What does the price of a PC game say to you?

[MarkShot]

[color="Red"]DISCLAIMER: I am raising this topic as a matter of personal interest. I could have posted this in a number of forums like: Matrix, Wargamer, ... However, we have an interesting mix of PC game strategy customers. So, I think this is a good place to ask. My question has no connection to Studio policy, plans, or positions.[/color]

Okay, now suppose a new PC game (strategy) is offered by a small independent developer with some track record of developing games. Let's call the company ABC and the game XYZ. XYZ is initially priced at $19.99 (USD).

Now, without doing a lot of research about the game, looking for reviews, talking to other people, trying a demo, ... What if anything is ABC communicating to you by setting the price of XYZ at $19.99 as opposed to $39.99 or $49.99?

Pick one and explain why (or add your own):

(1) XYZ has limited scope otherwise it would not be priced so low.

(2) XYZ has limited replay value. So, it is priced low, since you are only expected to only get a couple of months of game play out of it.

(3) XYZ is priced more competitively, since as a small company ABC has less overhead and can afford to sell game for less. The price is no indication as to the depth of XYZ.

(4) XYZ despite being called a complete new game is actually a "total mod" (mainly data/content changes) masquerading as a new game. The cheap price is intended to head of any criticism and suggestions that ABC is milking the customers for a mod.

(5) XYZ relects a different a business plan of rapid development of incremental games at short intervals (every six months) rather than major milestones games (once a year or longer).

(6) ABC is hoping to expand the market's awareness of its product line and thus is offering XYZ at a below market price to grow the customer base.

(7) XYZ will probably receive limited support and patches. Its pricing is basically telling you that it is an "as is" product.

(8) XYZ is not really complete. It is a product that some might consider still in "beta". As such, ABC does not want to charge full price.

(9) Nothing can really be determined about XYZ simply be doing as shallow as just checking the price. This is like judging a game based on its box art.

So, in general, I am asking can you tell anything about a game simply by its pricing?

Perhaps, my question may seem silly. However, I worked many years in management roles hiring staff. As part of that process is rapidly going through a stack of resumes and selecting candidates to see for positions ... I can tell you honestly that candidates who presented themselves for jobs with a current salary or a salary requirement quite below that normal price point were often regarded with suspicion. "What's wrong this guy or gal making so little?" (this was especially true if there was no obvious reason like ... comming from an academic employment environment, discharged from military in their mid-career years, returning to the work place after years off for maternity, ...)

Thanks.

[Jabberwock]

Strongly in favor of 9. In my experience, 2 is the least likely.

[lodilefty]

I also feel that #9 is where I'd be...

...and probably wouldn't buy it without a Demo or other 'free trial'...

[eddysterckx]

[color="Red"][B]DISCLAIMER:
(9) Nothing can really be determined about XYZ simply be doing as shallow as just checking the price. This is like judging a game based on its box art.

While the price in itself doesn't tell you anything about the game, a price like $19.95 has a much bigger chance of catching the impulse buyer.

But you knew that already

The reason why price in itself is meaningless is because we've all come across good, low-priced games and rotten expensive ones.

For the non-impulse buying public a low price can act as an attractor - to help people overcome that first hurdle and investigate the game a bit more.

Stores do it all the time - advertize with a couple of low-priced products, get the people inside and while they're there sell them normal priced stuff too.

Greetz,

Eddy Sterckx

[Kotik]

Number 9 is what Im thinking but I always look very carefully after demos, free trials, reviews and such and try to build a picture of the game in my mind that way, it have worked quite well so far.

[GShock]

The price is a good indicator of the money spent to produce a game. This is one of the main quality-assuring clues within a game and it's a factor that mustn't be underestimated but it's not enough to make a final assessment because after the release you must also look at the feedback which produces further sales.

Projects are shut down if sales aren't good, regardless of the price paid by the customer.

The price tells you how many DEVs were involved in the production, how many skills were intermixed to create the final product, what kind of organization there is in the Dev house.

I can tell half of a game by its price. The other half comes from the feedback.

When considering all software houses are in competition over roughly the same market, they can't stray much from the average price...so while the price is very important, the feedback is even more important. The 2 things can't be separated.

[clairobscur]

I would generally go for (9) in theory. That's because I know out of experience that the price has essentially zero relevance to the quality of the game. There are a lot of crappy and/or very bugged games and/or games I don't enjoy at all sold for 49.99 and excellent and/or very stable games and/or games I'll play all night long sold for 19.99.


I say "in theory" because in fact my computers are essentially always significantly under the requirements for recent games. So, I generally buy games from the previous generation, hence at discount price.


I might also envision (6) because I tend to believe that new companies and/or companies selling games that please only a niche market (and whatever the genre, be it strategy, role-playing, etc.. I always end up liking games that don't have much commercial success or even are complete commercial disasters) need to under price them in order to compete with the most popular and famous games that sell bazillions of copies. Maybe I'm wrong about this, but you're asking about perception, not reality.




I would also note that I might not be representative of the computer games market. For instance despite playing a lot, as I mentioned above I normally use a very low-end computer (I buy a very average computer when mine becomes really, really outdated). I don't care much about fancy graphics, or such things. That's a nice plus, but for instance I discovered "Masters of Magic", a game released I think in the early 90's, only two years ago, and played it a lot.

More importantly given your question, I'm in my early 40's and I make enough money to generally not care much about the price of a game I intend to buy. My main constraint with games is almost always "my processor is too slow to run the game" (sorry to say it happened with your "Montjoie!"), sometimes "I'm in the shop to buy new games but I never heard of this one, not sure I will like it" (sorry to say it happened with your "Napoleon's campaigns") almost never "the game is too costly/too cheap and it means it's crappy".

[Anguille]

9 or 3

I've seen many good and very good games as well as bad games with prices varying between from a low 19.99 to a very expensive 99.99. The price does not say anything about the quality. I believe however, based on what i have seen with the Celtic Kings/Imperium games that the price can make a HUGE difference in the success of a game. Celtic kings and CK: Punic Wars have been sold in France/UK/US/Germany to a standard price for games (not sure but probably between 40-50 Euros) while in Spain and Italy, the games (under the name Imperium and Imperium II) have been sold for 19.99 Euro since the beginning....there they have sold more than 1 mio copies! In the rest of Europe, i really can't imagine that they came near to a 100'000 copies....far from it. Also important...the requirements for the games are very low! This explains also the success of Sins of a Solar Empire and GalCiv2 imho.

My conclusion:

=> good game + good price + good marketing + good support = major success.

Cheers

[arsan]

9 or 3

I've seen many good and very good games as well as bad games with prices varying between from a low 19.99 to a very expensive 99.99. The price does not say anything about the quality. I believe however, based on what i have seen with the Celtic Kings/Imperium games that the price can make a HUGE difference in the success of a game. Celtic kings and CK: Punic Wars have been sold in France/UK/US/Germany to a standard price for games (not sure but probably between 40-50 Euros) while in Spain and Italy, the games (under the name Imperium and Imperium II) have been sold for 19.99 Euro since the beginning....there they have sold more than 1 mio copies! In the rest of Europe, i really can't imagine that they came near to a 100'000 copies....far from it. Also important...the requirements for the games are very low! This explains also the success of Sins of a Solar Empire and GalCiv2 imho.

My conclusion:

=> good game + good price + good marketing + good support = major success.

Cheers

You are right about Imperium games in Spain. The publisher (FX Interactive) distributes all (or at lest most) of their games at 19.99 euros, with good translation and printed manual in color.
But another important fact is that their games can be found everywhere, even on places where videogames are not usually found (newspaper and magazines shops for example). Hell, they even did TV ads for the game!
Good quality product (i'm talking about the presentation, don't know how good Imperium games are as i don't like RTS much), good price and excellent distribution means big sales.
For example Napoleon Campaigns is being distributed in Spain since 2 months ago (at 29,95 euros, not a bad price) but i fear the sales are not too good.
Not because of the price or even because of the niche war game market. But because its very difficult to find on shops.
On the Spanish subforums several people complain about searching for the game all over the place without luck. I was lucky and found mine on the Fnac.
This is a shame, as this year is the second centenary of the Independence War (as we call the Peninsular war around here :siffle and Napoleonic and "Guerrilleros" themes are on vogue on Spain: lots of books, magazines, TV documentaries...
NCP is the first videogame with an Independence War simulation and its a shames there is nearly zero repercussion about it on the media or the shops... leure:

Well, all this means that IMHO, price is not that important on videogame sales. But of course, the cheaper, the better for the buyer.
Regards!

[Anguille]

@Arsan

If you get the opportunity to find Imperium I or II cheap, you should try it...it's a very different RTS experience (imho one of the best RTS i've ever played). Focus is only on Tactics as you don't build any buildings nor have to control the production. (Imperium III is good also but slightly more complicated thus you should try it only if you like I or II).

Cheers

[arsan]

@Arsan

If you get the opportunity to find Imperium I or II cheap, you should try it...it's a very different RTS experience (imho one of the best RTS i've ever played). Focus is only on Tactics as you don't build any buildings nor have to control the production. (Imperium III is good also but slightly more complicated thus you should try it only if you like I or II).

Cheers

Hi Anguille!

I'm not sure it would be my type of game. Really is not a good game/bad game thing... the problem is that i get very stressed when trying to play RTS games :nuts :
Even when playing Paradox kind of RTS games i pause all the time.
One of the few RTS game i play is Take Command 2º Manassas as i like the ACW a lot. An even on this i usually limit myself to a handful of units to manage. Taking more than a division is usually too much for my nerves

But i bought the Imperium games to my cousins a couple Christmas ago for Santa Claus and they liked them quite a lot.

Regards!

[pailleterie]

i played the demo of Imperium and it don't liked very much it's simliar to Pretorians a old spanish game.
And Arsan it's true you can buy the game in every place in Spain where you can buy a game and in places where this is the only game that you can buy and not for 19'95 but for 9'99.