Op Ed

[May 08, 2011, 4:28 pm ET] - Share - Viewing Comments

Cliffski's Blog - Indie Game pricing pressures.
There seems to be an unwritten rule developing that indie games must be under £10, preferably under $10. This is MAD. Harry Potter was written by ONE person. just ONE. It’s production costs were tiny. Does that mean you saw the harry potter books on sale for a third the price of other books? Of course not. Nobody slots books or plays into an ‘indie’ category and tries to get them cheap, ditto music. Do you pay less for an Adele album than a Queen album, because Queen had more members? That would be silly.

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Re: Op Ed

May 8, 2011, 18:21

talmand

A game is only worth what the market is willing to pay. If an indie developer feels his game is worth $30, then by all means, price it at $30. But don't complain if no one buys, the game isn't priced to sell according to the perceived value that the customer base sees in the product. Also, I own all seven Harry Potter books in hardbook, first editions, and I did not pay full price for them. Finally, I would indeed expect to pay less for an Adele album versus a Queen album because I don't know who the hell Adele is. I would expect something upfront to be willing to give Adele a try before paying as much as I would for Queen. That's my perceived value of the albums; I know Queen and I pay, I don't know Adele and I don't. That's the free market for you.

Re: Op Ed

May 8, 2011, 17:45

yuastnav

Cutter wrote on May 8, 2011, 17:41: [...] 100% of something is better than 100% of nothing. I do not think such a generalisation can be made.

Re: Op Ed

May 8, 2011, 17:41

Cutter

Value is relative. And 100% of something is better than 100% of nothing.




"Are you crazy? Is that your problem?" - Jack Burton

Re: Op Ed

May 8, 2011, 17:31

Jerykk

Like it or not, $10 or less is what most people deem acceptable for indie games (or impulse buys in general). Indie games do not have the presentation or marketing needed to attract customers at higher price ranges. An indie game is always viewed as an inherent risk and only way to get customers to buy it is to reduce the risk by reducing the cost. $10 may seem like an unsustainable price but if you consider that it will likely multiply your sales, it should work out. Many more people are willing to spend $10 on an indie game than are willing to spend $30.

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