Interested in this game.

[Josh]

In all fairness, I really do doubt they will ask 150$. Especially nowadays... money getting tight and all.

[Joel Billings]

You guys are very sensitive. I thought it was obvious that that $149.99 was intended as humor. I was an economics major in college (quantitative econ, econometric modeling was what I was going to do for a living before I decided to found SSI, my undergraduate thesis was on projecting the supply and demand for minicomputers and GPs from 1980-1990, in 1978 we didn't even think in terms of personal computers). I understand supply/demand curves, elasticity of demand. The tough part is getting real world info to allow one to set the optimum price to maximize one's profit. I would be happy to encourage Matrix to set the price in a way to maximize our (and hopefully their) return. [:)] My point was that given the niche nature of the product, one has to be careful setting it too low just because some people want it to be less. My other point was that anyone that enjoys the game will be paying pennies per hour and that it's a good deal by any standard. For those that would not enjoy the game, any price is too much.

[Captain]

I have no problem with developpers receiving a fair return for their work. I would personally have no issue paying $149 for WITE if it lives up to its promise.

PC Gamers will pony up hundreds of dollars to buy the latest hardware, but always expect to buy games at cut rate prices.If I priced my services the same way... I would not be able to afford this hobby...

[Josh]

Phew [:)]
Well it *was* obvious that the 150$ pricetag was intended as a joke.... but I wasn't certain of it [&:]
Moreover, we European customers end up paying much more for the physical delivery (taxes and all) so that would make a pricetag of 150+. [X(]
But I agree with you, if the game proves to be the game we expect it to be, it'll be cheap if you compare the endless hours of gameplay we will spend on it.
So it'll be 14.99$ then?

[Chromius]

ORIGINAL: Joel Billings

Guys, think in terms of original WitP pricing, thereabouts, and you'll be close. I'm sure a final decision will come much closer to release, but come on, this game has been in development off and on since 2000. It's will have gotten 2 solid years of development by the time it's out, plus another 1-2 equivalent years from all the time it was worked on partially while we were also working on other games. This is a huge effort and although we do make a living on our work, we wouldn't be living high on the hog from our royalties even if we were living in New Zealand. Like WitP, if you enjoy the game system, you will end up paying pennies on the hour for the time you spend playing the game. If you don't enjoy the game system, it doesn't matter what we charge you. Seeing as I am basically a believer in free markets, the decision is entirely up to you, and if you elect not to buy the game, so be it. In 1980 we charged the unheard of price of $60 ($154 in 2008 dollars) for Computer Bismarck, and SSI survived to create many wargames (had I priced the game at $25 like I first thought I should, we probably would have not survived the year). In 1984 we sold War in Russia for $80. That game, which is probably 1/10 the code (or less) of this game, would sell in 2008 dollars for $163. Now that I think of it, I think a $149.99 price sounds pretty good to me. [:)]

Sorry, I think my post was misunderstood, I was actually defending your sell price whatever it may be, and was reinforcing pretty much what you said. That is what I get for not using quotes for my REPLY to post one.

Sorry for all these quoty things, just sorting it out as I was mis-read.

ORIGINAL: V22 Osprey

This game looks like it's going to be very fun.

Main Reasons I may not get this game:
-War in the Pacific AE: Don't if I'll have to the time to play WitE as well as WitP:AE
-The Operational Art of War III: This a versatile Operational Wargame, and I can play pretty much any battle I want especially with the editor.Convince that this game is special enough that I should get it even though I have a perfectly good and versatile Operational Wargame already.
-Price: Hopefully not too much I hope.

My reply.....

ORIGINAL: Chromius

Cost??

Witp AE cost me 119.00 NZ dollars. I am originally from the U.S. and used to make 60k about 4 years ago, moved to NZ and per capita is 27k, pay sucks here, 50k = about 25k in the US in terms of what it gets you, cost of living is twice as high, electronics/furniture/food/petrol all higher. So what you paid 49 or 59 for I pay 89 to 99 in relative monetary funds.

I think that the shear scope of these and the fact they are not the most profitable to bother developing allow for a higher price tag. You really need to support the few developers who are bothering to offer us this mind-food. Yes they are making a living off of it, but still. If you enjoy grand strategy and it is well done I just can not see how it could be a major factor. Gee 1 dinner and the movies = more spent vs a zillion hours of advanced strategy = no brainer decision for me. But hey whatever floats your boat.

I personally am looking quite forward to this particular title. (regardless of the cost)

My own fault for being misread. I have no issues with price. I mean console port pc crap sells for top dollar, I would pay more for a title like this IF it ensured continued releases and development. But the problem with that is the cheap wads would not buy it thus decreasing overall sales so possibly it is a two-edged sword I guess. I bought HOI3 while unemployed the day it was released, after 3 broken games with 3 patches, including having to alter my savegame to continue on in the present 1.3 I still have NO issues with the money spent. I am just unhappy at not having a fully developed working title. Im hoping I have another 20-30 years of strategy/simulation gaming in me so I need guys like you to survive, and possibly make a better than decent living as we are all entitled to.

Cheers

Chris