See here: http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/54/27603.html
Pay Per Play Nokia 7650 games go live, next month....
PLEASE! We have to organise a boycott of these hideously overpriced games and apps now before they think they can get away with it!
I can go to my local Games store and get PSX Original CDs for �9.99, ($14), and ive seen 7650 games for $20 already!!!
This is more than almost all the budget/older PC games in store and well over the PSX games.
Why on earth should we pay so much for these games? I spoke to many Korean developers at ECTS in london this year, and they were horrified at the costs of games here, In korea they sell phone games (already colour for ages!) for less than �2 ($3) ish.
If this pay-per-level system catches on because of stupid kids using mommies phone to pay for them there will be nothing but angry people and upset parents.
I for one refuse to pay this sort of money for tiny apps that are just quick ports of old 8bit computer games! I mean, REPTON???!!
Yes, I think you should pay for what you receive. They ask to much for some of these old games. I like what Noumena does, they offer those small games for free if you buy a other more advanced game from them!
Me too, I also refuse to pay for it .
<Devil's Advocate>
Why on earth should we pay so much for these games?
Ok, here's why:
Like everyone else, I like to get software for free. Freeware and Shareware programs are often excellent, though I don't find many games under this category.
Most people state that games are too expensive, though rarely can justify the claim. Clearly, they mean that too expensive means they want to pay less, though often they still buy the game all the same!
Before stating that a game is too expensive, how about considering what it takes for a company to make a game for a particular platform:
First of all, you've got a programmer. A fairly reasonable games programmer is likely to be able to command a salary of about �25000+ a year (probably more!). The development of a game for a console, or mobile phone is likely to take around half a year, so that's �12500 already.
On top of that, you may need an artist for a month or two, and a sound engineer. Now, all of these people have to have computers and expensive software to program the games; more expense!
That's the just the start of the initial financial layout. What about rent for the building they utilise, or the cost of the utilities such as electricity? All this adds up!
There are more expenses than I've mentioned here, but I'm sure you get the idea.
Now, consider that a game may take around �50 000 to make for a Series60 mobile and consider that of the very few Series60 devices, not everyone is going to buy your game. How many units of the game do you think you'll have to sell to just get back your initial layout costs, before you even start to make a profit? All this and we've not even discussed marketing costs!
PSX Original CDs for �9.99
Of-course you can get these so cheaply! The games for the PSX (not PS2) that are sold at this price originally started off at the price of around �19.99 or above. Once the initial costs are recovered, (if ever!), the lifetime of the sale of a game can be increased slightly by reduced sale costs. Not only that, when Sony brought out the PS2, it decreased the amount they charged for developers to make games for the PSX. Yes, that's right...Sony charge developers to make games for their consoles and a single developer's kit is in the thousands of pounds region!
Finally, compare the cost of a DVD to a simple computer game. A DVD for the UK price of �19.99 is likely to last around 2 hours of entainment. People play a good computer game for at least 3 or 4 times that amount of time.
So, considering all that, are games really that expensive, or does the price justify their cost?!
</Devil's Advocate>