The Conundrum of Perceived Value

Have you ever wondered why people care so much about designer brands, iPhones, and all things premium? It’s because of the perceived value. Not so much on how much it’s worth, but the idea of owning something expensive, hence why there’s a market for the real - awfully expensive - thing and replicas. At the end of the day, the result is nearly the same, sporting a specific brand and looking cool - subjectively - to other people. Even though, a plain white t-shirt or basic dollar store shoes would do the same job.

It even applies to games, believe it or not. Nothing quite like pre-ordering that spicy AAA title that might as well be a nightmare of a product, just for the sake of it. The opposite also applies, products with low or expired perceived value because of how old they are. Games that are still good and able to provide hours of entertainment, but they cost you just 5 bucks, so you don’t feel inclined to go through the hassle of installing and playing it. Why’s that?

Maybe it’s just me, but when I spend a considerable amount on a certain title, I feel pressured to complete the game as fast as possible, otherwise, guilt builds up. Surprisingly, the same doesn’t happen when it’s one of many cheap games bought during a sale that I might or might not play, ever. But yet, the fear of missing out made me buy them so that I have the possibility of perhaps one day touching them, even though the odds are rather low.

The inability of guilt buildup like with the expensive titles makes it become the modern equivalent of burning money: spending small sums on cheap games that eventually add up, for absolutely nothing other than “collecting”, which is exactly what you tell yourself so that you can sleep peacefully while your library keeps growing bigger and bigger. Thousands upon thousands of games that won’t ever be touched, maybe sporadically because of a specific milestone, like an anniversary update.

It is not a problem per se, obviously, but it’s curious how the average gamer’s mind works when it comes to cheap and expensive games. And how, usually, good titles are instantly dismissed because their low pricing doesn’t inspire trust. Maybe that’s why the plain white t-shirt doesn’t cut it for certain people or the Android phone instead of the “new and innovative” iPhone 13.

A problem that didn’t quite exist before digital media, in a way. Of course, one could still find sales, used CD-ROMs for cheap, but times were so different in a way that even so it was cheap, the limited storage back then meant one had to be very nitpicky with their titles and play one, maybe two games at a time, then uninstall and install a new one. Nowadays, big hard disk drives are awfully common and cheap, meaning you can have your entire Steam library installed and play it whenever you feel like it. Except you will most likely find yourself playing the same games over and over again.

I have a select list of games that I find myself always playing, rotating on occasion according to preference and mood, and during my free time from my free time (yes), I try to play some of the several cheap games I bought over time. On average, I rarely spend more than 2-3 hours playing a “new” game, unless it’s a very expensive purchase. Then, I force myself to finish it, even when it’s not my type. But there are also times when it’s a not cheap, nor expensive kind of title, that I also end up not committing to it because there’s just not enough guilt buildup.

I wonder if it’s just me or there are more people that relate to this issue that makes life so much harder. I missed out on lots of classics from the mid-2000s to early 2010s because I didn’t have a PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, and even though I want to play them at some point, I just can’t bring myself to prioritize it over the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2 or even FIFA.

Maybe the convenience brought by digital platforms also helps to worsen it out. It doesn’t take more than two clicks to buy yourself a shiny new game, while back in the day you had to either order it online and wait for it to come via mail or drive to a game store. Extra hassle, which increases the perceived value and thus, the likeliness of completion. It could have been just $4.99, but you had to wait a week for it or walk to a specific store.

Then again, it’s all based on how I perceive the influence of perceived value on games, and it could be that it doesn’t apply to everyone. What are your thoughts on it?