AE's price

[treespider]

ORIGINAL: Nomad

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Hi guys,

One bit of news. We discussed and agreed to discount WITP for a limited time when AE is released, so that those who are excited by AE but don't own either game will have a lower total cost. Keep in mind this will be a limited time offer, so if you're looking for that opportunity, this will be it. We hope this will encourage some of the price-related fence sitters to test the water, it's really quite nice. [8D] The next chance will probably be in our annual holiday sale. The long term price of WITP will not decrease and we still do feel that it's a good idea to buy and try WITP first before jumping into AE. WITP does indeed also have scenario content that is not duplicated in AE and its increased scale means that it is in some ways less daunting.

Regards,

- Erik

So it comes down those who bought WitP when it came out get to pay full price and those that didn't support WitP get to pay a reduced price. Yeah, sounds fair! [:(]

You mean like all of those old games I can go pick out of the bargain bin now for $5-10 when people who "supported them paid $59.99 when they were first released...[;)]

Maybe "Bargin Bins" should be outlawed...[;)]

[Lützow]

ORIGINAL: Dili
Idisagree with that. In my experience Oportunity is one most important and at same time despised concepts for a commercial venture.
First: there are persons that are arriving to Wargaming.
Second: Internet is continously expnading its reach.
Third: People lives change, get kids, wife, problems or just have a new project and go out of Wargaming.
Fourth: Simplicity. User complexity is enemy of any commercial success , having to install Witp to get AE doens't make any sense. If i was the boss i would put 2 versions: one standalone for new buyers or old users that want a closed system and another cheaper for old users.
For someone that is arriving now doesn't make any sense to go to Witp(the time learning investment dosn't changes much). Check the thread were a member of this forum asked for advice.

Are we talking here about wargaming or how to max profit?

Fortunately there are still some dev teams out who didn't join the bandwagon. Otherwise there wouldn't be games like WitP AE or WitE.

[Dili]

well he said he'd been lurking here for years and still hadn't come to a decision so there's no just arrived situation here. AE is an expansion to an existing game. Its been a long time in development and Matrix has earn revenue to keep producing. Ultimately AE is not necessary to purchase and play WitP. Some may prefer WitP's greater simplicity over AE.

Yes but it appeared that you were refering that his case is general. I might disagree with "Some may prefer WitP's greater simplicity over AE" depending when what you do mean by "some". In my opinion is like choosing between a Ferrari and Porsche because one cost more $5000 .

So it comes down those who bought WitP when it came out get to pay full price and those that didn't support WitP get to pay a reduced price. Yeah, sounds fair!

Yeah, apply that wonderful idea to anything you buy...You can start by hardware prices...

Are we talking here about wargaming or how to max profit?

Do you read what i write?

[Lützow]

ORIGINAL: Dili

Do you read what i write?

Did I quote anything wrong?

[Nikademus]

ORIGINAL: Dili

In my opinion is like choosing between a Ferrari and Porsche because one cost more $5000 .

Nope. One is more labor intensive because the detail level has been notched up, thus there's a greater ability to micromanage. Not everyone likes that, hence AE may not be for everyone. I'm not the first one to say this.

[Terminus]

I think you may be the 98451st to say it...

[berto]

Offsetting AE's increased overall complexity is this: The game is more modder friendly, and we have reason to expect many more short-duration scenarios (if not at launch, than in future) than were ever created for WitP.

For me, the playability hinges on duration, not on complexity.

I don't mind micromanagement if the game is good, realistic, and historical enough.

What I would mind is having to devote my entire gaming life for years to playing grand campaigns of just this one game. With an abundance of shorter-term battle and theater scenarios (and maybe without complexifying factors like production, etc.), I won't mind having to devote just weeks and a few months at a time exclusively to AE.

In short, for me, and financial considerations aside, AE appears in this sense to be more playable, hence less likely to be put up on the shelf unplayed.

That's partly what I meant when I wrote

... AE overcomes deficiencies in WitP ...

where "deficiencies" (by my definition) includes a relative shortage of, or downplaying of, shorter-term scenarios in WitP. There are many other WitP deficiencies besides (see the main WitP forum), not incidentally many of which AE appears to fix.

I also referred to changing life circumstances (over the past five years), which I don't really need to describe.

So, I've changed, the game's changed. For me, the bus (well, maybe not your bus) is coming around a second time, and I think I'm ready to hop on board! [:D]

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: Nomad
So it comes down those who bought WitP when it came out get to pay full price and those that didn't support WitP get to pay a reduced price. Yeah, sounds fair! [:(]

You can look at it that way if you want, or you can accept our thanks for supporting WITP, which made AE possible. However, we're not permanently reducing the price on WITP. This will basically be a brief sale, similar to the once a year Holiday sale, where we have also discounted WITP in the past (we just did this last December in fact).

[Erik Rutins]

ORIGINAL: berto
So, I've changed, the game's changed. For me, the bus (well, maybe not your bus) is coming around a second time, and I think I'm ready to hop on board! [:D]

The bus will certainly keep coming around, anyone who would like to hop on board is welcome.

Regards,

- Erik

[Charles2222]

ORIGINAL: Nikademus

well he said he'd been lurking here for years and still hadn't come to a decision so there's no just arrived situation here. AE is an expansion to an existing game. Its been a long time in development and Matrix has earn revenue to keep producing. Ultimately AE is not necessary to purchase and play WitP. Some may prefer WitP's greater simplicity over AE.

Some of these people don't know this, but they're probably barking up the right tree and don't even know it. The main problem, I fear, is that somebody, with some know-how around here said the price will be cheaper than WITP, but not by much. Most of us take that to mean $10 cheaper. So the problem for the guy on the fence, like so many of us with UV, is that AE should be the entire game for the price it's allegedly commanding (we didn't need UV for WITP). Commonly, true expansions cost between 50% and 75% of the original price, and often many retail titles come out with gold editions, or reduction of price after a while. What happens in this case then, is not only will there be no gold edition, but the expansion is so expensive that it commands a new game price, but wait just a minute, that's not good enough, because you also need, at full price (not for the the beginning IIRC), in many cases, the original game.

So when UV came out, it was stated that WITP would come out later, and was a larger scale of the same basic game, many of us, present company included, decided to wait for WITP. So things have pretty much gone completely in reverse. Not only is WITP a new game compared to UV, but it doesn't require UV, therefore those who waited on WITP benefitted financially. Now, however, getting something which is usually considerably cheaper, bascially the same price, but it's also just an expansion. Must be quite a shock compared to how most fence-sitting scenarios go. Can you imagine not buying UV because they stated they would come out later with a larger game based on it, only to find that you were going to buy both 2 games anyway if in fact it required UV? Yes, Matrix never stated that AE would NOT require WITP, but it is quite a shock. New game gamble equals something like $140- $150. I know I wouldn't put $150 down for two games, one of which I presumably wouldn't play at all, but bought just to allow play of expansion. I suppose it's true what somebody said earlier, that AE was never meant for people who don't presently have WITP, because extremely few would pay that sort of money on something they can only get AAR's on.

[Charles2222]

ORIGINAL: Nomad

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

Hi guys,

One bit of news. We discussed and agreed to discount WITP for a limited time when AE is released, so that those who are excited by AE but don't own either game will have a lower total cost. Keep in mind this will be a limited time offer, so if you're looking for that opportunity, this will be it. We hope this will encourage some of the price-related fence sitters to test the water, it's really quite nice. [8D] The next chance will probably be in our annual holiday sale. The long term price of WITP will not decrease and we still do feel that it's a good idea to buy and try WITP first before jumping into AE. WITP does indeed also have scenario content that is not duplicated in AE and its increased scale means that it is in some ways less daunting.

Regards,

- Erik

So it comes down those who bought WitP when it came out get to pay full price and those that didn't support WitP get to pay a reduced price. Yeah, sounds fair! [:(]

That's the whole point of waiting on games, isn't it, to buy it when it's cheaper? Only problem is you may buy it so late there will practically be so support for the avergae game, but that's part of the whole gamble.

[SuluSea]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

You can look at it that way if you want, or you can accept our thanks for supporting WITP, which made AE possible. However, we're not permanently reducing the price on WITP. This will basically be a brief sale, similar to the once a year Holiday sale, where we have also discounted WITP in the past (we just did this last December in fact).

Thanks to your holiday sale I finally broke down and purchased WITP despite wanting it for over a year. I consider it the best game purchase/value I've ever made and kick myself for being so stubborn as not to buy it sooner.[:@]

Matrix always delivers [&o]

[Aloid]

I had UV and waited 3 years before buying WITP... mainly because it scared the crap out of me

AE already looks daunting and I don't know if I can handle even more detail (god I hope the AI can handle some of it for me).

I may be in a minority, but a big reason for eventually buying AE will be to support the guys who keep this way of life going. I'd buy 'em a case of beer, but it wouldn't make it out of my fridge. ;0

If I compare the hours spent with UV and WITP to the cost of a movie ticket... I'm way ahead!

Aloid

[Dili]

Did I quote anything wrong?

I see, you even don't know what you write. So i help you: AE should be a standalone game with normal standalone price, and for existing witp users that choose that, should be like an extension pack with an extension price like. I think that brings more users and makes price per copy down. Of course Matrix might have made their work and realised that the increased administrative work could not be compensated by more users.

Nope. One is more labor intensive because the detail level has been notched up, thus there's a greater ability to micromanage. Not everyone likes that, hence AE may not be for everyone. I'm not the first one to say this.

Well i didn't denied that it might be more labour intensive. What i said it that it appear that incremental degree is not much compared to the OVERALL WORK that already exists in WITP, so for an outsider like me it appears a discussion over cheap change. If you want to disagree with me you should say that from playing you have made and that i didn't that the change is sensible. I 'll accept that.

[Erik Rutins]

One important thing to realize is that if AE were a true stand-alone game with no WITP required, the price for AE would be significantly higher.

[Hornblower]

I dropped $40 for UV in 2003 then another @$40 for WITP, which i have played and enjoyed for 6 years. thats what 4 cents a day??   based on that my purchase of these two games may have been the best buy i ever made. in fact i am playing my 4 cents worth right now!!!

[goodwoodrw]

At the end of the day, the consumer will determine whether the price is right or wrong. If the game sells well, Matrix has got it right, if it doesn't sell they got it wrong. it's that simple. What a lot of people are forgetting in this debate, is what something is worth in the way of production cost, and people are prepared to pay for it are 2 separate things. At the end of the day there a limit for what any intelligent person will pay for any product. I would like to have AE too, but there are other products out there competing for my dollar and priority of resources is what its all about. Bill Gates may be an exception to this rule. [:D][:D]

[stuman]

ORIGINAL: Terminus

I find it slightly amusing that people continue to speculate about AE's price being "too high" WHEN NOBODY HAS TOLD THEM THE PRICE YET!!!!!

T, as I have pointed out previously, a huge portion of the posting in this thread are about things we do not know much about. If you make me stop writing when I am clueless, then I may never be able to post agai.........

[Charles2222]

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

One important thing to realize is that if AE were a true stand-alone game with no WITP required, the price for AE would be significantly higher.

So I guess to fall in with the pricing scheme, AE as standalone would have to hover in the $140 turf wouldn't it? Fat chance that sells. With that reasoning I guess WITE will have that price minimum. Or maybe it can price as WiTP and then come out with the massive bug fix called an expansion pack which requires the original game, which then can net the $140 or so?

[Charles2222]

ORIGINAL: SuluSea

ORIGINAL: Erik Rutins

You can look at it that way if you want, or you can accept our thanks for supporting WITP, which made AE possible. However, we're not permanently reducing the price on WITP. This will basically be a brief sale, similar to the once a year Holiday sale, where we have also discounted WITP in the past (we just did this last December in fact).

Thanks to your holiday sale I finally broke down and purchased WITP despite wanting it for over a year. I consider it the best game purchase/value I've ever made and kick myself for being so stubborn as not to buy it sooner.[:@]

Matrix always delivers [&o]

And to think you claimed you would pay $200 for it, and waited a year while buying at a holiday sale[8|].