80 Bucks!!!

[Danicela]

There's a difference between going to a good Italian restaurant to eat an excellent pizza

Yes but a 30$ pizza is just absurd.
You can't find a difference of 3x the cost for the same thing ...
And what about pizzayolo ?

 

[AvianAvenger]

Yes but a 30$ pizza is just absurd.
You can't find a difference of 3x the cost for the same thing ...
And what about pizzayolo ?

I paid $18 for a barbeque chicken pizza, coke, garlic bread & delivered yesterday ... that was the most exspensive pizza ive ever had.

for me normally $30 is equal to 5 pizzas at $6 each.

 

[Dida]

I have never spent $30 on a pizza, considering that a steak at Morton's cost only $45, I'd rather pay the extra money and enjoy their superior food.

 

[Grey Fox]

The most expensive pizza I ate was also the smallest and worst tasting one.

Expensive restaurants cant make pizzas.

 

[Moonsinger]

I have never pay $30 for a pizza. That's way too much! If I want a pizza, I just make one from scratch (cost less than $5, but taste far better and much healthier than any $30 pizza out there). Just because something expensive, that doesn't mean it's good.

 

[Charles 22]

if you look at what warlords adds to civ 4 its not even close to 1%.

NEW

3 new traits, there was 8 before 40%
6 new civs, there was 18 before 35%
10 new leaders, there was 2 before 40%
24 new buildings, there was somthing like 54 before 45%
1 new great unit, there was 5 before 20%
3 new wonders, there was 26 before 10%
0 new tecs, there was 84 before 0%
5 new promotions, there was 41 before 10%
9 new units, there was 82 before 10%

TOTAL 25%

there are things that warlords did not add to like resource, terrain ect... but it did add 8 new Scenarios so we can say that all evens out.

Also warlords improves AI and does many others things that makes the game feel complete

maybe the pack should of been more like 20$ but i still think its worth it

And what pray tell is 25% of $50?

 

[Charles 22]

I play countless hours of Civ and of the expansions. At the end of the year, it's not even close to one dollar a day for something that brings me a lot of fun. Great deal if you ask me. Paying for a new video card was less fun though...

No, how much you play something has no bearing on how much it costs you. Surprised? It's $30 out of your pocket no matter how much you play or don't play. Think about it this way. What if the xp were $300, would you buy it? You're crazy if you say you would, but, using the logic you used above, if you could convince yourself that you would be playing it for the rest of your life, it would thereby be worth the cost. Part of the problem with forking over the $30 is you have basically no idea how long you will be playing it, and yet they still have your money. The fact you can't return it puts all the risk on your end too.

So you add that video card in there, something you probably would not have really needed for another year or two, and you come up with, what, over $300 spent on Civ4? Ah, you have bought the $300 game afterall. Now let's see it last your lifetime. When Civ 5 comes out it's value will probably go the direction that Civ3's value has gone for me - nowhere.

 

[Charles 22]

People keep saying $US 30 is too much, that somehow Firaxis is fleecing us.

Whether $30 is too much depends on the individual. To me, that's a pizza. I would have paid twice that. To some people, that's their disposable cash for a month or more, so that is a big deal.

Whether Firaxis is fleecing us is not a question. The answer is no. I used to work for a game company as the director of production, so I know exactly how much it costs to make something.

Here's a rough ballpark. First off, the retailer gets fully 50%. That goes to pay for his store rent, salary of his workforce, benefits, taxes, marketing, etc. Depending on their relationship with the distributor, the distributor will offer promotions and discounts, and the retailer might even get as much as 55% or so. So, we're down to $US15.

Of the other half, half of that goes to the distributor. That $7.50 pays for the warehouse, forklifts, taxes, salaries, marketing, etc.

The rest goes to Firaxis. Depending on quantity, they will have to spend approximately half on manufacturing: CD mastering, replication, insertion, the box, wrappers.

That leaves about $3.75 for their income. They have to pay corporate taxes, salaries, rent, utilities, benefits, etc. Depending on the size of their company (and thus how much their expenses are) compared to how many products they put out a year, this is going to affect how much of the $3.75 is profit and how much gets eaten up by their overhead.

I'd guess they might make a dollar on each game. If they sell 100,000 copies, that's only $100,000 profit.

Profit then has to go for business expansion, shareholder payments, unanticipated expenses, and so on. $100k is not much.

Wodan

Explain this then.

Games have only recently been commonly in the $50 range and there are still very many in the $40 category. $50 games haven't been that common percentage-wise, but of course with time they keep increasing. To my recollection the $30 xp has been very recent though I'm unsure of the current proliferation of them compared to the $20/$25 variety. For the sake of argument let's assume that for all intensive purposes that both the $50 price basic game and the $30 xp came about 5 years ago. Now, what is the justification for one of those going up 25% in cost, while the other goes up 50%? I don't think this xp is worth $30, more like the common $20 of old, but even if you want to make the cost argument you did, seems the xp should go up in cost with the basic game, or 25% increase, to a $25 price. A lot of us don't just get paying 60% of the original game, for something that is at "most" 10-20% of it. I'm willing to pay even $50 for an expansion even if the original was $50 itself, buy it sure better be something out of this world then.

 

[Wodan]

You mean that even if they get 0$ for a sold product, the fixed cost are already high ? And so you can't make less than 30 ?

I didn't mention the concept of fixed costs, but yes they are high. No, I didn't say you couldn't make a PC game product for less than $US 30, because obviously it has been done.

Warlords should cost 3x less than the stand alone AT LEAST!

Why?

That's an important question, as it seems to me what we're talking about here are preconceived notions. Right or wrong, we need to be on the same page before we can see any kind of a solution to something like this.

I have never spent $30 on a pizza, considering that a steak at Morton's cost only $45, I'd rather pay the extra money and enjoy their superior food.

The point is that Warlords costs less than a good meal. And not a 4-star restraurant meal, just your average go-out-to-dinner meal.

Wodan

 

[Wodan]

Now, what is the justification for one of those going up 25% in cost, while the other goes up 50%?

Because, despite my analogy and rough guidelines, there are fixed costs and if they go up $5 to make a game product then they go up $5 for both.

I don't think this xp is worth $30

That's a value judgement and has nothing to do with how much it costs to make a game.

To me, what you're saying is, "I wish they had waited and spent some time to add more content, even if it would then cost more, say, $35." Which I can get on board with, though I'm fine with it as is, too. Still, it's natural for us to always want MORE.

Wodan

 

[Danicela]

I didn't mention the concept of fixed costs, but yes they are high. No, I didn't say you couldn't make a PC game product for less than $US 30, because obviously it has been done.

But according to you, the major part of the money goes to marketing system instead of Firaxis and then they can't make the cost lower by their own will.. i'm not sure of that.

Why?

Because it's an expansion and you need the stand alone first.
Because it adds like 3x less (or even less) features that had the stand alone.
Because.. i forgot.

preconceived notions

no, they are logical.

The point is that Warlords costs less than a good meal. And not a 4-star restraurant meal, just your average go-out-to-dinner meal.

The cost of food compared to video games are not to be discussed here...
We only do the comparison between the stand alone and Warlords.
That's why Warlords costs too much. (because it adds too few things compared to what added the stand alone)

That's a value judgement and has nothing to do with how much it costs to make a game.

Yes but the fact is that Warlords doesn't really worth 30.
It's the main topic of this thread.
Not to know how much it costs to make a game.

To me, what you're saying is, "I wish they had waited and spent some time to add more content, even if it would then cost more, say, $35." Which I can get on board with, though I'm fine with it as is, too. Still, it's natural for us to always want MORE.

It's just that for the cost, we don't get enough features and new things.

 

[Zebra 9]

In the stand alone version the starting screen is one of the most beautiful ever seen... Do you probably know a method how to change the screen back to the one of stand alone version I miss it so much

Yes, there is a way to do that if you would like I could publish it.

As for the pizza, I pay about $28 USD, & get 25 wings, large pizza. Oh, that is the best pizza & wings in the world.

I was just thinking. What if they charged $80 USD for vanila, would you pay 30 for Warlords.

 

[The Navy Seal]

What if they charged $80 USD for vanila, would you pay 30 for Warlords.

I would not even buy vanila at that price.

 

[Danicela]

No, if 50€ for the Stand alone is a correct price, an expansion would cost between 15 and 25, more surely 20. (but as Warlords is weak, it would be more between 10 and 20)

As for the pizza, I pay about $28 USD, & get 25 wings, large pizza. Oh, that is the best pizza & wings in the world.

lol a 28€ a pizza...

 

[Zebra 9]

Not 28€, it is $28 USD.
Oh, I forgot, it's free delivery.

 

[Danicela]

Not 28€, it is $28 USD.
Oh, I forgot, it's free delivery.

It's nearly the same...