[Tobbe]

I haven´t made up my mind yet..I´ve heared quite a lot of complains about the game so far, don´t know if I want to spend 20euros on a game that isn´t so good...Have to try the demo first..

[jp-30]

Originally Posted by t_manelius

I haven´t made up my mind yet..I´ve heared quite a lot of complains about the game so far, don´t know if I want to spend 20euros on a game that isn´t so good...Have to try the demo first..

One word of warning, the demo segment is too short (one puzzle and one action sequence) and may fail to draw in (some) people unfamiliar with the Bone comics. The opening desert scene is bland graphically, so what little people see in the demo isn't anywhere near as lovely as the rest of the game. There's no real introduction of the characters and no story advancement in the demo portion. I think some people may be left a little underwhelmed at this point and that will cause many not to stump up for the rest of the game, and hense the rest of the series, which is tragic.

Believe me, the game really picks up in style and substance after the demo portion, so keep that in mind when the demo stops.

[MDMaster]

20$ for a 75 mb CDR I have to burn myself is way too much.

[DomStLeger]

$20 is about £12 pounds in the UK, I reckon thats an OK price. Here we'd pay about £35-£40 for a console game and anywhere from £25-£35 for a PC game (depending on how hyped up it was).

Still Life (which came out in June) is selling for £15 on Amazon (£18 for Xbox). I'm not sure how that compares? I hear Still Life is quite short and just suddenly ends like Syberia, though this time without a second part being likely?

I'll reserve judgement until after I've tried the game, but so far £12 doesn't sound too unreasonable for a game lasting 4-6hrs. Maybe in America $20 goes a long way, but £12 here will nearly get you 2 books, or 2 seats at the cinema, or part of a night out on the town. Not that bad.

[Fop]

I just did.

[Kolorabi]

Originally Posted by DomStLeger

I'll reserve judgement until after I've tried the game, but so far £12 doesn't sound too unreasonable for a game lasting 4-6hrs. Maybe in America $20 goes a long way, but £12 here will nearly get you 2 books, or 2 seats at the cinema, or part of a night out on the town. Not that bad.

If you look at, for instance, Play.com, approx. £12 will get you Far Cry or Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. £10 will get you stuff like Riddick, Deus Ex 2, Thief: Deadly Shadows or for adventure fans, Sherlock Holmes & The Silver Earring. Half that, and you're looking at stuff like Uru and PES 3. These games come in boxes, with shipping included in the price.

Maybe it's unfair to compare a new game to older games, but it's a much more relevant comparison as we're talking about the same form of entertainment. This is what Bone, with its 2-5 hours (according to what I hear) of gameplay is up against.

[Udvarnoky]

Jesus. There's nothing outrageous about Bone's price.

[Kolorabi]

Originally Posted by Udvarnoky

Jesus. There's nothing outrageous about Bone's price.

If I had £13 to spend, would you tell me to get Thief: Deadly Shadows or Bone (and a candy bar)? Knowing that I like both genres.

See, I'm not saying it's outragous, I'm just saying they might be pricing themselves out of the market, considering the lenght of the game.

[Eivind]

I've just played through Bone, and I found it a nice, little game. The graphics are looking good, and the world is bright and colorful. However I experienced a few problems with some of the 3D characters (they're shaking!), and some of the minigames were badly executed.

It took me about three hours to go through. Is it worth it? Well, yeah, sorta. Although I believe that Telltale should lower the prices a bit for the next episodes. I'll probably buy the next part anyhow, though

[Ninja Dodo]

I'm gonna go with probably not. The demo didn't impress me.

[peb]

I just finished Bone in about 3 hours. I can't say that I got my money's worth if I only got 3 hours of gameplay out of it. $10 would have been a more reasonable price.

But that being said, being an adventure fan, I feel like paid a $10 premium just to get a new adventure game to market (Don't comment on the action bits. I'm sore about those). I expect to see more of this in the future, obviously with TellTale's licenses but with adventure games in general. If general game publishers aren't willing to risk their money on putting out adventure games at average game prices, then to get those games, adventure fans like us will have to pay a premium to prove to publishers that the games can make money. So I'll probably buy the next Bone when it comes out at the same price just because I want to play adventure games.

[Udvarnoky]

Originally Posted by Kolorabi

If I had £13 to spend, would you tell me to get Thief: Deadly Shadows or Bone (and a candy bar)? Knowing that I like both genres.

See, I'm not saying it's outragous, I'm just saying they might be pricing themselves out of the market, considering the lenght of the game.

It's a silly and unfair comparison. If twenty bucks is pricing themselves out of the market, then they're screwed anyway.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Udvarnoky

It's a silly and unfair comparison.

Buying a computer game, versus buying a computer game.

Elaborate. How is this silly and unfair, exactly?

[Udvarnoky]

One's new, one's not. But my real point is that you're comparing the price of a year old game at budget price to the first game of a small, young company that is experimenting with a new online distribution model and probably trying to make back enough money to remain existent. I'm not suggesting that one should buy games soley for the sake of supporting a company, but I found Bone to be worth the money. Yes, I could find tons of games on ebay for a cheaper price that are much longer than Bone. But it's probably not realistic for Telltale to offer the game for nine bucks instead of nineteen, and it's still possible to find even a short game satisfying.

But geeze, I'm making it sound like the game is expensive. It's not. And I've completed the game and I personally think twenty bucks is quite reasonable, even for it's length, even though I could find longer games for comparable prices. You shouldn't spend your money on a game if you don't think it's worth it, but it's not exactly fair to expect a company to price a game a certain way for the reasons being mentioned. I agree with what you said here:

Originally Posted by Richard

There's no point comparing forms of entertainment pound for pound and hour for hour. It's apples, oranges and rollercoasters. It's the experience that matters, and whether you judge it to be worth Amount X of your money.

It applies to the comparison of two computer games as well.

[DomStLeger]

Originally Posted by Richard

Buying a computer game, versus buying a computer game.

Elaborate. How is this silly and unfair, exactly?

Silly and unfair is probably a little too strong, but I think the point (if I understood it correctly) is that there is a big difference between a brand new game and a budget title. The interest levels are going to be different for a start. With a brand new release people who really want the game and can't wait are going to be prepared to pay more than those people who will wait a few months for the price to come down. They're two different sets or people with different expectations when it comes to buying a game.

The other thing is that Bone is targeted at a niche, where as something like Thief is for a mass audience. The niche group have to be prepared to sometimes pay a little more or they risk getting nothing as the game/product becomes uneconomical to produce.

Anyway, for me personally I find a difference of $5 (which seems to be the main issue?) being such a problem a little odd - thats only £2-3 and that would barely cover my lunch or even my daily commute So if they have got the price wrong it's not by an excessive amount.

[Tramboi]

Originally Posted by peb

I just finished Bone in about 3 hours. I can't say that I got my money's worth if I only got 3 hours of gameplay out of it. $10 would have been a more reasonable price.

But that being said, being an adventure fan, I feel like paid a $10 premium just to get a new adventure game to market (Don't comment on the action bits. I'm sore about those). I expect to see more of this in the future, obviously with TellTale's licenses but with adventure games in general. If general game publishers aren't willing to risk their money on putting out adventure games at average game prices, then to get those games, adventure fans like us will have to pay a premium to prove to publishers that the games can make money. So I'll probably buy the next Bone when it comes out at the same price just because I want to play adventure games.

Exactly. I totally agree with you.
Those who don't support this kind of initiative by investing 20$ (which is quite nothing for most of us) won't be allowed to moan if Telltale goes bankrupt, if Sam n Max is not done, or if AME can't secure fundings for their games because "you see, Telltale failed, there IS no market for adventure games, mister developer".

Comparing with budget prices is nasty.
Do you people only buy adventure games at budget prices or what?
It would explain why they are not seen as profitable.
Sometimes you gotta put your money where your heart or ideas are. That's why some of us develop videogames and earn less money instead of doing bank programming.

Now the bitter rant is off

[Udvarnoky]

See, twenty bucks wasn't enough to make me feel like I was donating to Telltale.

[Richard]

One's new, one's not. But my real point is that you're comparing the price of a year old game at budget price to the first game of a small, young company that is experimenting with a new online distribution model

Technically, if you haven't played a game, it's new to you. A year doesn't mean that much any more, technologically speaking. And I'm not quite comparing it to that - I'm comparing it to the increasing number of other games you can pick up via digital distribution at sites like Direct2Drive.

The other thing is that Bone is targeted at a niche, where as something like Thief is for a mass audience. The niche group have to be prepared to sometimes pay a little more or they risk getting nothing as the game/product becomes uneconomical to produce.

I don't disagree. However, what strikes me about all this is that Telltale targeting such a niche was nothing short of clinically bone-headed (pun intended). There's no reason they should have done so. The price, much like the game, should have been an absolute no-brainer. It shouldn't have spawned this number of arguments, and the fact that it's done so really does put the lie to the argument that it can be discounted out of hand. They haven't so much priced themselves out of the market as shot themselves in the foot on the thing they needed to crack: for the 'Buy Me!' screen to appear, and your hand to zoom straight for the button that says 'Yep Indeedy.' There shouldn't be a discussion - indeed, there shouldn't even be a rational decision to make.

As for it only being a difference of £2-3, well, that stuff matters, and a lot. There's a reason why just about everything you buy is £x.99 - and it's not to make sure the shopkeepers have to open the tills every time someone makes a purchase.

[peb]

Originally Posted by Tramboi

Exactly. I totally agree with you.
Those who don't support this kind of initiative by investing 20$ (which is quite nothing for most of us) won't be allowed to moan if Telltale goes bankrupt, if Sam n Max is not done, or if AME can't secure fundings for their games because "you see, Telltale failed, there IS no market for adventure games, mister developer".

I guess one thing left unsaid in my post which you hit on was that I would gladly overpay for Bone if that ensures a new Sam n Max down the road.

[Richard]

Originally Posted by Tramboi

Those who don't support this kind of initiative by investing 20$ (which is quite nothing for most of us) won't be allowed to moan if Telltale goes bankrupt, if Sam n Max is not done, or if AME can't secure fundings for their games because "you see, Telltale failed, there IS no market for adventure games, mister developer".

No, it's not your fault if they go bankrupt and you haven't joined the charity drive. They have to make games that people want to play, and they have to prove that the market can support them. They make a game you want to play, and you play it. That's the deal. That's the only way it works. If they make a game you want to play and you hold off on buying it, then you deserve a slap around the face with a herring, but they don't deserve your $20 unless their game makes you want to give it to them.

If adventures are going to evolve and develop, the people making them have to learn to stand on their own two feet. Telltale and AME have the money and expertise to try their titles and make a stand and have their shot, but relying on fans like that would be a chronic mistake for them, and the genre. Target them, advertise to them, and get them on side - but ultimately, if the game can't appeal to them using its own merits, it'll be slipslide time, no matter how many pity copies you buy.