DIYgamer

Is There a Price Limit for Indie Games?

It seems like when a high profile indie game gets released there is always some scrutiny about it’s price point. Take Braid, as an example, when that game first launched at it’s 1200 points ($15) there were many vocal gamers who guffawed at the price. Likewise, there seems to be an invisible barrier for all indie games where, after a certain price point, they just aren’t worth it anymore. But just what determines these price points? Who sets that limit?

Machinarium was released yesterday for the price of $20, a steal if you ask me. It was one of the most delightful games I’ve played this year (read our review). The artwork was fantastic, the story was amazing, the puzzles were challenging, and it gave me about 8-10 hours of gaming. There’s little more I could have asked for from the game especially considering it’s relatively low price point.

I’ve also been playing Tim Schafer’s new game: Brutal Legend. Like with Machinarium, it’s been one of the better games I’ve enjoyed this year, it’s funny, and overall I’m loving the mechanics behind the game. I’m just about to beat the game and I’ve only invested about 10 hours into it.

So you can see there’s little play time difference between a title that’s $20 and one that’s $60.

Now, obviously, Brutal Legend costs more because of the notoriety behind the game (Jack Black’s voice casting) and the much higher development costs. This isn’t a question about the pricing structure of major release games, after all, but rather the willingness of gamers to splurge a little more and top quality indie developed titles.

And of course it’s all relative. Brutal Legend cost a lot of money to make, but they also had a multi-billion dollar corporation backing them up. If the game cost $15 million to make then it’s still just a fraction of EA’s quarterly revenues. A game like Machinarium, however, may have only cost $30000 (just as an example) to make, but I’d bet that it was a much higher fraction of Amanita Design’s revenue that went into that game.

To get to my point, cause I feel like I’m starting to ramble on, if Machinarium sold for just $10 more, a price I would still pay for the game, many gamers would instantly be turned off of the title. Not because they don’t feel the title is worth their money, or even because they don’t think it’s worth $30, but, rather, because they are accustomed to getting indie games at super cheap prices, despite how much money, effort, love, and creativity was put into the title.

Oh and I am in no way proposing that we all pay more for games, indie or otherwise. I just wish there wasn’t this stigma that if it’s an indie game it can’t cost more than such and such; especially when I’ve seen much crappier games come from big publishers and selling for twice as much.