Amazon casual game pricing causes waves with publishers
by Alexander Sliwinski 
{ Feb 12th 2009 at 4:30PM }
VentureBeat's piece rightly points out that casual titles can be found all over the intertubes for far less than the $19.99 MSRP. The main point seems to be that casual game publishers aren't happy that the Amazon price point starts at under $10. Casual publisher profits depend on keeping that $20 price for as long as possible.
[Via Big Download]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Deaddy @ Feb 12th 2009 4:45PM
Huh... doesn't the publisher normally get paid in advance, separate from the retail sale? Not sure why they're pissed off, I guess I just don't understand what's going on.
FemaleOrca @ Feb 12th 2009 5:30PM
Exactly what I thought. Unless digital distro is different and payment to publishers is dependent on sales. That would seem a bit odd though.
Deaddy @ Feb 12th 2009 6:04PM
Yeah, I don't see how a retailer could determine what the publisher gets paid. Must be some other factor going on.
(01) @ Feb 12th 2009 6:45PM
Totally what I was thinking. Everyone gets paid more in this situation, and in a bad economy I don't see what the hell these devs are thinking.
Dr. Stabbingworth @ Feb 12th 2009 10:00PM
Possibly. My company does digital distro of technical standards (books) and we get a percentage of the sale and that's it. If Amazon requires games to sell for $10 or less, then the companies might be taking the same percentage of a smaller price.
swartzmi @ Feb 12th 2009 4:49PM
Oh well, atleast they got Alice in Wonderland 2 (non American McGee), that's sealed my decision that the service is gunna be outstanding.
swartzmi @ Feb 12th 2009 4:58PM
Come to think of it, I have no idea what it says under "Alice" in that picture, here's hoping it really says "The Reckoning"
zuburi @ Feb 12th 2009 6:55PM
Haha, right.
http://www.android-game.com/2008/11/14/alice-greenfingers-2/
Although stomping on your hopes was kinda fun.
swartzmi @ Feb 12th 2009 4:51PM
Now that I look at that picture, I have no idea what it says under Alice, but it surely isn't in "Wonderland." Here's hoping it says "The Reckoning."
tcc3 @ Feb 12th 2009 5:06PM
Its about time. ive always liked Popcap games, but the pricing is crazy. $20 is way too much for an arcade style "casual" game. For that price I shoud get the PC and mobile version.
This is just like ringtones. They only charge $3 for a 10 second low quality audio file becuase stupid people will pay it.
more bad asser @ Feb 12th 2009 5:11PM
seems like no matter how much amazon tries to do what's best for the consumer, everyone else fights them tooth and nail. they don't tax us, refuse to put any DRM on music, let us stream AND download videos, and now they want to offer us games at a price that could give the casual games market a boost as well as make it accessible to the regulars on amazon.
i think it's "completely unacceptable" that popcap thinks it's games are worth $10 to begin with...
swartzmi @ Feb 12th 2009 5:32PM
I don't think your familiar with how extremely locked down amazon unbox is. Also iTunes was an anomoly with it's drm and even the cloistered apple is undrming music. Not that I think amazon is horrible but they are not the bastion of user freedom you describe, case In point the extremely drm encased kindle book store.
Haggard @ Feb 12th 2009 5:38PM
I agree. I'm sure amazon are evil and everything, being a corporation, but right now they're where I buy pretty much everything - at value and convenience to me (the marketplace is especially handy for old PS2 games and dvds)
AwesomeTown @ Feb 12th 2009 5:59PM
Same with me, Haggard. I haven't had a problem with them. I love my Amazon credit card as well. It's fantastic getting free gift certificates in the mail, especially when you pay in full and never pay interest.
more bad asser @ Feb 12th 2009 6:42PM
right. i understand that game companies are going through tough times and need every penny they can get, but are they really LOSING any money by tossing bejeweled and peggle onto Amazon for $10, and losing a bit of the cut? they're busting into a new market, amazon will likely also recommend to the users the other games and/or even physical copies, and im sure amazon would be cool with popcap making amazon-exclusive games that are built around the pricing.
i WAS going to get bejeweled for my G1 when it came out, but nevermind. (especially not at the $12 i think it's going to be)
more bad asser @ Feb 12th 2009 6:53PM
@swartzmi: i use unbox and have no qualms with it. it gives me an SD version of the movie and a smaller copy for my Zen. everything just works, im okay with most of the pricing, and i only have to pay for a movie again if i REdownload it. (i just built a new machine, installed unbox, and copied my movies to the directory, and it sees them fine without telling me i have to redownload) the mp3 service has been phenominal to me, with my only wish is for the mp3 store to be built into the downloader.
im not saying they're perfect or anything, but they seem to go out of their way to do what's easy and right for their customers from the get go, instead of defending unfair practices and then turning around later on. the book thing i think is a special case because we're talking about a medium that's been around for ages and is now being literally transformed into a digital medium from a physical.
regardless, i doubt popcap's issues with amazon have to do with drm. if anything, it's pricing or them not being 100% in control of how their titles are handled instead of being standardized into amazon's setup.
Courtney @ Feb 13th 2009 10:33AM
Just to point out, Amazon does tax many of its users, it just matters whether or not they have a warehouse in your state or not. Those of us in the seven or eight states with warehouses still get to pony up sales tax.
gfan102 @ Feb 12th 2009 5:13PM
Less is more. For 10 bucks even I may download a Casual game. $20 hells no! yes that 10 bucks jump is a lot to me. I have not payed more than $10 fora psn download game so why pay more online.
Crusty Magic @ Feb 12th 2009 5:39PM
Ya, lets push retailers to charge more for our games so that piracy becomes more rampant. What a swell idea.
CaptainProtonX @ Feb 12th 2009 5:44PM
BFD.
I get $5 PC games at Target all the time. I don't see the developers bitching about that.
They are angry that a big-name online retailer isn't giving them a bigger piece of the pie. Pure and simple.
And I have to agree with this statement. Why are PopCap games even $20? THEY ARE FLASH GAMES!
offday @ Feb 12th 2009 5:45PM
Seriously? What Popcap game is worth more than 10 dollars? That company needs to get real. They aren't making deep, lengthy games.
GenBanks @ Feb 12th 2009 5:51PM
Pretty ridiculous... I don't mind paying more than $10 for a game like World of Goo or (if it comes out) Braid, but come on - there are plenty of full-fledged big budget and high quality older available for less than some of the "casual" games that they want to sell for $20.
GenBanks @ Feb 12th 2009 5:51PM
Braid (if it comes out on PC) I meant.
Massmass @ Feb 12th 2009 6:16PM
I'm confused, aren't PopCap Games and iWin developers as well , or do they really do just publish others works? If so, put DEVELOPERS in the headline as that is far more relevant.
I don't care what publishers think, I care about what the developers, people who make the games think. Chances are this is a more favorable model for them so that's why publishers wouldn't like it. Less business.
If the Developers don't like it then that's showing that a service like this will be hard to keep going with any worthwhile games.
darwin @ Feb 12th 2009 11:28PM
its my understanding that developers DO NOT like it. Usually a developer would only get a 30% cut from a sale of a game on bigfish or other portal. As most developers struggle to get by on that pittance the price is now halved? fuck me.. Price wars are not good for developers.
Massmass @ Feb 13th 2009 12:28AM
But what's Amazon's cut? $20 at 30% is $6. So if they were to give 80% of $10 that's still $3 more dollars than before. That to me, makes a world of difference. Bigger cut, cheaper end price for consumer, more purchases. Everyone's happy except greedy publishers.
Massmass @ Feb 13th 2009 12:30AM
Sorry $2. Tired and all that jive.
Sheppy (of the Fidlious Clan of Wong) @ Feb 12th 2009 6:27PM
Food for thought. Peggle for $20 was insane to me having never played it. Peggle at $10 on Steam was an instant purchase. I've bought way too many $10 games through Steam. Doesn't matter if I'm even a fan of the genre. I'll give plenty of games a shot at a $10 spot.
Steve @ Feb 13th 2009 11:45AM
Exact same thing with me.
> $10 means I have to think "is it worth it?" while < $10 means "what the hell, worth it if only for an hour or two."
I bought a ton of games on Steam like that.