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News Garry's Mod sales performance revealed

Discussion in 'Article Discussion' started by CardJoe, 8 Oct 2009.

  1. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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  2. ChaosDefinesOrder

    ChaosDefinesOrder Vapourmodder

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    it's quite simple economics - low cost items sell more units that high cost items, and you make more money selling many low cost items than you do selling a small number of high cost items. Something more games publishers should realise *ahem*modern warfare 2*ahem*

    I'll always maintain that the sweet spot for a full game (on PC) is £25, the sweet spot for premium DLC is £3 to £5 and add-ons such as skins or extra tracks should be £1 max

    just my views though obviously!
     
  3. fodder

    fodder Minimodder

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    Digital distribution removes the 'unit cost' argument almost completely (you still have to pay for bandwidth). So a unit has no real value to the manufacturer apart from development cost and something for future support. BUT the profit is now obtained by how much money you can get in the time the game is available. So, if you can get say 10,000 payments in a week at £10 or 5,000 at £15 then the cheap option wins as there is virtually no overhead on each unit sold.

    The clever bit is betting on whether you can sell the same amount of units at a higher cost over a longer period, and if your bank manager will fund it until you cover your development cost. The figures may look great selling 100,000 in one week at half price, but if that kills sales for the rest of the quarter you may as well sell at twice the price. As long as you sell 50,001 units in that quarter your better off.
     
  4. Dreaming

    Dreaming What's a Dremel?

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    I agree with Chaos really, although since I'm still a student and not in full time employment I guess my perspective is different. But then again, you can make the argument a good proportion of gamers won't be in full time employment as they're going to be guys between 13-25 mostly I am betting.

    Maybe that's why a lot of developers are focusing on games that attract wider audiences now. Increased willingness / ability to pay.
     
  5. infi

    infi What's a Dremel?

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    I have to agree with you on the first part, for me there's a certain price point I'm willing to pay for a game which is around 30-40 euros (that's why I'm importing all games from the UK), but those little extra add-ons consisting of only a skin or two should cost nothing imho, they should keep the customer happy and attached to the game and the company so they will buy new games again, not for making money (which in the long run is making money again, yeah I know).
     
  6. ChaosDefinesOrder

    ChaosDefinesOrder Vapourmodder

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    ah, but free is included in £1 max! certain extras you should pay for. extra songs on Rock Band and Guitar Hero should be paid for and should cost the same as an equivalent MP3 download because the artist should be paid for their work as that's what you're buying; an mp3 with quick time events on top.

    just a new costume should be free, but if it's a licensed costume, it's unfair to make the developer effectively cover the licensing cost themselves.
     
  7. Joeymac

    Joeymac What's a Dremel?

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    I wonder what the sales figures would be if the game had been £5.99 since release and the reduced it to £2.99 for a 8 days.
     
  8. Jaffo

    Jaffo What's a Dremel?

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    I think the most interesting thing is that if my rough calculations are right, it's made about £1.8m since it's release. They should rename it Garry's Minted!
     
  9. CardJoe

    CardJoe Freelance Journalist

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    He split the profits 50/50 with Valve in exchange for access to all their source code, IIRC.
     
  10. mjm25

    mjm25 What's a Dremel?

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    that one unnamed third party game was almost definitely Stalker Clear Sky, they dropped it to 4.99 and Steam almost imploded. i remember that weekend... i even bought it and never got round to playing it! (plus i did a report on digitial distribution and all the dates matched up) check me out!
     
  11. Blademrk

    Blademrk Why so serious?

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    typo?

    That's quite a boost in sales.
     
  12. logan'srun

    logan'srun following the footsteps of giants

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    funny how this is on the front page with Gearbox saying valve = evil and takes advantage of the small dev's. Is anyone asking Gary if he's upset?
     
  13. SMIFFYDUDE

    SMIFFYDUDE Supermodders on my D

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    Someone should show Activision this.
     
  14. Star*Dagger

    Star*Dagger What's a Dremel?

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    Actually the average age is much higher, and with elite level games like EVE it is in the 30s.
    PC Gaming requires 500 euros a year at a bare minimum, and the ability to keep upgrading. The ages you are talking about are buying the "cheap" consoles and then buying the console games.

    Yours in PC Gaming forever Plasma,
    Star*Dagger
     
  15. Lepermessiah

    Lepermessiah What's a Dremel?

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    U do not need to upgrade every year, that is a BS myth, i have not upgrade mt PC for 2 years, i max every game out, as PC tech moves ahead, it is cheaper and cheaper to platy games on high settings then ever. 500 euros a year? What are u smoking? Sure you can if you WANT to, but you certainky do not. my upgrade cycle is close to every 2 years, and I always play games on their highest settings, and it si NOT expensive, I sell my old stuff on ebay, youd be surprised how chape it is to maintain a good gaming rig.
     
  16. SMIFFYDUDE

    SMIFFYDUDE Supermodders on my D

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    Im using a PC Athlon 64 3500+ PC with a 8800GTS 512 on a 24" monitor. If AA is turned off the only game I own that stesses it is ARMA. I don't have any DX10 games on it admittedly but then again i haven't been wowed enough to buy any of the handfull that exist. Its overdue an upgrade for sure, but not doing so until next year.

    Lepermessiah is right, 2 year upgrade cycle is more accurate. Only spend 500 euros a year if you like sitting in front of benchmark software with your pants around your ankles knocking out some PC Gaming forever Plasma.
     
  17. ZERO <ibis>

    ZERO <ibis> Minimodder

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    One of the big things that makes the sales work is that it helps promote the game. People that may not have ever even bought it go oh well it is on sale and it ends soon so I got to act now. This is why sales work better than simply having a lower price even when unit cost is not a big issue.
     
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