Why are pc games cheaper than console games?

[Arrrhalomynn]

What's up with this? PC games are ALWAYS cheaper than console games. I can understand this for newer games, since they don't have to pay royalties to the console manufacturer, but old games are cheaper too.
Recently I found games like morrowind and splintercell for 4 euros, new. And they weren't horribly discounted. It was just the regular price for that particular budget series.
Splinter Cell and Morrowind for the Xbox are both at least 20 euros here. That's 5 times as much! If a profit can be made on a pc game of 4 euros, then why  does a console budget game need to be sold at a much higher price?

[Hydrobond]

Two possible reasons are that there is more competition on the PC platform and the equipment costs are higher witht he PC, so games must sell for less.

But to be honest with you, I'm not sure your observation holds true in the states. The prices are usually about even here.

[Lord Nepenthean]

Nah, console games are definitely more expensive here.  At launch, and for a few months afterwards, the prices are often identical.  However, go look for something that's around a year old, and you'll probably find the PC version is much cheaper.

I can't speak for other people, but I'm often more willing to pay a little more for a console version of SOME games.  Not having to make sure my system meets hardware requirements (though that's not really an issue for me), not having to mess with installation, and not having to mess with compatibility/updates are all things that make console versions of some games a lot easier to just pop in and play.  And, as a collector, the console version is more important for me to have.  PC games just have little to no collectable value to me.  I keep the ones I get, but I don't actively seek them out for my collection like I do for console games.  There are just too many to get.

[Hydrobond]

Not having to make sure my system meets hardware requirements (though that's not really an issue for me), not having to mess with installation, and not having to mess with compatibility/updates are all things that make console versions of some games a lot easier to just pop in and play.

So, you are saying that console games are for people with more money than brains?

[Arrrhalomynn]

So, you are saying that console games are for people with more money than brains?

I think he's saying console games are easier than pc games. I have to agree with that.

[Lord Nepenthean]

Not at all.  It's just that console games are so much easier.  If you had to configure your movie player every time you wanted to watch one, but there was still the alternative of DVD, wouldn't it make more sense to choose the one that didn't require a bunch of setup?

[Hydrobond]

Well, I still like the mouse and keyboard for gaming, controllers are improving, but still not good enough for FPS games.
Before the new internet ready console games, multiplayer on the PC was just way better, you didn't have to have friends to play real people.  Installing can be a pain, but in the end you are rewarded with a much better looking game.  
You are making it sound like you need to install a game every time you want to play it, which simply is not true.

[Lord Nepenthean]

Well, it isn't true, but if I had a thousand PC games as opposed to a thousand console games, and wanted to pull one out to play for five minutes, or to test to make sure it was working, it would be a lot more of a pain than popping it in the console and hitting the power button.

As far as FPS's are concerned, I can't argue with you there.  Some games are definitely better on PC even with the extra hassles the medium comes with.

[Geondp]

All has to do with Pirates, a pc game is MUCH easyer to "steal" then a console game so they drop in price very fast to just try and SELL..

[Arrrhalomynn]

That makes sense. But it does men we all overpay horribly for console games.

Which is actually old news, now that I think of it....

[Antimind]

Keep in mind too that most PC games are on cd whereas console games tend to be on different types of media that cost more to produce (or so manufacturers claim). DVDs are a bit more costly than cds and that's a given for carts.

[Arrrhalomynn]

DVD's are like a dollar more expensive? That hardly justifies the difference. And I'm not talking about carts, I don't live in the past

[Lord Nepenthean]

Even Nintendo is finally figuring out that carts are a dead format...  though I still like them more anyway.

I think what Geon said does make a lot of sense, though.  Piracy doesn't completely destroy the market like software companies would have you believe, but it certainly does affect it, and Geon is right - it's much easier to pirate a PC game than a console one.

[Hydrobond]

That didn't stop too many people from getting Dreamcast games, even though no PC could even read the disks.

[Hydrobond]

Just had a thought.  The console games could be more expensive because companies like Microsoft lose money whenever they sell a console, so they have to make more profit when they sell a game.