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Penny Arcade Game Sees Record Breaking Numbers
Kotaku is reporting that the new Penny Arcade game is showing record breaking numbers, earning $330,000 in the first three days, surpassing previous record holder Worms HD. Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik was very pleased with the result saying: "Given that our price point was double the other games on that list I'm pretty f***ing happy. We fully expected some people to complain about the $20 price tag but we honestly felt like our game was worth it. Pricing something like this is tricky. Obviously you have to look at the length of time it will take someone to complete the game but you also need to factor in the quality of the experience."
The way the Kotaku article is worded - and it comes through on the summary is a bit confusing. Basically if the VGChartz esitmate is right they broke a record for earnings. They came in third for number of downloads- and that is what Gabe is talking about when he says "Given that our price point was double..." He means that he is happy they had the third most downloads since their game cost so much more than the others that came before it. He does not say anything about how much they made or make any comparisons regarding income to the other games. In a screencast they did for the game, he even jokes that due to the large initial cost of creating the game, they aren't making any money yet. You can see that video if you scroll to the bottom of this post.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
This is only for XBox Live Arcade, not a total sales record against all the platforms the game is available on.
Seriously, it's a game where you can beat evil mimes to death with a rake. Who wouldn't pay $20 for that?
The folks at HotHead have stated, repeatedly, on their forums that the activation is a one-time-only when you first install the game. Yes, it reactivates for each machine you install it on, but you can install it on any number of machines that you want (not sure where you got the 3 limit from), using the same license. As others have stated, the same license key even applies across all platforms (Xbox excluded.)
After the initial activation, you never again need a check or even an internet connection to play. That's the kind of copy protection I am comfortable with, and that's why it didn't stop me from purchasing it.
It does do a one time activation thing, but given its download only thats hardly going to be inconvenience. Also, I do not believe there is any download number restrictions - one key will cover multiple installs on multiple platforms.
Quote from a dev:
We don't anticipate having to limit the number of redownloads but remember that each new machine or major hardware change may trigger a new key to be issued against your license. Our plan is to allow multiple installs and to be generous in that regard to cover murdered systems, planned upgrades, people wanting to play it on their PC and their Mac or even Linux box etc. Even if the limit is reached--a limit that we have not determined yet--we will be flexible in resetting or increasing the limit for paying customers. If you are registered, we will keep your license keys stored for you in your profile and you will be able to see the number of times that license has been used for various systems so there will be no surprises.
Original thread:
http://forum.playgreenhouse.com/jforum/posts/list/302.page
Not quite as bad as our old friend SecuROM methinks.
... are purchase copies of low-budget games developed in relatively short time frames which were released by someone without a pre-existing audience of millions of rabid fans?
Its not like Penny Arcade descended down from heaven yesterday and declared "And let it be possible to sell video games, for money, over the Internet! So it is written, so shall it be done!" Its been done. The overwhelming majority of folks who do it fail to make any significant amount of money relative to the fair-market value of the time invested.
http://www.gameproducer.net/category/sales-statistics/
Those statistics aren't representative -- everyone likes hearing about the success stories (hint: most of the ones with numbers in the title). Vastly more numerous are results like these folks:
http://www.gameproducer.net/2006/09/20/sales-statistics-pharaohs-curse-gold-2000-yearly-sales/
Several man months of labor. $2,000 worth of sales.
Games are just a tough, tough market to make money in. Your core customers don't want to spend money and fly the Jolly Roger by default. Your product will be obsolete in 3 to 6 months, even for "casual" gaming. You have enormous expenditures for assets to remain competitive. Your customers have rather little loyalty and it is difficult to turn them into ongoing revenue streams.
Compare this to selling software on the shareware model: your core customers have problems and are willign to pay to solve them. Your core customers don't have LimeWire installed. Your product will last for years. Your expenditures on assets may cost less than a date (I started my software business with $60... working on hitting $20k this year, on about 2 hours a week). Your customers provide a built-in base of people to sell upgrades and new related products to, and they are often fanatically loyal to you.
Help poke pirates in the eyepatch, arr.