Kuraudo7777 wrote:
^^You could make the same argument for books, which are just words on pages.
Books though are typically *dramatically* longer in terms of how much text they have (particularly since VNs are inherantly slow to go through), yet.... they still cost way less than that. Unless you're getting hardcover (which is pointless), you can expect to pay 10-15 for most books. Buy used and you'll pay hardly anything.
To some degree, I tend to think that with VNs, the price is simply jacked up sometimes because the people selling them know full well that they can get away with it. Some types of games are like that: A price that's WAY overboard, but they'll bloody well do it anyway.
If the Clannad one really is like $45, that's an absolute rip-off. Someone's pulling a fast one, there. What they're effectively selling you isnt the game: It's the name. Basically "It's Clannad, so we'll price it higher and that's okay".
As a comparison, I recently bought a book... a hardcover actually (there is no paperback because it'd fall apart) which is 1200 pages. It's huge with rather small text (means it fits ALOT of words in there). It cost me only $35.
After typing that, I looked it up: Clannad isnt 45. It's 50. 50! That's nearing the price of AAA games. You know, the ones that cost millions to make. Gets worse though: If you want the DLC as well, you'll pay a ridiculous 81.
....And this is not a new game. Apparently, it's old. Very old. From 2004. That's nearing "ancient" in terms of PC software. But they still want that much from you (wut).
Best option: Dont go for the beyond-overpriced Steam version. Find a translated version of the original, which probably costs next to nothing and likely isnt too tough to find. It's going to be the same exact story, one way or another. It's better than paying an absurd amount, and supporting publishers that pull this kind of crap.