Your opinions on the recent drop to 0.99$ of games from big studios

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by Intruder_qcc, Jun 25, 2009.

  1. Intruder_qcc

    Intruder_qcc Well-Known Member

    Mar 28, 2009
    133
    0
    0
    Senior Analyst-programmer
    St-Hubert (Quebec), Canada
    Hello fellow developer, especially indie developer such as myself.

    Well you might have seen that recently several game from big studios have been dropped to the bottom price of 0.99$.

    I wonder what's your opinion about the big guys such as EA, Game Loft, etc... competing on the same price level as most other indie developer.

    In my opinion I think this is not good for us smaller indie developer team as we don't have the financial and/or marketing team to compete head to heard with those juggernauts. I know for originality and quality we can probably compete fairly (though it can be hard on some parts like having great graphics and/or music if you are only a programmer).

    Let say for example I was making a third person action game base on roman mythology (similar to hero of sparta). I think my title even it was price at 0.99$ it will have a hard time to get visibility since I am not a known developer and wont have the marketing budget to advertise it massively like big studio can.

    In the past the strategy for most indie developer to gain visibility was to put out a lite version for FREE and/or lower their game to 0.99$. But imagine if all the top list get filled with those big studio titles, how can we grab the gamer attention when they have the choice between the latest EA title at 0.99$ of a know IP and a unknown name from Joe Basement Game?

    I wonder what should we do as indie developer to still thrive beside big studios and get visibility. As I was already disappointed to have to price my games at 0.99$ to compete against other indie developer, but now to go up against EA, Game Loft this is quite depressing :(.

    I know people told me already that this is a free market and I should stop whining/rant/doom gloom. I am looking for some enlightenment from other developer.

    Fred
     
  2. coolman

    coolman Well-Known Member

    Well, they have the right to do so cause this is marketing competence and sales.

    Anyhow, us the indies can't hardly compete against the big studios with prices like this, cause we don't have the resources they got. They deserve also my anger and I really doubt to buy something from them in the near future.

    So the unique chance by now is doing something more creative, innovative than his games.

    Another thing we could do is joining in any way, making an association for having more visibility, but this will consume time and also money. Worthwhile? Who knows.
     
  3. coolman

    coolman Well-Known Member

    Another problem with this such low prices is that people will not valuate our work, and could be get used to only pay a buck for a game that deserves more.
     
  4. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    I think this has already happened to a large extent. The idea that $5 is too expensive for a game seems to have taken hold of both consumers and reviewers.

    I don't think we've got any reason to complain about EA though, they do what they can to make as much profit as possible. The big question is whether they're breaking down their own market this way. People might be hesitant to pay the "big" bucks for upcoming EA-titles if the company start making a habit of $1 sales on most titles...
     
  5. Anders

    Anders Well-Known Member

    Feb 3, 2009
    1,634
    0
    0
    Co-owner and CTO at Color Monkey
    Sweden
    I agree. It is not Gameloft's fault, it was caused by a lot of other devs before them. That doesn't mean that I think they are doing a good thing.

    In the short run, this is good for consumers -- they can get great apps for close to nothing. In the long run though, it is bad for everyone, i.e. both devs and consumers.

    The price drops I see everywhere is also killing the companies themselves. I have read in so many threads that people aren't going to buy their other products since they are likely to drop to .99 at some point anyway. And I understand people who bought the game at 9.99 not long ago and complain about the sudden price drops. Again, they are killing themselves.

    It is not solely some companies fault, it is also Apple's. As the top lists work now, they promote cheap apps. Easiest way to solve this mess is to do something about how the lists work, and that's something only Apple can do (for instance sort by revenue). Another solution is to tell every developer on the planet not to drop the prices to .99, but that is illegal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cartel), impossible and also in general a very bad idea for everyone.

    With that said, I'm also extremely grateful that Apple allow me and my friends to make a living out of making games.
     
  6. 99c_gamer

    99c_gamer Well-Known Member

    Mar 23, 2009
    659
    0
    0
    #6 99c_gamer, Jun 25, 2009
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2009

    I dont think thats true. You're not going to get too many good games if your budget is $1 believe me I know.

    There's some cheap thrills and old games that are now obsolete but that's about it.

    As an indie developer you need to make something original which is sort of the point. Dont go out and try making an "indie" soccer sim because you wont stand a chance against the big boys.
     
  7. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    Seriously? I'm not an active bargain-hunter, but I've picked up a few on-sale games for $1. Peggle, Flight Controll and Mecho Wars comes to mind. These three are among my favourite iPhone games period and have given me far more entertainment than a lot of higher-priced games that I bought.

    Dag nammit! I'm just about finished with my next game: "The great indiedev soccer simulator 2009". ;) No, not really. I sort of agree, but think the main problem for the developers comes down to a combination of lacking presentation-skills and exposure. Most games are just lost in the backwaters of the App Store never to be seen again...

    Personally I think $1 should be reserved for truly crap games and really short games. By constantly dumping the price of higher profile games the risk of destroying the entire App-market might go from obscure theory to harsh reality...
     
  8. ENERTRON

    ENERTRON Well-Known Member

    Jun 25, 2009
    113
    0
    0
    I think what we're overlooking is the fact that these are not top-of-the-line games as far as graphics and sound go. We're basically in the business of games that, graphically, lie somewhere between Playstation 1 and Playstation 2. I paid $10 for a lot of my XBOX 360 games (used but play fine)- I'm not going to pay that much for a Nintendo 64 game (unless its Chrono Trigger... then money is no object)
     
  9. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    Well, it's a fair view I guess, but if your view is the norm I believe you can more or less forget about the iPhone becoming a truly prosperous gaming-platform in the long run.

    The Nintendo DS is the biggest selling console, despite being the least powerfull of all current platforms when it comes to graphics. While developing something like Final Fantasy for the PS3 is as expensive as it comes, much due to the extreme quality of the production-values, it's not exactly cheap to develop something like New Mario Bros either.

    I see your point, and it's quite reasonable from a consumer's standpoint. I do believe however that if the App Store had started out with a minimum price of $5 per title we would have had less titles, but probably less crap. If no-one expects to pay more than $1 - $2 per game it is unlikely that many developers in the long run will risk making any AAA titles. We will probably end up with more crappy ports akin to the recent Ghostbusters fiasco...
     
  10. coolman

    coolman Well-Known Member

  11. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    I would also like to address the idea that a game needs to have the world's most beautiful 3D graphics(tm) to be worth paying for. "Brain Age" for the Nintendo DS has sold more than 2 million copies in Japan alone. (Priced a lot higher than $1). My claim is that the majority of games on the app-store actually look more impressive than this title.

    (I like Brain Training by the way, and also think the clean simplicity of the art-direction has some merit).
     
  12. Intruder_qcc

    Intruder_qcc Well-Known Member

    Mar 28, 2009
    133
    0
    0
    Senior Analyst-programmer
    St-Hubert (Quebec), Canada
    If I put my consumer hat of course I will also think like that, especially if you know that most developer now drop their price to 0.99$ very short time after their games is release. Its not like waiting for the PS3 to drop in price, you wont turn blue ;-). Consumer in general will always like to get a good deals, now wonder why site such as RedFlagDeals, ChepAssGamer and other similar site are popular.

    I saw that in the same thread just a few post earlier someone said the same thing about Peggle. That since he miss the sales and know a lot of people got it for 0.99$ that now he wont pay the high price for it and he might get it if it goes around 1.99$.
     
  13. NickFalk

    NickFalk Well-Known Member

    To me the whole problem lies with too many developers dumping their prices too quickly. I have nothing against $.99 titles, but the prices should differ according to game-life/quality etc. For small quirky titles the lower price-point is probably right. At the moment I feel like we have the following scenario:

    [COULD BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE]
    The App Store is a pool, and it is extremely crowded. Someone takes a crap in the pool, instant gratification, and most people might never notice. However if enough people do the same thing my guess is the majority of the people will get out of the pool as quick as they can.[/COULD BE CONSIDERED OFFENSIVE] ;)
     
  14. Grumps

    Grumps Well-Known Member
    Patreon Indie

    Feb 2, 2009
    758
    0
    16
    iOS Game Developer
    I think the low price itself started off with us indie with the low dump and they are obviously trying to survive the storm themselves.

    First to blame gotta be Apple for the poor marketing system. The only way to sell apps is get to the top 100 paid apps list and the only way to get up there fast is by doing $0.99. Even thought sales might be doing great for studios earlier but it wont last forever. $0.99 is just an option for them to squeeze the juice out of their dying app.
     
  15. Stroffolino

    Stroffolino Well-Known Member
    Patreon Silver

    Apr 28, 2009
    1,100
    8
    38
    Software Engineer
    Pennsylvania
    It's an interesting time for sure.

    Don't forget that established companies have much larger production costs than independent developers. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the majority of forays from bigger companies into iphone app development have't been particularly profitable. You tend to only hear about success stories, and even then only in terms of gross revenue.

    Where big companies have a leg up is existing IP with brand recognition that can be ported relatively cheaply.

    To take a completely new game concept and sink a lot of money into producing it is a huge gamble for anyone right now. Not only is it hard to predict the sorts of games that might catch on, you could spend months polishing the most wonderful game, only to have someone else beat you to the punch with a similar title, or otherwise end up in the shadow of other new releases.

    I don't think that the race to 99 cents is a good omen for the companies doing it. Besides the 'price wars' we also have a growing number of development houses going after smaller guys claiming violation of trademarks, etc. When you have companies chasing each other to the 99 cents bargain bin and lawyers just behind them sharpening their knives, it's better to be a consumer than a developer.

    The best bet for indies right now is to keep your day job and focus on games that you love. If something catches on and makes you good money on the side, great! If not, you still have a great little title you can enjoy playing, that'll likely develop a cult following.

    I don't see pricing as a problem that needs to be fixed, per say. So long as you still have some people making good money at the top, there will be incentive for other people to come in and produce fresh new exciting content to try and cash in as well. Many will fail to make money, but it won't stop people from trying.

    Phil
     
  16. conrem

    conrem Well-Known Member

    Mar 29, 2009
    435
    0
    0
    developer + student at medicine
    Moldova
    I think we need some changes, it is not normal to pay 99 cents for big games..
     
  17. psionic

    psionic Well-Known Member

    Dec 22, 2008
    248
    0
    16
    I think with games like sonic, the developers are making huge cash for the relative effort put in.

    For something like the sims3, I don't really think so.

    Development costs are huge for this, and are probably subsidized via other platforms to make up for the relatively low sales. (ie it's used as more of a promotional tool to get people to buy the 'bigger better' platform game)

    One thing to recognize too is that with the 99cent games, people buy it and if they like the genre they're going to be looking for more.

    I'd really like it if/when Apple decides to put some serious effort into its ranking system, and also allow for a 'similar title' option. I see this in my receipts, but it would be nice to have some links on the actual app store pages too.


    My best advice is to come up with something innovative for the platform. These will always sell well with the right marketting behind them (taxiball for instance)


    Chris.
     
  18. allenfjordan

    allenfjordan Active Member

    May 21, 2009
    39
    0
    0
    Senior Computer Specialist at NOAA
    Colorado
    Price drops from the big guys is a bit worrying, but it also shows that they recognize the market for affordable games bought on impulse. I just hope us indie devs can keep up... we'll have to aim for creativity and fun gameplay over fancy graphics and expensive productions.
     
  19. Johannvonstranovic

    Johannvonstranovic Well-Known Member

    Feb 6, 2009
    116
    0
    0
    Graphic Designer
    Salt Lake City, UT
    The only silver lining I can see is that even though customers feel like they got a great deal on a 99 cent big title they will have enough money and really have no problem also paying 99 cent for a delightfully well done indie title as well. Of course, the bad is that the cheap big titles will crowd the top 100 and leave less room for the little gems in that all important top 100 list.
     
  20. Intruder_qcc

    Intruder_qcc Well-Known Member

    Mar 28, 2009
    133
    0
    0
    Senior Analyst-programmer
    St-Hubert (Quebec), Canada
    This is is exactly my point with this.

    Consumer will be more easy to afford both theoretically. But if they really want to pay $1 at the time, they will probably go the safer route of well known IP then take the chance with some unknown game. Its like I give you $1 to go buy coffee, you see 2 stands, one is a Starbuck and the other one your local mom/pop coffee shop. Which one are you tempted to go first?

    Already without their price drop those big studios already have plenty of visibility as many of their title were in the top list and had often banners on the AppStore. Now they will crow the top 100 even more and smaller indie game will slowly disapear from that list. And sadly most of the developer that doesnt reach those top charts doe poorly (please correct me if I am wrong, but this is what I gather so far with different news/blog post from other developer).

    Fred
     

Share This Page