[Lucien21]

1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?

I think that is pretty subjective. How many people complained about paying £40 for Another Code which is about 5-6 hours in lenght. I feel that $20 is about £11 in the UK which is a budget priced game in the stores.

If the quality of the game was high enough price wouldn't enter into it as how can you compare the 60+ hours for Baldurs Gate against the 10-15 hours of the likes of Half Life 2. Games have neverbeen priced by the $/hour.

$20 is prefectly reasonable to me. however people are saying that $20 is the standard price for full lenght games in the US so maybe people are drawing a direct comparison.

I laughed recently when I heard they were complaining about the rise in fuel prices in the US from 20 pence/litre to 40 pence/litre when in the UK it is 95 pence a litre.

2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?

Perfectly happy, but would like the package to come with cover graphics and disc label pictures to allow me to print them and put on the CD when I burn it.

3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?

Not really, but I bet you get a different response from others this seems to be a sticking point. - It's just fear of change.

4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?

I have downloaded stuff up to 4 gb in size and larger so not bothered about size. More concerned with the speed of the download woulld be off putting.

5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?

Graphic intensive games like Myst 4 would be quite large, but I can't say i would be put off by its a strategy game, but it's too large.

6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?

No but I plan on downloading the SiN episodes when released on Steam.

7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?

Yes, but never paid for any. played the demos for the Jane Jensen games, but didn't purchase full version.

8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?

Down with publishers I would rather put the money in the hands of developers like Steve andTelltale for their hard work than line the pockets of EA anyday. Online Distribution is the perfect way to release something worldwide direct to the market you are aiming for without being buried on the bottom shelf of GAME never to be seen again.

It guarantees a longer shelf life for Niche markets to allow sales to build up and fund future developments within the genre.

But the biggest problem is getting over the "I hate change" barrier and get consumers to change spending patterns. It's the old if I don't have anything solid in my hand I can't have bought anything routine.

[Kraken]

1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?
I feel it is on the edge. Bioware offers Neverwinter Nights adventures with longer gaming time for $5-$10. However this being said while they do include original voice acting not every piece of dialogue is covered, nor do they have to create all the graphics from ground up and animate them as its already been done with basic NWN box that you paid $50 (plus $25 or so for each published expansion).

So judging from amount of work it does involve 20$ is not bad, however I personally feel something like $14.99-$18.99 would have been more attractive looking. Difference isn't big, but I think most shopping is feeling based. What most people end up looking is the lenght, four hours of gameplay doesn't feel much for $20.

My biggest problem is that I am not really Bone fan, would I pay $20 for same amount of Sam & Max, probably so? I think with just little lower price, I would do it more readily.

2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?
I have no objection, however American/Canadian firms should really investigate about popular paying methods in EU. Full credit cards are much rarer among young people, but almost everyone has Visa Electron (the amount you pay is directly or with short delay paid from your account). For instance World of WarCraft allows Visa Electron, and it is the biggest online game in EU.

3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?
No, CD is not required.

4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?
I really have no limit, as long as there is smooth and working place to download it from.

5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?
No, I am happy to download any size of game of any style as long as it intrests me.

6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?
I downloaded and paid for business software, I have no problem of paying for downloaded games. I have also downloaded Bone demo. I haven't paid for 100% downloaded game yet, been considering. Haven't bitten the bait yet, so to speak.

7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?
If casual means puzzles, arcade? I downloaded few free ones, but I have no interest paying anything for such.

8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?
1) Payment options have to be there. Not just popular US ones, but EU ones too. I think EU even might have bigger fanbase in Adventure games, but this is just my speculation.

2) The method of payment needs to be easy and you need to trust the source. Website needs to make consumer feel safe.

3) I think its important that the people have a way to get a taste whats offered, especially when full/episodic game downloads are breaking trough.

[fov]

Originally Posted by Steve Ince

1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?

I don't really care how many hours it takes, I just want it to feel like an immersive experience. Okay, not so many hours that I sit down and finish the game in one sitting. I can usually play about 1-2 hours before I turn the game off and return to it later. So I'd say at least 3-4 solid playing sessions (not just retracing my tracks to get around an annoying puzzle or wasting my time being hopelessly stuck) seem reasonable for $20.

2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?

Not happy to, but willing to if it's the only option.

3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?

Yes. I'd also like to be able to download a high-res CD insert so I could burn the installer to a CD and have it be sort of professional looking.

4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?

I'm on cable, so I don't really care how big it is. Back when I was on dial-up I left the computer on all night downloading King's Quest 2 VGA (and it was worth it!) I'd still be willing to do that, and with cable, that means the game could be pretty huge.

5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?

Not sure I understand this question. I'm not going to decide not to download a game I really want to play because of the download size, if that's what you mean. But even if a game's small, if it doesn't interest me I'm not going to download it at all.

6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?

No.

7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?

Not for my own benefit. I have downloaded a few that seemed adventury, to see if they're something I might want to cover for AG.

8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?

I prefer a physical product (it's one of the reasons I'd rather find a boxed oldie in a store rather than downloading it from an abandonware site) but if the download model allows developers to make better AGs, I'm all for it.

[Tanukitsune]

1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?

-Four does seem like too little, maybe 6 or 8 hours would do the trick?

2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?

-I don't mind online payment, but as a collector I'd rather have something I can hold in my hands, and not just a file in my hard drive...

3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?

-See 2, I always prefer the CD even if it more expensive sometimes...

4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?

-Since I bought Half-Life 2 Gold, I guess I would mind how big the file is as long I could resume or redownload if something happens while it downloads...

5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?

-I'm not sure what you mean, but if you mean thinking that a large file games should be better than a small one, then no...

6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?

-Like I said before I bought Half-life 2 Gold from Steam and I also have a Real Arcade Game Pass.

7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?

-See 6. I have Real Arcade and I'm not afraid to admit it!

8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?

-As a collector, I don't like I own a game unless it's on a CD, cartridge, or DVD, but if the game is only availible for download then I have no option...

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Lucien21

Not really, but I bet you get a different response from others this seems to be a sticking point. - It's just fear of change.

No, it's the desire for an object. It's like you said that downloading and printing a book is the same thing than buying a real one.

[Tanukitsune]

Originally Posted by Ninth

No, it's the desire for an object. It's like you said that downloading and printing a book is the same thing than buying a real one.

Also you can't show off a file, but you can show off a Jewel CD case...

[Aj_]

Originally Posted by RLacey

I feel that I ought to add that BitTorrent still poses problems for some people.

Its popularity suggests this number is low.

I've never made a BitTorrent download that hasn't been considerably slower than one from a standard FTP setup (I may be unlucky).

There are several reasons why this could be the case. It's hardly worth mentioning, there are a number of problems from both server and client that can happen with http or ftp file transfer.

And my university doesn't allow BitTorrent clients, as they lump them together with file-sharing.

Well, it is file sharing, and it would be unusual to allow ftp transfer, but not bittorrent transfer, they don't work the same way but they can essential do the same thing.

Originally Posted by Ninth

No, it's the desire for an object. It's like you said that downloading and printing a book is the same thing than buying a real one.

Seems completely irrational to me. There are rational reasons for wanting a game in CD form though, but if you personnally would get the exact same functionality then that doesn't make much sense.

[Jackal]

A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?

I would probably say 6-8 as a minimum. But that's a REAL 6-8, not a publisher's version of 6-8. This is all arbitrary, of course, but I think it's necessary to carry a game's entertainment through at least two full gameplay sessions. There are plenty of people who will race through a 4 hour game and be done in one sitting or one day. Arbitrary or not, that's not going to feel like good value. Most people won't/can't do that with even a 6 hour game.

Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?

Certainly not my preferred option, but I'm resigned to it. There are some changes that would make it more acceptable, as have been mentioned here. Printable inserts, permanent one-off downloads, etc. (In this case, "etc." means "that's all I can think of. ) Well, a nice manual, too, such as Bone's. Basically, anything to let the player turn their download into an approximate substitute for a commercial physical product.

If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?

Ideally, yes, but it depends on how much "additional" means. It can't be very much more.

If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?

I've downloaded 1 gig demos, so really no practical limit.

Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?

Nope, not so long as the content justifies the file size.

Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?

Nope.

Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?

Nope.

Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?

It's a logical step for games, so I'm glad to see it starting to get off the ground. Not as a replacement for making physical products, but as a viable alternative.

[fov]

Originally Posted by Aj_

Seems completely irrational to me. There are rational reasons for wanting a game in CD form though, but if you personnally would get the exact same functionality then that doesn't make much sense.

Since when do people's preferences have to be rational? I want a game on a CD, in a box, just because I want one. I shouldn't have to justify my reason for wanting one - I just do, and I get to choose how I spend my money.

EDIT: Woo! The non-retarded winking smiley is back!

[Fien]

Originally Posted by Ninth

No, it's the desire for an object. It's like you said that downloading and printing a book is the same thing than buying a real one.

Exactly.

I want the CD and/or manual and/or box. Because it's tangible, because it's beautiful, sometimes even because it's ugly, because the CD has many scratches and has changed many hands, because it is in mint condition and I'm the first owner, because...

I could never explain that to someone who thinks I am simply afraid of change.

[AudioSoldier]

I'll respond to your first point:

Although this is not always applicable for adventure games, there are many titles out there that offer a meager 10 hours of gameplay for the price of, say, $50. Bone is $20 and depending on the time you take with the journey, you could experience more than six hours of enjoyment. Although, admittedly, this is the prediction of the overly optimistic developers. Still, $20 is not a hefty sum of money by any means and as Telltale rake in the revenue they may well see fit to drop the price somewhat. Just my thoughts.

[Ninth]

Originally Posted by Aj_

Seems completely irrational to me. There are rational reasons for wanting a game in CD form though, but if you personnally would get the exact same functionality then that doesn't make much sense.

There's more to an object than just functionality, (as) you (should) know.
And in any case, a burned CD with a sticked insert is not as nice as a real CD you buy in a store, plus it's a pain to burn a CD anyway.

EDIT: Three posts too late. Wow.

[Aj_]

Originally Posted by fov

Since when do people's preferences have to be rational?

When they want them to become actual products.

Originally Posted by Ninth

There's more to an object than just functionality, (as) you (should) know.

Yeah, I think people who want boxes and CDs to mount on their walls to admire should pay more for the pleasure, instead of the majority of people who just want to play games paying more.

[toger]

1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?

If it's entertaining gameplay, then it really doesn't matter that much. I've paid far more for games. If I'm bored out of my mind, then any price is too much. I too think that adventure gamers have been spoiled by too many cookie cutter/budget games priced at $20 to where they feel a game priced out of that range is "expensive".

2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?

Yes. I'm not a box person. I've thrown out more boxes than I've kept. As long as I can burn it to a CD on my own if I wish to move it to another computer, I'm a happy camper.

On the other hand, I'm on dial-up so I have a friend with high-speed access download and burn stuff for me.

3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?

Maybe. It would save me (friends) from having to download it.

4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?

Doesn't matter. As long as my friends have the time to do it, it's a non-issue.

5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?

No.

6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?

Yes.

7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?

No. I'm not really a "casual" game person.

[Fairygdmther]

To assign the premise that people are afraid of change instead of looking at the actual reasons is ignoring the facts, to pad your own argument. I literally have some of the same games on three different computers, only one of which is usable right now. Having a game on a CD means that I can use whichever PC is currently working to play it. And many still have dialup, and a download that large is impossible when your d'load is 2-3 kb/sec. ( I used to get from 1.7-3.3 kb/sec on dialup.) Not everyone can get broadband, either financially or due to their location. Are those rational enough reasons for you?

Lynsie

[fov]

Originally Posted by Aj_

Yeah, I think people who want boxes and CDs to mount on their walls to admire should pay more for the pleasure, instead of the majority of people who just want to play games paying more.

Do you not see people saying they're willing to do just that?

Developers / publishers have an opportunity here. If the buyer is willing to pay more for a physical product or less for a download, and it's feasible for the person selling their product to do so, then make them available both ways, make more people happy, and generate more revenue. If it's not feasible, then the dev has to make a choice - but that doesn't mean the consumer has to buy it.

The decision to buy a download if that's the only version available is a personal choice. Those who want a physical product are under no obligation to buy a download if the developer chooses not to put out a physical product. It's the consumer's decision, and arguing with the consumer that he's wrong is only going to result in the consumer getting pissed off and feeling even less inclined to spend the money on something he doesn't really want.

Personally, I think it's great that Steve is even asking the question. You're a lot more likely to end up with what customers actually want this way, than assuming you know what they want and basing your business model on the expectation that they'll conform to your (potentially incorrect) assumptions.

EDIT: Btw, one more thing on playtime - I have been playing Broken Sword 3, on and off, for about two months... usually a few hours at a time, once or twice a week, with stretches in between where I played something else instead. This is a short game? Sure doesn't feel that way to me. It feels worth more than the $20 I paid for it, actually.

[littleguybrush]

1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?
Depends on the quality of the game but 4 hours is to short. 6-8 hours of gameplay would be better.


2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?
Not so happy. I prefer having them on a nice shiny cd.


3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?
Yes


4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?
No limit as long as you can download it at a nice speed.


5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?
I don't see a connection between download size and game style so can't say I care.


6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?
Never bought games online


7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?
No


8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?
I can live with downloading games if I have to but I don't like games to be split in episodes. One great story will always be better then 6 small ones.

[Aj_]

Originally Posted by fov

Do you not see people saying they're willing to do just that?

You, and a few others, but the people who put restrictions on it, they don't seem to be willing to do that at all.

[Melanie68]

1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?

I would say 6-8 minimum.

2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?

I could live with that. It seems many programs are offered this way (non gaming)

3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this?

Once I download something, I don't really have the need to have it on CD (with other programs) but there is something about physically owning a game. The most recent thread about Day of the Tentacle in the triangle box - people were drooling over that game. It's part of the experience.

4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it?

With a decent computer, size wouldn't be a factor.

5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way?

No

6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres?

No

7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games?

Yes

8. Have you any other thoughts on downloading games?

I think it's a good way to go for a smaller company that may not have the resources for packaging and distribution.

[EvilMulder]

1. A number of people feel that the price of $20 for four hours of gameplay (Bone) is a little too much. What would you feel is an acceptable amount of gameplay for $20?

It's about 2/5 the price of a full game, so I want 2/5 the lenght. Which would be about 8 hours for me.

2. Now that online payment and downloadable content is here to stay, how happy are you to buy your games this way in future?

It find it as viable an option as bying it in the store.

3. If an alternative format (CD, say) was offered for an additional charge, would you prefer this??

Personnaly, no. I wouldn't want to wait for shipping.

4. If you downloaded a game to play, how big would the download be before it put you off downloading it??

Actually I think it would be the reverse for me. If the size was too small I would be hesitant to purchase, thinking it to be unimpressive since quality textures etc take up space. The larger the size the more impressed I would be.

5. Does the size of the download depend on the style of the game in any way??

No.

6. Have any of you downloaded and paid for games in other genres??

Yes, a couple of times.

7. Have any of you downloaded any "casual" games??

Yes, I've purchased the puzzle game Aargon