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Before Microsoft and Sony do something regarding their future in the video game business, I wanted to write, and I've wanted it for a long time now, but other things kept getting in my way, and fearing that tomorrow might be too late, today will have to do.
Months ago,...
HomeFeatures Publishers Could Charge More Than $60 Next-Gen, And It's All Apple's Fault
Publishers Could Charge More Than $60 Next-Gen, And It's All Apple's Fault
Posted on Monday, August 27 @ 15:30:00 Eastern by Daniel Bischoff
Everyone was happy and willing to drop $1 on games for their iPhone or Android device. It was novel, entertaining, and people discovered that certain titles presented a great value. Billions of apps have been downloaded to mobile devices around the world, a vast majority of which have been games. So long as the markets remained segmented, no one thought that App Store pricing could afflict console gamers or PC gamers.
Unfortunately, as brands and publishers are crossing over between the two markets, pricing has been afflicted. In the case of Square Enix, this means unheard of pricetags on iOS ports of classics. $15 for Final Fantasy Tactics iOS seems absurd when stacked against the mountains of ¢99 apps.
Sure, you might get a beloved title on-the-go, but there's a question as to the legitimate value of a game that's over 10 years old, merely ported to a modern device. The same can be said about Square's recent release of Final Fantasy Dimensions. If you want to buy the entirety of the 2 year old, formerly Japan-exclusive mobile game, you have to shell out $30.
Stack that against 30 Angry Birds, Tiny Wings, Where's My Waters, and more. The price doesn't add up. Now, Square Enix has announced that The World Ends With You, a cult classic Nintendo DS game will be reaching a new audience on iOS.
Compared against the original DS release, The World Ends With You: Solo Remix's $20 (iPad) asking price doesn't seem too bad, but once again, Square Enix has ignored the market and priced their port far outside the norm.
I don't see the vast majority of ¢99 games suddenly raising their prices to meet Square's hairbrained value. Console games (handheld or otherwise) do not pose a threat to the mobile market. The reverse, the pairing of Activision and Angry Birds, does present a threatening vision of the future for console games.
Activision revealed last week that it would publish Rovio's Angry Birds for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo 3DS. You wouldn't think that one of the biggest publishers in the world would bother releasing a game on these platforms at the same price as iOS (¢99) or Android (free).
The highest possible price for these three games is $10 in HD on iPad (including every piece of DLC).
That's a mark up of $20-$30. Activision says that they've remastered each game for 1080p visuals, artwork, and new cinematics. They've also added Move and Kinect support and 3D, in addition to achievements and unlockables. To top it off, 19 brand new levels will come to Trilogy exclusively to compliment the 700+ levels from the original releases and DLC.
I don't pretend to know exactly how much work all of these new features entail. I'm also sure that you'll reap plenty of gameplay from this huge collection, but that doesn't mean it's right.
Four times the original price? For a game you've probably already bought and played (and in my case didn't enjoy)? What's more, Activision has said that two DLC packs are in the works for the September 25th release.
Angry Birds Trilogy is a dangerous game, not literally, but because of the precedent it might set. It's not like this is a downloadable title or a new game altogether. This is a port... of a game over a year old... with features no one could possibly want (Kinect).
There's no justification for this. This is a threat to our wallets and the bottom line gamers are already struggling with. If this is how mobile games are valued by publishers who typically support the big consoles, how will next-gen games with massive production budgets, workforces numbering in the hundreds, and massive, complex online infrastructures be priced?
The Angry Birds Trilogy port team consisted of... maybe 20 people?
Creating a second market on i-devices and letting developers go to town certainly seemed like a great idea, and it worked for a while. The consumers would cull the wheat from the chaff and everyone could walk away with 20 great games in their pocket for a third of the price on a new console game.
Apple's market has fought off the advances of publishers like Square Enix, maintaining focus on cheaper, more disposable experiences, but the reverse is a much bigger threat. If we accept the advances of mobile-game-inflation by puslishers like Activision, it will not bode well for core games.
People are already paying ridiculous amounts of money for useless collector's editions. Back in the day, if you bought a collector's edition, you knew that it was rare and sold out on the first day. Now, these things are available even years after the initial launch.
That too. Most of the time, people buy up the collector's editions to sell back online for an even higher price. Hell, the Wii was the same at launch; people acted like there was only a certain amount.
Relax...Breathe... and repeat after me: "you don't have to buy this, you don't have to pay for this". Heath already explained the logic behind this in his column a while ago. And it is the market's fault, not Apple's.
Heath also mentioned the need to communicate your reason for not buying it, though. If they don't know that their marketing plan was the reason you stayed away, they might not learn the correct lesson.
I get why people say that, but then I ask them which games they've downloaded. There is good stuff out there, well worth your 99c. No more than 99c though. And you shouldn't have to pay for different versions across iPad and iPhone.
The other point I was trying to make is that the best iOS games I've ever played have been free (Jet Pack Joyride), but even then there's not many of them worth my time or anyone else's who has access to a console, handheld, PC, LeapFrog, Etch-a-Sketch, Ball-in-a-Cup.....
I downloaded Angry Birds on my Android, played it for a few levels, thought "This **** is retarded," deleted it, and went back to playing my PS3. Anybody considering paying $40 to play Angry Birds on their TV should be forbidden from reproducing.
Not to quote a competitor, but PAR had a nice article recently about how free-to-play games are VASTLY out earning pay games on the mobile platforms. And honestly, who is going to pay $40 for Angry Birds? NO ONE!!!! It will be in the bargain bin within a month, and Activision will be firing the dolt who had this great idea.
I haven't paid for anything yet on my iPhone as far as aps are concerned. I keep finding temporary free stuff that used to be $.99 or $1.99, download and think "Thank god I didn't spend $.99 on this". I've been tempted to pay $15 for FF Tactics because I;ve never played it and it sounds awesome for when I'm bored at work.
Before Microsoft and Sony do something regarding their future in the video game business, I wanted to write, and I've wanted it for a long time now, but other things kept getting in my way, and fearing that tomorrow might be too late, today will have to do.
Months ago,...
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