Dom 3 price...

[sum1lost]

LDiCesare said:
Comparing Dom 3 to Avernum, I 'd say that the price of Dom 3 is not exaggerated. Spiderweb software requires you to buy hints manuals for instance, without which you may be unable to finish the game, whereas Dom 3 ships with a manual that happens to be useful, and has more replay value than Avernum.

I thought I'd mention ageing among the new things in Dom 3 over Dom 2. Can be quite significant in terms of gameplay.

And I can't understand why an indep game ought to be cheaper than a AAA game. If you enjoy Dom 3, you're likely to spend more hours on it than most games that are cheaper.

The geneforge series, though... I must have a couple hundred hours logged on some of those games.

[PashaDawg]

Hi:

Given the extraordinary number of hours of joy this game continues to give me (between playing the game, chatting about the game, making maps for the game, etc.), I think the price was extremely well justified. Paying $8.50 to see a 2.5 hour movie is exorbitant in comparison.

I also think that the changes to the game in Dom 3 make it well worth while paying for the newer version. But, obviously, this game trips my trigger. Someone with lukewarm interest would probably feel differently.

Pasha

[S.R. Krol]

vanedor said:
I'm someone who bought in the recent years quite a few independant games. Eschalon, Avernum, Mount and Blades... and all of them are far cheaper than Dominion 3. Sure, the manual might be worth some money... but what about selling a version of the game *without* the manual for 40$?

I'm sorry, but comparing A to B and saying A costs such-and-such, so why shouldn't B isn't appropriate. Using that argument would mean that everything we purchase should be one standard price. After all, if Indie Game X is selling for $19.95, then Indie Game Y and Z should also sell for $19.95.

Then again, couldn't the argument also be made that those games are undervaluing themselves and maybe they should really be priced like Dominions 3? Or, maybe we should all follow the Distant Guns price model by Storm Eagle Studios, which is a bargain (!) at only $90.

And no, I don't think that the reason this comes up ever couple months is that other folks "realize something is not quite right here", but rather that for some reason people have gotten it into their heads that all indie games are supposed to sell for $19.95 (or pick your price point).

The price point wasn't chosen out of thin air. It wasn't chosen to because Illwinter needs to keep up their payments on their Diablos. It was chosen because it is a fair price, based on what the game is, and is perfectly in step with the overall market.

Of course, like everything in life, it's ultimately up to the consumer to decide whether the price of something is worth it to them. Obviously on this forum I think you'll find most people feel that the price was well worth it.

Looking back at the original post you made I see that you're a Dom 2 owner. How many hours of gameplay did you get from that game? Do you feel your money was well spent on it?
Dom 2 sold for $49.95. Dom 3 sells for $54.95. I'm pretty sure the improvements in the game and the manual is worth the $5 difference, so look at it that way.

[Omnirizon]

I don't spend much money on computer software. I'm looking up at my collection right now.

12 games.

how many of them have I played in the past year?

3 of them.

Gal Civ 2... it's ok, but minor issues, including balance, that the developers just don't seem to give a damn about bother me way too much.

UFO: afterlight... X-com was actually a better game.

Dom 3... been playing it consistently since I bought it over a year ago. maybe a month off here and there; but I keep coming back to it. Which is more than I can say for any other game. It is the best. unrivaled atmosphere, and the developers seem to actually be concerned. can't speak to the Dom 2 comparison, as I never played it. But Dom 3 is well worth the price for me. Best game in my collection.

[Agrajag]

Other than the obvious "dom3 is awesome and worth the price"...
Well, since Dom3 came out, the dollar dropped by about 15% (at least, compared to my currency), so there's your 15% discount right there

[capnq]

vanedor said:Sure, the manual might be worth some money... but what about selling a version of the game *without* the manual for 40$?

Because unlike the waste of dead trees that most computer game manuals consist of, the Dom3 manual is a worthwhile investment. I've seen commercial "strategy guides" with less useful information in them than the Dom3 manual includes.

Dom2 had the most heavily used manual of any computer game I've ever owned; I can't imagine choosing your research path without referring to it. The Dom3 manual is even better; the improved formatting of the reference tables is letting me try strategies that I didn't have enough information to think of in Dom2.

(The reason for the "angry" face on this post is that cheapskate gamers whining about games being too expensive is a pet peeve of mine. Games are a luxury item, people. If you don't want to pay for quality, the mainstream publishers put out plenty of cheap yet overpriced shovelware for you to misspend your gaming budget on.)

[Agema]

I didn't think the price was bad. But then, at $1.9 = £1, $55 is about the same as a shop-bought game, the exchange rate works in my favour. I'd expect to pay less for an electronic download and .pdf manual (I prefer CD/DVD and paper manual anyway).

[haileris]

As someone pointed out earlier, games such as Dom3 are great value when compared to other forms of entertainment such as films or DVD's.
However, I was somewhat disappointed with Dom3 as I don't think it resolved some of the major issues with Dom2, for instance the micromanagement and unintuitive (to me!) interface and I didn't think it was *that* much of a difference to warrant $55.

Its a good buy but I would consider other options if you are only a moderate fan of the previous version (although to be honest there isn't too many other games in this category that stand out at the moment, at least new ones.)

[Taqwus]

Agema said:
I didn't think the price was bad. But then, at $1.9 = £1, $55 is about the same as a shop-bought game, the exchange rate works in my favour. I'd expect to pay less for an electronic download and .pdf manual (I prefer CD/DVD and paper manual anyway).

You're not only paying for the mere physical products, whose cost is probably unusually high due to limited publishing run, but you're also paying for an unusually high level of quality support.

Dominions 3 was released in May '06, and the developers and reps of the publisher not only can be found still participating in the forum, but also continuing development work that adds more than bug fixes. From a 'normal' publishing house, you'd probably have never seen many of the post-launch fixes and content without paying for multiple 'expansion packs', if ever. You probably also wouldn't have seen quite the support for mods, because -that- much ability to mod makes it harder to sell aforementioned expansions.