Did the relatively cheap price of it make account for much of the zillion sales?
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Did the relatively cheap price of it make account for much of the zillion sales?
Not that I'm in marketing... but sure: lower price = more sales.
Now, the fact that it was a fun game certainly lead to high "base" sales, but price still is a major contributor to total sales. Actually, has always been.
Yes, and it was a great way for us to prove externally what we've believed internally for a while, a higher price point does not necessarily equal more revenue overall. That view is starting to change in the industry but you'd be surprised at how many people still motivate/choose a price point based on what their product cost to produce.
Of course it was a factor, but I wonder how big of a one. For example, might the lower price have made the game a viable seller in less wealthy countries?
I'm a long long way from being a rich man, but price is not a huge factor for me with games. If I see a game I know I'm going to like, I'll happily pay €40 or whatever, because that's only the equivalent of 8 pints. Conversely, I wouldn't take a risk on a game I probably won't like even if it cost €1. Maybe I'm atypical in that respect, but I would have thought I was a fairly average gamer.
Matrix Games is often called as an example who would benefit tremendously from a lower price point.
Though it's arguable.
But arnt you going to answer my last question? This is the ask anything thread.
"Didnt think you would have a system where only one person can check the emails and receive the patches, unless of corse you don't and IRSHAPPA emailed it to Johan when they should have emailed directly to the publishing department?"
I swear this will end the conversation, its just the last thing about all of this that hasnt been answered.
Magicka was prices at 19.99 first, which them was lowered to 14.99 and them 9.99. much to the chagrin of our sales dept.
The price is a huge part of the success story. Our plan was to make Magicka a "no-brainer-buy" and we succeeded.
You'll see many more Paradox games following this strategy. 19.99 is the new 39.99
/s
The price is a huge part of the success story. Our plan was to make Magicka a "no-brainer-buy" and we succeeded.
You'll see many more Paradox games following this strategy. 19.99 is the new 39.99
/s
Yes we should have a system like that. I hope that answers your question.
I was very satisfied when I saw Pride of Nations for $19.99 and then on sale almost immediately for $9.99. That's just a great price, and one of the things I've always liked about this company. M&B for $29.99, Lead and Gold for $14.99, etc.
Them too. But price points are still an ongoing experiment - we will keep testing different price pointsand see where we end up, but were definitely going lower.
Why? Because of a major paradigm shift going on in th industry, before 90% of the game project was releasing the game, maybe 10% was post release - patching, expanding etc.
But nowadays releasing a finished game is just 50% of the adventure, the real fun part starts after. This especially holds true for free to play games - which we will be making more of.
/s
Do you know if the issue in EU Rome Gold with the cascading declaration of wars will be solved anytime? I would say it is definitely the most wanted fix in EU Rome forum... 
Oh, and thanks for the great game!
Oh, and thanks for the great game!
Do you know if the issue in EU Rome Gold with the cascading declaration of wars will be solved anytime? I would say it is definitely the most wanted fix in EU Rome forum...
Oh, and thanks for the great game!
This thread is not for inquiring about game specific fixes or bugs, Please use the game specific forums for those.
Thank-you for your understanding.
Obviously you are pretty damn good at your job so don't take this as me 'questioning you' but rather just asking a question (if that makes sense), but I wonder if that might not backfire.
Paradox are known for producing deep strategy games, taken seriously as the most hardcore company in the genre by a mile. Most of the fans (judging by the forum) are fairly well-educated, middle class men college age and upwards. Johan has posted where FtM sales come from and it's overwhelmingly people from very rich countries buying the Clausewitz games. All in all, I'm not sure price is a huge issue for these fans. In fact, for these type of people, who weren't familiar with the company, there could be a risk that they might dismiss a game because of a cheap price. I can imagine myself looking through GamersGate's strategy section, upon seeing a game priced €15 and thinking "that can't be a serious, deep strategy game, they cost a bit more than that". So I suspect this new pricing scale probably won't make much money from existing fans and that demographic in general.
Conversely, I'm not sure it will lure in a whole load of new fans, because the Clausewitz range of games (IMO) are not something your average casual gamer is going to buy just because they are a fairly cheap price. I think people who are browsing GG looking for something cheap enough are probably not going to buy a deep strategy game just because of the price. EU3, Victoria and HoI are games you play over a period of weeks, even months. Starting a game of one is a big commitment! I'm just not sure that demographic is going to buy your (I nearly typed 'our', haha) Clausewitz games based on price.
Anyway, I hope this doesn't come off as a patronising lecture from an amateur using nothing but guesswork, I'm just curious as to how this sort of thing works and putting forward my observations.
Excellent analysis. You are of course correct - our hardcore user base are indeed not as sensitive to price and unless something drastic happens with the learning curve of our games we probably won't reach a significantly larger audience.
Internal titles will probably enjoy a price cut, but perhaps not to the same extent as 3rd party.
The perception of quality is something that we have work hard on - instead of "this low price makes me hesitant about the quality" we want a "this is insane value at this price" reaction.
What does EU3 Chronicles signal quality/value wise at 29.99 - also considering EU3 has been out forever?
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Yeah - €30 wouldn't stop me from thinking a game would be top quality. For me, there is some psychological barrier at the €25 mark that would make me question the depth of a game. I know it makes no sense at all but that idea is there. Paradox games are practically the only thing I buy that are 'high end'. When a book comes out, I wait for the paperback edition, I wear cheap clothes, I get my lunch from the supermarket etc, but I like having a top-of-the-range game. I think that partially explains why I like getting boxed games too.
Shams, thanks for the information it is really interesting.
Ralph, do you have a link or approximate thread for this?
Ralph, do you have a link or approximate thread for this?
Thanks , I hardly ever venture in the HOI fora but it means I miss some interesting bits at times.
, I hardly ever venture in the HOI fora but it means I miss some interesting bits at times.