Arriving this week, Swords & Soldiers II will be another Wii U eShop exclusive, following up on the popular WiiWare original which - eventually - also found its way to multiple platforms. This time around more is made of the Wii U's options with the GamePad, however, and as of the time of writing this title is exclusive to Nintendo's system.
Rather like fellow Wii U download exclusive Affordable Space Adventures, however, some have been disgruntled with the price for the 21st May release; it's undoubtedly a premium download, as it'll cost $19.99 / €18.99 / £16.99. We've been impressed by our time with it so far but, nevertheless, that pricing will always divide fans.
Developer Ronimo Games has seen a lot of these comments and has forwarded the following statement to Nintendo Life, explaining the reasoning and philosophy behind the pricing.
Swords & Soldiers II is a self-funded passion project, created with a lot of care and craftmanship in over 3 years of development. The whole game has been built from the ground up to support the new and amazing hand animated art style and kickass new gameplay features, such as:
- Two completely new factions and one upgraded classic faction, adding lots of new units, spells and buildings.
- the Custom Army feature, allowing players to build their own army out of over 45 elements.
- Multiplayer mode where each player has their own screen, fully utilizing the Wii U gamepad.
- Epic and ridiculous narrated storyline with sidequests and minigames and over 40 challenging bonus objectives to complete.There should be room for bigger, better and higher quality indie games. We feel Swords & Soldiers II is such a game and the price is a reflection of that.
With the rush to the bottom seen on multiple platforms there's undoubtedly a lot of pressure on Indie developers that aim to retain the value in their games.
Where do you stand on this? Are you supportive of projects like this that maintain these prices, and do you think there is room on the eShop for "bigger, better and higher quality indie games"? Let us know.
Comments 96
Not buying another full price eshop game, the price reductions have screwed me over enough times. This looks so good too.
I'll buy it when I can, sometime after Splatoon releases & then after I finally buy other eShop games I've been wanting for a while.
That's nice and all but i don't need it at that price. I've more then enough to play and can wait for a sale. The dev does make a good point but i would like a loyalty discount. I bought all 3 of their other nintendo versions as well.
I completely agree that there is room or larger and deeper games on digital stores. It is a little difficult going from 1st for $3 to the 2nd for $20.
Also I feel strategy games have this unique aspect of unseen content. The strategies the developers have to think of and balance that might take the consumers months or years to develop is unseen content that the consumer needs to pay for. Hopefully there is enough content and good enough gameplay for most people to purchase this game. I want it but the price will mean I have to wait at least a month.
I agree with Defhalan. Hard to jump up in price that drastically and feel good about it..I wish them the best though
Once I have the money I'll definitely buy it. The artstyle is such a vast improvement to SnS1 and it looks like the gameplay and content has been improved aswell. I'm so looking forward to it. I don't mind paying full price for quality games.
I'll get it, but it won't be until it slides its way down to $10, alas--too many games, too little time, and there's absolutely nothing impulse buy about a $20 MSRP for DL games, alas.
I support this. This developer has made great games before and they're interested in expanding. So if they're gradually learning how to make better and better games, it makes more and more sense to charge more.
Affordable Space adventures had a similar price, and it was one of the best eshop investments I ever made on Wii U. I would definitely pay $20 for an Eshop game of similar caliber and quality, which this looks like it is.
So $25 in Canada, like Affordable Space Adventures...
Yeah, no...
Not happening, my bet is they drop the price within the first 3 months.
The pricing is far to high! I just bought splatoon for £21 and that's about the correct price for a game with no voice chat and a crap campaign. Swords and soldiers is a game which also lacks any content other than single screen gameplay, based on pricing of the first game this sequel should be £8.99 not £17 I can buy so many better games for £17.
Steam sales and mobile games are really making a mess of people's expectations. I often spend $20 or more on a crappy dinner at a restaurant so I don't see any problem with a developer asking twenty bucks for their game.
Nothing but whiney comment.
I'am quite sure none of you whine when you go to see a movie and buy snacks and refreshment for pretty much same price for couple of hours entertainment with no garantee if it's any good.
With that said, I'll will not have any reason for not buying it at full price. I'am sure it will entertain me for a longer time a movie can. If the genre of the game is not for you... Then wait. Otherwise stop complaining about the price.
@Morph Totally agree! How many times do we see price reductions in the following months.
I've put over 200 hours into Awesomenauts, so I trust Ronimo. I'll probably download this.
If the game is as enjoyable as I think it might be (I really liked the first one), then I'm willing to pay $20 for it. Affordable Space Adventure was one of the best co-op games I ever played. It also was one of the most co-op'ish co-op games I ever played. It was short, but it was also very enjoyable and totally worth $20. I played through it in one session with a friend, lasted close to 5 hours. Even in terms of value, that breaks down to like $4 per hour, of high quality and also smart entertainment. I really don't see the issue.
Sheer quality has to be AT LEAST as much a factor as pure quantity. IF The Order had excelled in terms of gameplay, as much as Affordable Space Adventure, and as much as it excelled in presentation, it would have been totally fine at $60.
$20 for a great indie game is absolutely okay. Paid that much for Shantae and the Pirate Curse, for example; would have paid that amount for other, cheaper games, too, such as Shovel Knight and Guacamelee.
In the case of Swords and Soldiers, it's just not the kind of game I tend to love, so it becomes harder to justify the price tag. But that's a personal thing, of course.
ricklongo: fair enough, your point I can understand. I just hate it when people complain for no valid reason.
I see no problem with it really. When you compare this game to the first the difference is almost night and day. You can easily tell they had a bigger budget this time and the improved production values are easily apparant. Honestly I think some people have been spoiled a bit too much by Steam Sales and Apple's 99 cents for everything model. Have any of you seen the price for Oddworld New n Tasty. The 30 dollars is justified because they went above and beyond your typical remaster/remake
I don't see the problem with it people spend more at the movies etc I myself can spend double this on weekly digital comics so I don't get the fuss.
Nintendo fans: "No game is worth more than twenty dollars. That's a lot of money to spend on a video game. OMG ANOTHER SPECIAL EDITION ZELDA 3DS MODEL! TIME TO BUY ANOTHER 3DS I DIDN'T NEED!"
Keep up the "not supporting any new games" concept guys. This will help Nintendo to be a third party company much sooner. After all, if you aren't buying video games on your console, why even have the console?
I see their point, quality SHOULD be paid for. However, content is key and though I liked s&shd, it was short campaign wise so I'll hope the reviews show a bigger campaign to justify a major jump in price.
@Lord splatoon isn't out yet and it supposedly has a good campaign from my understanding of it.
@elhede i only dislike the price becuse its so high and it will take me a long while till i can get it and no i don't go to movies or get snacks.
@Lord Where'd you get Splatoon that cheap?
The $20 price point did come as a surprise to me but that was my fault since my expectation was warped based on how the 1st game was like and thinking the 2nd would be like how other game companies do their sequels like Capcom with Megaman. If it last hours longer then the 1st with all it's contents, then I guess the price makes sense.
Pretty much I'll still buy it. It just the timing of the release help throw my budget way off with this, Attack on Titan, Puzzle & Dragons Z, and anything (maybe everything) release May 29.
I don't think there's any disagreement that there are $20 worth indie games. There could be even more expensive ones. The point of contention is this sentence "We feel Swords & Soldiers II is such a game". It didn't help them that they offered the first game for $1. That made the first game look too cheap, even though it's a great game, and was a WiiWare masterpiece. I hope they do succeed in selling the game, but they know they were pushing it, and this could hurt their sales. They could have made more money if they priced it around $15, so it's a business point mistake to me.
There is plenty of room for them but the only way at this point I am willing to pay is if the last game was good enough. (Yacht Club Games / Edelweiss / Super Giant Games / Treasure (On the strength of the Ikaruga steam port) and that is about it).
A know a lot of people have limited budgets etc but if 20 for a game that looks it might have many hours of gameplay is too much WTF?
Almost everything goes on sale eventually and if that is your thing fine(I do it all the time) but I hope none of the people complaining about this price are the same ones complaining about games like the letter takng up room in the eshop.
Waiting for sales and giving games a chance when hey it's only a buck is why games like that showed up on the eshop to begin with. If the game is well made especially with Wii U controls from the ground up how is 20 bucks not better spent on something like that game you will play instead of icons on your menu you never click on but they didn't cost much?
I've gotten triple a games on PSN for cheaper. Some of them are great and some are just there on my harddrive never played. At least I got them for cheap though right?
I'm getting it day 1. Loved 1st way back on wii, and I've paid more $ for worse games.
@Lord How can you call splatoons campaign crap if you haven't played it,there isn't even any reviews yet.
I agree that a really solid indie game is worth $20. What complicates matters is when the market is so over-saturated with mediocre games that nobody wants to risk $20 on a game that might be a disappointment.
For example, with Teslagrad I was hesitant to spend $15 and waited until it was on sale for $10 or so. Now that I know what an amazing game it is, I would gladly have spent $20 on it. But hindsight is 20/20.
It's more than I thought it would be, but I would be okay with paying that price if Splatoon wasn't coming out the following week. I'm probably going to buy Splatoon and at $60, that's as much as I could spend on gaming for May/June. I bought Mario Party 10 (unfortunately), MH4U, a few amiibos, and the 2 new Mii plaza games for each of our 3DS systems (3 total) in the last couple months. I can't play games as fast as I once did, so it will wait for now.
I think it's great. This is a high quality title; I've seen it in person.
If Indies can charge more for their games, they can make better games.
$20 is nothing compared to the price people pay for things like The Order 1886 and New Super Mario Bros.
What? No @rjejr comment on this? I am disappoint.
@Quorthon
If this was PS4/X1 then you would hear: "No game is worth more than twenty dollars. That's a lot of money to spend on a video game. I will wait for it to hit PS+/Games with Gold".
As someone who had this Day 1 on Wiiware and played it over 80 hours, enjoyed it enough to get it on PS3 after they patched in Move controls - the shoulder buttons didn't feel right after Wiimote pointing - so I could play it in HD, bought it again on Wii U so I could support the company and try out the 2 player off screen, and has been waiting impatiently for it to arrive since NOA announced last year it would be a holdiay release, I am probably not buying this Day 1.
And the only reason is the price.
I was very excited to see the title and be talked into buying this, but all the talking points aren't impressing me.
For example:
"- Multiplayer mode where each player has their own screen, fully utilizing the Wii U gamepad."
That isn't new, it was in the first 1 on Wii U. They already knew how to do this. It isn't anything new therefore it doesn't justify the doubling of the price.
And all the rest of their arguments seem equally spurious.
It looks good. - Well so did Child of Light, that was an artitsitc masterpiece. $15.
It took a long time to make. - Well so did Shovelknight. $15.
And all the people complaining about the complainers and talking about "the race to the bottom", that argument is completely irrelevant here. We are talking about a $10 Wiiware game (and PSN game, and Steam game, and Wii U game) doubling in price to $20 for basically the same game. People aren't complaining b/c this game is $1 or $2 instead of free, rush to the bottom has nothing to do w/ it, people are complaining b/c it's basically the same game, but the price doubled. Going to HD doesn't justify doubling the price. PS2 and Xbox games to their HD brethen went up 20%, $50 to $60, they didn't go up $50 to $100 b/c they were in HD. How many sequel games look better on HD systems than SD systems?
They didn't raise the price 20% to $11.99, or even 50% to $14.99, they raised it 100% to $19.99. How did the "rush to the bottom" argument even appear in this thread? It's misleading at best.
I agree, there is a place for a variety of different price points on the eShop. I'm glad to see free-to-play, $1, $5, $10, $8, $7.50, $50, whatever price they want. Even Mario vs Donkey Kong Tipping Stars can be justified as $20 as long as you get 2 copies, 1 for 3DS, 1 for Wii U, i fyou only have 1 system though, nto so much. But that's a strawman argument as well. They tried to justify a 100% price increase by saying they worked hard to make a game and there is room for different prices. But they never explained why this game cost 100% more than the Wii version, or the PS3 version, or however much more it cost than the Wii U version.
If people want to buy it, they can, people don't want to buy it, don't. I'm still on the fence, mostly on the no side since I need $60 the following week for Spaltoon.
But people complaining about other people complaining always drives me nuts. And when they are using such faulty arguments to justify their complaining about the others peoples complaining, that's just maddening.
$20 is an ok price for certain games. I just don't see any merit to any of their arguments for a 100% price increase. No merit at all. Add in online mutliplayer. Add in video chat. (Gamepad has a built in camera, why don't 'games have videochat?) Make it 5 factions. Make it a 3 player game. Mushroom Wars, a great single and vs game, had 3 and 4 player vs. It would have to be top down view, but 3 or 4 player should work. Make it buy 1 copy get a code to give a friend. Make it 2 1/2D like SSB. (I'm ok w/ the current look, the artwork is awesome, just like the first.) I just don't see what this game has that S&S on Wii U doesn't. Except teh "make your own army", that would be really cool for online play if it had it.
@sinalefa - You didn't see my comment b/c you ninja'd me. It took me 10 minutes to type and 15 to spell check.
I'm confident that the quality of the game justifies a $20 price tag. The thing is, one the the most attractive things about a digital indie game is its budget price. So naturally, some people will be turned off from this game immediately. I'm excited to try ASA as well, but not at $20.
@rjejr
All is right with the world, then I was just worried because we were 35+comments in.
I still believe more indie devs should use the first week discount. Armillo and Flowerworks did, and Spin the Bottle kinda did too. That secures early sales and goodwill, while keeping the game at their intended price point later on.
I know you are not into Pure Xbox, but one of the editors published an article yesterday about some indies making it harder than necessary for themselves to advertise their games. That early discount is another way of promoting your game.
I Definitely think there's a place for premium indie titles on the eshop. I think nintendo should make a premium indie section for games $15 and up so they can stand apart and not get lost in the shuffle. I do also think some sort of loyalty program would be great
@Quorthon My biggest problem is I bought 2 side scroll RTS games on my Wii U and I loved Castle Storm WAY MORE than Swords and Soldiers 1. So as of right now if I get a hankering for more side scrolling RTS I'll go buy that last CastleStorm DLC pack and play that.
However, if Swords and Soldiers 2 ends up looking more fun than Castle Storm I'll buy it in a heartbeat
@rjejr
I don't know. The only thing that stands out in your post is that you thought a game that gave you 80 hours of play should only be $10. You decided to pay multiple times for it, too. So, the sequel arrives with two new factions that need to be balanced, and presumably much more work involved. Why not $20? Just because you got a great deal on the first one doesn't mean they shouldn't try to get a more reasonable return on the second, IMO.
Plus, why is the Custom Army feature not a legitimately important new feature?
Also, they almost doubled the factions as they reworked one of them.
"Knew how to do it" on two screen multiplayer does not negate: had to optimize a new engine for it to work smoothly.
I don't know how many side quests and mini games there were in the first, but this looks from the outside to be exactly what they want to sell it as: a more fleshed out, fully featured sequel to an original which was repayable but more slight in content.
I get that it's not convincing you and you want to pay less. That makes sense. You are evaluating it compared to other games you want right now. That makes sense. I'm just not feeling your arguments against the developer's logic here.
It's just sad to see you as such an advocate for this game just leave the devs in the dust once they ask for more money. I haven't even played the first one, yet... and I think I own it. Got it on sale for like $5 or something.
@sinalefa
Maybe, but I post on those sites as well, and it not only doesn't occur nearly as frequently as Nintendo fans turning up their noses at anything "not Mario-Zelda-Pokemon," but clearly, the players on the other consoles still actually buy games, which is part of why they have so much more support.
@leo13
My point was more that this is a ridiculously common occurrence on this site--Nintendo fans do not like supporting games, they only like to spend money if Mario, Link, or Pokemon are on the cover, or if Nintendo rolls out yet another hardware revision.
Ultimately, this attitude will just convince the last remaining studios supporting Nintendo to walk away, and after that, Nintendo is really going to have no choice but to go third party.
@rjejr
Not even online multiplayer?
Oh boy, and what about this game going on every platform anytime soon just like the first?
Talk about it to appear in some HiB Along with other 8 games (and online MP of Course)?
You Know, like Little inferno, Trine 2, Runner 2, Toki Tori 2..
Complain all that you want about me complaining, I like supporting indies on eShop and other platforms, and I'm far above the WiiU attach rate if you ask me, I even liked the first one, bought it on the Wii on D1 and played it on Steam too (was it from a HiB? Think so...), but I'm not suporting this at 19 €, I'll wait for a sale, that's it
I think they're right that there's a niche for mid-range games, that spot where so many of us found our favourites on past systems. It doesn't need to be just big-budget or indie.
The question becomes if mid-range is viable on digital distribution, where there is so much downward price pressure.
@Quorthon I actually think Nintendo should build up and/or buy out a bunch of studios so that they don't have to be Dependant on 3rd party support. If others want in great if not oh well. But I'm sure I'm in the minority here.
@JtotheY Hi game seek had splatoon and yoshi wooly world in a pre release sale. Both games where about £21-£25 when i was shopping. Game seek use a stock pile pricing system (as the stock pile reduces the game price increases towards its RRP).
While I do agree with their statement the price jump from the first game to the second is definitely more considerable than I expected. Prices like that make you really question if you want a certain game where as if it was cheaper it could be an impulse buy. I think I will be waiting on this one.
@edgedino yes I know it was a pre release sale both yoshi woolly world and splatoon where in the pre release sale for £21-£25
@leo13
I've been saying that for years, but that's just not how Nintendo does things. And even if they did, they'd still struggle by losing all that third party support. The voids in the release schedule wouldn't be as prominent, but that's about it.
Had I actually enjoyed strategy games, I would gladly pay that price. Don't be cheap.
Well, we live in times, where people complain about a game on the PlayStore being too pricey at 20 cents...
20 $/€ is...brave.
I personally have no problem with it. 20 Bucks is a good price. Maybe not a steal, but affordable.
I don't look at sales as a slap in the face to those who paid the original price, I look at it as a means to get more players interested in your game. If the game is good, that is a good thing.
I'll be there day one for S&SII, proudly paying full price.
Looks like @Quorhon is making this about Nintendo and their fans again. Ugh, can't he give it a rest? This is nothing about Nintendo it is about what's right.
Also I'm surprised no mentioned the lack of online play that the cheaper PSN version had. You're paying double price for a game with slightly better art.
@aaronsullivan - All about expectations. It would have been nice if it were $10 like the first, but I think I knew it would follow "indie price creep" and come in at $15 like Shovelknight, Guacemele and the rest and of the better games.
The jum to $20 was just very unexpected. And the title of this articl egav eme false hope that mayb ethere would be something I miised ot justify the jump to $20. And there wasn't. Iwoudl have bene happier if they just said "it's $20 b/c we want to ask for $20" b/c their jusitfications seemed hollow corporate speak.
All the complaining on here about the complainers just set me off.
I do feel bad for them though, having th efirst be $3 on Wii U is probably giving them a bum rap. I know that $3 was just an upgrade gift for Wiiware owners like me, but some people may be looking at this as a 700% jump. And that would be unfair.
We'll see. I still may buy it, I'm fickle.
Whilst I always want a bargain, and this price is certainly one of the highest non-retail downloads, people need to remember that this game is still priced at around 33% of a full retail release, and if the first game is anything to go by (which was one of the bargains of the century when it re-launched on the Wii U by the way, although most seem to have forgotten it's rock bottom price.....Don't Ronimo games deserve recognition for that price tag?) then there will be plenty of content to justify this price.
I'm convinced this will be a quality game, and I'm personally happy to be a little more for a bit more quality.
Wii U exclusive.... colorful hand drawn art.... 2 player local play using gamepad... humor....
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!
I'd much rather spend my money on indie developers than a 60 dollar DLC feast (cough... batman... 40 dollar season pass... couch)
I am sad to see so many people not buy the game just because of the price. Shantae and the Pirates Curse is $20 but people still bought that. I am going to buy it at full price once I can afford it but I don't think $20 is to much. Hopefully more of you will come around by the time the game is actually released. Also I hope the developer markets the heck out of it. They need to do a full interview.
Nobody will buy it and ps4 will get a slightly better looking one without the gamepad features at the same price and it will sell better. And then everyone will wonder what happened or say wiiu never gets great indie exclusives.
But we have to support them to keep them.
@Quorthon agreed. I will usually at least buy a game on sale if it reviews well and then pay full price for some if they review well and it holds my interest. I am going to get Affordable Space Adventures next.
I've bought the first one for €3 on an eShop sale.
While this sequel does looks much more refined and therefore I am more than willing to pay more than that for it, I find the current price tag excessive.
€12 would fare much better.
I loved the first one so it is on the list. However I have a few retail and import releases to take care of first. Will likely get it in a month or two. I think the price is fine...it looks polished.
$19.99 sounds right for a premium indie game to me. (that's how much Shantae And The Pirate's Curse is and how much I expect Yooka-Laylee will be)
Nothing wrong with the price point, as long as the game is great and the customer is not waylaid with sales and price drops 2 months later that make it feel like they should have waited. The devs for Affordable Space Adventures did it right: they stated the period of time they won't have any sales/drops, letting customers decide if they want to wait of buy now.
For now, I still plan to get it, as I really enjoyed the first one on WiiWare. I do have to compare with Castlestorm in price point, but then again I got both DLC's for Castlestorm which ends up bringing it up in cost too. So here is hoping Swords & Soldiers 2 does content and enjoyment to match its price point, and if so, all will be well.
I hate these whole I value this at X so you should too arguments. Everybody has different circumstances and they are all valid. I'm just not big on people telling me how I should spend my money and I'm not going to tell someone else how to spend their money.
Personally, I only pay full price for any game if I'm hyped enough that it'll go directly to the front of my backlog list and be played immediately. I'm not that high on this game though I could be interested in it at some point.
I am curious what peoples feelings are on a couple of points brought up though.
1. Is there a market for mid-priced games? My thinking is probably not. Usually a game that has the market to drive the hype that can drive sales at any price has a full priced to have a marketing budget to get people excited. Or it has to be at an impulse buy price so people don't care if it's not a good game.
2. Expectations drive sales. I'm sure we'd be having this same discussion, but what if Mario Galaxy 3 was released on Wii U and NIntendo decided to ask for $70 or $80 because of various reasons? Seems like the same discussion to me. Some would be turned off because the price is higher than expected others would be on the you know it's worth it side.
I don't want to delve into all points listed, but I'll give my $.02 on a couple.
1. I bought almost everything on the gamecube and third parties still left Nintendo systems. I feel no need to try to prop up third parties on Nintendo systems. I want them to do good, but I already know I'm not going to be the reason those games come to Nintendo systems.
2. To me sequels are supposed to have more characters (tribes in this case), more ways to interact, and more/bigger levels. That's why I would consider buying a sequel, not reason to pay more for a game. I did enjoy the first game, but I just feel like I've gotten my fill of the gameplay.
As long as it's good enough to warrant the $20 price tag, I don't see the fuss. I payed $15 for Shovel Knight and that was well worth it; there have been much worse games with a $60 price tag.
As someone mentioned above, Steam sales and mobile games pricing have kinda messed up everyone's expectations. Which shouldn't be the case really.
MOAR 3RD PARTIES PL0X.....
WHAT DEH FEK DIS IS OVER PRICE NO BUY....
WAT U NO MAKE NO MOR WEE U GAMS NOW ((((((((((
@aaronsullivan - It's late adn I'm tired but wanted to know if you would have gone w/ $20 rather than $15 - the only other price that makes sense - if you were them?
I just dont see thsi selling enough copies at $20 to make up for lost sales at the $15 price peopel have grown accosutomed to.
Though I am mistaken - Shantae an d"Swapper" was both $20 last year, so this isnt' just followig ASA, they were probably looking at the sales for Shantae.
Its a bold move, and I can see them wanting to try out the price, but I still see it as the wrong move. Not just for me, but for them. Of course I'm not privy to any of Nintneod's books, maybe $20 is the new magic #?.
@rjejr
I don't know enough about the game and market to set a price but it's definitely a bad sign if you inspire an article to justify the price. Marketing needed to soften the blow or the price just needed to be lower. So a mistake was made.
$20 games that are a great experience but shorter or with less content really appeal to me honestly so I don't mind if indies try to carve out a new normal there.
Although I think it's highly likely this will be ported later (and maybe with new content), I do believe their comments that the Gamepad is a substantive and useful addition, and I don't think $20 is out of line these days, especially since they didn't do crowd funding beforehand. I'll be buying it Thursday.
@aaronsullivan - Thanks for the feedback.
I think you're right and it all boils down to this - "try to carve out a new normal there."
Guess we'll find out. Noticed in the eShop before there are 4 or 5 other small games coming out tomorrow but didn't see th erpice. 1 did have an introducry price lsited until 9/1. That might have bene th eway to go like Sinafela said. Or a 20% off if you ownth efirst on Wii U discount, only Irelaized after that's only $3, so you coudl buy that, get the 2nf fo ronly $16 and still save a $1. Maybe theycoudl just give the 1st away free w/ the 2nd? It's only $3 and many people probably already have it anyway, so a token gesture, but still a gesture.
I live in a world where everyone makes mistakes, and it's sometimes more important how you respond than making them.
@GLA Price reductions "screwed you over"? Wow, what a terrible way of thinking. You bought a game at a price you thought reasonable, you had fun with it and then others get it for less...and that somehow magically diminishes your fun with the game you bought for a price that was reasonable to you?
Screw that.
@KeeperBvK Really it depends on how close between you buying and the sale being known. Of course if you bought a game on the eshop on a Sunday evening and the sale is found out Monday morning via Nintendo Download article then it is being screwed over but if instead the gap is weeks then it isn't really a problem as such.
There’s too much crappy games out there distorting everyones perception. I’m buying this game day 1, and if they think that price is fair, I tend to believe them, given from what I’ve seen and what I’ve played from the first one.
Everybody can keep their 6 dollars in savings (really, that’s all you’re talking about!) and complain on here while I play a great game. Have fun posting about your five bucks guys!
Bought pt.1 for 3 euros, was too expensive, since it played as a random flash-game. I wish them luck selling a flash game for that price.....
The whiners here is just a minority. Not everyone have a backlog of games.
Lots of those who don't have backlog games, will buy this game at current price.
When you have 100's of unplayed games on multiple systems you normally buy less games at full price.
I wont buy it now, but sometime later as i have way too many games to play. If i didn't, i would buy it on day 1.
I still buy day 1 releases on eShop, but it depends on game vs price.
Just add Mario to the game, you could charge $100 for it and the Nintendo geeks will still be all over it!
@KeeperBvK of the 20 or so eshop games I have, that I bought at roughly the same time period, most have been reduced. So yeah, that's annoying. Difficult concept to grasp I know.
They should release at as high a price as possible... Its the only way to make money off the eshop. Prices can always go down, up... Not so much.
Personally I liked the first game, but I really thought it lacked depth and real strategy. I doubt this is that different. And given my backlog I wouldn't splash 20-30 au on this. Maybe the $5-$10 range.
Too much dear. m €15 is max!
Not for me at that price. Especially as I found the first game lacking in depth and quite boring... [This does look better though]
@Cathousemaster I don't know about releasing a game at 'as high a price as possible', doing that could just 'burn' your loyal fans or parents (who pay that price, if they later determine it is not worth the value). Could then bring bad reviews/publicity concerning the game.
I'd say for a studio, you want to find a good price point per value for your game. True, pricing too cheap could make people think your game is cheap and/or ignore it. Most of the time, though, if a game is a really good value, people can find out / will know with just a little bit of research online.
I'd say there is a market for mid-range games (who doesn't want a good game for a good price?), but most often it's a question of quality/value per price, and whether your game appeals to people (be it theme, interesting gameplay, etc). Certain games, like Mario/Nintendo games, are fairly high quality, and they have high appeal (all ages, good difficulty curve, creative stage design, etc), hence people are willing to buy them at higher prices (it's not just nostalgia, and it's not just brand recognition). Particularly, they often do game mechanics and controls very well.
On the flip side, the higher the price, the more competition (with other products/hobbies) and less willing people are to 'risk' buying your game (as most long time gamers have been disappointed with paying a price for a game they felt was much higher priced than its value). If you are an avid steam or mobile gamer, you may be hesitant to pay higher prices when you already have a lot to play or can tend to buy/try games at a much lower price (though, I argue console gaming offers a much deeper gaming experience than mobile, typically so it's worth the price difference from few $ apps).
But note, a lower price on a game doesn't mean a the total value you would/could've gotten from game sales is less. If the game is at a good price, you could even make more sales, and hence a higher overall $ amount from the game (principle of supply and demand, the cheaper something is, the more people will want or be able to buy it [higher demand]). With the way the market is, some people will impulse buy if it's a good price. If it takes too long for the price to go down, some may watch it, others will just leave it and look for good deals among the latest games.
Let me guess... it doesn't even support the superior Wiimote pointing controls from the original game. So much for "bigger and better".
There SHOULD be room for bigger and better "indie" games.
Particularly when these games start being as massive and pretty as games from big publishers were in the 90s.
Affordable Space Adventures is a great example of something that's worth the "premium" price.
@accc
That's quite the assumption. Why would you think that?
I'm not sure if this reason has been brought up or not, but what if you just don't want to buy the game period? I bought the first on Wii U as an impulse purchase, and it didn't really impress me. Not saying it was a terrible game, just not my cup of tea. And for me personally, $20 isn't an impulse purchase. I don't even have some games that are $15 that I want yet.
Well I remember a time when all games were $40-50 a shot. Paying less than £20 for a console exclusive of some depth is okay by me. Honestly if you get buyer's remorse from buying something that goes on sale, you might as well stop buying anything because life will be an endless series of disappointments.
@Pod I've read two reviews and neither of them mention Wiimote controls. One of them mentions that it supports the Game Pad and Pro Controller, but doesn't say anything about the Wiimote. Most indie developers go out of their way to neglect the Wiimote even when their games would obviously benefit from it, and it appears this game is no different.
@shauntu Nobody is getting whaled at $20, and being that price sensitive will only hurt the players long term. You are right that if they announce ahead of time a window in which there will be no sale, that would alleviate that concern for some, but how many would even learn of such a thing?
@cusman I said the price point was fine for the game. Most people are comparing it with the price for the original, which was $10 on WiiWare and the HD version of which was released on Wii U eShop for $3.
So, the developers task is to show that the new game is worth $20. I myself plan to get it as I really enjoyed the original and also bought and played through the Wii U HD version again as well.
@Lord why can't usa have all these great deals and offers like the Europe.
@edgedino I know it's a shame but in the USA food is cheap unlike the UK so that's our ying & yang! (a 500g box of lucky charms is $8 equivalent and a whopper meal is $13 ouch!) (@todays exchange rate).
@accc
They don't go out of their way to neglect it. They just cut that because they don't expect people to have wiimotes. It's not as easy as just "leaving it in" from the prior game. There is lots of testing involved.
And when none of the reviews specifically mention that the feature ISN'T there, I think you should reserve your criticism, as many reviewers do seem to not care much about being in depth concerning control options.
It isn't really about $20 for a good game. It is about $20 for a digital only game. My ultimate limit on digital only games is $15 and I won't spend a penny more. I don't buy big budget games digitally for that very reason. I know my line in the sand, so this isn't whining, I made a distinct choice when digital started becoming more popular that no game that is only a rental will be worth more than $15.
@Lord well i doubt you eat whoppers much then lol but if i recall we have more kinds of taxes as well in usa
I understand the low prices that Nintendo customers are accustomed to on eshop games. And I also understand the position that if you're charging me X amount of money, I should definitely get a physical game because I don't think digital-only games are ever worth that amount. I just think it's entirely absurd to call a $20 price tag on a game in any way exorbitant, even for a digital copy. I just think of all the times I've walked into a store and shelled out $50, $60+ for games that ended up being the worst. Terrible games on Nintendo platforms have been sold for over twice that $20 price for literally thirty years. I bought a carton of eggs today for $3. If you think a game is bad and just not worth $20, I'm alright with that. But if you're not willing to spend $20 on a quality game, you might be cheap.
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