The annoying trend of XBLA games being $10

Maklershed

Maklershed

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Am I going crazy or does it seem as if though all XBLA games are being priced at $10 now? Even shitty crossword and soduku games are $10. This is ridiculous. I'd buy a hell of a lot more games at $5. But oh well, I guess a lot of people must be buying at $10 to keep Microsoft pricing this way.

/rant
 
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I always saw it as classic games being $5 and new games being $10 no matter what it is outside of the occasional game that costs more
 
Some of the crap they are trying to pass off as $10 is ridiculous, and laughable at the same time. Instead of dropping the price, they are now just getting rid of the games, which makes me sad for the devs.
 
I was just wondering how many people would spend more on games overall at $5 than $10. For example would you be spending more on XBLA at $5 than you would at $10? I honestly would. There is a lot of games I'd drop $5 on easily, but I end up spending less cause when I do buy a game it is one I really want.
 
[quote name='Viva Las Vegas']I was just wondering how many people would spend more on games overall at $5 than $10. For example would you be spending more on XBLA at $5 than you would at $10? I honestly would. There is a lot of games I'd drop $5 on easily, but I end up spending less cause when I do buy a game it is one I really want.[/QUOTE]

Absolutely. So far I've spent $10 total on XBLA. There are nine games that I would buy immediately if they were lowered to $5. That's $45 right there I would spend on XBLA, 450% the amount I've spent up to now.
 
Tell me about it. I would have even bought **** like Rocky and Bullwinkle on impulse. Last year a 1600 points card usually meant I was set for 2 weeks (and I often bought games released in the week). For the past few months the tittles featured haven't caught my attention much and at $10, I'm not too willing to buy them.

Stuff like Puzzle Fighter, Commando 3, Metal SLug 3, Street Fighter II, UMK3, Lumines, and most other games that are essentially ports don't bother me, because they really feel like complete arcade games.


And yes, I'm aware Commando 3 isn't a port.
 
I've always thought of new XBLA games as having a set price. I just bought LoZ:LttP and Wario Land 4 for $10 so when people say $10 isn't much for a DLC game, it really is.
 
Microsoft gets such a big cut of the profit (70% I believe? if MS is the publisher, I don't know about third party publishers) I think they feel kind of forced to charge $10 (+I personally have a feeling MS strong arms them ("strongly suggests") into making it 800 pts.).

I think a nice compromise would be to add a $7 price point... so many good games just don't have enough play time to warrant $10, but $5 may not even cover the cost of making the game.

Even better, $5 game with a donate button on the indie publishers website ;).
 
I thought of this the other day when Elefunk(sp?) came out on PSN. It is 4.99 or 5.99 and after having tried the demo it feels like a game with enough polish that it would have been 800 points on XBLA. Like Bretters said they need another pricepoint between 400 and 800 points.
 
[quote name='Hostile']I've always thought of new XBLA games as having a set price. I just bought LoZ:LttP and Wario Land 4 for $10 so when people say $10 isn't much for a DLC game, it really is.[/quote]

Weird, I just bought those same games on GBA for 8 bucks a month ago.
 
Two things...

1. MS needs to give us the ability to gift points to friends. I will guarantee you that sales would double, if not triple, after this were to be implemented.

2. MS/developers need to use their heads and realize that people aren't going to pay 800 points for a shitty game...and they (MS/devs) know it's shitty. I could possibly handle 600 points, but i would much rather see a 'Greatest Hits' or something similar for XBLA games. Any sales are better than no sales, hence why i don't get why MS removed games.
 
I wouldn't mind if they would actually let you buy exactly 800 points rather than trying to piece meal 800 points with a few different purchases and you still end up with more points than you want at the moment
 
[quote name='SynGamer']\
\ but i would much rather see a 'Greatest Hits' or something similar for XBLA games.\[/quote]

We have that.
 
[quote name='Jesus_S_Preston']We have that.[/quote]
Um...last i checked, MS removed a shit-load of XBLA games rather than dropping their price(s)...
 
[quote name='SynGamer']Um...last i checked, MS removed a shit-load of XBLA games rather than dropping their price(s)...[/quote]

There's a section of half/reduced price games called "Arcade Hits."

It exists.
 
[quote name='SynGamer']Um...last i checked, MS removed a shit-load of XBLA games rather than dropping their price(s)...[/QUOTE]

haven't noticed any games disappearing yet
 
[quote name='SynGamer']Um...last i checked, MS removed a shit-load of XBLA games rather than dropping their price(s)...[/quote]

I know they talked about removing games from Xbox Live Arcade in the future based on sales, but I didn't think that any of them had been taken off yet. :whistle2:s
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']I know they talked about removing games from Xbox Live Arcade in the future based on sales, but I didn't think that any of them had been taken off yet. :whistle2:s[/quote]
My apologies. I'm just going off of what MS has said.
 
[quote name='greyzieoriental']Seems that they took off the free game Hexic HD

i want my Hexic back damn it[/quote]

Yup, I noticed that the other day when I was moving my stuff from my 20GB to my 120GB that I picked up from Gamestop. It won't let Hexic move, so I went to download it and it wasn't there. Sad, I enjoyed playing it every now and then.
 
[quote name='Lokki']Yup, I noticed that the other day when I was moving my stuff from my 20GB to my 120GB that I picked up from Gamestop. It won't let Hexic move, so I went to download it and it wasn't there. Sad, I enjoyed playing it every now and then.[/quote]

Has Hexic HD ever been available for download? In the past, since it came with the console, there was a special support code that you had to get from Xbox Customer Service to get it back if for some reason you ever deleted the game. I know this was a big complaint in the past for a few people that I didn't think they ever resolved.
 
[quote name='AdvOfJet']Has Hexic HD ever been available for download? In the past, since it came with the console, there was a special support code that you had to get from Xbox Customer Service to get it back if for some reason you ever deleted the game. I know this was a big complaint in the past for a few people that I didn't think they ever resolved.[/quote]

I dunno. I just sent in a support ticket though. We'll see what happens. If they let me transfer it somehow, yay, if not, oh well. I'm not going to lose sleep over it. It was fun to play every now and then, but not a huge part of my library. :)
 
Hexic HD has never been available for download on XBLA. It comes loaded on the hard drive with console purchases.

I don't understand why MS would just remove games from XBLA. Why not just make them free for a week, then remove them, then move on to the next Root Beer Tapper game to get rid of? They look like heroes for giving free games, and get to remove their crap from the marketplace.

And don't give me the "they would have to pay for the bandwidth" bullshit. Demos of XBLA games take EXACTLY as much bandwidth as the full game does. They would be losing absolutely nothing.
 
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I would imagine a lot of it had to do with a clutter look of the marketplace. And lets be honest, to qualify to be removed the game has to suck gameplay wise and sales wise. If it was so good then buy it when it launches. Yes I understand it is a dumb ass idea to remove game from a virtual storefront but give me a fucking break. No one was buying it to begin with.
 
[quote name='fart_bubble']I wouldn't mind if they would actually let you buy exactly 800 points rather than trying to piece meal 800 points with a few different purchases and you still end up with more points than you want at the moment[/QUOTE]Yeah that's annoying. What I do love about the current "points" setup, however, is that there are ways to cheat the system. XBL cards go on sale, free points are given out liberally as part of a contest, smarterchild, etc. If they just charged you directly, there wouldn't be all these loopholes to get cheap marketplace content. It's not like Target is gonna have a sale on money.

I realize that this still doesn't necessitate the large increments that you have to buy points in, but as long as this keeps us a few steps removed from being charged real money, I am willing to put up with it.
 
[quote name='BustaUppa']Yeah that's annoying. What I do love about the current "points" setup, however, is that there are ways to cheat the system. XBL cards go on sale, free points are given out liberally as part of a contest, smarterchild, etc. If they just charged you directly, there wouldn't be all these loopholes to get cheap marketplace content. It's not like Target is gonna have a sale on money.

I realize that this still doesn't necessitate the large increments that you have to buy points in, but as long as this keeps us a few steps removed from being charged real money, I am willing to put up with it.[/QUOTE]

yep I agree. The only thing is I tend to go through points like water and then when something pops up, its a spur of the moment thing but having to buy more points than I need does put a damper on me actually buying something. I just think if they would have you be able to buy 800 points exactly, more people would pull the trigger on a more consistent basis. I know 200 extra points is nothing but on a physiological level, I think it would do wonders
 
As a cheap ass gamer I shake my head when arguments are made for them to go the straight money route. That would kill all deals dead in their tracks and marketplace purchases would drop like a stone for myself, as I'm sure it would many others.
 
Another good example...1942 for 400 points is a buy. For 800 points I'll probably end up thinking about it for a week and then forgetting to download it.

Would you rather have my $5 or nothing?
 
Actually, if you download the demo, then buy it, almost no extra bandwidth is used. The XNA prices make me think that game prices are determined by a game's size more than anything else (Those are determined by size), which is total bs IMO.

XBLA needs more sales, like PSN (they have a sale once every 3-4 months). I think XBLA's had 1 total sale, and 3 games being free, which lasted a little less than 100 hours total.
 
[quote name='KingBroly']The XNA prices make me think that game prices are determined by a game's size more than anything else

[/quote] Doube D Dodge Ball is only like 17 MB and is 800 points :(
 
From a business angle I really don't get it. You're sellling a game that doesn't need packaged, copied, etc. If two people buy your game instead of one, the results the same. That $5.00 price point I think is even considered a no brainer if the game's even kinda fun. That's why UNO and TMNT were huge sellers!
 
Yeah, after seeing the PSN sale I would love to see some XBLA sale/s. If they do I hope it isn't 800 points games for 600. There is a good amount of 800 point games i'd buy in a second for 400.
 
[quote name='thorbahn3']From a business angle I really don't get it. You're sellling a game that doesn't need packaged, copied, etc.[/quote]

But there's still bandwidth, server space wherever it's hosted from. But I'm on your side, our XBLA subs are supposed to be covering that shit.
 
Once again, removing XBLA games instead of improving sorting and structure is just lazy. I can't help but think avatars stole developer time away from more important issues (see: fixing the organization of XBLA games).
 
I've always followed this solution after paying $10 for Texas Hold'em and then hearing from a friend that It was previously free. BOYCOTT THE SOB! I haven't let Microsoft LEGALLY steal from me since.
 
[quote name='popemogoth']I've always followed this solution after paying $10 for Texas Hold'em and then hearing from a friend that It was previously free. BOYCOTT THE SOB! I haven't let Microsoft LEGALLY steal from me since.[/quote]


I don't know why people treat Arcade differently than regular games? If I bought Call Of Duty 3 two years ago at 40 dollars, and then my friend gets it free with CoD4 I don't deserve any compensation. Just like anything you buy it will get cheaper and sometimes even be free.

But I agree 10 bucks is way to much for a lot the games being released, and not being able to buy in 100 point increments is really annoying.
 
I don't have too much of a problem with that. $5 for ports, $10 for new games seems to be the general idea of it.
Even some of the $5 games aren't even worth it, but the pricing isn't bad IMO.

At LEAST we have an option of downloading a demo.
 
The main reason you are seeing almost every XBLA game at $10 now is Microsoft is now taking 60-70% of the sales since about January. It use to be that they took around 20%. Developers really have no choice if they want a chance to recoup dev costs.

To make matters worse, they are making exceptions to that change for some of the larger publishers with the big back catalogs of classics.
 
And another yes yes yes yes!

It's just madness that MS would rather drop games from their system---that is, shrink the Xbox game library---rather than lower the price, like every other retail business in the world does.

As Apple learned with iTunes, there's a specific price point where people are willing to impulse-buy, it's lower than you want it to be, but if you hit it, you'll make a mint on volume. Similarly: At $10, I'm really going to think about value; at $5, I'll pick up the Bullwinkle minigames, whatthehell.
 
I also have to mention something else (Was going to edit my previous post, but I'm lazy).

Another reason so few games are $5 - Analysis has shown Microsoft, which they show developers, that $5 games don't historically sell at higher volume than $10, it's about the same. So as much as many of you say you'd buy more games at $5, the numbers don't show the same for everyone else buying XBLA games.

It also doesn't help your case that the Penny Arcade game was among the best selling game ever on XBLA at $20.
 
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[quote name='dkleinfeld']



As Apple learned with iTunes, there's a specific price point where people are willing to impulse-buy, it's lower than you want it to be, but if you hit it, you'll make a mint on volume. Similarly: At $10, I'm really going to think about value; at $5, I'll pick up the Bullwinkle minigames, whatthehell.[/quote]


You've hit the nail on the head.
 
[quote name='chasemurata']Once again, removing XBLA games instead of improving sorting and structure is just lazy. I can't help but think avatars stole developer time away from more important issues (see: fixing the organization of XBLA games).[/QUOTE]

Rare designed the avatars, and they aren't working on the actual Live interface. So there wasn't really any dev time stolen. Also, most of the issues (including organization) should be fixed with the fall update.
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']I also have to mention something else (Was going to edit my previous post, but I'm lazy).

Another reason so few games are $5 - Analysis has shown Microsoft, which they show developers, that $5 games don't historically sell at higher volume than $10, it's about the same. So as much as many of you say you'd buy more games at $5, the numbers don't show the same for everyone else buying XBLA games.

It also doesn't help your case that the Penny Arcade game was among the best selling game ever on XBLA at $20.[/quote]

There is some great $10 games that skew those stats I'm sure (Worms, Bomberman, etc.).
 
[quote name='thrustbucket']
It also doesn't help your case that the Penny Arcade game was among the best selling game ever on XBLA at $20.[/quote]


Not true...and I am so happy that this is the case. While the first week or two for Penny had strong sales, it fell HARD after that. As of last week it has sold only 49 thousand copies, and last week was like number 40 on the sales list with only 600 games sold for the week. It will not even be a top 50 game when it is all said and done.

Dollars brought in are strong for Penny. In fact it will eventually, down the road, top 1 million dollars in sales, because it only needs to sale half as many units as a normal game to get the same dollars, but because Microsoft gets a percentage of the dollars brought in, it looks like the 20 bucks was a mistake. A game with the press, and strong reviews, that Penny had, to only sale 50,000 units shows people are not ready to pay that much for a 5 hour RPG game.

My guess is they drop it in price to 10 bucks after they think enough time has passed to not piss off people who paid full price.

A great selling XBLA game would be Undertow. It has almost sold 1 million games, is still selling over 3000 games a week, and has made almost 10 million dollars.
 
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I also feel that if Penny had come out at 10 bucks, it would be well over 200,000 games sold, and over 2 million in dollars....maybe even more....at this time.
 
[quote name='foxdvd']Not true...and I am so happy that this is the case. While the first week or two for Penny had strong sales, it fell HARD after that. As of last week it has sold only 49 thousand copies, and last week was like number 40 on the sales list with only 600 games sold for the week. It will not even be a top 50 game when it is all said and done.[/quote]

I meant biggest opening, I wasn't clear about that.


A great selling XBLA game would be Undertow. It has almost sold 1 million games, is still selling over 3000 games a week, and has made almost 10 million dollars.
Click to expand...

Interesting. Can you cite the source for your information about that? (unfortunately I can't for mine)

Undertow having been given away for free would muck up the numbers for it's sales quite a bit, as we really don't know how much the devs got for that free period.
 
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