Are we paying more for less?

[Archonsod]

Thanks to the exchange rate, Dominions actually cost me considerably less than the majority of mainstream games. Of course, with the p&p costs it was back on equal terms...

[Mltdwn]

I don't know, as a Strat fan I have to agree it is a bit high for even my blood. I mean to me it comes down to paying nearly as much as I could for a 360 game (and yes there ARE some enjoyable, long playing games on the 360, I'm STILL playing Star Wars Legos and Dead Rising, plus some others) for a 4X fantasy game with poor graphics, etc. And before anyone bashes me on wanting good graphics I have to ask when the last time YOU bought a video card considering they are up ~$200 for a midline one, yeah I want my game to utilise it to it's fullest ability if I am paying that much.

Or I could simply wait one more month and getting Medieval 2: Total War which is largely the same thing, sans magic/random maps but has far better graphics, and realistic ground battles with 10k+ men on the field per side which you can actually control that takes everything into account just like in real life (with some exceptions with playability). And a relativly deep political/diplomatic interplay (compared to the Dom series) between all of the nations allowing you to turn nations against one another, play all the sides, etc., rather than simply "must destroy everyone" like in Dom3. AND pay only ~$40 for them. Not to mention the mods which will add the fantasy elements to it, like the already released Middle-Earth mod for R:TW.

And as for discount games, yes I bought EVERY single TW game when they hit the bargain bin and I STILL play all 3 of them and their expansions to this day on a fairly frequent basis. M2 is going to be the first I buy on release day because of CA's production values.

[Talleyrand]

Well, my thread has been hijacked lol and I think we've hammered this beast to death. Thank you all for the discussion and handling an opposing viewpoint in a mature way. I'm still not entirely sold but I'm definitely more open to the possibility of paying a little extra for a good, niche game if it's worth it. I'll just try the demo when it gets released and make an informed decision then. If anything I hope this thread has made the upper brass at Shrapnel rethink their business model, if even for a second, because in my opinion (and as ill-informed as that may be) a niche game only reaches a niche market if you let it. With the Dominions series there is much room for growth.

Cheers.

[alexti]

marc420 said:
$55 is a very high price for a game. That price will certainly effect my decision whether to buy or not.

Where are you? Here in Canada, a lot of games are more expensive. USD 55 seems to be about an average price for the game, probably even a bit lower than average.