What is a good ratio of dollar to hours spent on a Steam game?

[CoffehTime]

Like I spent $15 on the Prince of Persia pack. So $3 per game.

If I play each game at least 6 hours, I think I got a pretty good deal, at $.50 per hour of entertainment. I'll prolly play them more too.

Anyways, like movies in theaters are about $10/ 2 hours = $5 an hour.

What's a good dollar per hour ratio for you?

[kijib]

Originally Posted by CoffehTime

Like I spent $15 on the Prince of Persia pack. So $3 per game.

If I play each game at least 6 hours, I think I got a pretty good deal, at $.50 per hour of entertainment. I'll prolly play them more too.

Anyways, like movies in theaters are about $10/ 2 hours = $5 an hour.

What's a good dollar per hour ratio for you?

my rule is 1 dollar one hour

[spartan0078]

Originally Posted by kijib

my rule is 1 dollar one hour

good reference point, now here's a puzzle

is bobby puchases a steam game for 10$ and gets 20 hours of amusement from said purchase

Then purchases another 10$ game and gets 0 hours of amusement...is bobby still happy?

[BS_1]

I also use the $1 to 1 hour rule when I look at games.

Originally Posted by spartan0078

good reference point, now here's a puzzle

is bobby puchases a steam game for 10$ and gets 20 hours of amusement from said purchase

Then purchases another 10$ game and gets 0 hours of amusement...is bobby still happy?

I wouldn't be. Would you be happy that you spent money on a game that you didn't enjoy?

[kijib]

Originally Posted by spartan0078

good reference point, now here's a puzzle

is bobby puchases a steam game for 10$ and gets 20 hours of amusement from said purchase

Then purchases another 10$ game and gets 0 hours of amusement...is bobby still happy?

no because he is losing the battle of getting his money's worth
He just cancelled out on enjoyment he got from the first game

[McChadworth]

Originally Posted by CoffehTime

Like I spent $15 on the Prince of Persia pack. So $3 per game.

Oh you will definitely get your moneys worth with those games.

I usually go with the one dollar to one hour as being a worth while ratio, but I have so many games that I have received far more value for the time spent.

[paratech2008]

I tend to try $1 and hour, but there are "Exceptions"

When I buy a pack, I try to consider the total amount of time I played the games versus the total of the pack.

For example Recettear came with 4 other games for $5. I played Recettear for nearly 20 hours, so it paid for the other 4 games.

I purchased Gridrunner Revolution, Space Giraffe, and a number of Indie games in a bundle for $9.99, and I played Gridrunner for nearly 27 hours, again it paid for the other games.

"Arcade" games like Razor2, I consider $0.50 a game as I would in an arcade. Although I played Razor almost 9 hours and that is a great deal for the ~$2-$3 I paid for it.

[Sparkey]

The $1/hour is pretty reasonable I think. I rarely spend more than 10 to 20 hours on a game, so I don't buy games when they come out. I'll wait til it's on sale a year later.

There are exceptions, of course. I expect to spend a lot of time on DNF, and it'll be the only game I buy at high price (€36 if you know where to look) this year.

[VoodooVyper]

Originally Posted by Sparkey

The $1/hour is pretty reasonable I think. I rarely spend more than 10 to 20 hours on a game, so I don't buy games when they come out. I'll wait til it's on sale a year later.

There are exceptions, of course. I expect to spend a lot of time on DNF, and it'll be the only game I buy at high price (€36 if you know where to look) this year.

Don't think I have the patience to wait a year for a new game and always play last years games. Quite a few of my friends and co-workers are that way and I'll never understand it. I think I buy way too many games and don't play them enough.

In April, I purchased 24 games (some indie, some full, console as well). I have games I purchased last year for consoles that are still in the shrink wrap. Many of the games I buy are due to significant sales. Ie I bought Bioshock 2 during the $5 sale and haven't launched it once. The only time I'll pay full price for a game is if I anticipated it's release, and even then I'll try to find the best price (usually $10-$20 off). Even so, I don't think the $1:1 hour ratio works for new full games.

The worst part about this habit is that I usually spend more time looking for a new game to play, rather than actually playing it. I, as they say, "enjoy the thrill of the hunt, more than the gluttony of the feast" when it comes to games. I still manage to clock ridiculous amounts of time playing games. I should probably focus on utilizing my degree in some manner .

[Demon Wraith]

I don't believe in time/money ratios. It leads to time wasting mentality. I'm not trying to spend time, I'm trying to enjoy the experience.

[fjawodfc]

It really depends on the game. Some have single-player campaigns that are short but great. Others may give you a hundred hours of less quality where you're spending half the time grinding toward the next fun part.

Originally Posted by VoodooVyper

Don't think I have the patience to wait a year for a new game and always play last years games. Quite a few of my friends and co-workers are that way and I'll never understand it.

The game will still be just as much fun a year from now and cost less than half the original price. Hell, most games drop more than 50% within a few months of release. I don't understand the need for immediate satisfaction for $60 when there are so many great games already out there for much less.

[AirPortugal]

Originally Posted by fjawodfc

It really depends on the game. Some have single-player campaigns that are short but great. Others may give you a hundred hours of less quality where you're spending half the time grinding toward the next fun part.



The game will still be just as much fun a year from now and cost less than half the original price. Hell, most games drop more than 50% within a few months of release. I don't understand the need for immediate satisfaction for $60 when there are so many great games already out there for much less.

Someone will bite my head off for this but think about games like COD. I and all of my friends buy COD every year and waiting a year or so for the price to somewhat drop just isn't sensible if you ask me. I like playing games with friends and if I know 100% that everyone will be getting a certain game and I'll enjoy myself...ya, I'll pay the $74 for it when it comes out.

[mouton]

Dollar to hours is a stupid way to measure the worth of games. Oh, I am suuure MMO players would disagree, after they sank their lives into pointless virtual grind, but money/time ratio does not even begin to give jsutice to games.

[VoodooVyper]

Originally Posted by fjawodfc

It really depends on the game. Some have single-player campaigns that are short but great. Others may give you a hundred hours of less quality where you're spending half the time grinding toward the next fun part.



The game will still be just as much fun a year from now and cost less than half the original price. Hell, most games drop more than 50% within a few months of release. I don't understand the need for immediate satisfaction for $60 when there are so many great games already out there for much less.

Yes but I'd rather spend $20-30 more to have it 365 days earlier. Especially when that money can be made with less than an hour worth of work.

Yes, the games may still be fun, but what about online games? Find me a co-op game last year that wasn't a blockbuster title that still has a large online community (as large as it was when it released). 90% of the games I play are multiplayer (co-op or versus).

[enixsama]

Originally Posted by kijib

my rule is 1 dollar one hour

I don't like it, i would have spend a couple of hundred $ on Counter-Strike 1.6 then (Half-Life). :P