Perhaps the scanty $20 price tag...
by Mark Barner · in General Discussion · 05/08/2005 (4:59 pm) · 24 replies
I was reading an article about a past game/game engine Serious Sam.
Now when Croteam releases Serious Sam 2 next fall, it will be more than $20.
I have to say I bought the first game and loved it. The editor was really nice too. I bought it because of the low price. Where are these people comming up with that a $ 50 program means it is a good game? A $20 or less is crap? I have lots of really fun games with great playability for under $20. Does making a game with lots of eye candy and over $50 makes it great?
This brings up my question when I go to publish a game. I want to release it for under $20, will people not bother getting it because of the cheap price? I played Think Tanks and thought it was a fun game. Is the low price hindering sales? Or does it really matter what the price is if you market it correctly?
Quote:
Perhaps the scanty $20 price tag of the original game was interpted as a red flag; best to stay on the safe side and look at mud.
Computer Games
June 2005
Issue175
Now when Croteam releases Serious Sam 2 next fall, it will be more than $20.
I have to say I bought the first game and loved it. The editor was really nice too. I bought it because of the low price. Where are these people comming up with that a $ 50 program means it is a good game? A $20 or less is crap? I have lots of really fun games with great playability for under $20. Does making a game with lots of eye candy and over $50 makes it great?
This brings up my question when I go to publish a game. I want to release it for under $20, will people not bother getting it because of the cheap price? I played Think Tanks and thought it was a fun game. Is the low price hindering sales? Or does it really matter what the price is if you market it correctly?
#2
A retail game that comes out at $20 screams "Budget". To a degree the price you set reflects what you think the value of the product is.
05/08/2005 (7:49 pm)
Shareware has dealt with these pricing issues for many years. It's actually very common for authors to sell more copies by increasing the price of their product (within reason of course).A retail game that comes out at $20 screams "Budget". To a degree the price you set reflects what you think the value of the product is.
#3
If they see something priced low then they assume it's a "budget" item, and of lower quality.
05/08/2005 (8:02 pm)
It's a society issue. People will pay large sums of money for name brand shoes/clothing/etc.. because it has a specific 'name' associated with it, regardless if it was made in the same sweat shop as a lower priced items. If they see something priced low then they assume it's a "budget" item, and of lower quality.
#4
I found myself experiencing this same psychology this weekend as I was purchasing a new grill. I immediately balked at the lowest-priced grills, because I just assumed that the lower price meant lower quality, and I went straight for the mid-priced grills. The best grill in the world could have been there priced at $39.95, and I'd have probably ignored it because it must OBVIOUSLY be of shoddy quality.
05/08/2005 (9:24 pm)
Yup. David R. Michael has an interesting report on how sales kept spiking up as he raised his price in approximately $5 increments. People make a lot of assumptions based on pricing - it's all psychological, but it's the first discrimination between two similar products. Which one has the higher price? Okay, it MUST be of higher quality. I found myself experiencing this same psychology this weekend as I was purchasing a new grill. I immediately balked at the lowest-priced grills, because I just assumed that the lower price meant lower quality, and I went straight for the mid-priced grills. The best grill in the world could have been there priced at $39.95, and I'd have probably ignored it because it must OBVIOUSLY be of shoddy quality.
#5
I wanted to do the same for Shelled! but got talked out of it. Shelled will sell for the standard $20. Why? Because it turns out that you won't sell any more copies at under that price.
05/09/2005 (7:11 am)
Quote:This brings up my question when I go to publish a game. I want to release it for under $20
I wanted to do the same for Shelled! but got talked out of it. Shelled will sell for the standard $20. Why? Because it turns out that you won't sell any more copies at under that price.
#6
05/09/2005 (8:14 am)
I typically look at the price of console games as a fairly good judge of how fun the game is (I usually lookup game raitings on various review sites before buying). If it's your standard $50 - 70 (canadian) it means it's new or good. If it's less then that, it usually means "This game sucks and we're unloading it". Now there are games that don't fall into that category though... but on console systems they usually have a sticker that says "Sold over 2 bazillion copies".
#7
It was because when looking for a new machine, I googled around the newsgroups to see what others bought, and found that this $40 machine was comparable to a $200 machine. A little bit of Internet research can avoid the "cheap = budget" effect.
05/12/2005 (1:17 pm)
I resisted my impulse this week to buy expensive and went for the well-reviewed yet inexpensive "Presto Scandinavian" coffee maker. Supposed to arrive tomorrow.It was because when looking for a new machine, I googled around the newsgroups to see what others bought, and found that this $40 machine was comparable to a $200 machine. A little bit of Internet research can avoid the "cheap = budget" effect.
#8
05/12/2005 (3:15 pm)
Quote:That can work well when you're the consumer, but when you're the one selling the product (as many of us are, or would like to be) then it's a completely different matter.
A little bit of Internet research can avoid the "cheap = budget" effect.
#9
05/12/2005 (4:37 pm)
Apparently when selling a house sometimes raising the price well get it sold quicker!
#10
And right there, subconsciously you are making a value comparison saying that price = quality. Yes you only bought a $40 item but you're saying its as good as a $200 item, so in essence you are saying parice = quality. Let's face it, consumers do. We all do. We look at the price as a rating of the quality. Is it often wrong? Yeah, but we do it anyway.
05/12/2005 (6:40 pm)
Quote: ...found that this $40 machine was comparable to a $200 machine.
And right there, subconsciously you are making a value comparison saying that price = quality. Yes you only bought a $40 item but you're saying its as good as a $200 item, so in essence you are saying parice = quality. Let's face it, consumers do. We all do. We look at the price as a rating of the quality. Is it often wrong? Yeah, but we do it anyway.
#11
Of course, individuals are smart, groups are dumb. Just look at what the
05/12/2005 (7:28 pm)
There is the old cliche, "You get what you pay for", while not true all the time, it is still valid.Of course, individuals are smart, groups are dumb. Just look at what the
#12
If there is anything that I have learned in 11 years of retail and a few years in software development is that people will buy stuff cheap if they think that there getting a deal. But they won't the same thing if it's just cheap in general.
It's actually common practice for big retail chains to start gradually raising the price of items so that they can put them on sale sometime down the road. That way there loss isn't too high and people think there saving money
05/12/2005 (9:20 pm)
Well, why not do the old switch. If your going to sell your game for 20 dollars on the web and web only. Why not just mark the price at 30 dollars and offer a 30% discount?If there is anything that I have learned in 11 years of retail and a few years in software development is that people will buy stuff cheap if they think that there getting a deal. But they won't the same thing if it's just cheap in general.
It's actually common practice for big retail chains to start gradually raising the price of items so that they can put them on sale sometime down the road. That way there loss isn't too high and people think there saving money
#13
I think the old saying "you get what you pay for" should be deprecated and replaced with "you can't get more than what you pay for" :)
05/14/2005 (9:01 am)
I think Charlie offers a great solution.I think the old saying "you get what you pay for" should be deprecated and replaced with "you can't get more than what you pay for" :)
#14
And thanks for the feedback guys. It just amazes me how much the price will determine the sales. I learned a long time ago that I research it first then play a demo. The big thing I do is read the forums of the game.
05/14/2005 (5:18 pm)
What if I put on it "was $39.95... for a limited time... $19.95"? I bought Gamespace through a intro price. And thanks for the feedback guys. It just amazes me how much the price will determine the sales. I learned a long time ago that I research it first then play a demo. The big thing I do is read the forums of the game.
#16
When my game releases I'm not doing the $20 thing. Thought didnt even cross my mind. My time and effort is worth the same $59 all major games are worth. I am so confident in my product that I am giving out a 100% free demo area of the game. Players can then upgrade to a retail account by purcahsing a key for $59.
My advice to indies is don't sell yourself short. When you pick up a WoW or Halo you expect to pay $60-$80.. When you play Think tanks, why would you expect to pay $20? All we do is lower the expectations on the indie developers. IF some developer is charing $20 for a piece of crap game, call a spade a spade. Write a review that it's crap, ask for your money back do whatever it takes. All people do who undersell great products is lower the expectations of those who might be intrested in trying it. A game is worth $50-$80 and thats what Im chargin for it. If that elimintes a certain market from my sales so be it. Thats what my product is going to be worth when it releases.
Mark
06/28/2005 (9:26 pm)
To be brutally honest I dont even look at the price of a game when I am deciding to buy it.. I have bought over 50 game sin the last 5 years ( I just recently took enventory hehe, $3,500 in games ouch.) Price doesnt even enter into the equasion when deciding to buy. I read up on it. check out the site, read the forums, then once I decide to buy.. Then and ONLY then do I shop around for the best price. I know I am going to buy it at that point it's just a matter of finding a local vendor who has the best deal. Wether that is $90 (never winter nights) or $49 WoW.When my game releases I'm not doing the $20 thing. Thought didnt even cross my mind. My time and effort is worth the same $59 all major games are worth. I am so confident in my product that I am giving out a 100% free demo area of the game. Players can then upgrade to a retail account by purcahsing a key for $59.
My advice to indies is don't sell yourself short. When you pick up a WoW or Halo you expect to pay $60-$80.. When you play Think tanks, why would you expect to pay $20? All we do is lower the expectations on the indie developers. IF some developer is charing $20 for a piece of crap game, call a spade a spade. Write a review that it's crap, ask for your money back do whatever it takes. All people do who undersell great products is lower the expectations of those who might be intrested in trying it. A game is worth $50-$80 and thats what Im chargin for it. If that elimintes a certain market from my sales so be it. Thats what my product is going to be worth when it releases.
Mark
#17
I know it's only been a few months for Guild Wars but I do see it being profitable for NCSOFT. They seem to have had a successful pre-ordering and I expect them to do well for any expansion packs they release.
The flip side of this is that they could be using this game as an experiment and subsidize it with Lineage II, COH and COV which are paid services.
06/28/2005 (9:52 pm)
The same skepticism is evident on the pay-per-play arena of MMORPG's. Guild Wars is free to play online once you buy the game. Other games like WOW and even Lineage (same company as Guild Wars) charge a monthly fee. The initial reaction among online players was to think that Guild Wars would not be of comparable quality as all the others. Depending on your point of view, it's as good or as bad as any other MMORPG out there.I know it's only been a few months for Guild Wars but I do see it being profitable for NCSOFT. They seem to have had a successful pre-ordering and I expect them to do well for any expansion packs they release.
The flip side of this is that they could be using this game as an experiment and subsidize it with Lineage II, COH and COV which are paid services.
#18
Think Tanks is a great game though just not on the same level. In the end all the consumer cares about is the end result, not the effort.
-Ajari-
07/01/2005 (9:32 am)
@Flybynight, when I purchase Ratchet & Clank: Up your Arsenal, $40 buys me an extensive story mode with huge variety in level design, weapons, puzzles, and enemies. A 2D mini game. And an online fighting mode. For $20 Think Tanks gives me an online fighting mode. I don't know Brave Tree's personal reasons for pricing but I believe Ratchet & Clank is worthy of an extra $20 for giving us basically over twice as much game, and over twice as much worth of extra content and entertainment. Think Tanks is a great game though just not on the same level. In the end all the consumer cares about is the end result, not the effort.
-Ajari-
#19
> $50 seems to be prohibitive unless you're id software or another industry "giant" with a solid fan-baes.
< $30 seems to suffer from the perception that a lower pirced game is of lesser quality.
It just seems like right around $30 is where many retail games (and I'm only talking about the boxed market here really) see there highest number of copies sold.
It's not too much to be prohibitive and not too low to result in consumer perception of poor quality.
~ Take it all with a grain of salt. =\
07/01/2005 (10:04 am)
IMO $30 seems to be a "magic" number in game pricing.> $50 seems to be prohibitive unless you're id software or another industry "giant" with a solid fan-baes.
< $30 seems to suffer from the perception that a lower pirced game is of lesser quality.
It just seems like right around $30 is where many retail games (and I'm only talking about the boxed market here really) see there highest number of copies sold.
It's not too much to be prohibitive and not too low to result in consumer perception of poor quality.
~ Take it all with a grain of salt. =\
#20
Distribute the demo to stores and online.
Consumers get the demo.
If they like it, they can buy the full version for $50.
Meanwhile, they can send a copy to their friends through the internal e-mail client (a link to the demo is in the message).
There may be options to add editors or other bonuses for $20-$30 a pop.
I think it's a nice strategy!
- Ronixus
07/03/2005 (1:11 pm)
I've got a sweet idea I'm planning to use once I have a game available for sale:Distribute the demo to stores and online.
Consumers get the demo.
If they like it, they can buy the full version for $50.
Meanwhile, they can send a copy to their friends through the internal e-mail client (a link to the demo is in the message).
There may be options to add editors or other bonuses for $20-$30 a pop.
I think it's a nice strategy!
- Ronixus
Torque Owner Rick Morrison
There are to many good game for less.I didn't buy tribes vengence for $50 and dam glad i didn't.
Thats one i won't buy at $20 maybe at $9.99 then again no. Now starseige done with torque $50 hell yes!