By Adam Przeslak, staff reporter.
There is an increasing trend in the video game industry where developers upgrade the graphics of previously released games and rerelease it at full price. Popular American video game developer, Bethesda, just recently released a remastered version of their hit 2011 game “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim,” often shortened to “Skyrim.”.0
What exactly makes the game “remastered?” The game’s graphics have been improved which allows for higher definition and gives the game a more realistic look. The remastered version also brought the game to the newest generation of consoles, the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4. The game had originally been made for the previous generation of consoles, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3.
“Skyrim” originally went for about $59.99 in 2011 and the remastered version costs the exact same in 2016. This is where some gamers, including myself, cast a grievance. Video games, like most other material products, go down in price as the age increases. “Skyrim,” the original version, is still on the market and could be found on clearance shelves and in discount game shops. The price of the original now ranges roughly from $8 to $20.
So by improving the graphics and porting it to a more recent console, Bethesda must feel that they have improved the game by about a $40 value. It’s either that, or they simply want the money. They know the gaming community will gripe, and yet still dish out the cash. These remastered versions are a huge money grab in an industry that already racks in the dough. In 2015, the video game industry took in $23.5 billion in revenue in the United States alone.
“Skyrim,” which has been given over 200 awards since the year it was released, was established as one of the best games of its kind. It would be fairly easy to conclude that those that truly enjoyed the game would definitely replay it again. The real question being: Would “Skyrim” fans pay to play nearly the same game about five years later?
Apparently, the answer is yes. The revamped “Skyrim” sold faster than any previous Elder Scrolls game, the only exception being the original “Skyrim,” in the UK and surpassed large scale new games released in the same week such as “Titanfall 2.” Since the release of the remastered “Skyrim” is very recent, the sales statistics aren’t made public just yet. Although this trend has been occurring exponentially higher in recent years, especially with the introduction of the next gen consoles.