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A dollar now is not worth the dollar from three years ago.
Hello there!
Without sounding too overly dramatic, from a financial point of view, life kinda sucks right now. People are counting their money and all of us in our dear video games industry we all know that finances are tight. Food is expensive. Fuel is expensive. Going out is expensive. Living is expensive. So when we, game creators and promoters, think of price, in some of us the reflex motion is to go on the lower end of the spectrum. Today, I will argue that that might not be the best idea/strategy. And I will use the example of Dystopika as a case in point that going too low on price won’t do you any favours.
Cut to intro music, flashy show logo animation, and… let’s go!
I recently had the pleasure of releasing the dystopian dark cozy city sandbox Dystopika (under my own publishing label, UNIKAT Label - more on that later). When I was chatting with Matt, the wicked solo-dev genius behind the game, about the price of Dystopika, we couldn’t help but look at the price of similar games such as SUMMERHOUSE and Minami Lane. Both of those titles are similar to ours in terms of content, idea, product emotion, promise, and release timing. Both of these games sell for $4.99 and naturally, we also were thinking of setting that price for Dystopika. However, we started to think a bit and we realised something. Five bucks these days is sweet FA. A candy bar, on average, is about $2. A McDonalds happy meal costs anywhere from $4 to $9. And I just checked Uber Eats, and the price of a kebab in my hometown of Perth, Australia is around $15 (~$10 USD). So if you compare a game like Minami Lane or SUMMERHOUSE to a kebab, $5 bucks aint that much.
The above image represents the masses. Just like its AI generation quality, some people perceive their financial situation as poor.
This got us thinking. How can we give a better value proposition to our future players so that we can reflect it in a higher price for the game? Just inflating the price would be a bit of a “dick” move. After much deliberation, that’s where our post-release roadmap came into play.
A roadmap is a public promise that more content is coming and that the players can shape the content in some way too. It also gives players hope that this is an ever-evolving project - or that the “1.0 release is just the springboard for what it can be”. With our release tightly scheduled for June 21st, the same day as the Elden Ring DLC drop (more on that reasoning at another time - if you’re interested of course), it allowed us to deliver the extra content post-release. So although some players might’ve felt that there wasn’t much content to begin with, this is just the beginning and more is coming soon. Hence a value proposition has been created. We were now able to have a clear conscience when raising our game’s price just that little bit more than our reference games. And of course, we will make sure that this value proposition will be delivered (which we are delivering).
So, to any dev out there who is working on a smaller game and is thinking of practically giving it away because you’re worried about price - don’t. Money is not worth as much as it was a few years ago. And it’s not like the prices are coming down any time soon. Since the pandemic, there are quite a lot of new “this is the new normal"s. High prices/inflation is one of those new normals. So don’t sell yourself short. That extra dollar won’t really matter to the player, but it might make a big deal for you. Saying all that, don’t just inflate the price for the sake of inflation. See where you can give additional value to your paying players. Maybe in-game post-release content, maybe a free soundtrack. See where you can find that additional value.
Over 1000 Steam reviews with a 97% User Rating. Not bad of a result, if you don’t mind me saying.
Of course, there is another side to the “setting a price” story. When it comes to games above the $12, $15 mark, I feel that’s when the consumer’s carelessness with money goes away. In this price category, a game becomes equal to or more than a meal at a restaurant, or a few meals at home. Here’s a price territory that makes people think twice about making that purchase and expect quality. To use the food analogy again, you no longer become a snack, a cheap chocolate bar that’s at the cash register aisle, tempting you to make it an impulse buy. Instead, you are an expense that needs to be taken into account. Is your game worth that expense? Well, that’s a question that you must ask yourself and answer it honestly.
A tidbit found on Reddit
Saw this little oddity-novelty. At the moment of writing this post, Trump’s assassination attempt happened around 8 hours ago. Around three hours ago, I came across this post on Reddit.
Interesting. Is it a coincidence or is this somehow linked? Honestly, I have no idea. Either way, this is one real-time marketing I do not want to play with.
UNIKAT announced
As I’ve mentioned a little bit earlier (time flies, doesn't it!), I started my own publishing label called UNIKAT Label. An independent publisher for independent games that push the art of gaming forward. UNIKAT has been on my mind for around 3 years in different shapes and forms. Inspired by independent music labels such as Warp Records, Ghostly, Stones Throw, I want to bring that independent spirit of thought, experimentation, and expression to gaming. And the plan is to go beyond games, beyond a single medium, but more on that at some other time.
I want to thank my first two studios that said yes to the UNIKAT banner - Matt Marshall, the creator of Dystopika, and Tensori, the people behind POOLS. Without them, I would never have had the chance to start this and write the message that I am writing. I will still do my marketing work as 32-33, so that doesn’t change. UNIKAT is an extension, something to expand the horizons, and help those who share that same minimal vibe for gaming. I am still buzzing and stoked with what UNIKAT might bring. So if you’re a dev that’s all about minimalism and artistic vibes, reach out to me!
And if you want to see where UNIKAT is heading, follow the UNIKAT social profiles. Seriously, if you do, I will give you the biggest hug ever when we meet.
Twitter: https://x.com/UNIKATlabel
That’s it for today! I hope that you’re smashing your marketing work like crazy. Remember, tomorrow is a new day filled with more opportunities. Go out there, experiment, and kick some ass. And if you’re down a bit (I tend to be in that state of mind occasionally), just do one small thing that will push you forward. From there, just get that momentum going and you’ll be alright. And tell me, what are your thoughts on pricing? Do you feel the same or do you think my thoughts are malarkey? Email me here. Keen to hear your thoughts.
May your Wishlists be plenty and converting,
Michal
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