So no Dominions 4?

[MaxWilson]

Kraftwerk,

I sent you a PM.

Tifone,

I was the one who mentioned the "high quality of the game." In case you missed it, that was more of a dig at Bioshock than an explanation of Shrapnel's business model. I didn't scream or charge anyone with blasphemy.

-Max

[MaxWilson]

Theonlystd said:
And i also cant get anyone to even look at the game.. They say it sounds interesting i tell them how much it costs and they laff considering the graphics and age..

Can you get them to look at the free demo? You can easily get 50-60 hours of play out of the demo.

-Max

[Theonlystd]

MaxWilson said:

Can you get them to look at the free demo? You can easily get 50-60 hours of play out of the demo.

-Max

The demo is rather limited in my opinion .

But yes i've got a couple to try but the price is still a turn off. With shipping and handling your looking at over 60 dollars for it since theres no digital download option ..

And the others dont even bother with the demo cause of price..

[S.R. Krol]

Kraftwerk said:
Then why the heck are you still charging 60 dollars for a game thats a bargain bin title?

Bargain bin title? Umm, yeah. Ya know, one of the reasons why we don't distribute through retail is BECAUSE of exactly that. Why are we going to publish a game and have a two week window for it to sell before it drops in price?

Ever heard of depreciation? Game might sell a bit better at a lower price. Like say, 30 dollars? Considering it didnt cost 1/100th of what it costs to create A+ titles?

I never realized that games depreciate. Is it like autos, where as soon as you install it the cost drops 20%?

As far as what it costs to develop. Gee, you ever think that the developers deserve to be paid fairly for their work? Again, another reason not to go the retail route. Most developers rarely even see one cent of what a game makes. Here the developers are fairly compensated, and continue to be throughout the entire LIFE of the game.

I cant get anyone to try this game because its too darned expensive. I cant get another copy so i can legitimately play with my roomies, because its too darned expensive.

Skip a couple dinners going out and eat at home and you have the money for the game. It costs me more to fill up my car than Dominions III costs. While more expensive than other games we sell, it ain't *that* expensive.

Why do you fail at marketing.

Bioshock, that cost umpteenth million dollars, dropped to half your price in the first 6 months it was out.

See my comments above.

You people are obviously on crack.

Drop it 15 dollars and youll prolly triple yer sales.

Strangely even after being out for years it continues to be our top selling game. So what does that tell you?

[Gandalf Parker]

Doesnt the cost of manufacture and distribution go up? Seems like everything else does.

I still think the arguments are not realistic. They seem based on "everyone else does it so why dont you". The game is still a #1 seller so why would Shrapnel lower it? I totally understand why other games end up in the bargain bin. Those are games where I spend $50 and get maybe a month of play out of it. This is one that has lasted years and is still getting upgrades. Not just patching, but upgrades. How many full nations have been added since its release? Not to mention equipment, spells, mod commands, etc.

Wish for a price decrease all you want to and I will gladly join you. But after wishing the rest just comes off as whining.

[Theonlystd]

Gandalf Parker said:
Doesnt the cost of manufacture and distribution go up? Seems like everything else does.

I still think the arguments are not realistic. They seem based on "everyone else does it so why dont you". The game is still a #1 seller so why would Shrapnel lower it? I totally understand why other games end up in the bargain bin. Those are games where I spend $50 and get maybe a month of play out of it. This is one that has lasted years and is still getting upgrades. Not just patching, but upgrades. How many full nations have been added since its release? Not to mention equipment, spells, mod commands, etc.

Wish for a price decrease all you want to and I will gladly join you. But after wishing the rest just comes off as whining.

Being the best seller doesnt really mean much.. If prices drop could sells not go up even more? It'd still be the best seller but maybe making more money or not.

llamabeast said:
Many games depreciate because the quality of their graphics and other production values are major selling points. Over time these become less impressive compared to other titles on the market, and the games become worth less.

In Dominions' case the strengths never were the production values, and so there is no sense in depreciation. The game still looks bad, to pretty much the same extent it did two years ago. In all other respects it remains awesome, just as it was two years ago. There have been no other comparable games in its genre to make it look dated, and indeed there are still few real competitors for it. So a constant price makes sense.

Also the game has been patched and added to so much since release that in many ways its value has actually increased.

As for it being so expensive in the first place - that is Shrapnel's decision, and despite many people desperately arguing that they would get more sales if they made it cheaper, they seem quite determined to hold it steady. Maybe they are even right, who knows.

Yes but those production values are why games cost what they cost now.. And why new gen console games run yea 60 dollars.

You need an army of artists and designers putting in hundreds of hours. Is the point im making.. And why alot of people having issue with having to spend near 60 dollars for an indy game..


And yes i had this same exact convo close to a year ago.. They didnt seem to want to reduce prices then doubt they will now.. But another year of me talking about the game to all the gamers i know.. And another year without one purchasing it..

[Itchykobu]

I agree with you, Sombre. I have been gaming for 18 years now, and the first real games I played were console (Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega Genesis, first game I ever owned).

It seems wholly bizarre that there is any conflict between PC and Console gamers....both play video games. But, if someone does not like Dom 3, acidicly stating that they must be a console gamer isn't going to change their mind.

[S.R. Krol]

Theonlystd said:
Yes but those production values are why games cost what they cost now.. And why new gen console games run yea 60 dollars.

Actually one of the big things about console pricing is the fact that everyone has to pay essentially a tithe to the console manufacturer to get published. There is also a buy-in just to start developing. If it wasn't for that (consoles lose money on hardware and count on the games to make up the losses and then some) you'd see an actual range of pricing with console games.

Itchykobu said:
I'm slightly confused by this topic. That is, I'm not sure if the topic creator actually likes this game. He seems to want to play it with his roommates, which would indicate he does like it. However, it doesn't seem like he feels that it is worth the price he paid for it....which would indicate that he doesn't like it....

Ya know, I thought that same thing after my first post. He bought the game, and from his forum registration date around the time it came out, hasn't posted in years and then comes on to complain about price because his roommates think it's overpriced...but then shouldn't it be the roomies making the complaint?

[Sombre]

S.R. Krol said:
If it wasn't for that (consoles lose money on hardware and count on the games to make up the losses and then some) you'd see an actual range of pricing with console games.

You do. There are a variety of budget labels that don't just rerelease old games, they include lower cost new games. The simple series in japan was the most famous of them. 505 game street does ok in the west, too.

There are also various console games released at mid level prices because they are semi sequels, multiplayer only etc. Then there are the 'arcade' games on the next gen consoles.

I could go on :]

[Theonlystd]

S.R. Krol said:

Actually one of the big things about console pricing is the fact that everyone has to pay essentially a tithe to the console manufacturer to get published. There is also a buy-in just to start developing. If it wasn't for that (consoles lose money on hardware and count on the games to make up the losses and then some) you'd see an actual range of pricing with console games.

I know about the the lisencing fees or whatever one calls it to have a game released for the console and that the hardware is sold at a loss.. But production costs,and development time and all that is a factor to .

Supposedly GTA 4 cost over 100million dollars to develop..

And if anything just goes to my point. You take out the "tithe" as you said.. And you'd have games that tooks years and millions upon millions to make selling cheaper than a 2 year old indy game with subpar graphics...