It’s as arbitrary a number as anything else. Games used to be $50 in the sixth gen, and N64 games in the generation before that could cost as much as $90. We first switched to $60 games in the mid 00s, and if you adjust for inflation, that would mean games today should cost $90, all other things being equal, but not everything is. The average game, and especially Baldur’s Gate 3, is way bigger now than it used to be. Those non-inflation-adjusted $90 N64 games and $50 PS1 games were made by about 20 people as opposed to Baldur’s Gate 3’s 400. If the game isn’t worth $70 or $80 to you (there is a $70 version, FYI, but you seemingly only saw the deluxe edition), then you can wait for a sale or play a cheaper game, but I do believe they’re charging what the game is worth, if not underpricing it. I know I bought Elden Ring for $60 and felt like I’d rarely ever gotten that much value out of a game before; and value goes well beyond how long the game is.
What “should” you pay?
The usual $59.99 that it’s been for years.
It’s as arbitrary a number as anything else. Games used to be $50 in the sixth gen, and N64 games in the generation before that could cost as much as $90. We first switched to $60 games in the mid 00s, and if you adjust for inflation, that would mean games today should cost $90, all other things being equal, but not everything is. The average game, and especially Baldur’s Gate 3, is way bigger now than it used to be. Those non-inflation-adjusted $90 N64 games and $50 PS1 games were made by about 20 people as opposed to Baldur’s Gate 3’s 400. If the game isn’t worth $70 or $80 to you (there is a $70 version, FYI, but you seemingly only saw the deluxe edition), then you can wait for a sale or play a cheaper game, but I do believe they’re charging what the game is worth, if not underpricing it. I know I bought Elden Ring for $60 and felt like I’d rarely ever gotten that much value out of a game before; and value goes well beyond how long the game is.