The rising cost of rhythm

As gamers, we've been quite lucky when it comes to the price of our favorite pastime. Some people complain that video games cost too much, but when you consider that we're only paying $10 more than we were 15 years ago (or even longer), it doesn't seem too bad. When you factor in inflation, we find that we're actually paying less than we were at the launch of the PS1 (using an inflation calculator, we find that $50 in 1994 money is worth at least $67 in 2009).

Unfortunately, rhythm gamers haven't been so lucky. We know that plastic instruments cost money to manufacture, but are we to believe that this price has increased so dramatically over the last few years? The original Guitar Hero on Playstation 2 launched at $70. This is $20 more than a regular PS2 game - a 40% premium. Guitar Hero 2 (which launched a year later) came in at $80 - a 60% premium over the cost of a regular game. Guitar Hero 3 boosted the price even more, up to $100, although by this point normal games were selling for $60. Still, this is a 67% premium over a standard console game.

Multi-instrument rhythm games seem to be following the same pattern: Rock Band launched in 2007 for $170. This was followed a year later by Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour, both of which weighed in at a hefty $190. And if online retailers are correct (which they aren't always), we will be paying $200 for Activision's upcoming Band Hero when it launches this fall. Again, the cost of manufacturing instruments has to factor into this, but a $30 price hike in just 2 years seems a little outrageous.

Now, I realize that the cost of production for rhythm games has also gone up. Each successive instalment includes more songs than it's predecessor, and they now incorporate proper master tracks instead of cover versions. However, the cost of sequels always goes up, no matter what the genre - it's just the nature of the industry. If a designer releases a sequel to a popular game, and includes twice the number of levels as the original, would you expect to pay twice the price? Of course not, but rhythm game manufacturers seem to think you should. And if it really is the licencing fees that are causing the price to be so high, why don't sports game publishers have to charge extra for all the popular music they put in their games?

The reason why I'm bringing this up now is because sites have started advertising Activision's upcoming DJ Hero, and they list it for $120. One hundred and twenty dollars! This is a 100% premium over the cost of a regular game, and it only comes with one peripheral! There's also the $200 "renegade edition", but as this set isn't necessary to play, I guess I can let it slide (much like the $250 special edition of Beatles Rock Band). Once again, this price isn't confirmed, but I think it's safe to say it won't be much less.

I guess part of the problem here is that peripheral-based games don't have a standard price. Developers are just charging as much as they think they can get away with, which it turns out is quite a lot. I'm not going to play all Innocent and pretend that I haven't helped contribute to this rising cost, but I think it's soon going to get to the point where it's just not worth it anymore. Even now, you will have to pay as much for your copy of Band Hero as you would to buy a whole new Xbox 360, and who knows how much you'll be spending by the time they get to Band Hero 4 or 5!

So anyway, I'm definitely interested in DJ Hero, but just can't see myself shelling out $120 for the privilege of playing it. And unlike most other rhythm games, we don't already have the controllers in our living rooms from a previous title - it's a case of pay what they want or don't play at all. It's a shame, as I feel that rapidly increasing prices will soon lead to the death of one of my favorite genres, but I guess we'll have to wait until this holiday season to find out how much people are really willing to pay.