Ash II: Shadows (JRPG by Konami)

[Gunlock]

Originally Posted by C.Hannum

This isn't going to be the classic price complaint, I would just like to understand what the heck is going through the head of whatever marketing genius decided to (eventually) have 3 separate versions of the game, IAP chapter content at 3 different price tiers (100%, 50% and free), and then turned around and put the gold version on sale for the original price of the silver less than a month after the game debuted?

It's safe to say if there is ever an Ash III or other title from these devs that they're going to need another monetization model because nobody is going to buy any sort of gold/deluxe version at launch. I'm happy to have supported the development of this style of RPG with my full price purchase, but it is annoying to see devs you are trying to support then engage in these self destructive marketing gymnastics. When you completely abandon the rationale of the $5 gold version little more than 3 weeks after the game came out over Valentine's Day (of all non-reasons for any sale, let alone a game of this style), all you do is encourage everyone to wait in the future and not buy the silver at all.

Devs need to work harder to train consumers to behave better and stop giving into the urge to roll over and show your belly. There are so few good non-KRPGs on the app store that Ash II deserved better than a race to the bottom so soon after launch.

Very well said. The first Ash is one of my favorite rpg’s on iOS, and probably the best story I’ve seen so far on the platform. So I bought the gold version of Ash II the day it came out. I haven’t played it yet (really BIG rpg backlog on my iPhone + lack of free space + I want to play the full story, stopping and waiting for chapter updates will ruin the experience, I think…).
And now I see a sale after 2-3 weeks. This is really disappointing, and another reason to ask myself why should I buy any game the day it goes out when I can wait for a freaking week for it to go on sale or even become free. I really don’t mind supporting the devs, it is just really annoying to see this kind of marketing. I think some devs should take an example from Rocketcat (Hook series, Mage Gauntlet) and never put their games on sale.

[undeadcow]

Konami is one of those publishers that does early sales, you can sometimes predict sale probability on the basis of pricing record... Ash 1 has been on sale very frequently, even free... so I help off on purchase and got it a little cheaper. I wish more people would quit complaining and start using common sense. The only people the sale really hurts is the developer. Thanks for the sale.

I also dislike the episodic nature and would have preferred the full thing on launch. Will wait to play.

[C.Hannum]

Originally Posted by undeadcow

Konami is one of those publishers that does early sales, you can sometimes predict sale probability on the basis of pricing record...

I get that, but the problem with this sale is that it's self invalidating.

They could have put gold on sale for $3.99 and silver for $1.99 - a discount that would entice fence sitters without having just removed the entire point of having tiered versions to begin with, which, I admit, seems a terrible idea since the only reason to have ever purchased the Silver was to wager they won't finish the game or you would grow so tired of it that you would never want to play beyond chapter 4. It never made any sense to me, so I bought the gold, but if they're going to stick by this "vote of confidence" sales model, they needed to at least keep it viable, which they now have failed to do.

They have needlessly confused would be purchasers with two different versions of the same game with poorly explained future costs/savings, have announced plans to muddy the clarity further with a third version, and now they've gone so aggressive on the sale of the base game that anybody who cared but hadn't bought it will now grab the gold leaving them with less future revenue to support the planned episodic releases. The whole thing is a marketing mess.

[undeadcow]

$2.99 is a fair price for a iOS native RPG (like Dragon Fantasy, Fall of Angels, etc) particilarly one with such limited launch content as Ash 2. Many sell for less (Guardian Saga, RPG Quest, Ash 1, etc). The initial price of $4.99 was a bit high anyway. Full content iOS native RPGs (like Ash 1) rarely price above $2.99. The reduced price point does not necessarily suggest content is not viable or that the business model is anything but standard. Dragon Fantasy has received multiple free chapters although reducing to $0.99 several times. Similarly Ash 2 is an indication that Ash 1, an often $0.99 game, was profitable enough for future content so there is little reason to doubt developer promise of future content in my opinion.

The multiple tiered releases protects the higher price point because with a middle range edition (silver) it is unlikely the gold version will crash down in price to $0.99/free.

Also credit to the developers for building a true story sequel to the original, a move that might limt fan base to part 1 devotees.

[DaviddesJ]

Originally Posted by C.Hannum

It's safe to say if there is ever an Ash III or other title from these devs that they're going to need another monetization model because nobody is going to buy any sort of gold/deluxe version at launch.

Why not? I don't get it. Most iOS games go on sale in the first month. The people who are excited and want to have the game right away, usually don't mind paying an extra couple of bucks. There are more people who are on the fence, are sort of wait and see, they can be motivated to buy if the price drops and there are good reviews. It seems to me that everyone knows that games often will go on sale if they wait, I still buy plenty of games at full price immediately at launch, because, you know, I want to play them now. If I don't care that much, or I'm on the fence, I usually wait. I don't see anything wrong with this model. It's a relatively intelligent form of price discrimination.

If you wanted to play the game right at launch, you would still be better off buying the Gold version right away ($4.99), than buying the Silver version at launch ($2.99) and still having to pay for episodes or upgrade to Gold later. So I don't agree that the sale removes the rationale for Gold, at all. It just depends on (1) how eager you are to get the game right away, and (2) how sure you are you want to buy all of the episodes when they come out.

[chubbypillow]

Only complaints I have are that this game is tooooooooooo tooo tooo easy. Just keep tapping on the screen to win. The interface is one of the ugliest I have ever seen in an RPG. Its design doesn't fit with the game world. What is the point to playing the game when its so damn easy. It would be better if they made it into like a storybook. Game play is terrible. The Virtual Pad is terrible. The touchscreen movement is terrible. Thus I consider the price too steep for its quality. This game is a dollar at best.

[theblackw0lf]

Originally Posted by chubbypillow

Only complaints I have are that this game is tooooooooooo tooo tooo easy. Just keep tapping on the screen to win. The interface is one of the ugliest I have ever seen in an RPG. Its design doesn't fit with the game world. What is the point to playing the game when its so damn easy. It would be better if they made it into like a storybook. Game play is terrible. The Virtual Pad is terrible. The touchscreen movement is terrible. Thus I consider the price too steep for its quality. This game is a dollar at best.

Game is far more challenging now. I really wish reviewers would give it another look.

And the first chapter is four hours long.

[Bethany]

Mmm. I agree about the sale thing. Most games go on sale, but most DON'T on sale this quickly.

I'm OK with having bought it full-price because I felt a little bad about having gotten Ash 1 for free, so I figure I've made up for it now. However, I remember having the same thought about Ash 1... that it went free while still quite new, and that going all the way to free so soon was a mistake. I even remember posting on TA at the time that going to .99 would have been enough to get me to bite.

I think the release might have benefited by (1) waiting until the first TWO chapters were ready, (2) having the balance issues fixed from the get-go, and (3) making the pricing scheme of the chapters clearer up front, so you could see exactly what the difference between Silver and Gold was going to be, price-wise.

Last I heard Chapter 2 should be out soon, but I'd love an ETA from the devs (nudge, nudge...)!

[Montanx]

Originally Posted by theblackw0lf

Game is far more challenging now. I really wish reviewers would give it another look.

And the first chapter is four hours long.

The first chapter took me 25 min to beat. Although it was before the update. I played through it first fighting every enemy and talking to everyone, took me a few hrs.

Then my save got accident erased so played again and just walked by every enemy and only fought the mandatory ones. 25 min to beat and I was only a few levels back from the one where I fought every enemy.

[New England Gamer]

I would love to know when the achievement bug will be fixed. Game is sitting idle til I know what is up with that.