There's a really interesting discussion going on in the comments section at Braid designer Jonathan Blow's official blog, as he attempts to explain why he's a bit disappointed the game has to arrive for 1200 ($15), rather than the 800 ($10) points he would have preferred.
Though he says Microsoft pushed the $15 price point, he admits he's also got his own financial concerns to consider that make the price a lot more palatable. Blow also says he's worried about ending up like Jeff Minter, who wanted his game Space Giraffe affordably priced but didn't recoup enough as a result. It's a surprisingly frank discussion, and one well worth checking out.














(Page 1) Reader Comments
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Me not enjoying it doesn't mean you cannot. So grow up and if you don't like my comments don't read them. Simple as that.
How will I go on, HOW I ASK YOU!?
If you like Braid more power to you. Enjoy the game why do you care what I have to say about it? It's nothing against Braid or anyone that likes the game I (as in myself alone)don't see what the big fuss is about.
So why spend/waste time trying to convince me otherwise if you enjoy it?
"Also, I think Braid sucks....that is all."
Dude, that is PHAIL right there. P H A I L!!! Oops, forgot you were on my list. I shouldn't have even read that nonsense.
So Braids great its awesome! Do you feel better now? Is your day or mind somehow eased by some validating your purchase because they agree with you? I hope so...
But yeah not a fan of Braid but sorry if it felt like I was raining all over it.
PA's game, while still great, was 20, and they were pretty unapologetic about it. I think it's worth 20, but this bit with Braid helps to show that he really wasn't in it to make a profit, just to recoup losses and get it out there.
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It's definitely a personal decision, with the discretion left to each's own.
Seriously, how can you compare a company to a 1-man team?
Where PA were like "It's worth it, go fuck yourselves," where Blow was like "I wanted it to be 10, but I'm fucking poor and made the game by myself, cut me some slack, plz."
A relative increase that large is an absolutely large increase to me.
I mean it in the sense that, in absolute comparison, 5 dollars is not much, considering many things that we buy last a much shorter amount of time than Braid would and cost more than 15 dollars.
HOWEVER, we both feel that it's still a reasonable price, so that's good.
The game has NO real value. You can not sell it so you're analogy is useless. It isn't stocks. The game is not WORTH 10 dollars and it's not WORTH 15. It, however, COSTS what it COSTS.
And to work with your lame logic, the game costs 1/4 of what games now cost retail. No tax and can buy it immediately and play it 15 minutes later. The game takes at least 5 hours to beat the first time... if you're darn smart. 5 * 4 = 20 hours of gameplay if it cost 60 bucks.
That's longer than it took me to beat cod4 and gears of war combined.
Make a better game than Space Giraffe.
I didn't care how much Minter whined. All I knew was that I paid for his game and I didn't like it.
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800 points is the sweet spot for me, anything over that I will wait on.
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If Jonathan ends up selling 9000 copies at $15, but he would have sold 10,000 at $10, and say 13,000 at $5 then that price decrease just cost him $35000. An additional price cut would cost him another $20000.
At $15, more of his customers are going to end up feeling that it wasn't "worth" the full amount, but he still ends up banking more dough, which in turn allows him to keep going as an indie dev.
The fact is, there is not an infinite population of indie gamers that his XBLA title will appeal to. Meaning that his sales will be less flexible to price changes.
I don't base my purchases solely on Review scores, but A "9" from Edge is a feat in and of itself.
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Good Lord, who pissed in everyone's cheerios this morning?
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But if a developer once to actually test free market principles by using a lower price to move more product, Microsoft says, "Fuck that. You're not charging enough."
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bad business.
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No disc
5 hours of gameplay, tops
No possibility of selling/loaning
When I can get a physical copy of a game like Mass Effect or Gears or whatever for $20 then $15 for this is insane.
...not that a platform/puzzle hybrid isn't niche, either.
Anyway, $15 bucks isn't a bad price to me if there's enough content. If you can beat the game in like 2 or 3 hours, sure it's a rip. But if it's a 15 hour game, I don't mind paying $15 dollars.
Assuming I actually like the game in question, of course.
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I'm also putting this out here: if you liked the demo, but are getting hung up on the price, rumor has it that Target will have 1600 pt cards for 14.99 next week. Save up those pennies kids.
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Well, besides that, the game is pretty good. The story, art and music are all very well done along with the gameplay. Although I've expressed my dislike for the new art style, I now can see why it was done.
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