Yeah, I can see how - cumulatively - it adds up. The change from a 60 to 70 price tag makes me hesitate a little too, which is weird. It's not much more money in absolute terms, but that 7 looks so much more imposing in the moment. Its just hard to justify for an entertainment product, whatever your financial situation may be.

I think the reason the price of new games stagnated at $60 for so, so long was their market research probably demonstrated people just were not willing to shell out that tiny bit more. And while some would pay the higher prices, the net effect would be a loss in revenue due to the disproportionately larger decrease in unit sales. $60 was the magic number - it was exactly the most they could get away with charging. They smartly bypassed this theoretical price ceiling for a time with psychological tricks such as $70 - 100 deluxe editions which only added a few digital extras. The cost was added after the initial purchase on the back-end via DLC, bypassing the "sticker shock" response.

Sony seems to have decided their games have so much goodwill and esteem in the industry, they can bypass that voice in our heads telling us $70 is just too much. Maybe that is what their research has shown them. Overall though, their pricing message has been confused and disjointed, with games costing $20 (Destruction All-Stars), $50 (Sackboy, Miles Morales, Death Stranding DC), $60 (Horizon Forbidden West), and $70 (Demons Souls, Ratchet and Clank, Returnal). MSRPs are all over the place.

I think they are throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.

@UnlimitedSevens Yeah, it's not just that the 70 alone looks imposing for an entertainment product, though it does, but, really 60 was too much for that, too. Even with a 100 hour epic we want to play twice, other than true evergreen titles like a moba or something, games are still somewhat disposable entertainment, games-as-art proponents aside. The inflation argument ignores that discretionary goods don't generally increase with inflation, and the sharp rise in cost of non discretionary goods makes that, even at 60 come into focus as wasteful spending. But we're used to it, so it's easier to justify it. But combine generally less discretionary income with a price tag lurching towards 3 figures for intangible goods for a temporary dopamine shot ... You really start to reconsider what you're doing with your money. I think consumers are in for a rude awakening. A lot of companies have been eating costs until now. Their going to unload by Christmas. General goods. Kimberly Clark is rolling out a flat 20% price hike this month. Tissues, soap, everything. A lot of companies are doing that. Real time recession material. For generally non discretionary goods. And the already expensive game market drops a 15% increase. Pfft.

I get what they're doing. It's not about charging more. It's a mix of setting higher starting values for future discounts, and it's charging the buyers as whales to cover the used market. Matrick wanted to charge buyers of used games. Sony and friends are now doing that, but in reverse. They'll charge the original buyer for the second used sale up front.

And digital buyers are collateral damage.

But for me, it just makes me more choosy what I buy, ignore launches and wait for sales, play more game pass games. Physical buyers will be pushed more to used sales. They know that. You can tell they're wavering on price, otherwise they'd charge 70 for PS4 games now instead of that got debacle. Ubisoft isn't in on the pricing. They rode the fence watching.

I think a variety of price points for games is probably a good thing. Shaun was a proponent of that, Ms is doing that. But Sony is getting the arrogance of Nintendo in how they see their brand. There's a faithful launch day audience that will pay anything. But like tlou2 showed, once that crowd is done, sales just halt. And 70 isn't going to help that. Music went from 18 a disc to free with a $10 sub. Movies went from 20 a disc to free with a $15 sub. Games... Sony wants to push toward $100 a disc. At a certain point most consumers see it as to much for what you get.

But. Their average customer buys 2 games a year. The small bump in cost won't dissuade the annual fifa buyer. And that's most of the market. It's the more niche games only the core buys like Arise. Or for that matter returnal, souls, etc. That's the customer who will buy less now. An extra $200 a year? I could get game pass and now and still have money left over. Enthusiasts are really hit disproportionately.