[Saxon]

Thank you to the kind poster who stated that Talley is not a troll. I thought twice about posting, as the bulk of readers are very much against him. However, I support Talley.

The discussion has focused on Dominions and could have included SEIV, which was another excellent game. The majority of buyers will agree they are excellent products and probably worth the price. With that said, despite owning Dom 1 and 2, I have yet to order Dom 3 and certainly refused to pre-order it. Why?

Shrapnel’s pricing policy applies to all their games; they keep prices high and rarely relent. I put my faith in Shrapnel and pre ordered Coliseum and bought the War Engine blind. The prices were high, but I figured Shrapnel only backed good games. I was wrong.

Some of the games are of very low quality and one of the recent releases is far outclassed by a freeware game in exactly the same niche. Yet the prices remain high. Essentially, Shrapnel uses the same strategy for all their games, regardless of the quality. I deeply honour their right to make money and wish them luck (due to their support of good games) but I do not trust them any more. I will wait until I am sure the game is good (as seen in the forums) and I have a chance to play the demo.

My second point has been touched on by others. Old games do go down in price on the market. Victoria, EUII, and Hearts of Iron are all games in a similar niche and all have their prices decline over time. I get similar replay value from them as I do from Dom II, yet got them at much lower prices. Paradox provides excellent patches and support, equal to or better than anything else on the market. Again, while I honour Shrapnel’s right to make money, my experience with the rest of the games market is that prices decline, no matter the quality of the product.

If Shrapnel can buck the market and make a living, well, good for them. That doesn’t make me approve of their pricing system or want to take part in it. From the good reviews of Dom 3, I will have a look at the demo and I might get the game. But the pricing model they use on all of their games ensures that I will think a lot harder about it than otherwise. Maybe I am that person right at the intersections of the pricing curve, the marginal one who will go either way. Or maybe my past experience of their pricing model has made me a much pickier buyer of their products.