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Rumortoid: Braid to cost 1200 MS points, Castle Crashers costs 1800!?

9:37 AM on 07.30.2008, Jim Sterling 92 comments

Rumortoid: Braid to cost 1200 MS points, Castle Crashers costs 1800!? photo
     Xbox Live Arcade

Here's a rather ugly rumor for you all to chew on this morning. Perhaps knowing that Braid and Castle Crashers are two of Xbox Live Arcade's most highly anticipated titles, it's rumored that the powers-that-be are being shrewd and bloodthirsty enough to charge 1200 MS points for Braid, and an unsettling 1800 points for Castle Crashers.

Four Japanese sources (including Famitsu and Xbox.com's official Japanese blog) are stating that these two games will be more expensive than the average XBLA games. This is a rumortoid until we get an English announcement though. If it turns out to be true, you can color me a particularly brown shade of disgusted. 

At 1800 points, Castle Crashers would be Xbox Live Arcade's most expensive title, costing even more than Penny Arcade Adventures. Something tells me we shouldn't have let Microsoft know that it was the first XBLA title that we all really, really wanted. Still, I'll wait until the English announcement before I scream "F*CK YOU MICRO$OFT AND I SPELL THE "S" IN YOUR NAME WITH A DOLLAR SIGN" from the highest rooftop.


Next page: More Xbox Live Arcade stories




Rockvillian's Avatar
Rockvillian at 07/30/2008 09:40
I don't see the big deal, Alien Hominid was released for about that price on the GC and it was well worth my cash. This has 4 player co-op, AND it's a brawler, AND it's chock full of Dan Paladin drawdings, so.... yeah.
falinter's Avatar
falinter at 07/30/2008 09:41
20 dollars is steep enough for a game ill never be able to hold.
free touch's Avatar
free touch at 07/30/2008 09:42
Genius: About $24.

1600 is $19.99

And paying that much for a game, and not having any kind of case, or art, or anything saying I own the game, other than a digital code that fucks itself anyway if I want to play the game on someone elses xbox, is a bit dumb.
TrailerParkJesus's Avatar
TrailerParkJesus at 07/30/2008 09:44
I think they're testing us. I don't know if I'll pass.
Faceless's Avatar
Faceless at 07/30/2008 09:48
I really don't like this. I rationalized the price of the Penny Arcade game by viewing it more as a PC game that made it's way to Live Arcade, and $20 is the usual norm for that kind of episodic content. I guess what I need to know is how long Castle Crashers and Braid are, to get an idea of how much game we're actually getting for that price.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 07/30/2008 09:49
Alien Hominid was $30 but you got a box, a physical copy you could take to a friend's place, and an instructions with pretty pictures. It too had 4 player co-op!
covah's Avatar
covah at 07/30/2008 09:51
honestly, Arcade games shouldn't be over $20. Penny Arcade's production was far superior to most arcade games so it's worth it. At least Castle Crashers should be bumped down to the $20 mark.

Hell, I thought it would be $!5
DamnYouKrycek's Avatar
DamnYouKrycek at 07/30/2008 09:51
I want these games, but not THAT much.
ran24's Avatar
ran24 at 07/30/2008 09:53
This definitely seems like XBLA is seeing if they can get away with charging higher prices for anticipated games. If Castle Crashers is a success with high numbers of purchases despite the high price, look forward to seeing higher prices in the future. They're testing the market.
topgeargorilla's Avatar
topgeargorilla at 07/30/2008 09:54
I'm not buying it because I don't see what the big deal is with this game. Sorry, but it's been in development for how long? What makes it so damn important?
geekjutsu's Avatar
geekjutsu at 07/30/2008 09:59
I'm with everyone else that $20 is the highest I will pay for an arcade game, and even THAT is pushing it.
The only reason Penny Arcade got away with it is because it was released at $20 on other platforms at the same time.

As much as I wanted Castle Crashers, it is no longer a must buy at that price.
HarassmentPanda's Avatar
HarassmentPanda at 07/30/2008 10:00
I don't know enough about either game to make any sort of genuine assessment, but $22.50 for Castle Crashers sounds steep. Depending on how complete the experience is, I wouldn't mind paying $15 for Braid though.

Still, for me, the Penny Arcade game at $20 is the worst offender. Who decided that an episodic XBLA title was worth $20? Sam & Max episodes costs less than half that and they are genuinely funny and rather consistent games.
Aerox's Avatar
Aerox at 07/30/2008 10:00
Having played Castle Crashers at Comic Con, I can say that I would gladly pay $50+ for that game. It's going to be worth it.
Brilliam's Avatar
Brilliam at 07/30/2008 10:00
Us lucky Canadians get to pay even more-- I think 1000 points is about $14.25! Plus sales tax! Meaning the game could come out to as much as $35!
Colette Bennett's Avatar
Colette Bennett at 07/30/2008 10:01
I second Aerox. I don't care how much it is.
flay's Avatar
flay at 07/30/2008 10:03
wow what's it like living in the poor house. god damn you people are cheap.
Surf314's Avatar
Surf314 at 07/30/2008 10:03
These people are obviously not very business savvy. I mean the lower the price the more people will buy it to a point, the higher the price the less people will buy it. So by outpricing the market they will just screw up their profits and probably blame someone else.

Add to this the fact that it has very little distribution cost and no manufacturing cost there is no reason not to try and get as many people to buy it (I'm talking cost per unit sold to customer not development costs).

I swear every console seems determined to shoot themselves in the foot by out-pricing their customers on these internet distributed games. I would probably spend far more if these were reasonable.
The Timely Howard's Avatar
The Timely Howard at 07/30/2008 10:04
I kind of thought everyone was excited about digital distribution because games would ultimately end up becoming less expensive for the consumer. Honestly, $22.50? For this? I didn't pay for Penny Arcade Adventures because it was too much-- they honestly think people are going to swing this?

Sure, I was looking forward to playing Castle Crashers back when I thought it was going to cost me upwards of $15 maximum, but now? Nah, you know, there are plenty of better uses for my $22.50.
flay's Avatar
flay at 07/30/2008 10:05
"These people are obviously not very business savvy. I mean the lower the price the more people will buy it to a point, the higher the price the less people will buy it. So by outpricing the market they will just screw up their profits and probably blame someone else. "

or maybe these rumor mongering queers shouldnt quote random numbers off a japanese site and come to crazy conclusions
the Golden Avatar's Avatar
the Golden Avatar at 07/30/2008 10:06
They'll charge what we'll pay.
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 07/30/2008 10:07
I would pay 60 bucks for Castle Crashers, but I'd have to have it on a disc. Paying 25 bucks for a digital download that has fuxxord DRM is a bad idea
HarassmentPanda's Avatar
HarassmentPanda at 07/30/2008 10:07
The worst thing about XBLA prices is the knowledge that they never go down. There are plenty of games I've wanted to play, but not at $60 retail, so I wait until they drop in price. With downloadable content, if you're not willing to pay full retail, you will never get to play the game. In fact, because downloadable prices are constant, the prospect of purchasing these games become less and less attractive over time.
mistic's Avatar
mistic at 07/30/2008 10:09
that's more then enough for me to NOT get it :p
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 07/30/2008 10:11
I was talking with Hitogoroshi last night, and he too said he would gladly pay $60 for it, that it's as good as a full priced game. If this is true, then I don't see the issue with paying $25 (or $15 for Braid) for a great game that's worth the price. Would I like it to be cheaper? Yes, but who wouldn't want to pay less for anything? For what you're getting in the game, it sounds just fine, and I'm glad to award good gameplay with a little more of my money.
konchu's Avatar
konchu at 07/30/2008 10:12
I dont see a problem with the price if it is a good long quality title. I have bought plenty of indy titles on the PC that were around the 20 dollar mark. Though I do always wish it was lower and would prefer to get a box, but if the game is worth 25 bucks I will buy it simple as that. People are buying games like Grand Turiso Prolgue on the PS3 now for 40 bucks(though you can get on disk for the same cost) I just think its silly to say a 2D game can't be worth a premium as well heck just look to the DS if you need examples. Looking at PC distribution like steam its obvious they don't view the packaging as worth a 50% price cut after all the game is the meat of the product packaging should be a cheap part. I know they can potentially make more money off the digital downloads though as they dont have to share as much with Gamestop, Best Buy, etc. But just looking at the XNA model MS gets a decent cut too and I bet its maybe comparible on the professionally developed games.
Urashima's Avatar
Urashima at 07/30/2008 10:12
If this turns out to be true, I'm not really all that surprised by it. I mean hell, Microsoft's stock is has been hitting it's lows for the year this past month, so they gotta generate revenue however they can. Besides, people that want it will buy it despite the increased cost.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 07/30/2008 10:13
Darn that Famitsu and official JP Xbox websites for posting random numbers!
MrSadistic's Avatar
MrSadistic at 07/30/2008 10:13
I'm still trying to figure out what's so great about CC.
Hitogoroshi's Avatar
Hitogoroshi at 07/30/2008 10:13
I'm fine with these prices.
Samit Sarkar's Avatar
Samit Sarkar at 07/30/2008 10:16
There's no way that the amount of people in the Colette/Aerox boat ("I'll buy it no matter what the cost") outnumbers the rest of the 360-owning public ("1600 MS Points for Penny Arcade Adventures was steep enough; fuck this"). It appears that Microsoft is trying to gauge the rate at which hype translates into sales, and with Penny Arcade Adventures taking the title of best XBLA debut -- by far -- this (unfortunately) makes perfect sense from a business standpoint.
free touch's Avatar
free touch at 07/30/2008 10:16
NEEDS MOAR BOX
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 07/30/2008 10:18
Yeah...they should make a sweet box and instructions and sell for $30 in stores. But they won't.
zombiekiller13's Avatar
zombiekiller13 at 07/30/2008 10:20
I'm still getting it. Been looking forward to it for a long time. I have an unspoken rule that I want the whole physical package, box, instructions, and disc, but there are some games that I will ignore this rule for.

But the price is definitely steep, and I agree that this might be Microsoft testing the waters to see what kind of feedback they get. Or it's just a complete rumor. I mean, it's coming from Japanese sites. Could be a mistranslation, or someone over there getting wrong information...or it's the price for the Japanese but not the Americans.
AlienGuy18's Avatar
AlienGuy18 at 07/30/2008 10:22
Wow. This is ridiculous. First they announce that there will be 5 great games in a month, right there its $50, but now, if this is true, it'll be around $70.

Not cool.
HarassmentPanda's Avatar
HarassmentPanda at 07/30/2008 10:26
Outside of the Braid/Castle Crashers issue, statements like this bother me: "I'm glad to award good gameplay with a little more of my money." (Sorry, Necros!)

Why should you award good gameplay with more of your money? Shouldn't we demand good gameplay from publishers and developers before they get any of our money? The idea of rewarding a developer beyond retail for making a good game is absurd to me -- stop buying garbage and save your money for developers who produce quality titles.
galagabug 's Avatar
galagabug at 07/30/2008 10:27
i'm torn, 1800 sounds steep, but maybe its just an unfamiliar number? this game looks to have a lot of substance, and if this came on a dvd with alien homonid and was sold for $60, i'll bet it would be called the deal of the century. idk, as long as there's a free demo, we can all determine whether or not its worth it.
robestyles's Avatar
robestyles at 07/30/2008 10:28
I'm not paying more than 800 points for anything on XBLA period. and I really really want Castle Crashers.
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 07/30/2008 10:28
It is coming from Japanese sites but 1800 in Japan is still 1800 in US. No translation required!



PS: Panda is my hero!
BlindsideDork's Avatar
BlindsideDork at 07/30/2008 10:33
CC with Alien Homonid for $60 wouldn't be as good as Orange Box but it would be AMAZING! AH is $10 on XBLA so that is $50. Plus you get instructions and box art!

And you don't have to worry about being able to play the game if you RRoD!
DamnYouKrycek's Avatar
DamnYouKrycek at 07/30/2008 10:36
As a Canadian, I would have to pay nearly $30 for it (Let's not forget that the US and CDN dollar is more or less on par right now).

Yeeeeeaaaaah. Not gonna happen.
Nogarda's Avatar
Nogarda at 07/30/2008 10:38
well its typical. xbla games used to be 400 points a pop. and people ate them up. then they jumped to double at 800 points and fair enough they stayed there for a good while and it was more like steady consumption. i think people are gonna draw the line soon. people went apeshit when the graw map pack was 1200 points. so 1800 points for a XBLA game.

I hope people have the sense to boycott such a thing on principal if such a thing happens.
Teta's Avatar
Teta at 07/30/2008 10:49
If I had a 360 I would pay that price for CC, but...
This could be the beguinning of a new pricing policy in MS, incresing the price of further XBLA games, wich would suck. Since they don´t cost that amount of money, only yhis game does.
kagai's Avatar
kagai at 07/30/2008 10:49
I have a real problem paying that much money for something that I can't resell when I'm done with it. I'm not supporting this game. I will, however, support Bionic Commando Rearmed..$10?!? that's just a bunch of crazy, awesome!
Tubatic's Avatar
Tubatic at 07/30/2008 10:52
Holy Pretentious Price Gouge Batman!

Quality is quality, sure. And yep, these may be good enough to justify the price of a dinner, appetizer plus tip at a fancy diner joint. But this REALLY puts me off of buying Braid outright, as i kind of had originally. Thank goodness of demos . . . but that's kind ridiculous.

Also, nice to know that hardcore gamers are also valued cash cows in this waggle-a-day industry though, amirite? :)
TurboSpaz's Avatar
TurboSpaz at 07/30/2008 10:55
MS is just doing what Sony and Ninty did with Europe - Just keep bending them over and see how much shit they can take before they snap. In the case of Europe they just keep gobbling up Sonys and Nintys shit. Next month it will be $40, everyone will bitch and complain and they will still sell a shit load.’
Slick Icarus's Avatar
Slick Icarus at 07/30/2008 10:58
And they'll be worth every penny...

Still, 25 bucks for a digital download is pretty steep. For the same price I could get Geometry Wars, REZ HD, and Ikaruga. That won't stop me from buying these games though.
MechaMonkey's Avatar
MechaMonkey at 07/30/2008 11:03
Guess I won't be getting it after all... money-grubbing bastards.
Timmeh's Avatar
Timmeh at 07/30/2008 11:19
a) it's 'shrewd'

b) I nearly picked up an MS points card on the way home today in anticipation of these releases. Instead I'm going to say

FUCK YOU THE BEHEMOTH and FUCK YOU JONATHAN BLOW. Don't pretend this is all evil MS being evil, I'm pretty sure developers get some say in pricing of their own games.

Money grubbing bastards. "Hey look, our games are the talk of the internet, let's HIKE THOSE PRICES DUDE". Well you can suck my balls if you think I'll be paying that much.

Also, I agree with HarassmentPanda, what's with the 'let's reward devs that make an effort with more money". You should EXPECT good games for the money they cost these days, not be pleasantly surprised.
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