Quote Originally Posted by Raistlin View Post
I don't think the "ecosystem" argument is as unreasonable as you think. If people are used to games being a certain price, a sharp increase will raise some eyebrows and feel out of place, whether warranted for that specific game or not.
The argument might be reasonable from an business angle. I bet SE could actually squeak out more sales if they lowered the price a bit and certain if they made the apps universal (I would actually pay more if they were). I also understand how psychology plays into this to make people perceive the price as too high on iOS when they would actually think it was a cut-rate price on any other device.

Sure, that's reasonable, but the argument that a game is worth as much as the ecosystem it's on from a logical standpoint is silly. If you release the same game on iOS and Vita simultaneously does that make the Vita version
worth $50 and the iOS version only worth $5 at best?

I think entitlement is precisely the word. People have gotten used to paying 99 so they come to expect that to be the price and scoff at the idea of paying more. When Infinity Blade came out at $7 or so, even as a universal app, people balked. I understand there are psychological factors at work, but I really don't know if there's a more fitting label than entitlement.


For what it's worth, I've also found myself affected. I'm less likely to say, "what the hell" for an app that's $1.99 versus $0.99. I will agonize before paying $4.99 for an app.

But what I think about it in the context of life, that's so silly. How often do I spend $2-5 dollars (generally much more) on a quick meal or some other spurious thing? I'll gladly toss $2.50 here or 5 bucks there every day of a Steam Sale on games that I'm vaguely interested in, but realistically will never play (psychology again... artificial scarcity and 75% discounts). But when it comes to a $5 app that I'll use pretty much every day, suddenly it's a life and death decision.

I've just noticed it about myself and think it's absurd and the same absurdity applies to games.

I think it would be more reasonable for people to complain about $40 3DS games, $50 Vita game, or $60 everything else games than to complain about 15, 20, and 30 dollar iOS games.

I feel like SE is pricing these games relative to the gaming market, not the iOS market. These are the prices for big releases on XBLA, PSN, etc. and they are pricing them accordingly.


Another thing we should be complaining about that we aren't is the Tater Tot effect. There are some great games that should probably be priced at $20 or $40 on big consoles, but often are priced at $60. Much like with tater tots, people make a judgement of value based on the price and therefore, if you price a game worth $40 at $40, people will write it off as cheap crap. So you have to price it at $60 for less initial sales and then drop the price later which doesn't do anyone from consumers, to middle-men, to developers any favors.

If people weren't so psychologically ****ed in the head about value we could have a lot of games at various prices probably for the betterment of everyone.

But hey, we live in the world where I actually heard the argument that you should always buy games on PS3 because BR discs cost more to produce than DVDs (what 360 games are on), so at the same price, you're getting a better value in terms of materials.

I don't wanna live on this planet any more.