lower price for more players?....

TripleTriple Join Date: 2007-06-18 Member: 61290Members
edited July 2010 in NS2 General Discussion
really make the game cheaper since its not that well known... regular 9.99$ SE...19.99$/29.99$ or somthing like that..or else i doubt many people would buy this game... :/ espeically because its not a vavle product and it was made from HL1 Engine as a MOD then just upgraded to source....


i bet after that is done alot of more ppl will buy it :/

cause really its asking too much for such a small game...and a small dev team...and also including how long its taking for the offical release...

if it would be possible i would rather have more people buying it and playing it then always trying to look for a server with players in it and end up finding a far distance laggy server...
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Comments

  • FuzionMonkeyFuzionMonkey Join Date: 2005-05-04 Member: 50889Members
    Why not wait until the game is released before lowering the price?

    If it doesn't sell well, they can always lower it later. And most people aren't going to buy the game before it is released, so the time it takes for them to release it officially is irrelevant.
  • Chris0132Chris0132 Join Date: 2009-07-25 Member: 68262Members
    edited July 2010
    Isn't the regular edition 20 dollars already?

    That's like 13 quid, or approximately a third of the price of a normal PC game.

    I don't think it really needs to be any cheaper.
  • TripleTriple Join Date: 2007-06-18 Member: 61290Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1777663:date=Jul 10 2010, 07:16 AM:name=FuzionMonkey)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (FuzionMonkey @ Jul 10 2010, 07:16 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1777663"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Why not wait until the game is released before lowering the price?

    If it doesn't sell well, they can always lower it later. And most people aren't going to buy the game before it is released, so the time it takes for them to release it officially is irrelevant.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    yeah thats true :)
  • Dalin SeivewrightDalin Seivewright 0x0000221E Join Date: 2007-10-20 Member: 62685Members, Constellation
    edited July 2010
    Pricing is a double edged sword. You need to price your product very finely or else no one will want to buy it. You price a product to high you run the risk of no one buying it or your potential customers turning to a cheaper product or product that they've heard more about. If you price items too low, people will immediately think the quality level is far too low for their standards and they won't want to pay for it either.

    There are of course, exceptions to this. I've never liked the concept of "Clearance Items" for what it implies - products that have been sitting for far too long and haven't sold - but I guess, a lot of customers go for that stuff to save money. Certain people assume that higher price means higher quality, which might be correct when you're buying say, a house or car, but anything under $1000 probably has a cheaper alternative that works just as good if not better. Generic Pharmaceuticals are an example of this, in mose cases.

    <b>Bottom line, when you consider the fact that Unknown Worlds Entertainment is still only a start up independent company and their first real game is being released completely by themselves (here I'm assuming they won't be seeking an actual publisher and will be marketing the game on word of mouth type deals) and then add in the foreseeable quality of the game (by looking at the engine and series of blogs/podcasts/vidcasts/posts), I think 20$ is very reasonable and well priced.</b> Many people, for example, wouldn't pay 40$ for this game simply on principle, but many players who have enjoyed NS1 (and know NS2 will be just as epic) have already put down their 40$ pre-order because they really liked the game and could afford it. And when compared to the other games released this year, I think the Spark Engine alone looks just as good, if not better than some of these crappy AAA titles.

    Also: Natural Selection 1 was never upgraded to Source. They were considering the move to the Source engine for their new game but, decided to go with their own engine. This was around the time that they did the Dynamic Infestation demo as it was confirmed recently that that demo was rendered in Max' engine (that supported the Half Life BSP format).
  • TheLordTheLord Join Date: 2003-05-13 Member: 16258Members
    edited July 2010
    Experts exchange here... :D

    Really, have you even thought about what you are trying to propose here, Triple?

    Lets assume they lower the price of the standard edition to $9,99 and the SE to $19,99 right now - Guess who would be really fkin pissed? -

    ...

    Right, pretty much the whole ns1 community who already preordered this game, 95% of them for the full $40, because its just worth it..!

    This is not a cheap source mod, this is a whole new game on a selfmade engine.

    Oh and it already sold >very< well, read up the old blogposts.
  • LoeyLoey Join Date: 2009-10-31 Member: 69187Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1777662:date=Jul 10 2010, 04:12 PM:name=Triple)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Triple @ Jul 10 2010, 04:12 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1777662"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->really make the game cheaper since its not that well known... regular 9.99$ SE...19.99$/29.99$ or somthing like that..or else i doubt many people would buy this game... :/ espeically because its not a vavle product and it was made from HL1 Engine as a MOD then just upgraded to source....<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    you do realise that it wasnt upgraded to source and that they made their own engine?
  • CrispyCrispy Jaded GD Join Date: 2004-08-22 Member: 30793Members, Constellation
    <!--quoteo(post=1777662:date=Jul 10 2010, 06:12 AM:name=Triple)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Triple @ Jul 10 2010, 06:12 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1777662"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->really make the game cheaper since its not that well known... regular 9.99$ SE...19.99$/29.99$ or somthing like that..or else i doubt many people would buy this game... :/ espeically because its not a vavle product and it was made from HL1 Engine as a MOD then just upgraded to source....


    i bet after that is done alot of more ppl will buy it :/

    cause really its asking too much for such a small game...and a small dev team...and also including how long its taking for the offical release...

    if it would be possible i would rather have more people buying it and playing it then always trying to look for a server with players in it and end up finding a far distance laggy server...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->1. The game will sell on its reputation. If it's anything like NS it will sell well enough to justify the current pricetag.
    2. There's always the option of lowering the price or doing one-off Steam sales if the game isn't selling well. But if you start low you can only go lower. That's elementary bartering, right there.
    3. How reasonably long the game takes should not really impact on the price that's charged. The game is taking a reasonable amount of time given its team size and budget.
    4. I don't think you'll have a problem finding players/servers when NS2 releases. Just remember if the player numbers start to dwindle, there are many options that can rejuvenate the playerbase, such as content updates and one-off Steam sales, or even free weekends, or finally lowering the pricepoint and making a big song and dance about it.
  • derWalterderWalter Join Date: 2008-10-29 Member: 65323Members
    there is no reason to lower the price... sc2 selectorsedition is sold for 179$ at amazon. and you ask for a 9$ game thats worth to be played?

    LOL :D
  • TrCTrC Join Date: 2008-11-30 Member: 65612Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1777692:date=Jul 10 2010, 01:57 PM:name=derWalter)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (derWalter @ Jul 10 2010, 01:57 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1777692"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->there is no reason to lower the price... sc2 selectorsedition is sold for 179$ at amazon. and you ask for a 9$ game thats worth to be played?

    LOL :D<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    There is no retail package and no guarantee it will be working or enjoyable, 20ish is reasonable
  • slayer20slayer20 Killed a man once. Join Date: 2007-12-13 Member: 63157Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Didn't like a bizillion people already order the special edition?
  • TrCTrC Join Date: 2008-11-30 Member: 65612Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1777702:date=Jul 10 2010, 02:36 PM:name=slayer20)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (slayer20 @ Jul 10 2010, 02:36 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1777702"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Didn't like a bizillion people already order the special edition?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    14k couple months back
  • TgaudTgaud Join Date: 2009-05-01 Member: 67323Members
    I dont want to lower the price.
    First because all the preorder would be f****d !

    And then because what do you think when you see a game at 10$ ??
    You think this game is a ######, developped in two month by two young boy.

    If it was just me, NS would cost more than 30$ (regular version)
  • TSSTSS Join Date: 2010-05-11 Member: 71716Members
    Or you realise that Apple could buy the company, and sell the exact same game for more then triple this price while more people will buy it then ever will in the current situation.

    Considering i once saw disney's "cars" on sale for $75 (or 50 euro's) which was a game that consisted of just pushing forward when the light was green in a permanent 640x480 resolution hell (no it did not have an options screen), if anybody's not buying this game because it's "too expensive", go **** yourself. I don't ever want to play with those people.

    MW2 sold like crazy without dedicated servers and bad company 2 is also selling like crazy while that game has become more buggy with every patch they release i kid you not. And lest we forget what hellgate london tried to pull. I also still have a champions online lifetime sub, while that game still isn't fixed.

    $20 is a steal. Even if i don't play this game for more then 2 days. Considering the time i spent messing around in the editor i can already conclude i've already gotten more fun per buck out of the SE then other games i would buy for 40 bucks. Since MW2 would last me about 2 weeks for about $85 worth of game (oh yes, that costs 60 euro's, not 50 like all other games).
  • JimydJimyd Join Date: 2003-02-08 Member: 13289Members
    edited July 2010
    What you do, after about 3-4/6 weeks of the game being released on STEAM, is to do this:

    Have a 4 day Free Weekend(Friday-Monday) on STEAM(with a preload of the free version a few days before leading up to the Free Weekend; to reduce DL times).

    Drop the price to $14.99 for Standard Edition, and $34.99 for the Special Edition of the game.

    Then watch the sale percentage skyrocket.

    =D

    Easiest marketing strategy in the world, don't even need to hire a "marketing consultant".
  • pSyk0mAnpSyk0mAn Nerdish by Nature Germany Join Date: 2003-08-07 Member: 19166Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Silver, NS2 Community Developer
    You forgot new weapons and achievements..
  • TagertsweTagertswe Join Date: 2010-03-04 Member: 70825Members
    What Jimyd said above ^
  • 1mannARMEE1mannARMEE Join Date: 2008-09-23 Member: 65064Members
    20$ for the regular edition ... thats really cheap for a game, you could buy NS2 three times or buy one ###### EA game it's your choice.

    On the plus side is that EA is releasing their games faster (too fast :P) depends on what you prefer.

    I'd rather buy 20 $ or 40 $ for a game that will be 10 times as awesome as the average pc or console game that is avaible.
  • EnragedPlatypusEnragedPlatypus Join Date: 2009-05-30 Member: 67567Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1777662:date=Jul 10 2010, 02:12 AM:name=Triple)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Triple @ Jul 10 2010, 02:12 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1777662"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->really make the game cheaper since its not that well known... regular 9.99$ SE...19.99$/29.99$ or somthing like that..or else i doubt many people would buy this game... :/ espeically because its not a vavle product and it was made from HL1 Engine as a MOD then just upgraded to source....<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    1) Regular is already $20 and gives you access to beta
    2) SE is just $40 (10-20$ more than your suggestion) and gives you Alpha, Beta and special armor.
    3) It's going to be sold on Steam
    4) Natural Selection was made from HL1 engine and was a mod, Natural Selection 2 is a ,made from the ground, game with it's own engine.
    5) Not on source
    6) It's not just some engine switch. The game is completely remade with tons of new features.
  • Mr. EpicMr. Epic Join Date: 2003-08-01 Member: 18660Members, Constellation
    are you kidding? A multiplayer game with this sort of community and with this sort of history is certainly not worth less than 20 dollars. I would have thought it would be a 30 dollar game with 20 dollar deals, but they are giving it away at 20 already!

    COD:MW2 just sold 5 maps for 15 bucks.

    Think about that.
  • brownymasterbrownymaster Join Date: 2009-07-11 Member: 68110Members
    Why would both standard and special drop $5? Makes no sense the less expensive would drop 25% and the more expensive 12.5%. Also would seem like a penalty to helping out earlier than later, so honestly don't see a purpose in lowering prices until after release and special edition is done with. I wouldn't mind special edition/constellation system being offered a while after release as another option or upgrade for just as much though.
  • spellman23spellman23 NS1 Theorycraft Expert Join Date: 2007-05-17 Member: 60920Members
    We don't know if SE will be around after release.

    Really post-release the only reason for SE would be black armor. The real reason most bought it so far was for alpha access, or out of gratitude for NS1.
  • FocusedWolfFocusedWolf Join Date: 2005-01-09 Member: 34258Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1777771:date=Jul 10 2010, 05:35 PM:name=spellman23)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (spellman23 @ Jul 10 2010, 05:35 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1777771"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->We don't know if SE will be around after release.

    Really post-release the only reason for SE would be black armor. The real reason most bought it so far was for alpha access, or out of gratitude for NS1.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    The dev behavior cannot be predicted so easily.

    Example: The engine-alpha (that some call a "pre-alpha") is something that everyone would have expected to be available solely to the SE pre-orderers was instead made available to the entire community of pre-orderers.

    Therefore it is likely that the devs could benefit from additional SE purchases even after the game is released, and that will be in the form of DLC (so they can also make money off of the SE majority as well).

    Their's also a chance that the real "alpha" will be available to the standard-preorderers as well, and the odds of this increase with time and the ratio of standard pre-orders to special pre-orders. Their is also a chance that the "black" armor won't be ready (and possibly even dropped from the game) down the road, and it won't matter because someone will make a 3rd party armor (not necessarily black... perhaps even camouflaged) that everyone will use (clientside skin mod).
  • JirikiJiriki retired ns1 player Join Date: 2003-01-04 Member: 11780Members, NS1 Playtester, Squad Five Silver
    Free weeekends with low prices rock, I hope UWE uses them. NS can never have too many players.
  • Squeal_Like_A_PigSqueal_Like_A_Pig Janitor Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 66Members, Super Administrators, NS1 Playtester, NS2 Developer, Reinforced - Supporter, WC 2013 - Silver, Subnautica Developer
    <!--quoteo(post=1777870:date=Jul 12 2010, 12:35 AM:name=FocusedWolf)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (FocusedWolf @ Jul 12 2010, 12:35 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1777870"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Their is also a chance that the "black" armor won't be ready (and possibly even dropped from the game) down the road, and it won't matter because someone will make a 3rd party armor (not necessarily black... perhaps even camouflaged) that everyone will use (clientside skin mod).<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Black armor is done, though likely not going to be hooked up for the alpha, as it a pretty non essential gameplay item at the moment, and we have higher priority things to fix and implement first, in order to get the alpha into the hands of the people who ordered the special edition version.

    --Cory
  • senor_hybridosenor_hybrido Join Date: 2009-06-04 Member: 67687Members
    I agree with free weekends with discounts. I heard this worked very well for TF2.
  • MahmuttiMahmutti Join Date: 2010-05-25 Member: 71854Members
    20$ / 40$ is definitely not too much. Hell, I'm just a poor student with next to no income and I could still afford paying 40$ for something as great as this.
  • lame-olame-o Join Date: 2010-04-24 Member: 71517Members
    edited July 2010
    I think the prices are perfect. NS2 and TF2 are on the same level in my opinion, although TF2 obviously had a much larger budget. But, it was also $20. $20 man. That's almost nothing for a high quality game.

    The special edition of NS2 is a donation on top of the normal price, with a few perks thrown in as a show of gratitude.
  • kflow47kflow47 Join Date: 2008-10-09 Member: 65154Members
    edited July 2010
    20$ is too much? Where the hell do you live? In Africa? O.o
    EDIT: I dont think the price will be the problem the advertisement will be!!!
  • ThrillseekerThrillseeker Join Date: 2007-04-10 Member: 60593Members
    The price is too low already, so I bought 3x40$ edition. 20$ is ridiculous unless you live in Africa as a user has already pointed out. But then again, they wouldn't have a computer, neither internet.
  • hotd0ghotd0g Join Date: 2004-03-19 Member: 27419Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1778136:date=Jul 13 2010, 08:57 AM:name=Thrillseeker)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thrillseeker @ Jul 13 2010, 08:57 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1778136"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The price is too low already, so I bought 3x40$ edition. 20$ is ridiculous unless you live in Africa as a user has already pointed out. But then again, they wouldn't have a computer, neither internet.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

    play some tot0 (this is phil collins)
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