Budget range
Encyclopedia
Budget range is the name given to software (usually video games) that are sold for a fraction (usually less than half) of a regular product price. While most of the software released under budget range are re-releases of successful products (such as Sony's
Platinum range
), other labels (usually smaller, localized or "value" labels of larger companies) release their new games at budget prices to gather a broader audience.
Although bigger companies have their own labels, most of budget releases are done by third party companies, who acquire the rights of successful titles released long after the originals have disappeared from the stores, and re-sell them, usually without printed manuals, replaced by PDF
versions on-disk and a drastically changed cover (or simply framed inside the labels' standard box art). The same games might also appear on gaming magazines as covermount
.
Although the market is quite small when compared to full priced games, budget releases allow players to replace CDs
of an out of print original release, try games without resorting to software piracy
and purchasing games missed when originally released.
Player's Choice games on the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 had to be million sellers before becoming Player's Choice
titles, although that practice seems to have been discontinued in recent years with games frequently becoming part of the budget range without being million sellers.
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
Platinum range
Platinum range
The Platinum Range is a Sony PlayStation budget range in the PAL regions, notably Europe , Australia, New Zealand, India, and Africa...
), other labels (usually smaller, localized or "value" labels of larger companies) release their new games at budget prices to gather a broader audience.
Although bigger companies have their own labels, most of budget releases are done by third party companies, who acquire the rights of successful titles released long after the originals have disappeared from the stores, and re-sell them, usually without printed manuals, replaced by PDF
Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat is a family of application software developed by Adobe Systems to view, create, manipulate, print and manage files in Portable Document Format . All members of the family, except Adobe Reader , are commercial software, while the latter is available as freeware and can be downloaded...
versions on-disk and a drastically changed cover (or simply framed inside the labels' standard box art). The same games might also appear on gaming magazines as covermount
Covermount
Covermount is the name given to storage media or other products packaged as part of a magazine or newspaper...
.
Although the market is quite small when compared to full priced games, budget releases allow players to replace CDs
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
of an out of print original release, try games without resorting to software piracy
Copyright infringement of software
Copyright infringement of software=The copyright infringement of software refers to several practices which involve the unauthorized copying of computer software. Copyright infringement of this kind varies globally...
and purchasing games missed when originally released.
Player's Choice games on the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 had to be million sellers before becoming Player's Choice
Player's Choice
Nintendo Selects is a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on Nintendo game consoles which have sold well; Nintendo Selects titles are sold at a lower price point than other games...
titles, although that practice seems to have been discontinued in recent years with games frequently becoming part of the budget range without being million sellers.
Examples of Budget re-release ranges
- Electronic ArtsElectronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
Classics - Empire Interactive xplosiv
- InfogramesInfogramesInfogrames Entertainment SA was an international French holding company headquartered in Paris, France. It was the owner of Atari, Inc., headquartered in New York City, U.S. and Atari Europe. It was founded in 1983 by Bruno Bonnell and Christophe Sapet using the proceeds from an introductory...
RePlay - Nintendo New Play Control!New Play Control!The New Play Control! series, known in Japan as is a program by Nintendo to upgrade several GameCube games for release on the Wii. These re-releases incorporate graphical improvements, which include 16:9 widescreen support. They also feature reconfigured controls to fit the Wii Remote...
and Player's ChoicePlayer's ChoiceNintendo Selects is a marketing label used by Nintendo to promote video games on Nintendo game consoles which have sold well; Nintendo Selects titles are sold at a lower price point than other games... - SierraSierra EntertainmentSierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
Best Seller Series and Originals - Sold-Out SoftwareSold-Out SoftwareSold-Out Software is a British computer game publisher which has become one of the most important in the budget price range since December 1997...
- Sony Greatest Hits, Platinum rangePlatinum rangeThe Platinum Range is a Sony PlayStation budget range in the PAL regions, notably Europe , Australia, New Zealand, India, and Africa...
and The BestThe Best rangeThe Best is a Sony PlayStation budget range in Japan and parts of Asia. For the PlayStation, The Best was followed by PSone Books when the PSone was released in 2000... - Square Enix Legendary Hits and Ultimate Hits
- Taito Eternal Hits
- U.S. GoldU.S. GoldU.S. Gold was a British video game publisher and developer from the early 1980s through the mid-1990s, producing numerous titles on a variety of 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit platforms.-History:...
Kixx - Virgin InteractiveVirgin InteractiveVirgin Interactive was a British video game publisher. It was formed as Virgin Games Ltd. in 1981. The company became much larger after purchasing the budget label, Mastertronic in 1987. It was part of the Virgin Group...
White Label - XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
Platinum Hits - ZOO Digital PublishingZoo Digital PublishingZushi Games is a British computer game publisher. Based in Sheffield, UK, Zushi is the owner of the multi-million selling Premier Manager series...
Classics
Examples of Budget-priced new releases
- ActivisionActivisionActivision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
ValueActivision ValueActivision Value Publishing, Inc. is an American computer and video game company, a merger of Activision, Expert Software and Head Games Publishing....
label - Dinamic SoftwareDinamic MultimediaDinamic Multimedia was a Spanish software house and publisher created in 1993 which was created after the bankruptcy of Dinamic Software in 1992 by some of its former members. After having released several titles, they filed for bankruptcy in September 2001....
games (now defunct) - City Interactive :pl:City Interactive http://www.city-interactive.com/index.php?m=games European Publisher