Like a Kid in a Candy Store

I’ve been thinking about my Christmas list of games: Assassin’s Creed II, Borderlands, Little Big Planet Game of the Year Edition, Call of Duty: World at War.

If I were to buy all of these games, the cost would equal $230.96 [not including shipping or tax]. That’s a hunk of change.

I can get two iPhones for that.

Or, I could get eleven casual games [if they were $20 a piece].

I bring up the casual games idea after reading a piece by Eric von Coelln about Facebook eating the PC Download game model.

What I took away from the piece is that there is a HUGE market for low cost, downloadable games out there and I’m included in that market.

Imagine a kid in a candy store.

You give the kid $20 bucks and tell the kid that he can buy whatever he wants. On one display, the kid sees a ginormous head sized lollipop that costs $20. On another display, the kid sees tons of candy for $.10 a piece. What do you think the kid’s going to do? Go with the one lollipop or buy  200 pieces of candy?

Hell, what would YOU do?

That’s how I’ve been feeling recently. I have a limited amount of resources and those 200 pieces of “candy” are looking mighty tasty.

Now, I don’t fault the price of games like Call of Duty:4. After two years of development, a proprietary game engine, all of that marketing and the salaries that they had to pay…well, the cost of video games isn’t that hard to understand.

But, I can’t help wonder how many people will pick just one of the games off of their Christmas lists this year and then spend the rest of their candy money on casual games?

Image|papalars