Should Good Indie Games Be More Expensive?

spidweb writes "Indie gaming blog The Bottom Feeder has an article on why independent games should be more expensive. The enforced low prices on XBox Live, Amazon, and iTunes might feel good now, but they'll kill off the variety and depth gamers are hoping indie developers can provide. From the article: 'Every year, life is getting more and more expensive. Insurance. Rent. Food. And, at the same time, games are getting cheaper and cheaper, sometimes as cheap as a dollar, as we engage in a full speed race to the bottom. This is not going to help developers stay in business. This is not how a healthy industry is maintained.'"

Comments

Economies of Scale

[ObsessiveMathsFreak]

If your game is really good, then won't it sell more copies, making you more money?

Is there some hidden cost in producing more copies of a binary file?

Re:Economies of Scale

[Yvanhoe]

Somehow, I feel that if a game is good enough to make me go through the process of grabbing my credit card, going to the website, checking for traps, entering the number, etc... a price of 1$ or 15$ doesn't really make a difference.

10-15 is probably the good price range to maximize the number of copies sold. Lower won't make more under our current distribution methods.

Just like how software should be...

[Anonymous Coward]

'Every year, life is getting more and more expensive. Insurance. Rent. Food. And, at the same time, software is getting cheaper and cheaper, sometimes as cheap as a dollar, as we engage in a full speed race to the bottom. This is not going to help developers stay in business. This is not how a healthy industry is maintained.'"

I agree. The race to the bottom for software is not how a healthy industry is maintained. What will we do if software reaches a price point of zero?

There are no clear examples out there of how free software or applications can stay in business.

*rolls eyes*

Re:Just like how software should be...

[bigstrat2003]

Hate to break it to you, but those models aren't going to work for gaming. Gamers don't need support contracts, and they'll go nuts if you try to cram advertising down their throats. Just because it works for some, doesn't mean it'll work for anyone else.

(Sigh...) Again, it's supply and demand

[dazedNconfuzed]

Supply and demand is an economic law. Arguing that prices should be higher than the market will bear, in an attempt to re-write that law, is foolish.

I recall a little "indie" game company that released, with little advertising, a mindless shoot-em-up by giving away much of the game and selling the full package cheaply. They made a good game, didn't charge much, and did well by it. 17 years later you can _still_ buy Wolfenstein 3D.