Why is this game so expensive ?

[Templer_12]

True, the game costs more than commercial games found in every shop, every supermarket.

Matrixgames is a small company that offers niche games.

Today's players, especially the youth, is not interested in work. There should be just a quick success.
The young players of today want fun and party. But no work - certainly not with the brain.

For matrix games, this means that the sales figures are much smaller than that of larger companys their customer are mainly the brain-less players. It´s exclusive stuff vs. mass stuff.
Somewhere must be the sale also expected. Also, the game designers, producers and so on need to feed their families.

Special people have special claims and are (people and claims) not found on the mass market.

Right, so you can buy a game for the Xbox or the PS 3 for less money.
What you get then? - Serial moving images.

As an example the Strategy hammer "of the year" a magazin called it so (I do not know the year and the magazin anymore), Command & Conquer.
What you get for your money? A good graphics, enhanced sound and intellectuals challenging task to develop your strategy in the sense of: collect everything as quickly as possible, build as much as you can as quickly as possible and then assault the enemy with everything you collected.
This is all very colorful, loud and fast. And right, it´s also a strategy.

Your back and your butt hurts from sitting, your fingers, wrist and your arm hurts by fast mouse movement, your eyes hurt from staring at the flimming screen - but your brain is wonderfully relaxed - was not even claimed.

In addition, the companies that serve the mass market don´t reach by far the depth, detail (only in graphic gems - that´s their trump they think and thats usually their less recruitment) and love the charm impart.
Also the customer service from these companies is mostly bad.

The customer service here at Matrix Games is incredible. The proximity to customers may be responsible unrivaled.
In the forum you will find mostly adults, I won´t call them players or gamer, maybe I call them serious brain strategists and (brain) users.
Also in the forum there is a friendly and mature art to discuss.

Also Matrixgames games on the market for years are still reliably maintained.

What you get with i. e. With:PA:
-receives an intelligent and challenging game, no wrong - simulation software.
-Customer of its equal.
-A special and exclusive world. Matrixgames customers are something special. None everyday people.
-A challenging hobby, not a cheap pastime.

A warning, however: most of matrixgames games are not for everyone! Who is not willing to invest worktime and to sacrifice for those the purchase is a lost.

There are people who spend their hole free time to passive watch television commercial broadcast spots.
There are also people whom it´s important to be ambitious in their spare time to spend - they walk, perhaps to the opera, theaters, cinemas in a challenging movie. They do something active.

How valuable is your free time for you, your life time and the time you are away from really important (your family?)?

Your life is to short to trow it away. You like gaming, great it´s a importent part of life - it can be important for your mental health.
Fliping a coin, play with your children, make nonsen with your friends or your wife or playing computer games. what ever your prefere and satisfied you.

Brainless Zombie or active Homo Sapiens?

WitP: AE on the first look is more expensive than most other games - on the bottom line is still far too cheap.

[BoneMaru]

I have bought every incarnation of this game and many other wargames(pc and board) and have never gotten more bang for my buck then this game. If you enjoy ETO there are many ways to go but if you are a PTO fanboy the shopping stops here.
 When you add to that the community here(am I the only one who has spent more time reading then playing? OMG the research is actually fun!) and its a no-brainer.

[Templer_12]

ORIGINAL: Tazo

 
When I buy a new wargame, whatever the price - a true passion is not economic rationality - I'm always under some charm and love reading the new rules, starting the game, experiencing it... But then it enters my collection and the magic of these first moments desappears as extra hobby life goes on again. The very good wargames provide such feelings as I open the box even years after the first plays. In art museums the master pieces you like very much provide special enjoyement and sensations each time you meet them again, and each time they hit you more deeply. Likewise the master piece wargames provide such special feelings just by looking at their box ! 

WitP-AE is not only one of these. The manual can not only be looked at every few months... the game itself can be plaid every day ! And in comparision I can not visit my favorite art museums even once per two years. AE is one of the main master pieces in the museum of wargames, and the only one playable so intensively by visiting it daily for a short or long session, a pemanent charm. Moreover, for me, it is the ONLY master piece in the museum of computer wargames. And it my favorite wargame master piece.

The communauty and developpers are overactive, the game in perpetual renewal and evolution, mods... AE is simply alive. When you invest a lot of free time and little money - which is nothing but a few working time - in the AE system then you have no more to endure heavy rules again since you pratice them frequently, no way to gorget, only spend you playing time to think, adapt, learn more, balance choices and then experience the very realistic consequences of you strategy.

Hence, to be economically fair I should indeed give far more money to AE dev'. So it is better not to argue too much on that, you will at last have to give even more money to cover the REAL intrinsic value of the game! As others I wasted so many euros on computer wargames either unfinished or unplayable, with stupid AI's and broken or unexplained systems... I've a long list on names in front of me - no good feelings when looking at these boxes for sure. So I join the claim "all this money would better be sent back to AE dev' team". They may be proud of such an achievement. Serious release takes time, knowledge, inspiration, skills, good taste, passion and intellect - and hard work of course, but insufficient alone. Master pieces requier all this. So what is the price, by the way?

Very good post. Please receive my respect.

I want to add: for the matrix team and the managers -Unfortunately genius get the recognition they deserved in lifetime after they died.

Ah, ... your Matrix guys - stay healthy. No alcahol, no nicotin and went to bed early! [:D]

Oh, and ..... vive la france!

[Kumppi]

After playing WitP AE no other strategy game feels that good anymore. I have played HOI2 a lot, but nowdays I play it less and less. The game play feels very restricted and the scope just isn't there. I don't feel like conducting a war like I do in WitP AE. WitP AE is massive and complex, but it does reward you with almost unlimited ways to play. Plus it makes a good cup of coffee.

[Karrick]

I play games becuase they are fun, exciting and rewarding......I played UV (Uncommon Valor - trainer game for WITP) till WITP came out. I got one of the first WITP games at Origins in Columbus, OH. My wife thought I was nuts paying the entry fee to get into the main hall so I could then buy a game... and then leave for home immediately!! I pllayed WIPT till July of last year...not wanting to start a new game with the impending release of WITP-AE Now I am playing WITP-AE and having a blast. nothing is more rewarding than definding a problem, developing a realistic solution for that problem and implementing that solution successfully. Its about the all the little victories every day...and the unexpected things that can happen against both the AI and an human player...at times I have never had more fun having my butt handed to me in a basket! God I hate note knowing where the enemy carriers are!!


Oh...did I menction I play games becuase they are are fun, exciting and rewarding...so the cost of WITP-AE was never a real consideration for me.

[RevRick]

ORIGINAL: dsuday

I like Strategy games and I was looking for buy some good strategy games and I came across this one. I see that the price is around 80 bucks, why is that ?

Is it much different from the Paradox games like Hearts of Iron etc...?

Very simple. It's worth every penny of it. I've been playing this family of games since 1994. Tried other games which lasted a couple of weeks, and keep coming back to this game since I had it's great grandfather back in seminary - Pacific War.

[Templer_12]

ORIGINAL: dsuday

I think I will take a plunge into this game when I get my next paycheck. I played the HOI III Demo and it is plagued with issues, and looking at the passion and "War Stories" in the forum, I think it might be worth an investment to move on to something big and play some thing other than (click-Build-Rush and Click once again) strategy games. I would have loved a demo though. But I think it is high time that I leave behind the regular RTS's and play something more complex. Though I am a wargaming novice, it does look like playing this game might give me some idea on how real life military campaigns are executed and that I think would be an valuable education.

If somthing went strange don´t give up.
It tooked me almost 12 Days of continuing playing to remember my name again.
Read the manual carefully! We know it´s like a telephone book but you have to.
Return to this forum. You will find help here - you will need it! (You´ll find also great fun with some jokers here [:'(])
Keep us updated how you´re satisfied. If you are, tell your friends.

You´re wrong in one point - it´s not something big - it´s something huge.

And welcome to the dark side.
If you´re hooked, there will be no return.

Enjoy! [;)]

[Feltan]

ORIGINAL: dsuday

I like Strategy games and I was looking for buy some good strategy games and I came across this one. I see that the price is around 80 bucks, why is that ?

Is it much different from the Paradox games like Hearts of Iron etc...?

Everyone is pulling your leg dsuday.

The pricing is determined upon weight of the software. $ = (($0.05 x KLOC (executable)) + ($0.02 x KLOC (static)) / 2 grams per KLOC)**2

Regards,
Feltan

[LeeChard]

A game like Grand Theft Auto has a target audience that's huge compared to Matrix's wargame grognard niche. The economy of scale dictates the cost has to be spread over relatively tiny sales. From my point of view it's well worth it.

[Sonny II]

ORIGINAL: Valgua

ORIGINAL: V22 Osprey

ORIGINAL: dsuday

I like Strategy games and I was looking for buy some good strategy games and I came across this one. I see that the price is around 80 bucks, why is that ?

Is it much different from the Paradox games like Hearts of Iron etc...?

I was wondering the same thing, what makes this game so much better than other games?Surely other developers work just as hard for their games.Why dont they deserve to have their game cost $90?

I ordered this game because I like War Plan Orange(Another pacific game by 2by3 games) and it just looked awesome.So its on it's way, I just found out that I'm going to have to wait another week and half to get it which is pissing me off.[:@]

'Supposedly' this game is ultimate pacific wargame, no denying that.This game is no doubt going to be awesome, and I believe its worth all the money for it, although a friendlier price would be more appreciated.($100 for a game is something to think about)

For another game perhaps, but for a game that you can play with for years? Think about it. How many other games have so many followers after 3 years? Think about it as dollars per hour. Witp AE costs like 5 dinners at a cheap restaurant or 6 nights at the cinema. If you are a gentleman and invite your girlfriend Witp equals to 3 dinners and 3 movies. Do you still think that it is expensive?

If you ge AE you probably won't end up with a gf or wife - so you save money on all those dinners and movies!

[Justascratch]

Like I said when the box first arrived.

Me so lonely . . . play you long time.

[mike.cordiez]

You could always buy the paper WitP by Decision Games.  Only $400. 

Amazing game this is and well worth every penny.

[crsutton]

Yep, you want to drive a Yugo, you pay for a Yugo. You want to drive a Maserati, you come up with the coin.[;)]

[Cap Mandrake]

ORIGINAL: Justascratch

Like I said when the box first arrived.

Me so lonely . . . play you long time.

[:D]

[Lomri]

When I was a kid I played a bunch of strategy games on the first nintendo - Romance of the three Kingdoms, Le Emporer, to name a few. As game systems got prettier strategy took a back seat.

I've played EU2 and HOI I and II. I like WWII games better, but I feel Paradox was better sticking to the EU style games. Don't get me wrong, I'll probably buy HOI 3 and play it for _maybe_ a month before I realize that the AI is just too dumb and the naval game is so _weird_ (like it was in HOI II).

But when UV came out it really hit that sweet spot for me. More exciting than land based hex games, but more detailed than world conquest games. And when you feel like the same (or at least similar) restrictions are put on you as were historical, you feel immersion that you don't get from less detailed games.

I played WitP for years, taking breaks but always coming back. Always a good game. I'm sure I'll be playing AE in 5 years, and I hope I will have finished one game by then. (I am almost done with my first 'all the way through' WitP game). Cost per hour of enjoyment is a much stronger ratio then any other video game I have ever purchased in my life, including the first Civ game.

Just imagine if you paid $10 (or $15 or whatever) a month of game play like people do for World of Warcraft... Imagine how awesome it would be to have more paid folks working on scenarios and alternate histories, bug fixes, etc etc. on AE. I'd sign up for that.

[Cap Mandrake]

$70 doesnt seem that expensive to me. I could spend that much on pizza and beer for my kids (the ones over 18, I mean).

I would gladly pay $xxx.

(what was I thinking?) [X(]

[fmonster]

ORIGINAL: Karrick

I got one of the first WITP games at Origins in Columbus, OH. My wife thought I was nuts paying the entry fee to get into the main hall so I could then buy a game... and then leave for home immediately!!

First laugh of my day. Thanks!!

[Rob322]

I bought the original HOI and found it amusing but let's not kid ourselves, if you want realism then you have the wrong game in HOI. I mean, it's 1936, I take Brazil. Within a week I own Uruguay, by March I've annexed Paraguay and Argentina, Chile falls in April, then Bolivia, Peru, Columbia, and Venezuela. I leave the Euro colonies in South America intact. Now I've got 95% of the continent working for me in a little under 8 months. [:D] My forces moved through the Amazon about as fast as they did in the Pampas! [:D] By '38 I'd sidestepped the Canal Zone (no need to annoy the US at this stage) and land in Central America and Mexico and roll them into the Empire. Now I've got some rubber, some oil, I'm really cooking. When war breaks in Europe (March of 39, a tad early) I turn my eye to Africa and the Middle East. Arabia falls to my expeditionary forces (look ma, more oil!) and eventually I come in on the axis side and mop up isolated European colonies through much of Africa. By the time the US gets into the party I have 40 divisions sitting along the Rio Grande ... [:-]

Then there was the time I was really bored, found a cheat code that randomly gave you one undiscovered tech and used it, over and over, until I had them all. And I was playing the US in 1936. needless to say my forces (65 divisions worth) were in France on September 1st 1939 when Hitler decided to plunder poor Poland. I made it to Berlin before he made it to Warsaw! [;)]

So, I admit to being entertained by HOI but I never felt like I was re-enacting history or that the ability to do so was ever an option. AE/WITP is the polar opposite of such a game and hence I think the price is well deserved.

[Schani]

dsuday,

Your question of price is valid. I just recieved my edition of AE. And I do not regret one penny. Plus I only purchased WitP just a couple of months ago and that was not cheap either and worth every cent. There was never a question of how much. It was a matter of when. I'm a hardcore gamer from the early `70's (am 50 years old). I have over the years spent over a couple of thousand dollars in the board games still have every single one..
You had mentioned that you were looking for a new strategy game. I hope after being on this forum that has changed to present tense. Take the plunge dammit! I have bought many games in the last eleven years since getting my first PC (Windows 98). Which I still use for the older games. Since then I went from XP to Vista and continue to play all. The Campaign Series, Combat Mission group and of course Silent Hunter III & IV to name a few. Right now I can not turn away from WitP. I have AE but I'm in the middle of a campaign. By the time I finish some of the patches should be out so I can hit the ground running in AE. I don't mind the wait. I like the fact that I do not need to have Silent Hunter IV CD inserted in my PC to play so I can jump between the two games without any sort of restart.

FYI for all: check out Vassal or Vassel games I can't remember the correct spelling. But that website takes most of the old board games and puts them on PC for play. Works quite well so as I do not have to use the dining room table.

So dsuday go for it. Hell I'll give you $20.00 towards the purchase price I'm so convinced of the playability and replayability of Witp/Witp-AE. Though in return you may have to come up here in November and field dress a couple of deer in return. Fair is fair.[:D]

[Wahoo]

Myself I would love to buy it, I'm a owner of Witp, but the price is still too steep for me, I got kids and stuff and with the economy, I can't justify the coin.  I'll just be satisfied with reading other peoples fun. 
I'll agree I've played Witp for YEARS, any other game....even HOI, gets old after a while and no longer gets the same support.  So if you can justify the cost in your world, buy it.