Does Price Equal Worth on XBLA?
I’ve been thinking for a while about the price structure of the Xbox LIVE Arcade or more importantly how do we properly identify a game’s worth? There doesn’t seem to be any definite standard by Microsoft as we’ve seen games range in price from 400 – 1600 Microsoft Points.
Is it the name of the publisher or developer on an XBLA title that sets the tone on price? Should a game from Penny Arcade cost more because it’s Penny Arcade? NinjaBee has made what I personally think are some of the best games on Xbox LIVE Arcade yet neither of their titles top out over 800 Microsoft Points. Cloning Clyde was great. A Kingdom for Keflings is pure, mindless, waste-hours-of-your-life fun. So is it the content of the title? The size of the title that sets the price? The hype? Hype makes me cringe at how much The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai will cost.
I’ve always been curious as to why there is no guideline made available to the public on how these titles are priced. Why not (even if it’s from the developer side) give a general outline of how Microsoft and developers come to a decision on a price for an XBLA title? There was an outline for delisting games so why not this?
The recently released R-Type Dimensions clocked in at a staggering 1200 Microsoft Points. We’ve seen 1600 Microsoft Points games from the boys at Penny Arcade. We’ve also seen many 1200 Microsoft Points game that some argue were worth it (Castle Crashers, Braid) while others (Banjo-Kazooie) left a WTF on our faces. Do you plan to get as much enjoyment out of R-Type Dimensions as you did Castle Crashers? How much replay value has N+ given gamers at 800 MP versus the replay value in Braid at 1200 MP? So how should we justify prices on these XBLA games?
When I see remakes of classics (that you could get for free on PC) clock in at 1200 Microsoft Points I honestly scratch my head. But that’s what happens when you don’t have any consistency or standard behind how these games are priced. Or perhaps Microsoft does but how are we supposed to know? Has there even been a 400 Microsoft Points game recently? The tight-lipped service is growing thin with many people.
The Xbox LIVE Arcade is now on par with buying designer jeans versus the jeans with no name that provide the same comfort at a cheaper price. Are smaller developer studios being bitch slapped? Strange Flavour is still the only developer to even attempt incorporating the Vision Camera beyond the ”see my naked body” usage yet where’s the price love from Microsoft?
What say you all about how inconsistent the Xbox LIVE Arcade has become? And how do you personally decide if an XBLA game is worth the points?
February 5th, 2009 at 11:55 am
the prices are an iffy point with me at the moment, I liked Banjo game, I never played it on the N64(didn’t have one), I really didn’t like the price. Again R-Type Dimensions really shouldn’t have been more than 800 MS points, I don’t think an Arcade game should be more than 800 points, I’ve paid more than 800 a 2X grudingly.
I don’t feel an arcade game should be more than $10, and with this economy, I’m not too sure how many are gonna dish out the big money for games seeing that there is a rumour that the game prices will also drop.
February 5th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
the $10 mark is a good argument. which is why there should probably be some standard in place that the public can get behind. soon these XBLA titles will be priced upwards of retail games the way things are going.
February 5th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I just don’t understand the logic of saying that an arcade game should not be more than $10. If a game is more difficult to develop and contains more content why shouldn’t a developer be able to charge appropriately.
I do understand the economic concerns but isn’t that a choice that should be left to the publisher? If their game is too expensive and no one buys it then let them learn their lesson the hard way.
February 5th, 2009 at 1:17 pm
true Intangible, which is why i think some sort of standard should be in place.
February 5th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
OK I’m definitely not understanding your position then :S What do you mean by standard? Are you saying that there should be a price ceiling and perhaps arcade remakes (except maybe the likes of Bionic Commando Rearmed) should all have a set mandatory price?
February 5th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
i’m saying there should be a standard to go by. think of it as a tier system i guess. just something so we dont’ see prices all over the place ya know. much like there is with themes and picture packs. there’s a standard there. it could be more or less depending on the quality but generally, we know what to expect price wise.
February 5th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
‘If a game is more difficult to develop and contains more content why shouldn’t a developer be able to charge appropriately.’
Just as if a game has been easy to develop (i.e. a port) and contans no extra content, shouldn’t we pay in points appropriately.
‘If their game is too expensive and no one buys it then let them learn their lesson the hard way.’
It’s not as simple as that. Castle Crashers is too expensive, but thanks to the hype lots of people have downloaded it. So the only lesson learnt there is that if Microsoft can big it up, then people will pay regardless.
February 6th, 2009 at 10:49 am
Of course just like anyone else I would like to pay the minimum possible for everything I spend money on, but what motivation is there for Microsoft to institute such a policy if, like you said, lots of people buy it anyway?
If I am to be honest I also have to accept the fact that something cannot be objectively “too expensive”. The right price for you, for me, for Microsoft, for the publisher and for all sorts of other people vary a great deal. So while I would like to see what Deaconblade is proposing happen, I’m not sure that the right pressures exist for it to occur. However, I join you in the hope that prices are more consistently, on average, brought in line with our expectations.
February 8th, 2009 at 1:28 am
I’ll only pay 800 or 1500 for a good arcade game!
800 was well spent on REZ HD, love that game so much, always play it now and then!
800 on Duke Nukem 3D, it was good and bad, the good, made me remember one of the best FPS of all times, bad the online may be dead now since I stopped playing it after Soul Calibur 4 release.
800 for Worms 3D was a wasted money! I was hoping there will be more weapons and all. Since it said “get the full game for more levels, xbox live multiplayer and much more.” I thought the much more will be that there will be more weapons.
Now I will be cautious and will only buy games I think will be worth it and last forever. I won’t try and think ahead, what ever it says we’ll get in the full version, will be what we’ll get
A game that will soon get my money will be Dish Washer. and Battlefield 1943?
February 8th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
“standard” when i see that word i think about how Xbox 360 games are all normally 60$ and then theres the game thats not worked on that hard and there 29.99$
But then after time games go down in price
so what i dont understand is why wont that happen to arcade games i mean really if there gonna price something that high there will be a spike in sales if its a good game and then it wil die down.. then people that dont pay that price will wait and pay a lower price and that would be the best way to go
February 9th, 2009 at 1:30 am
We need better deals or SALES…come on MS make it happen! Who is teh director of XBLA games anyways?
February 9th, 2009 at 9:52 am
[...] Xbox LIVE Arcade title announced by Namco the other day. In the midst of our discussion about the worth of Xbox LIVE Arcade titles, I wonder where this one will stack [...]
February 13th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
There shouldn’t be any game over $10.Even the originals are much cheaper on a disk.Now if they released Jedi knight dark forces 2 i would pay since the original still goes for a mint and isn’t BC….grrrr
March 4th, 2009 at 11:49 am
There shouldn’t be any game over $10 agreed!
March 5th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
hey its all about capitalism, i think worth should equal price, and somewhat based on effort, we do need to make a profit. for example, if you spend a year making a short crappy game, the price should be very low, if you spend a year making a very epic game, the price should be higher (no duh). but on XBLA nothing should be so freaking amazing it would be over $10….
March 10th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
The problem with the arcade is that the games are non-transferable, and 90% of the games are garbage. Burn me once, your fault, burn me twice, my fault. Take Lumines for example… that was complete rip off. I can’t sell it, and I can’t even give it away. So basically I wasted my money.
And in a REAL economy, you can buy sell trade, and prices naturally go down with time. But since it’s a closed economy and a rigid monopoly, there is no recourse for bad product. People have to pay full price, and take their chances that the features you get by unlocking the demo turns out to be worth the dough. Unfortunately 90% of it isn’t.