So why is Bionic Commando cheaper than Braid/Castle Crashers

[Gamerforlife]

Anyone else feel like the pricing structure for Xbox Live Arcade games is beginning to not make sense?

And I still don't understand the Penny Arcade game being twenty. They can't just keep tossing around random prices like this. There needs to be some kind of standard. One price for new games, one price for retro re-releases. I mean if they can just start pumping out random prices, how does the gaming industry justify major retail releases all having the same price?

[Doctor Fugue]

I assume you haven't played Castle Crashers yet, so maybe you don't know why it costs so much. I haven't played the Penny Arcade game (is it 20 hours long or something?), but you're right, we are left out of the loop on why some original games and re-uses of old copyrights have different prices.

Perhaps they just are determining how much we are willing to pay by trying out a few things. Unfortunately there's nothing you can do except not buy games. Anyway they must have their reasons, and I don't care what they are. All I need to do is decide whether I can justify paying the price.

But I disagree about retail games being the same price. Aren't some of them "budget" priced? And some cost more. It's the same deal, sometimes it makes sense, and sometimes not.

EDIT: Hype certainly appears to affect a game's price. If there wasn't so much talk and advertising for Castle Crashers, its price might be lower. Or maybe MS sees a good game in development and decides they can charge more. Which comes first? An actual good game, hype surrounding the game, or the final price?

[ZenLogikos]

By all rights, Bionic Commando should have been $15. This is what Capcom execs wanted to charge. Capcom (stupidly) ran a poll which asked what people were willing to pay, and $10 won. Ben Judd (producer from Capcom) agreed to that pricing, but publicly stated that Rearmed would have to sell very well at that price point to recoup their costs. If it did this, and did well enough, a sequel would be a possibility.

Also, Capcom, being a large company, can afford to take the risk at $10. Small indie developers (Braid and Castle Crashers) rely on their titles making enough money so they can continue doing what they do. I'm sure market analyses are done and the trade off from setting their title at slightly higher price point/less people buying it, is examined and they decided to go the higher price route.

[PacoDG]

Simple answer that is highly objective.... Bionic Commando is just not worth as much as Braid or Castle Crashers (even though im not excited about Castle Crashers). These games offer new experiences, new IP's from the ground up, where as Commando is an older concept that I would never think would have been worth $15.

Lumines was $15 when it came out (now is only $10).. and was actually $24 if you got the add on packs (that were necessary if you wanted the full game).. I just wonder if all these new higher priced games will drop price if a certain amount gets sold.


I'm guessing the studio size behind the games is also playing some part, Capcom definitely can take a risk on this price. Also the XBLA game to me, seems like it was brought out only to help hype the upcoming Bionic Commando full retail release game... ensure the kids know that this 'new' upcoming game actually has older roots.

[RadarScope1]

Also, Capcom, being a large company, can afford to take the risk at $10. Small indie developers (Braid and Castle Crashers) rely on their titles making enough money so they can continue doing what they do. I'm sure market analyses are done and the trade off from setting their title at slightly higher price point/less people buying it, is examined and they decided to go the higher price route.

This is the big part of it. See Jonathan Blow's explanation of "the Space Giraffe problem" for more.

Even retail releases are not always the same price. That's a fallacy. Plenty of first-party games are cheaper than the usual $60 price point. Shadow of the Colossus was $40 the day it was release. Wii games are $50, and some are $20 and $30. The Red Star for PS2 was $20. Odin Sphere was $40. Limited editions of AAA games are often $70 to $90.

Sticking to a single price has its advantages, but it's also kind of communistic and market-manipulative. In a free market, which is where this is heading, stuff is worth what people are willing to pay for it, period.

[gennss]

xbla developers get to choose their pricing from what I understand.

[lordofduct]

xbla developers get to choose their pricing from what I understand.

To an extent, but yeah they do. Of course Microsoft has caps and the sort.

I mean you consider retail games average about the same price because there's only a handful of publishers who release them... it's easy for a common price to arise when only a few people are deciding what to charge. They are business men who deal with market shares and patterns and all that hub bub. They don't care if this game only cost 10 grand to produce and that game cost 1 million. They both get 60 dollar price tags none the less.

Now you have the developers charging. They aren't publishers out to get rich, that isn't their mentality, these guys are like artists... they don't have the experience with these decissions, they have experience with getting their small share of the pie. I mean you figure a publisher takes MOST of the profit off of a game release. Their main concern is to make back what they spent, and that's about it. Capcom charges low because A) people will buy it, its Capcom and B) it cost them pennies to make, and C) they have been in the business a long time and can foresee buying trends. But a guy who sat in his garage with a friend for a year+ working tooth and nail to release a game living on spaghettit and borrowing money from his friends, family and bank... well he's got a lot to lose and he doesn't know if his game will even make a buck.

I never heard of Braid up until 2 weeks ago. My friend came over and downloaded the demo for me and forced me to play it. I fell in love immediately and bought it... but if it wasn't for his insistence that I play it, I probably wouldn't of given two shits about the title. I probably wouldn't have seen it in the pile of other XBLA downloads.

Or as someone else mentioned, the article Jonathan Blow explains his position by comparing it to "Space Giraffe". Speaking of "Space Giraffe", I own it, and holy moly! What in God's name is up with that game. My brother some how got good at it and can score pretty freakin' high, but there is just way to much psychadelic crap going on for me to even bother trying to figure that enigma out. I mean crap, the tutorial hardly gives any inkling of an idea as to what the freakin' point of the game is.

I love it the directions say: "This isn't Tempest, your going to have to learn new tricks to score big in this game." YEAH, REALLY! Tempest is over 20 years old butthead, I don't think a lot of us out here know the rules of Tempest, nor do we remember how to play it, if we had in the first place, and most of all... you just said it ISN'T TEMPEST! Give me a freakin' clue as to HOW to play.

Maybe that's why Mitchnell lost so much money!

[Gamerforlife]

Great responses. You guys gave me answers that make sense and gave me some food for thought. I don't really have anything else to say. I guess I can accept the differing prices even though it bugs me a bit. I like consistency, but clearly this isn't something that will be possible on Xbox Live Arcade.

I don't want to see prices get much higher than what they're charging for Castle Crashers and Braid though, but Penny Arcade is already trying to break that barrier. I'm going to have bigger expectations for any game going over that twenty dollar mark though. From what I hear Penny Arcade is like a five to six hour game with no replay. Definitely not worth twenty dollars and it really can't justify that price given the additional amount of content the cheaper Castle Crashers looks like it will have

Plus, once you get in the twenty-thirty dollar area, you can pick up used major retail release games that will have a lot more in the way of content. I guess I will just see how things play out. I guess bottom line, if it's a good enough game I will probably pony up for it regardless of price...even if I don't like it.

[ZenLogikos]

xbla developers get to choose their pricing from what I understand.

According to Dan Paladin (artist at Behemoth), the developer can suggest a price, but the final decision is up to Microsoft.

Also, the current price limit on XBLA titles is set at $20. This can always change of course.

[RadarScope1]

Great responses. You guys gave me answers that make sense and gave me some food for thought. I don't really have anything else to say. I guess I can accept the differing prices even though it bugs me a bit. I like consistency, but clearly this isn't something that will be possible on Xbox Live Arcade.

I don't want to see prices get much higher than what they're charging for Castle Crashers and Braid though, but Penny Arcade is already trying to break that barrier. I'm going to have bigger expectations for any game going over that twenty dollar mark though. From what I hear Penny Arcade is like a five to six hour game with no replay. Definitely not worth twenty dollars and it really can't justify that price given the additional amount of content the cheaper Castle Crashers looks like it will have

Plus, once you get in the twenty-thirty dollar area, you can pick up used major retail release games that will have a lot more in the way of content. I guess I will just see how things play out. I guess bottom line, if it's a good enough game I will probably pony up for it regardless of price...even if I don't like it.

This line is thinking is exactly what will keep the prices low. If you decide 20 is too much and anything above that is just out of the question, then you can vote by not buying. Chances are lots of others will too and the prices will stay at 10 or 15. I don't mind 15 for something good/interesting. I'd pay 20 for something really good. Above that, it would have to be on par with a retail release.

So what do you think about EA charging 30 for the download of Burnout Paradise GFL? I think that's a pretty good price for that game, and personally I think it's exciting that we are given that option.