Is the price of Dominions II a deterrent?

[Mortifer]

Oh boy I love polls!


The results so far:

Do you think Dominions II is too expensive?
Yes, it is too expensive. 56% (23)
It's about right. 41% (17)
No, it should cost more. 2% (1)


What is the maximum you would pay for Dominions II?
$50 or more 41% (17)
$45 10% (4)
$40 5% (2)
$30 37% (15)
$20 7% (3)
$10 0% (0)
I would not pay anything for Dominions II. 0% (0)


The community is totally divided about this. Interesting as usual.

[blackwulf]

Games such as Space Empires IV, Galactic Civilizations, and Dominions offer deep game play, continued support via substantial patches/enhancements and excellent replay value. These factors in my opinion are very important when determining the products value.

In this regard Dominions 2 is worth the price of admission.

Side Note: Malfador Machinations, Stardock, Illwinter Game Design, and other mom and pop operations exist today because the commercial market continues to fail to bring us the kind of gaming that these small companies offer. However do to the niche market that these smaller companies operate in they have to price their products in such a way that will enable them to continue to grow as a business. Without this growth they could not afford to bring us the games that they do and soon we would not have them as an alternative.

Blackwulf

[gregebowman]

Originally posted by blackwulf:
Games such as Space Empires IV, Galactic Civilizations, and Dominions offer deep game play, continued support via substantial patches/enhancements and excellent replay value. These factors in my opinion are very important when determining the products value.

In this regard Dominions 2 is worth the price of admission.

Side Note: Malfador Machinations, Stardock, Illwinter Game Design, and other mom and pop operations exist today because the commercial market continues to fail to bring us the kind of gaming that these small companies offer. However do to the niche market that these smaller companies operate in they have to price their products in such a way that will enable them to continue to grow as a business. Without this growth they could not afford to bring us the games that they do and soon we would not have them as an alternative.

Blackwulf

Yeah, that may be true, but there is a point where it may be too expensive for the consumer, no matter how much they want that product. Take for example Bill's Khaki's. I don't know how many of you have heard of this clothing line, but they make Khaki pants in the USA. They don't send the stuff out to a foreign market to be made at a cheaper price. Therefore, they sell $80 pants. now, some of you may think nothing about paying that much for clothes, but it will be a cold day in Hell before I ever spend that much on one piece of clothing. NOt only can't I afford it, that is way too much IMO for a pair of pants. So there is a niche market for computer games, but the publishers have to be aware that people may not spend too much on their products. That's why I may wait several months for a game on the shelf to go down in price before I buy it. But there are certain games that no matter what they are, I have to have them now. Railroad Tycoon 3 is a case in point. I'll pick it over the weekend.

[Mortifer]

Ahahah!
I already have Railroad Tycoon 3.

[licker]

Originally posted by PhilD:

quote:

---

Originally posted by licker:


If you are willing to spend more the game is too cheap. That is as absolute a statement as you can get, if you don't like the absoluteness of it, don't blame me, blame the question, which I have twice... oooops now its three times

That is your interpretation of the question. Obviously, it's not the same for everyone here.

If Shrapnel's only intent was to make as much money as they could (not saying it is, but that's sometimes one of the goal of commercial companies), they should set the price at the level that will maximize that. Assuming the manufacturing costs are fixed (and yes, they could make it cheaper by offering a "download only" option, though I can understand if they are wary of the possible piracy consequences), the "best" price level is the one that maximizes "profit per unit" times "number of units sold"; increasing the price tag will mean less copies sold, and increasing it too high will undoubtedly mean less profit.

If the answer to "what should the price be" and "how much would you pay for the game" were supposed to be the same, then the question about "is the price right" would be meaningless - the question about how much you'd pay would be enough.

---

It is my interpretation of the question, as I said elsewhere. However, no where in the questions is there any mention of Shrapnel. And I've said (4 times now) that the only question of importance is the 3rd one, the 1st is misleading at best.

I don't know how to come up with a 'fair' price other than to wind up at a fixed one, there is no 'range' possible for an idividual, either the game is worth x or it isn't. There is no well today is tuesday so the game is worth more to me...

In reality there is because people are fickle, but that's not the *honest* answer, the game has a fixed value at any given point, so either the game is too cheap, or it is too expensive, unless it is just right. You still can't have it both ways!

If they were selling the game for $15 would you say it is too cheap? What about $5? You have a cut off where you will feel that the game is underprices (though you will be happy it is cheap). So if you answer that the game is worth more to you than what it is being sold for (everyone who answered that they'd pay $50+) then the game is underpriced! There is no other way to look at this, that's why I didn't like the wording of the 1st question.

Again, there is no element of how much Shrapnel should charge in this, that is an entirely different question (in my mind). The questions in this poll are about how much you as an idividual are willing to pay for the game, not about how much Shrapnel should charge, becuase none of us have any idea what that number should be.

[mpace]

I would buy this game immediately if it was a $30.00 download.

[PhilD]

Originally posted by licker:
There is no other way to look at this, that's why I didn't like the wording of the 1st question.

(snipping most of your post)

Once again, you're changing from "this is my interpretation" to "there is no other way".