Indie game pricing rambles

[Showsni]

$50? That's £32, according to Google. I'd happily spend that much on something like Phoenix Wright or Another Code; as evidenced by the fact that I have. New games generally range from £30 for a DS game to £40 for a Wii ($46-$62). So, I guess $60 is about what you can expect to pay for a new computer game by a big company... Maybe PC games are a little less? Honestly, my PC is so old that I haven't looked at the latest PC releases in ages because it simply can't run them, so I don't know. I don't think I've seen many (if any) OELVNs (or whatever we want to call them) I'd pay that much for, though; at a minimum, the length of the indie VNs is usually not enough for that kind of money.

[kinougames]

Seems like the solution would be to price according to country.

[Mirage]

I'll be frank, the way lots of people think here saddened me, even if I think it's very true.

I myself prefer quality over quantity. I would rather pay 50 usd for 1 awesome game, than paying lots of 10 dollars for a bunch of mediocre games which currently saturate the market. The problem here obviously the consumers get intimidated easily by the price tags, thus the game makers have to resorts of making cheaper, lower quality games in order to survive. I can't blame the game makers if they are encouraged to go this way, because the market just don't support the raising of quality games.

[kinougames]

I'll be frank, the way lots of people think here saddened me, even if I think it's very true.

I myself prefer quality over quantity. I would rather pay 50 usd for 1 awesome game, than paying lots of 10 dollars for a bunch of mediocre games which currently saturate the market. The problem here obviously the consumers get intimidated easily by the price tags, thus the game makers have to resorts of making cheaper, lower quality games in order to survive. I can't blame the game makers if they are encouraged to go this way, because the market just don't support the raising of quality games.

Thiiiiiiiis so hard. And this is after I used to put a cost limit on all my games only to find that, hey, I never played those cheap crap games anyway and wasted money that could've gone to a PS3 and FFXIII or smth. >_>

[jack_norton]

I think there is a "middle ground" ! You can have good games for $20, not excellent games for $50 OR crap games for $10

[Wintermoon]

A ticket to a good movie doesn't cost more than a ticket to a bad movie. A good CD doesn't cost more than a bad CD. A good book doesn't cost more than a bad book. There's a limit to the prices the market will bear, no matter how good your product. I suspect the limit for EVNs is well below $50. For me, the limit is $20.

[Ren]

A ticket to a good movie doesn't cost more than a ticket to a bad movie. A good CD doesn't cost more than a bad CD. A good book doesn't cost more than a bad book. There's a limit to the prices the market will bear, no matter how good your product. I suspect the limit for EVNs is well below $50. For me, the limit is $20.

Not totally true, though; while I agree on the movie ticket example, I think that bad/not popular CDs (although taste is a subjective thing, and lots of popular things are in my opinion crappy) often end up being heavily discounted almost from the beginning, same for games and books. It goes without saying, I may be influenced by my experience in my own country.

On the same note, good games keep being sold at the same price for a longer time, and sometimes become overpriced "rare" games, if they're considered to be good enough.

[Mirage]

I think there is a "middle ground" ! You can have good games for $20, not excellent games for $50 OR crap games for $10

Well, majority of the indie games I bought ranged around 15-20, still they aren't anything outstanding. Many good games can't beat 1 awesome masterpiece which I am not seeing in indie market.

A ticket to a good movie doesn't cost more than a ticket to a bad movie. A good CD doesn't cost more than a bad CD. A good book doesn't cost more than a bad book. There's a limit to the prices the market will bear, no matter how good your product. I suspect the limit for EVNs is well below $50. For me, the limit is $20.

Not every market works that way. Any other stuff in the world have different price tags for different qualities. Clothes, food, house, etc. If everything came with same price tag for any quality, then most creators would get very discouraged to try something that breaks the ground. It's not just game's world that is saturated with mediocre stuff, books/movie also kinda stagnant in my opinion. It's like the only way to succeed is how to grab more attention. It's fight for attention (quantity) not fight for quality.

[jack_norton]

Well, majority of the indie games I bought ranged around 15-20, still they aren't anything outstanding. Many good games can't beat 1 awesome masterpiece which I am not seeing in indie market.

Problem is that definition of "awesome" varies a lot, based on tastes. For me the most awesome RPG was Planescape: Torment. For others, might be Dragon Age
And a kind of game based on a story is even more subjective. I love sci-fi, and I made Bionic Heart because I couldn't find any sci-fi VN (not good, just ANY). But as my ultimate survey showed, most people hate sci-fi...

[Aashtarsrain]

That must be why Mass Effect and Dead Space (yeah I know they're not VNs) have been complete failures lately ... Uuuh ? What ? Nooo, actually, they have not.

[Mirage]

Problem is that definition of "awesome" varies a lot, based on tastes. For me the most awesome RPG was Planescape: Torment. For others, might be Dragon Age
And a kind of game based on a story is even more subjective. I love sci-fi, and I made Bionic Heart because I couldn't find any sci-fi VN (not good, just ANY). But as my ultimate survey showed, most people hate sci-fi...

That's true. I supposed I am being very picky. =P

About sci-fi, I don't think that's the case. I just see it that more guys like sci-fi than girls. And guys seem to prefer games with plenty actions like warcraft, starcraft, halo and the likes. If you are strictly talking about VN, that's a completely different story. Not sure how many girls willing to pick sci-fi VN. (Though if your sci-fi consists plenty bishonen, you never know.)

[jack_norton]

About sci-fi, I don't think that's the case. I just see it that more guys like sci-fi than girls. And guys seem to prefer games with plenty actions like warcraft, starcraft, halo and the likes. If you are strictly talking about VN, that's a completely different story. Not sure how many girls willing to pick sci-fi VN. (Though if your sci-fi consists plenty bishonen, you never know.)

Yes sorry I was strictly talking about VN. And indeed more action sci-fi games like Mass Effect have been huge successes (luckily, personally I am starting to have enough of sword & sorcery themes!!).

[Counter Arts]

I know when I was in Comiket, there were some games I bought that was seriously higher quality than the price was. Also games that are available in limited quanties (not downloadables) tend to be bought at whatever price because they usually end up going out of print. No waiting for the game to be on the bargain bin. Seriously the street prices goes up.

[kinougames]

1) I've never personally bought a game that was seriously good for $20 unless it was also minimum a year old. For any system. Since Pokemon Blue.

A ticket to a good movie doesn't cost more than a ticket to a bad movie. A good CD doesn't cost more than a bad CD. A good book doesn't cost more than a bad book. There's a limit to the prices the market will bear, no matter how good your product. I suspect the limit for EVNs is well below $50. For me, the limit is $20.

Uh, actually, in my area, they do, even as far as movies (this is about more objective quality, though, not individual taste). The movie theatres that can't afford to hold the good movies charge you $6 for the crappily made ones, and the massive major movie theatres that ONLY show Blockbusters charge you $12, and there are often even specials at those for movies that aren't up to par with the Blockbusters for cheaper.

I don't know where you get off thinking that good books and not nearly as good books, as well as CDs aren't separated by quality/popularity. xD Again, you seem to be talking in a bit of a personal void. xD

[Wintermoon]

Not every market works that way. Any other stuff in the world have different price tags for different qualities. Clothes, food, house, etc. If everything came with same price tag for any quality, then most creators would get very discouraged to try something that breaks the ground. It's not just game's world that is saturated with mediocre stuff, books/movie also kinda stagnant in my opinion. It's like the only way to succeed is how to grab more attention. It's fight for attention (quantity) not fight for quality.

Visual novels have a lot in common with games, CDs, books. Almost all of the costs are fixed costs. They can be copied for free. Physical copies are cheap. A physical copy of good CD is produced in exactly the same way as a bad CD with the same materials, and may even be cheaper if it is made in a larger production run due to the economies of scale. In short, you can aim at selling a lot of copies for cheap, which scales a lot better than selling a few copies for a higher price. Relatively few people became rich and famous by selling high-priced luxury goods to a niche market.

Uh, actually, in my area, they do, even as far as movies (this is about more objective quality, though, not individual taste). The movie theatres that can't afford to hold the good movies charge you $6 for the crappily made ones, and the massive major movie theatres that ONLY show Blockbusters charge you $12, and there are often even specials at those for movies that aren't up to par with the Blockbusters for cheaper.

You're paying extra for the better theatre.

Not totally true, though; while I agree on the movie ticket example, I think that bad/not popular CDs (although taste is a subjective thing, and lots of popular things are in my opinion crappy) often end up being heavily discounted almost from the beginning, same for games and books. It goes without saying, I may be influenced by my experience in my own country.

CDs are discounted when many copies are produced, but the CD turns out to be unpopular. If the same CD was intended for a niche market with only a small production run, it wouldn't be discounted. If it was made in a limited production run of 500 copies, it might even become more expensive than the popular CD.