The developer of Hellblade 2 has explained why it prefers making shorter games, insisting digital distribution has opened the door “to games of all shapes and sizes.”
It depends. 6 hours of an amazing story that I know I’ll replay? Sure. 6 hours of the same boring gameplay over and over? Meh.
Halo Infinites campaign was juuuuust fun enough to be okay with how short it was. My buddy and I got the map 100% in just about 8 hours. It was fun, but we were annoyed it was already over.
Sure if it’s 15 bucks, a 6 hours game is fine. Else I could use that money to buy games that are much longer and cost the same and bring me the same enjoyment. I’ve played enough games to tell you that no game exists, that is so much better, to justify 70€ for a 6 hours game. Not even something like Portal.
Very few game experiences are worth that obscene an hourly cost. Look at something like Baulder’s Gate 3 a game you can easily sink 400 hours into for $60. Elden Ring - 200 hours for $60. Helldivers 2 - 200 hours for $40
I’ve got limited time and limited money and games cost both. I’m not sacrificing enjoyment just by being cheap - I just know that I can get way better deals out there and paying so much for so little would leave a sour taste in my mouth.
It’s an okay metric if your time isn’t really limited and if you can easily sink 400 hours into a game then your time isn’t really limited. For me 400 hours to 6-8 months of gaming. I don’t even consider price per hour when buying games because price is not really a factor. The biggest factor is whether I’ll have time to actually play it because my gaming hours are very limited. For me the metric is entertainment per hour because if I can get a few hours of gaming in I want those hours to be quality gaming. For me a game with 400 hours of gameplay but only 40 hours of quality gameplay is a waste of my gaming time. I would much rather take a 5 hour game that’s 5 hours of quality entertainment than a 60 hour game that has 30 hours of entertainment.
It doesn’t mean I don’t buy long games, it just means when I do that’s pretty much what I’ll be playing for the next X months. Right now the majority of my gaming hours go into Helldivers and I literally could not find time for another long, let’s say 60 hour, game. But I probably could squeeze in a 10 hour game. So $10/hour is absolutely worth it for me, if the entertainment is there. And price per hour is worthless to me because in most cases if the game is 100+ hours it’s unlikely to be 100+ hours of quality entertainment.
I just don’t think all hours of playtime are equal. I don’t have an issue putting 80 hours into into helldivers because I consider those quality hours. I do have an issue putting 80 hours into Far Cry 6, because most of that is extremely boring. But if you consider everything in price per hour then those two things should be equals (assuming we have FC6 discounted to the same price as helldivers). But they aren’t for me and I very much doubt they are for you.
A game you don’t play but paid for is infinite cost per hour.
But if you’re unable to enjoy games that cost less than $10/hr I feel like you’re really missing out. Factorio is a game I got for $20 and enjoyed 660+ hours of gameplay.
It depends. 6 hours of an amazing story that I know I’ll replay? Sure. 6 hours of the same boring gameplay over and over? Meh.
Halo Infinites campaign was juuuuust fun enough to be okay with how short it was. My buddy and I got the map 100% in just about 8 hours. It was fun, but we were annoyed it was already over.
Sure if it’s 15 bucks, a 6 hours game is fine. Else I could use that money to buy games that are much longer and cost the same and bring me the same enjoyment. I’ve played enough games to tell you that no game exists, that is so much better, to justify 70€ for a 6 hours game. Not even something like Portal.
Portal is definitely a $20-30 game. Still great though.
No game is worth $10/hr
Can we stop doing price per hour as a value metric. People get thousands of hours out of candy crush, doesn’t mean it’s worth $10,000
It’s a great metric for games though.
Your time is limited and games are expensive.
Very few game experiences are worth that obscene an hourly cost. Look at something like Baulder’s Gate 3 a game you can easily sink 400 hours into for $60. Elden Ring - 200 hours for $60. Helldivers 2 - 200 hours for $40
I’ve got limited time and limited money and games cost both. I’m not sacrificing enjoyment just by being cheap - I just know that I can get way better deals out there and paying so much for so little would leave a sour taste in my mouth.
It’s an okay metric if your time isn’t really limited and if you can easily sink 400 hours into a game then your time isn’t really limited. For me 400 hours to 6-8 months of gaming. I don’t even consider price per hour when buying games because price is not really a factor. The biggest factor is whether I’ll have time to actually play it because my gaming hours are very limited. For me the metric is entertainment per hour because if I can get a few hours of gaming in I want those hours to be quality gaming. For me a game with 400 hours of gameplay but only 40 hours of quality gameplay is a waste of my gaming time. I would much rather take a 5 hour game that’s 5 hours of quality entertainment than a 60 hour game that has 30 hours of entertainment.
It doesn’t mean I don’t buy long games, it just means when I do that’s pretty much what I’ll be playing for the next X months. Right now the majority of my gaming hours go into Helldivers and I literally could not find time for another long, let’s say 60 hour, game. But I probably could squeeze in a 10 hour game. So $10/hour is absolutely worth it for me, if the entertainment is there. And price per hour is worthless to me because in most cases if the game is 100+ hours it’s unlikely to be 100+ hours of quality entertainment.
Damn you’re not worried about death? I don’t have unlimited time.
But I have to heavily disagree with “in most cases if the game is 100+ hours it’s unlikely to be 100+ hours of quality entertainment.”
Sounds like we have different tastes. Cause 200 hours in HD2 is 200 hours of entertainment: Why else would I keep playing?
I just don’t think all hours of playtime are equal. I don’t have an issue putting 80 hours into into helldivers because I consider those quality hours. I do have an issue putting 80 hours into Far Cry 6, because most of that is extremely boring. But if you consider everything in price per hour then those two things should be equals (assuming we have FC6 discounted to the same price as helldivers). But they aren’t for me and I very much doubt they are for you.
Why should I? I’ll be dead then.
You’re right.
In 2021, Candy Crush raked in one 1.2 billion dollars.
Candy Crush is worth much much more than $10k.
A pint of beer can be $10/hour with tip
Angry upvote
Is drinking a game to you? /s
As I’ve gotten older I’d much rather pay $10/hour for a good game than less for something I’m not actually going to enjoy.
A game you don’t play but paid for is infinite cost per hour.
But if you’re unable to enjoy games that cost less than $10/hr I feel like you’re really missing out. Factorio is a game I got for $20 and enjoyed 660+ hours of gameplay.
You’re in luck, Hellblade II is 8 hours long and only $50. But of course, you knew that having read the article.
The comment was 6 hours. Standard price of $60.
Wasn’t talking about HB2, was replying to the above.