Matrix Games Forums

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/04/19/the-flare-path-indecent-proposal/#more-150192

I agree with Tim. Thats all I can say on the matter.

I think when it comes to older titles, things should definitely be re-evaluated. There are probably two dozen titles on Matrix that have caught my eye when browsing, but price + date of release + no demo = no purchase. I can't justify spending $30-40 on something like that when I'm not really sure what I'm getting, except that I know it's probably outdated. I have bought a couple like that, but won't be doing so in the future, having learned my lesson.

New titles are a different matter. I have my eye on Command: Modern Air/Naval Ops, and I know it will be on the pricey side, but I know I'm getting the the flagship title of that genre for the next decade or so, so I can justify it.

It would be great to point to better business models, but what? Avalon Hill... out of business. SPI... out of business. Even here at Matrix, some developers pop up with interesting titles and make a buck and then fade away into oblivion. It's a tough business with niche computer wargames and all the programming involved. Plus graphics, pbem, tcp/ip, NetPlay and other stuff to be compatible across multiple platforms and operating systems. It's tough to make a living off this stuff except for a few like Tiller and Grigsby and others; the rest usually have day jobs and a real life to go home to. So, I don't know.

FWIW I'll recount a couple of stories from folks I know who lived in London for several years. In one case they liked to buy a popular product from a store and one day it wasn't there anymore. The reason cited was that it kept selling out so the store owner discontinued it. In the other case they saw a piece of furniture remaining from a 3-piece set, a discontinued set, and offered to buy it. The offer was refused, because if the store owner sold the last piece there wouldn't be anything left to display. Really?? Hopefully Iain did not attend British business school.

He's right about one thing. It *is* blather.

Stick with game reviews.

I really do not understand why peeps are getting so upset. If I have this right:

- Matrix / Slitherine buy the rights to a game
- They choose to sell said game at x
- X happens to be higher than the price you can get said game elsewhere currently

So?

Matrix / Slitherine have paid for the game, they can do what they want re the pricing - its their product to do with as they wish. If they have the market right, people will continue to buy. If they have it wrong, then sales will not materialise and they will have thrown money down the drain.

What is the issue??

If you were lucky to buy at the cheaper price - well done
If you didn't, but want the game, then decide if you are willing to pay the price asked. If yes then go purchase, if no then do not.

Why do people think they have a right to dictate the price a company can sell a product at?

Am I missing something here??

ORIGINAL: warspite1

I really do not understand why peeps are getting so upset. If I have this right:

- Matrix / Slitherine buy the rights to a game
- They choose to sell said game at x
- X happens to be higher than the price you can get said game elsewhere currently

So?

Matrix / Slitherine have paid for the game, they can do what they want re the pricing - its their product to do with as they wish. If they have the market right, people will continue to buy. If they have it wrong, then sales will not materialise and they will have thrown money down the drain.

What is the issue??

If you were lucky to buy at the cheaper price - well done
If you didn't, but want the game, then decide if you are willing to pay the price asked. If yes then go purchase, if no then do not.

Why do people think they have a right to dictate the price a company can sell a product at?

Am I missing something here??

Warspite1,

No, you are not missing anything. You have it spot on already.

Best wishes,
Steve

ORIGINAL: shunwick

ORIGINAL: warspite1

I really do not understand why peeps are getting so upset. If I have this right:

- Matrix / Slitherine buy the rights to a game
- They choose to sell said game at x
- X happens to be higher than the price you can get said game elsewhere currently

So?

Matrix / Slitherine have paid for the game, they can do what they want re the pricing - its their product to do with as they wish. If they have the market right, people will continue to buy. If they have it wrong, then sales will not materialise and they will have thrown money down the drain.

What is the issue??

If you were lucky to buy at the cheaper price - well done
If you didn't, but want the game, then decide if you are willing to pay the price asked. If yes then go purchase, if no then do not.

Why do people think they have a right to dictate the price a company can sell a product at?

Am I missing something here??

Warspite1,

No, you are not missing anything. You have it spot on already.

Best wishes,
Steve

Straddled and hit the target on the first salvo.

It's just games, I don't get worked up about it. They price how they see fit and i buy as i see fit. I am of the opinion that they do themselves a disservice with the prices of there back catalog though, but's that's their business.

?¡?gThe sales you have been trained to expect only benefit the store selling them as they vie for market share. They do not benefit the publisher or developer and the industry press is finally realising that and there is the start of a move away from these sales. We never believed in them and are being proved right.?h

I haven't seen anything in the "mainstream" media that backs that statement. In fact there's more and more sales each week now than ever before. There's the daily sale the midweek sale and then always the weekend sales along with the daily sale and sale of the week.

ORIGINAL: **budd**

It's just games, I don't get worked up about it. They price how they see fit and i buy as i see fit. I am of the opinion that they do themselves a disservice with the prices of there back catalog though, but's that's their business.

I agree with you they are "just games" it's not like we have to depend on them for our lives or lifestyle and there's plenty of other games throughout the year to keep us entertained until December when we finally get a sale from them. I have been fortunate to get the majority of Matrixgames/Slitherine games I own through Ebay over the years for 50% of the retail price or less or from other discount sites like Gamersgate from those developers that also had separate delivery rights with other companies. So you can get good discounts you just have to search for them or ask around.

It's just the fact that some people who work in retail feel cheated and to be honest feel kinda slighted by slitherines business methods. I would rate their customer service skills a 2/10 with one being the lowest. For example when game "r". Is being sold for years at a price of $10 or much cheaper and then sells the rights to company "s" then company "s" then sells the game for in some cases 10x then a lot of people paid for it. The "INFAMOUS EASTER EGG SALE" is just once example of their great customer service skills and retail experience . In fact I am going to use this in a meeting on how not to "ALIENATE YOUR CUSTOMERS". I could go on...but it's pointless on here.

ORIGINAL: warspite1

I really do not understand why peeps are getting so upset. If I have this right:

- Matrix / Slitherine buy the rights to a game
- They choose to sell said game at x
- X happens to be higher than the price you can get said game elsewhere currently

So?

Matrix / Slitherine have paid for the game, they can do what they want re the pricing - its their product to do with as they wish. If they have the market right, people will continue to buy. If they have it wrong, then sales will not materialise and they will have thrown money down the drain.

What is the issue??

If you were lucky to buy at the cheaper price - well done
If you didn't, but want the game, then decide if you are willing to pay the price asked. If yes then go purchase, if no then do not.

Why do people think they have a right to dictate the price a company can sell a product at?

Am I missing something here??

Sorry no not really.

ORIGINAL: Aurelian

ORIGINAL: shunwick

ORIGINAL: warspite1

I really do not understand why peeps are getting so upset. If I have this right:

- Matrix / Slitherine buy the rights to a game
- They choose to sell said game at x
- X happens to be higher than the price you can get said game elsewhere currently

So?

Matrix / Slitherine have paid for the game, they can do what they want re the pricing - its their product to do with as they wish. If they have the market right, people will continue to buy. If they have it wrong, then sales will not materialise and they will have thrown money down the drain.

What is the issue??

If you were lucky to buy at the cheaper price - well done
If you didn't, but want the game, then decide if you are willing to pay the price asked. If yes then go purchase, if no then do not.

Why do people think they have a right to dictate the price a company can sell a product at?

Am I missing something here??

Warspite1,

No, you are not missing anything. You have it spot on already.

Best wishes,
Steve

Straddled and hit the target on the first salvo.

Thanks wodin. I really do feel justified now. Sorry but I'm not a "yes man". I always question. Makes me a better human being.

ORIGINAL: wodin

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/04/19/the-flare-path-indecent-proposal/#more-150192

I agree with Tim. Thats all I can say on the matter.

ORIGINAL: rogo727

Sorry no not really.

ORIGINAL: Aurelian

ORIGINAL: shunwick




Warspite1,

No, you are not missing anything. You have it spot on already.

Best wishes,
Steve

Straddled and hit the target on the first salvo.

Rogo727,

You believe that people should have the right to dictate to a company what they should sell a product for?

Best wishes,
Steve

No. You like many others on here are missing the point. The case in point is they bought this game rights at X dollars. They calculated probably several price points in "which to get there money back from this game". THEY DID NOT RESEARCH THE MARKET. They didn't know this game was being sold for a much lower price not for a day or months but years! If they stated this at the start I wouldn't have said anything at all. So yes when a company acts in this matter I always speak out. I'm not the only one who feels this way. Folks when the top "three" are regulated to handling customer relations you are going to have problems.

ORIGINAL: shunwick

ORIGINAL: rogo727

Sorry no not really.

ORIGINAL: Aurelian




Straddled and hit the target on the first salvo.

Rogo727,

You believe that people should have the right to dictate to a company what they should sell a product for?

Best wishes,
Steve

ORIGINAL: shunwick

ORIGINAL: rogo727

Sorry no not really.

ORIGINAL: Aurelian




Straddled and hit the target on the first salvo.

Rogo727,

You believe that people should have the right to dictate to a company what they should sell a product for?

Best wishes,
Steve

We do,it's called the free market.
If the price is considered unreasonable it won't be purchased.
That will eventually dictate the price.

It will be by those who find the price reasonable.

It will be who have an interest in the period.

$1.99 is a ridiculous price and is not sustainable.

Again missing the point here..... Truth is 95% of the people who wanted to buy this probably already had. The only way now to make money from this game is to lower the price or make new add ons for it, at this point in time they aren't .

ORIGINAL: Aurelian

It will be by those who find the price reasonable.

It will be who have an interest in the period.

$1.99 is a ridiculous price and is not sustainable.

I'm not buying much Matrix Games, mostly due to the prices.

Actually, I have bought only one - Battles from the Bulge - but only because NWS was selling it at lower price. I wouldn't be able to afford buying it in the Matrix Games Store.
Too bad that NWS no longer sells Matrix Games games.

I also bought WPO, BiN and BiI but I got them from bargain bin for 5pln each.

ORIGINAL: rogo727

Again missing the point here..... Truth is 95% of the people who wanted to buy this probably already had. The only way now to make money from this game is to lower the price or make new add ons for it, at this point in time they aren't .

ORIGINAL: Aurelian

It will be by those who find the price reasonable.

It will be who have an interest in the period.

$1.99 is a ridiculous price and is not sustainable.

warspite1

rogo727 with respect the point is not being missed at all. I do not know the detail of what % of people who want the game have bought it already (you say 95%), I do not know the economics of what Matrix paid and what they need to get their money back. Furthermore I do not know to what extent Matrix research was flawed (if indeed it was). But I do not need to know any of this stuff.

I am not putting my money into buying the rights - they are. They (the shareholders and management) are taking the risks, putting up the cash - in return for which they have the right to set the price and make decisions on the future of the game. That's just how things work.

We as consumers have a simple choice. Do we buy at the price quoted or not? If, as you suggest, Matrix have got this all wrong, then the price will no doubt come down again as they try and get as much money back as possible. If they have their strategy right then it won't.