I miss something? What is the romoured price on this game?

[Sef0r]

Just wondering thats all, haven't seen it listed anywhere on this site.

[Tbird]

No price has been mentioned yet

Dave Winter had mentioned around the 30 dollar but no definite answer has been given

[OrionX]

I hope it anit going to be $70 dollars like some Matrix games...thats just insane. I was going to buy War in the Pacific but I am not sure now....[:(]

[CPTBrown]

I'll second that. I also checked out WitP and was very impressed until I got to the e-store and saw the price. I've never paid more than $50 for a game in the nearly 20 years that I've been playing. Okay, I admit that I paid $60 for the "Anniversary Edition" of Madden last year, but I didn't use any of the extra features and this looks like a game going more in my direction. $30-$40 (American) seems like a reasonable price.

CPT B
GO LIONS...or whatever Detroit's team is called in Maximum Football!

[Erik Rutins]

The vast majority of our games are not high-priced and while we haven't announced a price yet for M-F, it will be an affordable game. War in the Pacific is a unique project and required a price at that range to justify development. The only other title in that range is the SPWAW: General's Edition, which is a collection of four Mega-Campaigns that sell individually for $25, in one collection for $70.

Regards,

- Erik

[Tullius]

WitP is something special and the 80 $ are no waste of money. It´s a MegaGame and whey you like the theme you will have a game for years.

[drstat]

I would definitely second Tullius on WitP. Hands down, for me, it's the single best war game I've ever bought. Sure, $70-$80 is quite a bit for a game, but if I were to add up the cost of all of the games I've bought over the years that I've played less than WitP, that would probably add to $1000. So, it's all relative.

[dwinston]

I would agree as well the WITP is well worth the money. The research alone is worth it - and MG has shown it's commitment to the game by it's responsiveness even after publishing.

[Tbird]

Is it turn based I hate Turn based games

[CPTBrown]

Yes, it's turn based. I'm waiting on Gary Grigsby's World at War for my turn based fix, though. Then, when MF comes out and I have them both, I really won't have any reason to leave my house!

CPT B
GO BRUISERS!

[Tbird]

Awe man I was almost sold [:(]

[Marauders]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

The vast majority of our games are not high-priced and while we haven't announced a price yet for M-F, it will be an affordable game. War in the Pacific is a unique project and required a price at that range to justify development.

Unless Matrix Games believes the market for War In The Pacific is inelastic, this doesn't make sense economically.

Being that several people here have indicated that they would have purchased War In The Pacific had the price been lower, then that is an indication of some elasticity in the market.

In other words, if the market allows Matrix Games to sell three copies at $49 rather than one at $79, and the physical production and printing cost of each unit was $20, selling the game at $49 would allow for greater profits.

As far as Maximum-Football goes, will there be a hard copy manual with the game? Will there be an option for a printed copy if the game comes with an on-disc manual? Being that it is so close to going gold, can Matrix Games release the price structure for Maximum-Football?

[Paul Vebber]

then that is an indication of some elasticity in the market.

But not enough. Wargames have proven over teh years to be increasingly inelastic the more complex teh subject matter. People who like complex games buy them at any reasonable price. There are always a few who say "if it were 19.99, I'd buy it!"

Teh problem is it s not sell multiple copies at the lower price, its sell a fractionally greater amount.

Look at teh board wargame market, which has proven to be almost completely inelastic - you sell a 200$ game like Bruce Harpers World at War or a system like ASL in teh thousands and 20 dollare games on the Chaco War languish with a few hunderd sales.

A popular topic, done in an innovative manner, or building on a established base is a VERY inelastic situation price wise.

[Marauders]

This is off the subject of the price of Maximum-Football, but let me add something here.

I would have purchased War In The Pacific had the price not been so high. I will likely never purchase it at the price you have listed.

I would purchase more traditional wargames if they didn't cost $80 - $120 like the Third Reich spin offs.

I have many old grognard games like Panzer Leader, Panzer Blitz, Third Reich, Squad Leader, Starship Troopers, Arab-Israeli Wars, and others. When games started to get paper boards and price tags of $39-$59, I stopped purchasing them.

I cannot even see how any young enthusiast could pay for wargames now. I guess they will just have to get a copy of Operational Art of War and download the scenarios.

As Maximum-Football goes, Matrix Games should consider that people may want to use this for leagues. If the cost is too high, then leagues may balk at the price. I hope this is not so.

[mllange]

Whether it makes sense or not, people in general throw down $19.99 or $29.99 like it's almost meanless to them, good game or bad. Shoot I've rolled the dice many times for games in this price range just to see if they're good or not (Supremacy anyone?) and even if it turns out to be a dog, well I just write it off to experience.

People have expectations regarding prices and when those expectations are greatly exceeded you will see a dramatic decrease in sales, no two ways about it. Without any inside knowledge I can almost guarantee both WITP and the Generals Edition haven't had terrific sales. (Okay, everything is relative, but look at it pragmatically).

I'll bet you dimes to dollars that if the price were cut in half you would more than double your sales for WITP. I personally have a half-dozen friends, casual board and war games players who have expressed interest based on what I've told them about U.V. None of them are willing to put out $70 on a whim though, taking a chance on something they have no experience with (no demo either, understandably in this case I'll agree).

Their loss, I agree, but that's the facts. Matrix would have done well IMO at a much lower price point looking at things from an economics view. This is especially true with electronic distribution because virtually ALL of their fixed costs are already established. What does it cost to distribute an electronic product? Practically nothing! No manual, no disks, nothing! Go figure...

[Paul Vebber]

I'll bet you dimes to dollars that if the price were cut in half you would more than double your sales for WITP.

I think it was Frank hunter actually who did an sxperiment and gave away a game, and found that he GAVE away about the same number of games as when he charged 20 dollars.

we have a wide variety of prices, subjects and levels of effort going int o various games. There is almost NO correltation between PRICE and NUMBERS. We have had cheap games sell well, and sell poorlu, and expensive games sell well and sell poorly. In the end, you gauge the market for a game, and the effort you put in and what the "elasticity" is on price in comparision to similar games. You roll your dice and see what you get.

The market analysis and sales figures that demonstrate what really is going on, show that while some segments are more elastic than others, and some segments have "price ceilings" the overall wargame market is much more sensitive to subject matter, quality, and "perceived value" than price.

Anecdotes about your friends are nice and its interesting to hear about them, but the hard numbers just don't back it up.
If you have hard numbers to the contrary, I stand open to have my mind changed.

[mllange]

Okay, while I am not by any means an economist, here's my basic understanding of the price/value/perceived value principle:
1. Price is a direct determinant of profits (or losses)
2. Price indirectly affects costs (through quantity sold)
3. Price determines the type of customer and competition the organization will attract
4. Price affects the image of the brand
***A pricing error can nullify all other marketing mix activities***

I'm trying to figure out what Matrix was shooting for here, the only one that makes any sense is #4, that they are trying to portray the same image as for example, Bruce Harpers World at War?

Total Revenue = Price per Unit x Quantity Sold
Total Cost = Fixed Cost + Variable Cost

Their fixed cost is already established and they have very little variable cost with electronic distribution as stated.

Pricing objectives usually involve maximization of profits, enhancing product or brand image, providing customer value, obtaining an adequate return on investment or price stability. Pricing discretion usually considers organizational objectives and the price of competitive offerings.

Demand sets the price ceiling while direct (variable) costs set the price floor.

Looking at it from a consumer view, (which should be the corporate view if they want to do well in the market as well):

Value = perceived benefits (the ratio of perceived benefits to price)

In this situation there is a fairly limited and somewhat rigid market who truly understands the benefits of WITP and perceives those benefits the way Matrix likely does, it's a one-of-a-kind game, granted. (In my opinion worth the $70 price and then some). But to the other millions of potential/would-be purchasers the perceived value isn't there. They don't hang out on the matrix forums hawking over every new post, waiting for each delicious new tidbit of information regarding their beloved game. They primarily view the market based on competative offerings, ie., what is everyone else charging?

I seriously doubt the argument that price affects consumer perceptions of prestige and value will fly in this market. Here consumers are comparitive in their assessments, they look at the worth and desireability of a game relative to substitutes that will (in their minds) satisfy the same need. WITP is without doubt a premium product, but only to those who perceive it so, and that's the problem in my view. Am I second guessing? Of course! Could I be wrong? Almost definitely! I'm just throwing out my $.02 here, for what it's worth.

[Marauders]

There is almost NO correltation between PRICE and NUMBERS. We have had cheap games sell well, and sell poorlu, and expensive games sell well and sell poorly.

That is because some games are not as good as others. If you believe that there is almost no correlation between price and numbers for any given product, you may do well to hire a new market guy. [;)]

In the end, you gauge the market for a game, and the effort you put in and what the "elasticity" is on price in comparision to similar games. You roll your dice and see what you get.

How do you know if similar games are priced correctly? You have to do some research rather than rolling the dice. Actually, I am sure you do some market analysis of some sort, but I do not believe the market is as inelastic as you believe it to be.

If you would like some numbers, check out how the bids run for wargames on ebay. You can see a price curve on many products by doing so. In fact, you would do well to sell a few copies of your games on ebay to see how the ratios work with a fairly large market.

If you want some help in how this works, drop me an email.

Maybe this should be brought up in a new thread though.