AI War Steam sale - 50-85% off!

[keith.lamothe]

Well, value is an odd thing.  If you watch a movie for 2 hours for $5 and really like it, is it worth it to pay $50 for a game that delivers similar enjoyment for 20 hours?  A goodly many of those mainstream games deliver at least to that point.  We prefer to go with the stuffed-with-value approach, but that's not to say the other way is unethical.

"Unethical" can be found in the games industry as in any other industry, though.  But it's probably more in the marketing department than the actual game design or setting of the price point.

[TechSY730]

You mean all mainstream games that oh-so-ludicrously inflate the game price while seemingly maintaining customer attraction through unknown, almost unethical means?

If the strikeout meant your were being in jest, then good.

Otherwise, I have to ask you this. Is it wrong for the price of a good to be raised even if most targeted customers will still buy it at the raised price? (This is assuming a reasonably competitive market, where there is a choice not to buy that product and go with a competitor or even go without it)

[Echo35]

Mmm, apart from being sarcastic, AI War is worthy of being at the $20 price point, honestly.

As soon as I manage to find a job and actually have money on hand, I'm definitely paying the full $50 that the game deserves

[Spikey00]

(When do I not joke these days?  :p)

Definitely, the enjoyment and opinion on the value of a game is a factor, but I would say that judgement is usually done after one finishes said game, or completes a significant portion of it.  But personally, in the case of AI War, the customers with such a niche game should know what exactly they're getting for the game.  If they're that much into the genre, surely they would pay at least $10 for the game; $3 is, I would say, pretty unjustly, but yeah, I suppose it's good for attracting new consumers.

>Is it wrong for the price of a good to be raised even if most targeted customers will still buy it at the raised price?

I wouldn't say that's unfair, but of course, during these modern times, consumer awareness is... uh, to my personal outlook, is disappearing.  $60 for a game?  That's not going to happen here, unless it is truly something worthy.  Another factor is how well the developers are doing--of course I'm not going to feed the CoD series with my scarce amounts of non-existent funds, I'll let the other crazed fans do that instead.  A company like Arcen however, I see to be qualified to raise its prices.

Just my opinion.  :\

[Dyers_Eve]

We don't expect any remotely high percentage of our sales to be full-price sales.  85%-off is quite a bit lower than we like to go but if it broadens our customer base and the number of folks getting their friends interested, etc, then it works out.

Doesn't that suggest that your original price point is too high? I don't know if you have to sign like any anti-competition thing with Steam/GG/Impulse but couldn't you just discount your own game via your own store as you wish? I for one need to buy LoTS but I missed out on the last deal and now with all the really good deals on steam/gg/impulse atm I have to say that my money is going there because right now LoTS at $10 is just not a good deal at all.

Also the video game industry is leaning towards FTP games with microtransactions. Have you considered trying this model? I don't know how you'd add it in to AI war, maybe different skins for ships/starships.

[tigersfan]

Mmm, apart from being sarcastic, AI War is worthy of being at the $20 price point, honestly.

Agreed, but so are a lot of the other games I play, IMO. That doesn't change the fact that I can't afford to pay full price for them. So, I buy them when they are cheap, and I encourage my friends who play these types of games to buy them as well.

[tigersfan]

Also the video game industry is leaning towards FTP games with microtransactions. Have you considered trying this model? I don't know how you'd add it in to AI war, maybe different skins for ships/starships.

While there are companies that thrive with this model, I'm not sure it's safe to say that the entire industry is headed that way. Personally, I really hope that the entire industry is not, because I for one HATE that model.

As for Arcen, I'm really not sure that their types of games would work in that model anyway, but I'll let Keith or Chris answer your question about weather they considered it.

[keith.lamothe]

Doesn't that suggest that your original price point is too high?

That is one possible conclusion, but from what I've seen it's much more that people are way, way more likely to buy something when they have a limited-time opportunity to do so at a reduced price.  Simply lowering the list price would not yield the same kind of increase.

In fact, this particular phenomenon encourages _higher_ list prices, so you can hit those "50% off" and "75% off" and whatnot marks without having the actual effective price be like "12 cents"

I'm not willing to push that idea very far, though, as playing mind games with customers isn't ethical.  But as-is it doesn't bother me since there's so much value (in terms of cool new stuff and in terms of number of hours of fun) packed into each thing that they're getting a great deal at full price, let alone discounted.

I for one need to buy LoTS but I missed out on the last deal and now with all the really good deals on steam/gg/impulse atm I have to say that my money is going there because right now LoTS at $10 is just not a good deal at all.

You are of course free to value-ate things as you see fit, but I 100% disagree that LotS is not worth $10.  It's worth more than that, actually.  The Fallen Spire stuff alone is basically worth that, if you have any interest at all in a radically different game scenario (story-campaign elements, city building elements, escalating the conflict from guerilla strikes to all-out war, massive modular capital ships, and an alternate victory condition if you follow it that far).  And the other stuff added by LotS (Spirecraft, the Spire bonus ships, etc) adds quite a lot to the game too.

Let me put it this way, how many fresh scenarios would an expansion pack have to make possible for it to be worth it?  Or are you just not interested enough in the game itself to be willing to pay $10 for any number of full-game-stuffed-with-ships-and-encounters-I've-never-seen-before experiences?

Also the video game industry is leaning towards FTP games with microtransactions. Have you considered trying this model? I don't know how you'd add it in to AI war, maybe different skins for ships/starships.

The microtransaction model feels unethical to us.

[Red Spot]

Also the video game industry is leaning towards FTP games with microtransactions. Have you considered trying this model? I don't know how you'd add it in to AI war, maybe different skins for ships/starships.

The microtransaction model feels unethical to us.

Just my opinion ofcourse, but I am glad to hear read that.

[Not Sure]

As a new player that just bought 2 copies @ $3, I have this to say: If I end up seriously enjoying the game I will want to spread it! I have no problem buying other copies @ full price to gift. This is the only game I purchased from the steam holiday sale. I'd never heard of it until the exposure of the sale.

[Echo35]

Doesn't that suggest that your original price point is too high? I don't know if you have to sign like any anti-competition thing with Steam/GG/Impulse but couldn't you just discount your own game via your own store as you wish?

The price isn't the factor, it's weather or not it's on sale. If iPads went on sale for 50% tomorrow, people would buy them until there were none left. Doesn't matter that it's still several hundred dollars, it matters that it's on sale and people will think they're getting a good deal.

I for one need to buy LoTS but I missed out on the last deal and now with all the really good deals on steam/gg/impulse atm I have to say that my money is going there because right now LoTS at $10 is just not a good deal at all.

Like has been said, you can think what you want, but I totally disagree with that statement. LotS has nearly as much content as the game itself, and it's half the price. Other game companies charge that kind of percentage for something as little as one extra campaign or a few extra weapons or something. This is one of the best deals I've ever seen as far as gaming expansions go.

Also the video game industry is leaning towards FTP games with microtransactions. Have you considered trying this model? I don't know how you'd add it in to AI war, maybe different skins for ships/starships.

Microtransactions are the scourge of gaming. I simply refuse to play games that adhere to that, even if I like the game. I just can't condone that kind of business model.

[Spikey00]

Microtransactions are the scourge of gaming. I simply refuse to play games that adhere to that, even if I like the game. I just can't condone that kind of business model.

That's something I can agree on; there's nothing more ridiculous in offering "paid DLCs."

--

I still believe AI War and all of its expansions are worth their prices, because you're not only paying for your enjoyment (this alone is good enough) but you're also ensuring that Arcen Games can continue to develop games with the quality we've all been familiarized with, release updates as often as they do, and possibly relieve some of the financial overhead 'caution' that may or may not affect their staff and finished products.

In the end, it comes back to affect all of us, and I find it more respectful that one buys the game on its regular pricing for all their efforts put into it.

Not that I have total disregard for personal monetary issues (quite ironic).  :p

[Wingflier]

Microtransactions are the scourge of gaming. I simply refuse to play games that adhere to that, even if I like the game. I just can't condone that kind of business model.

Oh god, have my babies.

I remember back to Christmas of '09, when my dad got my Dragon Age as one of my gifts (it has just been released).  There was so much hype, I couldn't wait to try it.

Well, not only was the game a huge disappointment, but when I reached a part that revealed to me that there was locked content I would have to pay for (as if $60 isn't steep enough for a single-player game *eyeroll*), it just made me sick and I never played again.

In my experience, once a company sells their soul to DLC, the game just goes downhill from there.

As a long time MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) fan who played DotA for 6 years, I was very impressed with League of Legends when I first started playing it.  I saw a game that had huge potential, and that the company said they could really make something out of.  I chose to ignore the fact that their entire marketing scheme was DLC-based, since the game was "free".  Well, it took me about 6 months to realize that the game wasn't going anywhere.  Just like any DLC game, the company is simply milking money out of the players instead of actually attempting to improve the game.  I eventually went to Heroes of Newerth, a pay up-front type game that unlocks all the relevant content as soon as you buy it.

To be clear, I have no problem with expansions.  That's the company putting a massive amount of time and effort into improving the game (in theory), DLC is just nickle and diming the customers to death, playing off of America's own obsession with "individuality" and instant-gratification that frankly disgusts me.

[Echo35]

Oh god, have my babies.

Sorry, I'm taken

I remember back to Christmas of '09, when my dad got my Dragon Age as one of my gifts (it has just been released).  There was so much hype, I couldn't wait to try it.

Well, not only was the game a huge disappointment, but when I reached a part that revealed to me that there was locked content I would have to pay for (as if $60 isn't steep enough for a single-player game *eyeroll*), it just made me sick and I never played again.

I was interested in that one, being a huge Elder Scrolls fan since Daggerfall. Once I heard they were planning DLC on release, I was a little miffed. Then I heard about the "Oh, here's a quest but you have to pay even more money to get it" NPC, I completely lost interest. Long story short, I still play Daggerfall

As a long time MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) fan who played DotA for 6 years, I was very impressed with League of Legends when I first started playing it.  I saw a game that had huge potential, and that the company said they could really make something out of.  I chose to ignore the fact that their entire marketing scheme was DLC-based, since the game was "free".  Well, it took me about 6 months to realize that the game wasn't going anywhere.  Just like any DLC game, the company is simply milking money out of the players instead of actually attempting to improve the game.  I eventually went to Heroes of Newerth, a pay up-front type game that unlocks all the relevant content as soon as you buy it.

I do actually play League. It's probably the only micro-transaction style game I touch. I actually like their system (You can't buy power, only pretty things) and to be honest, I've only spent something like $20 on it anyway. However, I can only partially agree with you. I was active in the Beta, and when it went Live, I dropped the game for quite a long time. It was going nowhere and absolutely did not appeal to me. The past few months, however, I've really gotten back into it. They made a lot of changes that piqued my interest and I've been playing a lot more recently. HoN was too much like DotA for my taste (I played enough DotA, I want something different!) and the community in that game is more abysmal than the LoL one, which is saying something.

[Wingflier]

I do actually play League.

League is like the McDonald's of the MOBA genre.  MOBA games have an extremely steep learning curve, and anybody just starting should probably play League, as it is by far the easiest of the most popular 3.  However, the DLC system they have in-place will prevent the game from ever growing, so over time I think most people will get bored with it and move on to other games (or if you're like me, other MOBAs) that don't sacrifice depth for money.  That isn't to say it isn't fun, because tic-tac-toe is fun, for about 5 minutes, but sooner or later people realize there's not much to it.

I was interested in that one, being a huge Elder Scrolls fan since Daggerfall. Once I heard they were planning DLC on release, I was a little miffed. Then I heard about the "Oh, here's a quest but you have to pay even more money to get it" NPC, I completely lost interest. Long story short, I still play Daggerfall Tongue

Well, you didn't miss much.  I've always been a big fan of Bioware games, but I didn't like Dragon Age at all.  I suppose I'll try it again some day to see if maybe I just wasn't in the right frame of mind when I played it, or if maybe I've grown into the single-player RPG genre, but I get the feeling the outcome will be the same.  Suffice it to say, you didn't miss much.

I actually like their system (You can't buy power, only pretty things)

I wish this were true but it's really not.  If you play Ranked (the competitive aspect of the game), the people with more heroes and rune pages will always have an advantage over you.  This is because, at least in solo queue, there is no way to know what your team is going to pick, or what you will need to pick, so having more rune pages and champions gives you a greater variety to support your team with; as opposed to someone with only a few heroes and a few rune pages.  Whether you agree or not, variety is power.  The more choices you have, the more diverse of a player you can be, and thus have an edge over your opponents with less choices.  Rune Pages and Champions can be unlocked with IP of course, but to unlock all champions and all Rune Pages just by playing, it would take literally thousands of hours, and that's assuming you're winning every game (impossible).  This isn't even including the RUNES you need to fill each page either.

What I'm saying is that League is fine for the casual player, but competitively there is no argument that spending money gives you advantages over players that don't. 

Of course most people don't even play competitively, so it doesn't matter, but I personally don't like playing with the knowledge that somebody has advantages over me because they spent more.  Not only that, but when games have competitive scenes, they are much more fun.  You can really get involved in the tournaments and follow your favorite players, just like you would in a professional sport like Football or Soccer.  Sadly, for the reasons stated above, League of Legends most likely never will.

On a final note:  No replays?  No clan support?  No observer mode?  Heroes of Newerth has 1/10th of the playerbase that League does, and it supports all of those things.  Where is that money even going to?