Price Increases

Sorry I’m not sure if there is already a topic on this or not, but I’ve been a follower of Choice of Games for a while now and I’ve noticed the price of the games gradually increasing. I mean, I remember when the games were a dollar - now they’re 3 bucks (and that’s just the “new games” on sale price before it goes up even more). My question is how expensive are these games going to get? Why is the price rising?

I feel like the quality of the games published today is equal to (if not less than) the older games. I’m thinking Zombie Exodus, Choice of Vampire, etc. Just… please don’t keep squeezing your audience for more and more money like EA or something. I love these games, but I’m just a college student trying to get by too.

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I also notice the price, but I would still say the price for the games is still way cheap. It’s freaking 3 dollars it’s the same price as a cup of coffee (If you’re a spender, some coffee are just a dollar.)

You also have to consider how much time and work the author/s gave just to make the game (It’s a hell of a lot of work and most are only making the game if they have the free time. I would recommend people to at least try making one game even in private for them to experience how games are made.)

I would complain if the price is over 5 dollar and the game is short, but long games it understandable.

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I paid five dollars for mecha ace when it came out. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great game, but is it really worth five dollars? Three is my general rule. Stupid inflation.

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How much do you value your entertainment? People pay around $10 to see a two hour movie. We pay a few dollars for several hours of entertainment. I don’t see a problem with the current pricing.

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Yeah, but that’s mainstream entertainment that costs much more to make than these games.

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Lots of comic books are $3.99. They might have awesome art but only take 20 minutes to read.

Most hardback novels run what, easily $10 to $20?

Video games run like $50 to $60 (cost of 15 to 20 CoGs that could easily entertain you for 2-3 months)

$2 to $5 for a HG/CoG, depending on length, quality of writing, replayability, strength of story and extras like art or music seems extremely reasonable when compared to the above, at least to me.

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I don’t think it’s fair to compare a small company, like Choice of Games, to Electronic Arts.

I don’t think Choice of Games are squeezing us for money. If you compare what Choice of Games provides, to equivalent products in the market I do still think they’re value for money. I’m hard-pressed to find decent ebooks for only $3.

I do completely understand the whole not having enough money to buy something that you want. I’m likely one of the loudest complainers when I see a game on Steam is £2.10 and on Chrome it’s £1.89. That’s a 21p difference. And I bet most people are looking at my posts as if I’m crazy and thinking “ha that’s only 30cents, what can you buy for 30cents?” and I’ll be “I’ll have you know, the currency converter says that’s 31cents!” And the answer to the question is, unfortunately not very much anymore, but when you’ve not got much cash every penny counts.

Choice of Games are a business, they need to make money. They have to be able to pay all of those writers who’re making games for them.

I was going to say something, but I checked the prices and you’re right, the current standard price looks to be $3+ for the newer games. I suppose we can blame inflation, the current economy and all that. I’d say it’s still worth the money, even if buying it means I only get to buy one game instead of two.

There’s a couple of really old blog posts that discuss some of their decisions on charging for games. (I know that’s not your argument, it’s just too expensive, not that you have to pay.)

This one’s four and a half years old. 8 Ways to Make Money When You’re Banned from AdSense - Choice of Games LLC

This is 2 years old. Choice of Intrigues Is About to Stop Being Free - Choice of Games LLC

@Aera I hate that same as a cup of coffee argument. :slight_smile: It’s the same argument people give when they’re trying to suggest that people save money, by doing things like cutting out $3 coffees from their lives. Which is all very well and good if you’ve got a $3 coffee habit, but if you’re poor, well you might as well be suggesting I cut out my £100 champagne habit, and both will have the exact same effect on my wallet, since I’m drinking as much of that champagne as I am of the coffee. :slight_smile:

Besides, I prefer tea over both since I’m a proper Brit. A pot of tea is unfortunately $3 nowadays. :frowning: Generally I just ask for tap water, it’s cheaper.

Anyway where was I? If you love Choice of Games, and you can’t afford the current price tag, but do have some time to spare, can I suggest looking out for the beta-test games? You won’t get to play finished games and you do need to put some time into providing feedback, but in return you at least get a chance to play the games. You’ll also get a glimpse into some of the hard work that goes into making the games and why even at $3.50 they’re a steal. (But don’t just do this to get free games, do it because you’ve time to provide feedback and help make those games better.)

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@Zane_Hiam
Developing a text-based game costs a lot too, are all those hours spent writing and researching worthless?

I would be willing to pay up to 10$ for a CoG game.

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No, I’m a CoG author too, and I know they take a lot of time and effort, but I don’t think it’s fair to compare it to a movie which costs on average millions of dollars to make and therefore needs to make lots of money so they can still have some profit

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Some people can’t even afford $10 for a movie. (And here that $10 movie ticket is the equivalent of $15). And, even if they do spend money on movies, perhaps that money comes out of their funds for socialising with their friends, the same place their $3 coffee comes from, so you’re paying for more than just the movie.

The last movie I went to see was the third Batman one, back when my local cinema did cheap morning showings. My cinema doesn’t do that anymore though and so I don’t watch movies in the cinema.

I don’t buy comic books, the only comics I read are free webcomics. I don’t play video games that I can’t buy from a humble bundle or for under $10 in a Steam Sale. I only ever used to buy second hand books, preferably for just a couple of pounds at most. (I’ve got a Kindle now and ebooks are cheaper although not as cheap as I’d hoped they’d be.)

So, those whole arguments about what things cost, they kinda drive me a little crazy, you know? Because I don’t buy all those expensive things.

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I believe in artists getting paid for their work (hey, I’ll be trying to sell mine when it’s done) but $10 sounds too high for the app store market. $5 is around what other indie developers are charging for similar things on Steam. So I think $2-$3 is ideal pricing for an average-length game, at least $5 for something like Tin Star. I might pay more but at $2-$5 I feel like I’m getting a good deal (which means I’ve ended up happily buying about 75-90% of the COGs/Hosted Games released.) $1 games could use a price hike unless they’re REALLY short - those prices made sense when COG first started, but similar text games are charging at least twice as much.

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I understand what you’re saying. I didn’t consider the socializing aspect of going to the movies. Sometimes its more enjoyable to do “free” things, like, walking and talking with a friend or tabletop games (usually) with a group of buddies. :smile:

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@Sashira
I didn’t say that 10$ should be the standard, I just said that I wouldn’t mind paying 10$ if they wanted to charge that much :wink:

Actually, Telltale Games are around $20 ($5 an episode and you usually get one free if you buy the season.) But yes, that’s one of the big competitors. If someone can make a fully graphic game with hours of gameplay on the Unreal engine for $5, your $5 game should have comparable value. Which, since text and graphic games are kind of like apples and oranges, it should at least offer similar length, replayability, and entertainment value. At around $2-$3 the game becomes more similar in price to an ebook (the prices of those are inflated, but since a game has coding as well as writing, it’s more reasonable than charging the same for an independent novella.)

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@Hell_Satan
Oh c’mon! Stop that, I never said that everyone should pay 10$, I’m not rich either, I was just giving an example on the opposite side of the scale.

Personally, I think they should make all these games “Pay as much as you want, as long as that amount is above 2-3$”.
That way, those who are feeling more generous could offer what they think the game is worth.

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Ballmot’s comment wasn’t directed at you, Satan. :sweat:

He was just saying that he wouldn’t mind paying $10 for a game if ChoiceofGames ever wished to charge that much for a game.

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It’s also viewed by millions… not thousands…

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Hey, don’t take the consoles out of the running here. 11/11/2011 I paid 60 bucks for a game called Skyrim, it’s 2015 and I’m still entertained.

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Tabletop RPGs are payed for in blood, sweat, and tears, and that’s after you open the box, before that, you’re money does an impression of a seagul and flys away.

I disagree, I paid nothing for the tabletop games that I’ve played. :smirk:

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