7.99 for plantoids??!!

[The_Meme_Man]

It's absolutely relevant if the price is causing people to not buy it.

We technically dont know that. Just because we arent doesnt mean all arent.

 

[Tacticus101]

Absolutely. However, there's a big difference between if you 'can' do something (in this case state an opinon) and whether you 'should'. In this case, that (arguably poorly chosen and timed) quote is going to be thrown around from now until the heat death of the universe.

Well, what he said was

IMHO, plantoids could have been priced at 19.99$ and have been way worth it.

That seems like a fairly simple "can do something" opinion to me, nowhere does he say anything about how it "should" have been priced.

Also, Paradox employees frequently make overly-honest poorly-timed statements like that; they are amusing and get attention then get forgotten fairly quickly.

 

[--M--]

I just paid the 8 bucks. And immediately regretted it: The game now crashes on Macs and previous versions will not load the Plantoids Species Pack...
Pedagogically speaking this is a nightmare for Paradox: Immediately punishing me for giving them money.

 

[Comm Cody]

It was a completely tone deaf thing to say, personal opinion or not.

well, that's expected from Johan. Remember this and EUIV?

I don't give a **** about the AI in this issue.. Its a matter of problem for the players vs players..

1) there was no incentive to fight a war for less than 100% warscore gains. 2) there is no incentive to ever give up early in a war, since losses are not recovered quick enough.


The MP balance is relevant for the game to work as a "play any nation in a vibrant world". Explaining why its important to a bunch of players is a bit like trying to explain algebra to 3 year olds

My personal opinions. I think eight euros/pounds/dollars is reasonable. You have 15 portraits. you have four ship models, each with anywhere from 3-6 sections that have to be made, you have the stations, (mining, research, terraforming, observation, frontier post, space station, wormhole), you have the three defense stations, which themselves have four different combos.

This is quite a lot. If you don't think that this is all worth less than eight euros, then vote with your wallet. That's the most effective way to send a message that you dislike this. Me? I'll pass on this until the Heinlein patch comes out. I like the concept, tad bit annoyed that some species look like plant reskin of other species, but the concept as a whole is cool.

 

[Bob_Herzog]

If we just go about "manmonths spent" and compare to pricing we've done previously on other games, then 7.99$ is extremely cheap..

If 7.99$ does not work as a price point for a species pack with new ships, stations etc, then I doubt we'll ever make another..

The $19.99 comment was Johan's personal opinion as to what he would consider it to be worth for him. There was never even a suggestion of setting that price point when we were talking pricing for Plantoids.

I can understand where you are comeing from. It is likley worth quite some resources to get the models, graphics, animations etc. done. But you have to consider what impact this DLC has ingame. Given the structure you guys designed yourself into Stellaris those aren't new ships or new species but "only" new pictures or new paint for the stuff we already know. Add the fact that new pictures, shipmodels etc. are among the most common mods out there this DLC really seems to be rather lightweight. With this DLC I can't design a race with the stuff that matters (ethos, traits, goverment) that I could not before and certainly not a ship that is different than before (exept the optics).

Personally I would recomend to publish a DLC like this in combination with some stuff that adds some core content like a real new shipclass, or civilian trade or similar stuff. This way I'll certainly wait till this DLC get less pricy over time (steamsell or a bundle offer or whatever).

 

[Miyokari]

It was a completely tone deaf thing to say, personal opinion or not.

Meh, because people who work in companies cannot have their own opinion and express them, they should just all be PR-Gods... And later people wonder why EA and Activision are like they are and are dishonest with players.

 

[Kwami]

As Wiz said, that was just Johan talking about what he would be willing to pay for it. He may be a Dev but he is entitled to his own opinion as well.

In this case, I'd argue that he isn't. After all, he's the one profiting from the DLC. It's in his interest to make us believe that we're getting a good deal, that the DLC should have been priced even higher.

Frankly, it doesn't matter what he would pay for it. He's not paying for it.

 

[duhsveti]

It was a completely tone deaf thing to say, personal opinion or not.

Well at least we know it's him then Anyway i could accept this pricepoint, IF the portrait packs end up cheap. And by that less than 5 euro. Just my personal opinion

 

[Soranya]

I just paid the 8 bucks. And immediately regretted it: The game now crashes on Macs and previous versions will not load the Plantoids Species Pack...
Pedagogically speaking this is a nightmare for Paradox: Immediately punishing me for giving them money.

Refund the DLC and wait with buying till they fix the problems.

 

[Peter Ebbesen]

It's absolutely relevant if the price is causing people to not buy it.

Nope. That it is not a physical product that needs to be continually produced just means that the incremental cost of making more units available for purchase is low per unit for PDS - it does not mean that lower price points are necessarily better than higher ones or will earn PDS more money.

PDS idea is that the price point is the right one to make it worth it for them to devote resources to it based on their prior experience and numbers, which takes into account that people have different price points they find acceptable to buy and that no matter which price point they choose, they are cutting themselves off from a certain portion of the potential purchasers who are unwilling to meet the chosen price point. Because that's how business works.

Your idea is that the price point is too high to make it worth it for them based on... some people saying they won't buy it at the PDS price point?

You cannot logically draw conclusions about whether PDS will incur a loss or not from their current pricing due to resulting in fewer sales than a lower price point would; It doesn't logically follow that cheaper units will automatically sells sufficiently more to make up for the lower per-unit cost.

 

[Xomus]

Coudnt you divorce ship packs from species packs? It would be easier to swallow to buy them separate on different occasions.

 

[Reaperdamo]

If we just go about "manmonths spent" and compare to pricing we've done previously on other games, then 7.99$ is extremely cheap..

If 7.99$ does not work as a price point for a species pack with new ships, stations etc, then I doubt we'll ever make another..

Never get involved in a land war in Asia springs to mind.....

 

[Poh]

Personally i can see the reason for the pricetag when compared to previous cosmetic packs for EUIV etc. Theres a huge amount of content because of all the different ship skins thats changed, sections of ships etc.
Where it drops the ball for me is that comparable to paying 40 euro for the game the mismatch for me in that perspective seems enormous.

However i would rather see pack with complete rework with ships etc. like this that you can choose to buy 1 or 2 of because that kind of race you NEED to play. Than a bunch of generic portraits that fit into the previous defined groups (same shipclasses).

Will i pay 8 euro for it? maybe. Would i buy it for 5 euro definitely. Considering that i play more HoI4 and EUIV atm i guess im waiting for a sale.

 

[Vic20]

Meh, because people who work in companies cannot have their own opinion and express them, they should just all be PR-Gods... And later people wonder why EA and Activision are like they are and are dishonest with players.

That... is actually a very good point.

 

[Pete0714]

Don't want to pay. Don't.
Wait for a sale that meets your expected price point.

edit: as a reminder, they are also public now with added profitability pressures that brings

That last part about being public now, I think that hit the nail on the head for me. I forgot about that, now I see everything more clearly.

 

[FieldMedic]

I would pay the 8.79 loonies if it were a species type I was more interested in. As it stands though I'm just not that jazzed up about plant people, so I'll wait for a sale before I jump in.

 

[Tacticus101]

I just paid the 8 bucks. And immediately regretted it: The game now crashes on Macs and previous versions will not load the Plantoids Species Pack...
Pedagogically speaking this is a nightmare for Paradox: Immediately punishing me for giving them money.

That is the free patch breaking your game, not the DLC. Whilst playing on a previous version means you don't get to use what your bought, it isn't punishing you.

Personally I would recomend to publish a DLC like this in combination with some stuff that adds some core content like a real new shipclass, or civilian trade or similar stuff. This way I'll certainly wait till this DLC get less pricy over time (steamsell or a bundle offer or whatever).

Paradox never put core content and cosmetics in the same pack, I believe it is a policy of theirs. Certainly they don't when it would have such massive balance effects like a ship class or civilian trade, those tend to be part of the free patches. Civilian trade is already talked about as coming for free soon, it would be a bit stupid to then charge for it.

In this case, I'd argue that he isn't. After all, he's the one profiting from the DLC. It's in his interest to make us believe that we're getting a good deal, that the DLC should have been priced even higher.

Frankly, it doesn't matter what he would pay for it. He's not paying for it.

I prefer the Devs to state their opinions over the bland, meaningless statements you get from other publishers. As Johan or Wiz what they think and they tell you bluntly and honestly, ask EA and you get a long statement about "the gradual development of their grand future vision of the games future development".

 

[REDDQ]

Unfortunately, while you may have worked out the math of pricing vs worth doing, you've missed a rather critical piece of the equation. What you gain from pricing high, you lose in terms of number of buys from people like myself who are either hesitant or unwilling to pay. For a lot of people, myself included, $9 is just too much for what amounts to a bit of pretty art.

That might not work this way. Let's assume that there are 10 000 fellows willing to pay 3-5€ for this DLC. It will still be more or less the case at X-mass sale but nothing stops PDX to take advantage of people willing to pay 8€ now. It's the advantage of digital good. You do not have to manufacture (not design mind you), store or maintain it and thus you can take some risks with your pricing.


I am personally gonna pass. Unless Stellaris is gonna "git gud".

 

[KingKone]

I think the price is ok I like the look of it but I think the responses from the Devs could of done with a little more tact just my 2 pennies worth.

 

[Pete0714]

Out of curiosity, I looked and compared dl c costs for other space games. Most were 9.99, but included events and complete factions or gameplay changes (endless space, stardrive 2, etc). Many of galciv 3 dl c were 4.99, and some of those got less than positive reviews for not having enough content for the price. Just some comparison outside of paradox games.