Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
jeff-vogel.blogspot.com
Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
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Re: Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
#2This feels like a weird post to me, because it's got all this discussion about discounts and bundles and so forth but the part that the title indicates is its main thrust -- deciding what price is going to be "full price" for your game -- basically just says "make it $15 or $20, because that's what people charge these days."
Which, OK, but this feels like a subject that could use a lot more investigation. Why is $15-20 what people are charging these days? Does it vary based on genre, platform, theme, depth (hours of expected playtime), art style, phase of the moon? Does a high initial list price that you discount steeply later pay out better than a low initial list price with less dramatic discounting? There's so many angles you could attack this question from beyond just throwing a dart.
It's an especially interesting question given that Spiderweb's games appeal to a relatively small but quite passionate audience, so you wonder if he'd be better off charging higher-than-market prices at launch (when those passionate audience members, who are probably less price-sensitive, will be buying) and then moving quickly to deeper discounts once the hard-core fan base has tapped out.
Re: Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
#3I am always shocked at how marketing-adverse indie game devs are. Developers invest a ton of their base commodity (time) into a game, but refuse to advertise it or fail to save cash to do so. Instead they rely on front pages, bundles, and sales. Then 9 months latter they do post mortems, where they correlated sales graphs to events. I want to see a sale graph for conversions based on Facebook ads. Mobile/FB Game companies pump out mediocre games, but maintain huge user bases just because people find their games.
Everything thinks that they are going to be Notch and their game will spread by word-of-mouth, because they have a unicorn. Turns out your time-bending, retro, 2D, pixel-art shooter/platformer doesnt have the genius of Virtual Legos, and no one cares about it.
Re: Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
#4I am one of Jeff's true fans, having played his games since the mid 90s, which makes me think he's understated one important point: you have to have fans. You can't expect to stand out on the strength of your ideas, gameplay or story alone. You have to work to find an audience for them, and then work to get those people to buy your product, at full price. Good games are almost a commodity now. The developer is one of the few points of difference buyers pay attention to.
"You can be 50% off one sale and then 75% the next. Nobody will notice." I disagree with this; once you put it on a temporary sale or in a bundle, many people are content to wait until it goes on sale for lower. I've lost count of the number of Reddit threads where people asked, "Will [game x] go lower than $1.49?"
Re: Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
#5I bought two indie games recently based on word of mouth alone: Undertale and The Beginner's Guide. Both are $10 on Steam (and coincidentally, both are made mostly by solo-developers).
Undertale (http://store.steampowered.com/app/391540/) is one of the best games I've played in years. I wish I could have paid more for it. If you're reading this, buy Undertale now.
The Beginner's Guide (http://store.steampowered.com/app/303210/) is...very indie, to put it mildly. And almost made me feel like I wasted my money.
There's a lot of risk with buying games freely, which is one of the reasons why gamers are unwilling to buy at high prices. However, Steam Refunds may help with this and may make gamers more willing to buy at higher prices.
Re: Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
#6I am always shocked at how marketing-adverse indie game devs are. Developers invest a ton of their base commodity (time) into a game, but refuse to advertise it or fail to save cash to do so. Instead they rely on front pages, bundles, and sales. Then 9 months latter they do post mortems, where they correlated sales graphs to events. I want to see a sale graph for conversions based on Facebook ads. Mobile/FB Game comp…
In my opinion, if you do CPM/CPC/Facebook marketing for your indie game, you are wasting your money. You are competing with the marketing budgets of industry giants, which are ten to 100 times larger. Your ads won't be seen.
Your effort should be spent convincing influencers to play your game, so that they will convince others. These are not people best reached by advertising.
Re: Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
#7I am one of Jeff's true fans, having played his games since the mid 90s, which makes me think he's understated one important point: you have to have fans. You can't expect to stand out on the strength of your ideas, gameplay or story alone. You have to work to find an audience for them, and then work to get those people to buy your product, at full price. Good games are almost a commodity now. The developer is one of…
Indie games have become a race to the bottom, and devs are content on watching them slide. If I had a nickel every time I saw a downward sloping sales graph, with a single spike for that one Front Page day, I would have enough for the latest bundle.
Re: Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
#8I am always shocked at how marketing-adverse indie game devs are. Developers invest a ton of their base commodity (time) into a game, but refuse to advertise it or fail to save cash to do so. Instead they rely on front pages, bundles, and sales. Then 9 months latter they do post mortems, where they correlated sales graphs to events. I want to see a sale graph for conversions based on Facebook ads. Mobile/FB Game comp…
In my opinion, if you do CPM/CPC/Facebook marketing for your indie game, you are wasting your money. You are competing with the marketing budgets of industry giants, which are ten to 100 times larger. Your ads won't be seen. Your effort should be spent convincing influencers to play your game, so that they will convince others. These are not people best reached by advertising.
Have you ever seen anyone try it and report numbers? Ads for Facebook are fairly specific. Its creepy how finely you can segment your audience. Industry giants may have larger budgets, which just means that they can cast a wider net. Well targeted ads may have better returns.
Facebook is not the only platform. Reddit, Polygon, and Twitch all have users that would fit your demographic more. Social media personalities (Twitter, Youtube, Tumblr, etc), all will mention your game for the right price. If you have ever seen 'Featured', 'Promoted', or 'Partner' content, then it was paid for. Communities and forums are overvalued for the time investment, especially because they rely on other people to spread your game.
We live in a consumerist society driven by ads. Refusal to use them is silly.
Re: Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
#9I don't like the idea of basing too much of the price on hours of playtime: if you've got something really inventive and different with a short enough playtime to not overstay its welcome, that's undervalued. Many games with long playtimes are boring and full of grind.
As a player with a dayjob and many interests besides games, I don't value million hour playtimes: I value novelty and innovation. So I'm glad to see and pay for something like The Beginner's Guide for $10.
Although that's probably a minority opinion: look at the Steam discussion forum for any indie game priced at or higher than $10 and you'll see at least one thread complaining that it's too expensive for such a short game(/not being written on a custom engine in C++).
Re: Stages in Pricing Computer Games (2014)
#10I bought two indie games recently based on word of mouth alone: Undertale and The Beginner's Guide. Both are $10 on Steam (and coincidentally, both are made mostly by solo-developers). Undertale ( http://store.steampowered.com/app/391540/ ) is one of the best games I've played in years. I wish I could have paid more for it. If you're reading this, buy Undertale now . The Beginner's Guide ( http://store.steampowered.c…
I was listening the 'matched' podcast where they were talking about The Beginner's Guide. It's meant to play as a an emotional ride to help people understand what the life of an artist can be. Definitely not for everyone, but it is supposed to be on the level of "this 'game', made me feel something about myself... Maybe even empathy for the maker too". Can definitely see how it feels like a waste, but maybe give it another play through and kinda ponder on things. It might make the purchase feel less wasteful :D