135 réponses à ce sujet

[Dave of Canada]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

Still, if the market isn't buying and the game quickly drops down to $60, has much changed for you?

Ultimately, I'd feel--although I have no market research and mostly doing this armchair--it would hinder the market more than help. Game release is usually when you want to ship as many copies of a game as possible, the buzz and word of mouth gets people to splurge more quickly and the number of sales diminish over time.

A lower price would help those who'd be on the fence but will a window shopper who briefly saw adverts and reviews a month or two when the game launched at 80$ still feel the hype which might've made them impulse buy beforehand? After all, we're constantly told that the hardcore fans of a series aren't the ones which marketing is trying to target.

With the rise of microtransactions, indie developers offering titles on a budget and mobile gaming, we're being drawn into an age where people are more finicky about what game they'll throw money at and how much they'd be willing to throw. Increasing the price might just make them pass up on buying the new title and buy something else.

[Urazz]

I don't mind a price tag of $80 but I expect there to be less DLC and the DLC that does come out better have a lot of content to it.

[AutumnWitch]

I would have happily paid 80 for DA2..I guess its all relative. I hope that EA/BW offers a really nice special edition that comes with a nice Mage Pack...will happily pay $150+ if it gives me as much enjoyment that DA2 or DAO did.

[Googleness]

The Evil Chris wrote...


This applies to you too. Some people LIKE weapon packs. Or armor skins. Or small, cheap content that they can optionally put down a couple of dollars rather than having to save up for larger DLC packs.

Just because you don't like them, don't assume that applies for everyone. And, if you don't like them, don't buy them. Simple.

With all due respect chris,
problem is that as Bioware you have some kind of standards to keep as that is your reputation.
For me and many other Bioware was about games like Neverwinter Nights\\Baldur's Gate\\KOTOR\\Mass Effect (1) etc... where the main game was huge and great but each add on was something major not some extra skin or weapon and such.
For me at least those kind of things are total turn off as I really like on past games from bioware to explore and find the most rare and cool items in the game yet here you sell them for real $$ and are to be used out of magic chest on hub area with no effort at all!

Take a look on farce called star wars: the old republic. since the Cartel Market was open all new items and cool looking gear is available for purchase using real cash instead of being added to the game as part of an interesting quest or as an achievement.... I quit swtor because of that.

I think you (bioware) should stick with good add ons and charge 1-2$ more for them and toss the "skins" and such in there as part of a quest reward or something not as item which magicly pop up on your inventory.

something else you should consider... EVEN if I want to purchase those skin packs only way to purchase bioware add ons this days is with "Bioware Points" which is total cash grab.
you charge amount of bioware points which is not purchasable so I need to purchase MORE bioware points then I actually need! that is just ridicoulos.
you want to sell something charge USD $$ like everyone else and get rid of Origin that software is bane of my life.

[XGrlGamerX]

I would pay more than $80 to play this game. haha

[Realmzmaster]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

$80 is that all? Given that video games prices have not keep up with inflation $80 is a steal. As Sylvius stated we were paying $79.95 for Ultima 7 and $59.95 for Might and Magic III back in 1992. That is 21 years ago. One of the reasons that prices have remained stagant is because developers have been cutting items out.like real paper manuals, DVD cases that cannot hold a good manual or other freebies that used to come with the standard edition. Those little goodies now only come with collector's editions or up.

Economies of scale are also a large factor as well. Gaming is much more popular. Also, optical media (and now digital) reduced the costs of development as well.

But yeah, ironically the economies of scale do affect things like manuals.

The market has most definitely increased which is one of the reasons for the stagnant pricing. That market increase has come from the sale of consoles and other mobile devices not on the PC side.

I remember buying Autoduel (1985) by Origins. It cam with the Autoduel manual, AADA New Driver's Guide, Auto Duel Player's reference card, Northeast Sector map, the game on 51/4 and 31/2 dics and a tiny miniature toolkit. That came with the standard edition. No collector's edition existed. I remember getting cloth maps with the Ultima games and manuals that went into great detail about the game including written tutorials.
Sadly all of that costs money to develop and has fallen to the wayside unless it is in a collector's edition where more can be charged.

[Fast Jimmy]

^

To be fair, a lot of those items were included with the copies to deter piracy. In fact, in terms of the manuals that were actually NEEDED to beat certain parts of the game, it was actually required. Of course, these were the days before online guides were anywhere near as prevalent as they are today, making such moves moot.

However, the maps and extra goodies are not all that different from what EA tried to accomplish with Project 10 Dollar - giving free stuff to encourage people to buy something other than just the base, pirated game.

[PSUHammer]

Allan Schumacher wrote...

$80 is that all? Given that video games prices have not keep up with inflation $80 is a steal. As Sylvius stated we were paying $79.95 for Ultima 7 and $59.95 for Might and Magic III back in 1992. That is 21 years ago. One of the reasons that prices have remained stagant is because developers have been cutting items out.like real paper manuals, DVD cases that cannot hold a good manual or other freebies that used to come with the standard edition. Those little goodies now only come with collector's editions or up.

Economies of scale are also a large factor as well. Gaming is much more popular. Also, optical media (and now digital) reduced the costs of development as well.

But yeah, ironically the economies of scale do affect things like manuals.

Hell, I remember paying $50 for Pitfall! on the Atari 2600...LOL!!  I would say $59 for game like Mass Effect, Skyrim or Dragon Age is a pretty good deal.  I think a lot of the people complaining do not have the same experience or historical reference to compare.

Interestingly enough, the equivalent to Steam sales back then was scouring the bargain bins for $19.99 Atari games...

Modifié par PSUHammer, 07 août 2013 - 12:46 .

[Lenimph]

I'm not paying 80$ for any game. Unless I'm getting some physical goodies to compensate. Hell I didn't even pay that for the Tomb Raider collector edition and I got a Lara Croft action figure....

[Fast Jimmy]

Dave of Canada wrote...

Allan Schumacher wrote...

Still, if the market isn't buying and the game quickly drops down to $60, has much changed for you?

Ultimately, I'd feel--although I have no market research and mostly doing this armchair--it would hinder the market more than help. 

This post is in blatant violation of the USFEO Act of 2012. 

Man, that isn't a term I've used in almost a year. Where is old stuffy pants these days?

[David7204]

I'd gladly pay 80 bucks for the video games I buy.

[slimgrin]

Pheonix57 wrote...

I would easily shell out $120 dollars for this game, and yes, I live in America.

That is nuts. Only time I paid that much was for a CE. If they want to jack up prices, they should do it gradually, or milk gamers with piddly DLC packs to recoup costs. Most publishers seem to be doing both already.

Modifié par slimgrin, 07 août 2013 - 01:20 .

[Dave of Canada]

Fast Jimmy wrote...

This post is in blatant violation of the USFEO Act of 2012. 

Isn't there a law where someone who admits they have no knowledge is exempt from violating the act? It's not like I'm stating facts, I-I'm just stating observations! Get t-those tasers away from me!

[RogueWriter3201]

I have to concur with others that I don't have a problem with the 80 dollar price tag perse; however, that's only *if* we will be getting a complete game. Chris Priestly (or The Evil Chris or whatever) might think it's okay to nickle and dime the entire gamer base just because a few people like throwing money at extra costume packs and weapons (even if not *everyone* does) but if I'm going to pay 80 dollars in order to facilitate the increased price of production, the least EA and BioWare can do is give me a complete game without adding small item packs that, in essence, make you feel like you really don't have the complete game.

True, one could argue "What about Promo Items?" Those items, however, don't usually appear on the list of downloadable content. Sometimes they do, but not always. With EA games, when you don't own every little extra thing they've throw out there it tends to remind you, either in game, at the main menu, and so forth. As such, again, I'd rather know I'm going to be getting everything right off the bat. Yes, I'm sure DLC (i.e. complete, story oriented content) will come along (please, for frick's sake, no MP for Inquisition...) and cost a few extra dollars, but even that somewhat rankles me.

If Inquisition turns out to have an 80 dollar price tag for America (and more overseas) than if they intend to have DLC as well, figure out in advance how much the DLC will require and add that to the overall total. From the sound of it, Inquisition might end up running, overall, close to a hudred dollars US when all is said and done. If so, just come out and charge that since, in essence, that's what it  will cost for the *complete* game.
 

Modifié par glenboy24, 07 août 2013 - 01:50 .

[Iakus]

slimgrin wrote...

Pheonix57 wrote...

I would easily shell out $120 dollars for this game, and yes, I live in America.

That is nuts. Only time I paid that much was for a CE. If they want to jack up prices, they should do it gradually, or milk gamers with piddly DLC packs to recoup costs. Most publishers seem to be doing both already.

I wouldn't pay $120 even for a Collector's Edition.  For that much, the game better either have a good 200 hours worth of quality content or be fully moddable on all platforms.

And you know what the odds are of either of those nowadays are 

And for 80$, I better be 100% certain it's a product I'll enjoy and be worth replaying.

[Scarlet Rabbi]

$80? Are you kidding me? I hope to god this is bs. I've never bought a Bioware game used but you better believe that will change if this (or any game) is over $60. I'd laugh this off as a stupid rumor but I wouldn't put it past EA to do this. Didn't they flirt with the idea of charging for bullets in one of their shooter games. It truly sickens me.

[Brockololly]

$80 for a new game is crazy talk.

I spent around $80 during the Steam sale. For that I was able to get:
Prison Architect
Roller Coaster Tycoon 3
Sleeping Dogs
The Walking Dead: 400 Days
DEFCON
Arkham City GOTY
Euro Truck Sim 2
Dishonored
Baldur's Gate: Enhanced Edition
Total War Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai
Dear Esther
Chivalry: Medieval Warfare

Not that there aren't certain games I'd be willing to toss lots of money at, but in the age of Steam sales, you're going to have to do one hell of a job convincing me I should buy your game at full price, especially if its creeping close to $100.

[jillabender]

Fast Jimmy wrote...

This post is in blatant violation of the USFEO Act of 2012. 

Man, that isn't a term I've used in almost a year. Where is old stuffy pants these days?

Hehe, long live the USFEO!

'Shorts is still kicking around online, but he tends to take long breaks from the BSN these days. But who knows - we might see him on here again now that we're getting some more substantial news about DA:I. I believe he's studying law, though, so I imagine school keeps him very busy.

[xx5hatt3r3dxx]

Osena109 wrote...

Catroi wrote...

booohoohooo
I'm an american and I complain to have to pay more than 60$ when most countries have to pay 100$ or more =(

I never complianed i just started for 80 dollars i don't want them to nickle and dim us with armor packs are cheap half harted dlc like dragon age 2 had weapon packs come on dude use your brain

All the people who complain are usually kids who don't have a job

[Scarlet Rabbi]

xx5hatt3r3dxx wrote...

Osena109 wrote...

Catroi wrote...

booohoohooo
I'm an american and I complain to have to pay more than 60$ when most countries have to pay 100$ or more =(

I never complianed i just started for 80 dollars i don't want them to nickle and dim us with armor packs are cheap half harted dlc like dragon age 2 had weapon packs come on dude use your brain

All the people who complain are usually kids who don't have a job

Yup, yup, yup, yup. Mmm hmm. Job-less kids. The whole lot.

The sheer idiocy the words in your post form is awe-inspiring. Not to mention the nauseating smugness smeared all over it. I've asked myself a few times, "Can you honestly despise someone you've never actually met?". Thank you, man or miss, for indirectly providing me with the answer.

[Angrywolves]

Can't stand smugness.
Some people who have jobs also have oyher bills that take priority any video game.
Sigh.
Maybe if it gets Last of Us type scores from reviewers I might change my mind.

[Fredward]

This would amount to almost 1K in this poor, forgotten and unloved African backwater. -pets wallet sadly-

Modifié par Foopydoopydoo, 07 août 2013 - 04:07 .

[jackofalltrades456]

Knowing EA, I wouldn't be surprised if this happened with Dragon Age:I.

We'll get this bull PR statement on how the game is actually two games combined together and they HAD to charge us 20$s extra as a result.