One of the great benefits of mobile gaming is the fact that titles are incredibly affordable, with some of the best titles available for under a dollar. Naturally, major game companies aren't best pleased with this.
"We have not been this uncertain about what's coming next in the games industry since Epic's been around for 20 years," said Epic Games' Mike Capps. "We're at such an inflection point. Will there be physical distribution in 10 years or even five? Will anyone care about the next console generation? What's going on in PC? Can you make money on PC if it's not a connected game? What's going on in mobile? Tons of really scary things.
"If there's anything that's killing us [in the traditional games business] it's dollar apps. How do you sell someone a $60 game that's really worth it? They're used to 99 cents. As I said, it's an uncertain time in the industry. But it's an exciting time for whoever picks the right path and wins."
Cheap apps have been on the market for quite some time now, and $60 games seem to be doing alright. To me, it's like someone asking how they can charge for Blu-ray movies when people can watch television for free. They're two very different entities that provide very different things. I don't personally see how a mobile app is a direct threat to a major title.
That said ... a uniform $60 price for all games, regardless of their pedigree, is getting pretty stupid. I still say we need a $40 middle-range tier. Maybe the problem is publishers and their refusal to look beyond their noses, rather than cheap apps "killing" traditional development.
Epic: 99-Cent Apps Are 'Killing Us' [Industry Gamers]
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Contest:
10:00 AM on 04.20.2011
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A buck or two, well Ill drop a buck or two on a mobile game and never look back, if the game sucks I wont cry about it, whats a buck?
Evolve or die epic.
Same in the MMO space... $15 a month... for a giant like WOW... but not $15 a month for Warhammer.
At this point I personally can't afford more than a handful of $60 games a year. Obviously, I'm not going to pass up on what I consider big guns, so it really leaves little wiggle room for 'questionable' titles.
I do not want all games to be 99 cent apps....I like them but I can't get enough enjoyement, I need some bigger games like portal , elder scrolls andm mass effect.
This statement is why I look at people who say "iOS games are going to replace the NGP/3DS games" funny.
You don't make it 4 fucking hours long, that's how.
Now what they need to worry about more, maybe, is games on XBL and PSN, stuff like Limbo and Shadow Complex that can come out at $15 and steal away months worth of praise. Games that can give depth for almost the same amount of time as most $60 games. Thats something to worry about.
There are a fucktonne of games out there that millions of people will, have and DO buy at $40 / £30 pre-owned. Why the fuck do publishers keep shooting for the top price and pretty much forcing those consumers to buy pre-owned.
It's like they don't want the fucking money!
Get this, sell your game cheaper, sell more copies, look better in sales figures, make the same, if not more profit, let those who aren't willing to pay full price get your game on day one at the price it's worth AND convert used sales into new sales in one. fell. swoop.
Seriously, sometimes i think the bigwigs at games publishers are fucking stupid.
It's a very difficult issue for publishers to deal with since no one really knows exactly how the consumer will respond.
Oh and that 40 tier does exist, you just have to have enough patience to wait for a sale or a price drop. Unless you're activison. However a 40 dollar price point at launch would be awesome.
For the sake of arguement, we are assuming that a $40 retail game would get the same development resources (money.time and people) as a $60 game. But, in practice that may not be the case. This all plays into perception too, since perhaps there is less money for advertising and paying off game reviews (not this site).
The general public that doesnt read reviews... thats another ball of wax, but my guess they are going to buy whats advertised and what has a name brand.
thats my crystal ball prediction though
I mean, even if you bring out a really cool game that sells around 100k, which is very very good for an indie developer, what do you get out of it? Can you pay the guy who made the sprites for you? What about the one who made the music. Not everyone is a one-man wonder who can do all by himself.
1$ apps are devalueing games at a very fast pace and this things doesn't end good. Iphone games are still going strong but Android is practically dead. (Name 5 good Android games that costs 1$)
You can't put a seal on every game which says: indie - 1$, triple fucking A - 60$.
Publishers should really start to sell their products for what they are worth. (Activision, yeah, I'm talking to you) Some are learning. Maijin sold for 30$ which is a pretty good deal for a new franchise and a good game.
The problem is that developers are completely able to release a game at a lower price, they just don't/won't do it because all of them are deluded to the point that they think they're making the most incredible game ever.
Tier price range with matching quality. It really isn't that hard to figure out, Epic. Or do you just want to complain cuz you don't want to adapt?
In this industry, there are devs and there are devils. Publishers are not devs.
And this statement is silly. I disagreed when CliffyB said that the middle tier games are going away and I disagree with this statement as well.
Also, Bulletstorm was disappointing.