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Bad Deals Make Gamers Light in The Wallet

by Caleb Johnson on June 30, 2009 at 08:10 AM

An easy equation: Weak economy means less disposable income, and less disposable income means less cash to spend on recreation, like video games. Don't forget the extraneous money pits, like add-ons, extras, and retreaded games.

Defending the joystick jockeys, Wired has compiled ten ways that gamers get the 'financial shaft.' How can a developer offer in-game abilities only to gamers who pre-order the game? Well, ask Sony and Gamestop. Unless you pre-ordered 'inFamous' at the game retailer (and laid down the extra five bucks), you'll never gain access to certain content.

Speaking of Sony, the mega-corp. is releasing a new version of its PSP handheld device, a smaller, downgraded console titled 'PSP Go.' The reason? Sony blames retailers for eating into profits, but gamers blame greed -- Sony will charge $80 more for the inferior device than it does the regular PSP.

While Wired's list hit the nail on the head, there are enough 'raw deals' out there to fill a phone book. Another upcoming example is making gamers cry foul, with the much-anticipated 'Halo 3' expansion game 'Halo: ODST.' When players shell out $60 only to discover that the disc is basically 'Halo 3' with three new maps and a short, four-hour single-player mode, there'll be more than Wii-mote injuries to worry about. [From: Wired]

Tags: consumer rights, ConsumerRights, economy, gamestop, halo 3, Halo3, money, sony, top, videogames

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