Sticker Shock

[Echo]

Don't take this the wrong way, but your games are a tad expensive.

Theres quite a few games, some of them rather...old, that I have considered purchasing, but your prices scare me away every time.

[junk2drive]

I remember around 1998 paying $70 for a Legend of Zelda game for NES64.

Most of Matrix games at $39-49 seems reasonable to me.

[jackx]

If they were old(er) mainstream titles, you'd expect to see them for a lot less, basically bargain bin.
However, they're not, and if they weren't available here, they'd probably not be available at all.


Not to say that some prices haven't kept me from buying, but then, I'm not a dedicated wargamer,
so I'm more likely to grab something somewhat mainstream from the bargain bin for 10€ if I need/want a time-waster.

One could probably argue that wargames also age better than mainstream titles, and thus you can keep selling them with less of a price reduction for longer.

[JudgeDredd]

I always look at it this way...

In 1993, when I got my first computer (a 486SX 2MB RAM + free 2MB upgrade and 80MB hard drive) for £1200 (had a 24 pin colour dot matrix printer with it!)...my first game was Strike Commander. It was £39.99 as far as I can recall and it used up about 1/2 my drive space. I had to create seperate batch and config files to get the thing to run, moving all sorts of things up to high memory to free up base memory (out of the 640kb range).

Anyway - point is, computer games have not gone up in price. That was 16 years ago and all games I encounter (except for an couple of exceptions) are lower than the price I paid for that game in 1993.

Perhaps your "issue" is with the fact that Matrix older games do not seem to reduce over time as other games (especially outside of strategy) tend to do...that is a fair point.

[JudgeDredd]

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgur ... X%26um%3D1

Just for nostalgia [:D]

[Challerain]

Keep an eye out for the yearly sale around Christmas. Most old games get cut by 25% or so.

[Arctic Blast]

I have to admit that I am puzzled by the fact that a lot of these strategy game publishers...Matrix, Shrapnel, Battlefront, etc....don't really reduce the price of their back catalog.

[Goblin]

It is probably money math. If less sales at a higher price = more money than more sales at a lower price, you stick with the higher price. They are businesses, after all. Good strategy from their point of view, even if it seems odd from a consumer's point of view.




Goblin

[rhondabrwn]

ORIGINAL: Echo

Don't take this the wrong way, but your games are a tad expensive.

Theres quite a few games, some of them rather...old, that I have considered purchasing, but your prices scare me away every time.

You have to realize that (1) Matrix does a pretty good job of issuing patches and game improvements to the older titles; (2) within this limited game simulation market an older war game has plenty of value for a new purchaser so why should it be priced at bargain bin prices?; (3) Matrix has released some very old titles as freebies which is cool; and, finally, they don't really have a problem with old game inventory taking up shelf space like in a retail store that needs a bargain bin to clear out the old junk.

I've always felt Matrix pricing has been quite fair for their products. If you want bargain bin prices go to Direct to Drive, there always seems to be a half dozen new "shooters" showing up each month that drives down the prices of their older titles (if you like that kind of thing... they seem to have limited play value though).

Currently they are running a $5 sale in honor of their 5th anniversary on a whole bunch of games (including Civ IV). They have a different list each week for the next five weeks.

[V22 Osprey]

I understand HPS, since they upgrade the older games in the series to the status of the latest game in the series.(Although Smolensk '41 was first in the Panzer Campaigns series, it doesn't feel any older than France '40 and Budapest '45, just a different Campaign).However, when you look Matrix Games, most of their games aren't really that old.The oldest game Matrix still actually sells is probably Uncommon Valor(2002),Even then, right now you can UV for $19.99 Digital Download.Price seems right to me.[:D]

Admiral's Edition is pretty pricey, but for what game offers(especially physical copy) I kind of see why.I absolutely adore the game.Not trying to sound like a fanboi, but I'm just speak'in the truth.

Here are some of good titles that offer great value for a nice price:
John Tiller's Campaign Series
The Operational Art of War III
Advanced Tactics:Tactics WWII

Those games offer great gameplay, unlimited replayability, and for a price around $30-$40.

[SlickWilhelm]

Wow, UV for $19.99. If I didn't already own it, I'd be all over that like a bad suit. That's a lot of gaming goodness for the price of a couple of quality beers at the local tavern.

[SuluSea]

Actually an older Matrix wargame is a better purchase now than at the time of release even if the prices are relatively the same because of patching and the fantastic customer and user support they have on the site. A wargame isn't like a first person shooter, for many it doesn't get old and tiresome and has tons more replay value. rest assured if they weren't selling the product then prices would plummet. UV at 19.99 is a steal, anyone that doesn't have the naval titles should jump in on the Victory at Sea sale.

Heck, I can remember paying $70 for this I got about 45 days enjoyment out of it and save nostalgic reasons it was worthless afterwards.