Downloads are far too expensive!

[nats]

When I can buy ACW as a hard copy via Ebay for £7 why would I want to pay £10 or more for a download edition without a manual? And there is no way I am buying a download version of RUS at £35. Thats more expensive than any other PC game other than COD Black Ops. Seriously you need to re-address your download pricing considering the contributing costs are practically nill compared to manufacturing and distributing a boxed game.

I will not buy RUS at that price no matter how good the game is.

I understand that Matrix, Gamersgate and Steam have their own pricing policies but it doesnt help that the download versions are just as, if not more, expensive on your own site.

I would very much like to hear how you can justify such a high sales cost for a game like RUS.

[Gray_Lensman]

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[nats]

Feel free to buy from wherever you like. AGEod's pricing policy has always been this way. Like all software companies, when they sell in bulk to after market retailers, they don't control what those same retailers charge. Some direct download buyers have no problem at all paying a higher price on purpose to support these programmers in a niche market. Do you think they work for "Nuts"?

£35 a game certainly isnt nuts to me. I understand they are a niche developer but either way that is a massive price for a game and I aint paying it. Same as I would no way pay £39 for Black Ops out of principle, dont care whether the game is the best one this year. Nothing could justify that price. One of the main reasons I dont play consoles is the extortionate prices of the games.

I dont mind paying £30 for a very good game with a good manual and disk that I can resell later if required. But as you cannot even sell downloaded games they should, just based on that factor alone, be cheaper than hard copies. But the fact that you also dont get a decent manual or a box to admire on your shelf at home are other reasons.

I have downloaded Steam games before but am stopping from now becuase of all of the above. I will only buy boxed copies from now on and those that dont require ridiculous activation methods to play them. Admittedly the list is getting shorter for games like that but I dont care, if I cant get what I want I will just get another hobby. Much like I have had to find other things to do instead of playing flight sims and space sims which were my favourite games.

Times change but not always for the better.

[Generalisimo]

I have downloaded Steam games before but am stopping from now becuase of all of the above. I will only buy boxed copies from now on and those that dont require ridiculous activation methods to play them. Admittedly the list is getting shorter for games like that but I dont care, if I cant get what I want I will just get another hobby. Much like I have had to find other things to do instead of playing flight sims and space sims which were my favourite games.

Times change but not always for the better.

I really think you will end up with another hobby....

The success of Steam and similar platforms is here to stay... so, I don't think this will change in the short term. The only way to pay less for a game is to wait for "sale offers"... and recently we have just seen the XMas sale... so, you will have to wait a bit before a new one arrives.

[Gray_Lensman]

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[Christophe.Barot]

I would very much like to hear how you can justify such a high sales cost for a game like RUS.

time of research, development, programming

you pay the author and programmer time, not the printed paper and the box, the immaterial scenario mechanisms and so on ... that's what costs most

[PhilThib]

You also forgot to mention the artist's fee...this is one of the most expensive post in game's developments

[Spharv2]

£35. Thats more expensive than any other PC game other than COD Black Ops.

If you believe your own quote here, you seriously need to look around a bit more. Most non-mass produced games are right around the 50USD price point, and some are much higher. Steel Beasts Pro = $130, Gary Grisgby's War in the East = $80 d/l only, $90 for a box copy. COD is priced there because they keep their platform costs relatively similar, and it's going for the same or more for the PS3 and XBox. Seriously, AGEOD games are right about industry average unless you only buy from GoG or bargain bin sales.

[Generalisimo]

If you believe your own quote here, you seriously need to look around a bit more. Most non-mass produced games are right around the 50USD price point, and some are much higher. Steel Beasts Pro = $130, Gary Grisgby's War in the East = $80 d/l only, $90 for a box copy. COD is priced there because they keep their platform costs relatively similar, and it's going for the same or more for the PS3 and XBox. Seriously, AGEOD games are right about industry average unless you only buy from GoG or bargain bin sales.

Exactly... take a look at Shrapnel Games for example... Dominions 3, a great game by the way, costs $54.95.

[nats]

Maybe this is why I have only bought a couple of full price games this year (Batman and Civ 5) the rest have been sale items or via Ebay/Amazon at reduced prices. I refused to buy Silent Hunter 5 because of the constant online activation required (bloody ridiculous) and have kept away from Rise of Flight until recently for the same reason.

Now I do see Ageod as being a little bit better than most as some of their games are better than most it has to be said. But their recent games have many reusable elements I would imagine (they are becoming another franchise releaser like the Total War and FIFA games it seems) , especially in for example Rus which is almost identical to previous games' looks and operation. That cannot possibly be worth £35 as a download version in terms of value. Well some people here think it is obviously and so I say good on them. But I dont which is why I havent bought it.

[Carrington]

Now I do see Ageod as being a little bit better than most as some of their games are better than most it has to be said. But their recent games have many reusable elements I would imagine (they are becoming another franchise releaser like the Total War and FIFA games it seems) , especially in for example Rus which is almost identical to previous games' looks and operation. That cannot possibly be worth £35 as a download version in terms of value. Well some people here think it is obviously and so I say good on them. But I dont which is why I havent bought it.

You're absolutely right that RUS's basic game engine is built of reusable (and well-tested) components. The new stuff is the map, the order of battle, the historical scripts and the testing... all of which requires a fair amount of work, and might appeal to only small audience

But if the period, the OBs, and the history don't matter (add value) for you, pick up Rise of Prussia -- basically the same bells and whistles on the engine, a great scenario, and 1/3 the price (or more).

Or wait until AACW2 comes out, and RUS is priced more aggressively. ;-).

To my perspective the Ageod games have held their value very well over the past half-decade, unlike many of the games I bought in the 1990s. I'd expect they'll remain quite playable, fun, and with a good audience over the next decade.

[Carnium]

I'd expect they'll remain quite playable, fun, and with a good audience over the next decade.

.. and no other company is supporting and patching its games as long as AGEOD. The trend is that companies release 1.5 version of a game as a "completely new and never before seen" along with 10+ payable DLCs.

[nats]

.. and no other company is supporting and patching its games as long as AGEOD. The trend is that companies release 1.5 version of a game as a "completely new and never before seen" along with 10+ payable DLCs.

All of which is good but doesnt explain a hefty price tag. Black Ops may be perfect out of the box for all I know but I still wont pay £40 for it when all other boxed games are £30 max.

But my argument is the hefty download costs not the overall cost of the game. If they sell a boxed game at £30 which takes into manufacturing and printing, packaging, transportation, distribution, shop shelving fees, and everything else that downloads do not involve there should be a significant saving in the cost of downloads and we arent seeing that.

[PhilThib]

You are missing a point here...in the boxed version 'economic model', the low profit for devs on the game was compensated by significant volumes...

In downloads, volumes are far less (not even a tenth of before), so even the slightly less costs do not make up the difference...

Also, my experience in various (non-game) fields of business is very different to the 'liberal' opinion on economy...systematic price reduction wars always lead to loss of quality and in the end the one real loser (after the manufacturer) is the consumer

Now, the general practice of the new download 'economy' is to have price reductions between 3 to 6 months from release, and so on every 6 months.... so impatience has it cost

[Pocus]

The discount operations are faster and faster it seems to me. With the bloody war happening between the digital platforms, you can see games with a 75% reduction for 2 days 3 months at most after their release. And I'm sure in the end that this won't be good for the customer.

[Adlertag]

The discount operations are faster and faster it seems to me. With the bloody war happening between the digital platforms, you can see games with a 75% reduction for 2 days 3 months at most after their release. And I'm sure in the end that this won't be good for the customer.

True, this silly war is non sense, I even saw up to 90% discount on a game (don't remenber the name of the digital platform, or I prefer to forget it) and a 75% discount on a game with a base price of 4 euros !

[Generalisimo]

True, this silly war is non sense, I even saw up to 90% discount on a game (don't remenber the name of the digital platform, or I prefer to forget it) and a 75% discount on a game with a base price of 4 euros !

Well, during the Xmas sale, I bought on a 50% discount the game Hegemony: Philip of Macedon on Steam, the game is already cheap at $20... so I only payed $10.
But, they made a special discount after Xmas and the game had a 85% discount... so, you could buy the game for just $3
I wonder how much money the developers got from those $3...

[ERISS]

on Steam,
buy the game for just $3

That is the good max price for a Steam game, as the game is not yours (Steam drm forbid it).
The better is not to buy anything protected by a drm.

[Gray_Lensman]

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