Xbox Why Are Routes And Trains So Expensive?

It's not expensive. I spend more then the most expensive dlc on coffee every day.
Value for money depends on how much you play. As I realized in another post, I've spent 5 hours in total on tsw 6. Although I got it discounted in the sale, I'd call that a waste of money. Then I find most of the routes being released lately, mind numbingly boring! On the other hand, if you have a player that's put 300+ hours into a route already, they are getting enjoyment out of it and getting their money's worth.

 

If we look at another hobby away from the world of train simulation; a physical copy of an album that you get to hold and keep for as long as you want it will start at around the £12 mark (Vinyl is usually about double but let's stick to CDs), a digital copy of an album is usually around the £8 mark, so 75% of the physical copy. Now I don't have any insight into the costs of running a games development company, but I do know some recording artists and the profit margin on writing, recording and releasing music these days is virtually nil. Most acts that aren't "legacy artists" (as well-known, long-established artists are referred to in the industry) make their money from touring, a second day job, merchandise and, if they're really lucky, Royalties these days, so that £8 you're spending is pretty much "cost price".

Bringing it back to railway simulation.
A physical Hornby OO Gauge 4 car multiple unit will set you back around £350. Losing that premium for something that is just a download then you're looking at £25-£30. Could you build a new OO-gauge layout for £30? Of course not.
I don't know how many hours of development and manufacturing the final product goes into making a model train with authentic sounds, but I do know the interiors of carriages on models are rarely well modelled, unlike in TSW. They're made of relatively cheap plastic so the cost of materials, packaging and shipping don't cost £320 per unit.

I'm not suggesting that TSW DLC should be 75% of £350, but it's a very good thing for us lot that railway simulation is more popular than model railways these days and therefore TSW is a signifcantly cheaper hobby from its analogue, physical equivalent.

Would I love it to be cheaper? Of course I would, I want everything to be cheaper. But I'm also a pragmatist. DLC prices are fine, it's up to the consumer to decide what releases are worth the cost though, £30 on a route you spend many hours driving is a relative bargain, £30 on a route you play once is a lot of money.

 

Competition is not the same as "supply and demand".
"Supply" in a video game is "infinite" since you can keep making copies.
Competition yes is limited, but that's also because the market is so small few people want to chase it.
Why make games for 5,000 players when you can make them for 50,000 players or more?

Your definition of "value" used here is misleading. You are automatically correlating what you value as what is valuable to everyone. Value is individual because individuals are buying the product. I am not buying the product for you, and you aren't buying it for me. We are each buying for what we personally like. It's not universal at all.

If that were true, then people would all only be buying the exact same few routes as the "good ones."

If you think something is "expensive" for you, then that's fine. It's a judgement for you to make for you.
If you think something isn't worth the cost to buy it, that's fine. You don't have to buy it.

You can't make that decision for someone else, only give your own assessment based on your priorities.

That's why it's so hard at times to suggest "good routes" in game when asked because we have to give the requester what they are looking for, not what we personally enjoy. If they ask for a "fun German passenger route with modern EMUs" well I tend to loathe those routes personally but it's not for me, it's for the person asking to enjoy. Those routes have little to no "value" to me, but they have a lot of "value" to the person who loves that sort of thing.

Now there's an argument to be made for product versus promotion (what is advertised vs what is delivered) but even then, priorities matter. The amount of variation from the "perfect" is different per person. If a "horn isn't quite right" or "the color isn't quite right"... that may be a BIG issue for one person but not matter at ALL for another, even if it's not technically "correct." If I've never even seen that passenger coach in real life, let alone the color tone it might be fine. On the other hand it might annoy a person who rides the route every day to work.

Value is a personal assessment.

 

Personally, I would be happy to pay more for one off loco packs if that meant we got more of them faster. Especially once steam traction is sorted and back in regular production. So many possibilities.

 

The DLC is quite a bit expensive and it would be better if it was toned down just slightly. I do think £30+ is just a tad bit high but with that said I would still rather have this rather than having subscription type DLC which has been brought up on here a good few times. Hands down. once you’ve bought it it’s yours to keep forever and that’s the way it should always be.

 

As a resident of a 3rd world country, it's a bit interesting to see what people in the 1st world are writing when they're surprised that DLCs are getting more expensive. All my adult life I have seen inflation reaching tens of percent per year and it no longer surprises me at all. I'd like to ask a question: what isn't getting more expensive now (your work haha )? It feels like prices are rising everywhere you look. Six years ago, I bought my car for about $22,000. Now they're announcing a new generation, and prices are starting at €29,900. Everyday goods? Everything is getting more expensive. Several years ago, I found an old newspaper from 2000 in my grandmother's summer house. There was an article where a local store was holding a prize draw with certificates given out for purchases over ~$20. We interviewed one shopper who, in the photo, had filled a whole cart with groceries worth $40. Yesterday I stopped by the store and bought about $10 worth of essentials for home. I didn't even need a bag to carry all my groceries to the car; two pockets of my winter jacket and one hand were enough. Are you surprised that DLCs are getting more expensive?