Marketing 101

Posted by Nathan Strum, 19 May 2012 · 300 views

Comic Strips

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EricBall
May 22 2012 10:58 AM

The AppStore and $1 apps have been around for almost 4 years (and free to play games for at least that long) and yet there has been little change to game prices outside of the phone arena. You would have to compare "Star Castle" to other homebrew releases to determine whether $100 is a "fair" price. I seem to recall other attempts at premium pricing, especially for boxed releases.

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Nathan Strum
May 22 2012 11:19 AM

Pretty sure Thrust+ was only $30 or $35 with a box. Boulder Dash (which had to deal with licensing fees) is only $75 + shipping. N.E.R.D.S and The Last Ninja are now only $19.95 each w/box (down from $42). Even Actionauts was "only" $79.95, signed, numbered and boxed with a photocopy of the original design notes.

The thing that this whole Star Castle exercise proves though, is that there is a core group of 2600 collectors who will buy any game that gets released on a cart. Especially if it has a box. Regardless of the price. Regardless of the game.

As Thomas once remarked, there are collectors out there who "would probably buy even a sealed, nicely packaged brick."

It's tempting to test that theory out.