Right Price for Shareware

[Jake]

Ok I am trying to figure out what price to charge for most shareware games.

Here is a note to everyone about the games I will be makeing. There not top notch quality, they will be 2D games with graphics and sound simular to Escape (but better, Escape was my first "real" game). The gameplay will hopefully be good compared to other shareware games.

I realy don't know how much to charge. $5 won't make me much money, $10 is about what it costs to go to walmart and get a decent game, and $15 I think is too much.

Please don't tell me "It depends on the game", tell me something more specific.

[furballphat]

I'd go even lower at about $3. The only shareware game I have ever bought was Airburst, and it sold at around this price. There are countless other games going for $10 - $30 which I have not bought, but would gladly buy at $3.

[Zachary]

I'd start out very cheap, about $5 or less, and then as you become better known and start producing better and better games, raise the price to $10.

[Zwilnik]

$5-$10 works out as 'pocket money' prices, Airburst sells for $5 at the moment (we tried Bushfire at $3 but too many people complained it wasn't expensive enough!).

It does depend upon the game though. When it's ready, compare it to other games on the market, including budget commercial games, before deciding on a price.

[David]

Or you could say that to register you must pay between $1 and $10

This way you would probably get more registrations, and you would get what people are willing to pay. Anyways it would be worth a try.

[Jake]

Originally posted by David
Or you could say that to register you must pay between $1 and $10

This way you would probably get more registrations, and you would get what people are willing to pay. Anyways it would be worth a try.

I like that idea. Is there a way for me to use Paypals Shopping Cart thing to have it automaticaly email them the CD key after they pay for it? Or is that hard to do with PHP/CGI?

Or could I just have a link sent to them in a automatic email confirming payment? I don't know much about web programming :(

[MattDiamond]

Originally posted by Jake
I like that idea. Is there a way for me to use Paypals Shopping Cart thing to have it automaticaly email them the CD key after they pay for it? Or is that hard to do with PHP/CGI?

Or could I just have a link sent to them in a automatic email confirming payment? I don't know much about web programming :(

Services like Kagi will handle payments and registrations for you... for a fee. If you search the forums for "kagi" you will find mention of them and competing services, and maybe get a sense of whether they are worth your while.

[w_reade]

I like the $1-10 system, but some people will just abuse it insultingly - I recall Carlos mentioning on some other thread someone who wanted to donate $1 to the site, and had it explained that all that money would be taken in fees (PayPal I believe), and still wanted to give $1 - so make sure you set your minimum price at a level where you actually see some money (even if not very much).

The disadvantage of the system could be that people may see the sliding scale and think that "you don't mind how much money you get", which they can all-too-easily rationalise into meaning "you don't mind not getting any money at all". Possibly you could simply ask for a donation of at least $5, and not specify an upper limit at all... you might get the odd guy deciding it's worth $15 to him.

And pigs might fly, they'll just see the $5 and pay $5. Maybe $5 - $15? A sliding scale, but with a profitable lower bound and an upper bound to encourage spontaneous generosity?

There's a lot you can suggest with a few numbers...

Although, about the word "donation" - if you're charging for your software (which is fine) I'm not going to be likely to "donate" to you. It's just gut instinct, really. Were I rich and angelic, I might donate to you if you made really really good freeware, but probably not otherwise.

I seem to have convinced myself that a sliding scale is a bad idea. Of course, it's up to you, but I think that a starting price point of $5 for your first games, gradually climbing in $5 increments, as you produce bigger-better-faster-more games over the years, is probably your best answer. Having a definite price has an advantage.

A few years ago, a restaurant opened in London, whose gimmick was that you paid what you thought your meal was worth. Funny, I haven't heard anything of them since :rolleyes: :p.

[Carlos Camacho]

Ah, but it DOES depend on your game!

Aaron is too right (dev of Airburst). Airburst seems to be the hit shareware of the last year or so. But remember, Aaron works as a professional developer so Strange Flavour is his outlet (should I say fun?) Correct me if I am wrong, but you also priced it due to some rules with your employer. I say this because not every business model will work for every developer! Do you all get my point?

I think the following is in David Starks' (soon to be released) article on Shareware....

Think of a game, and what it means to your customer. How much enjoyment will they get from it? For example, game play hours and addiction/loyalty? A game that has loyalty and addiction is much more apt to do better in the long run, so you can factor that in. (ie You will make money on the game for a few years) A game that wears out quick will translate to people paying when it is first released and then traffic will go down slowly as time goes on.

Next thing to think about is the COMPETITION. I think many developers don't think on this when they price a game! Check out versiontracker for how many tetris and columns game there are. Many. Some cost $$ and some cost nothing. You really have to think on this.

(Aaron made a game based on an old classic, but added a lot of value to it. So, there is nothing like it on the Mac market... at the moment.)

I'm a game player, I like Pong. I see a Pong game for $10 and I see another Pong game for free. Both have the same quality (sometimes the free one is better!) What would make the gamer pay for your version? It must have better value and gameplay.. period! I don't think you are going to get much money from people saying "Although the other Pong is better and free, I feel sorry for you, so here is my $10." (This reminds of donations for iDevGames. When I said, "We need $XXXX dollars to reach a goal, I got donations to get there. But now I get $0, as people don't see a "goal" each month... just my wife ;) )

Be realistic! Going back to how much entertainment value (first point), consider your competition not only other games but other forms of amusement. If you think your game will provide 100s of hours of gameplay, you should consider that. A movie provides how many hours in comparison? I could see myself (and I did) pay for a shareware RPG just because the game could provide years of game play. (I'm a slow gamer :) )

Next are your costs. Some are fixed and some will change over time. Factor in processing fees and hosting fees. Use a spreadsheet to see IF I SELL NNN GAMES, AND MY COSTS ARE MMM, WHAT CAN I PRICE MY GAME AT? Very simple. Of course easier if you have a few games under your belt so that you can use historical data.

Someone mentioned PayPal. I once got a donation for $1 for iDevGames. I asked the person, "Did you make a mistake?" He said "No." I didn't know what to think. The processing fee turned that $1 to zero. So, did he help the site in anyway? (It's the thought that counts??!?! --> Carlos going to the server company "I don't have money this month to pay, can I pay with "thoughts?") So, check out what it will cost to process your game. Sounds like YOU should go the KAGI way. There are Paypal shopping carts but if you don't know much web programming, then you may have trouble. (There are great turn-key products but they cost $$$)

I'm not sure what to think when I see from $1 to $10. I would say, don't do it. Now, if you want me to make your decision, then I say $0 for your first game. Doesn't matter the level, unless we are talking about uDG 2002 Best Overall Game. In fact, if your game didn't finish in say the top 20, I think you will have trouble selling it. I see too many games that are NOT ready for the public and lack polish to be sold for money. So MAKE a name for yourself first. Then start at $5 and when you are at Strange Flavour level, go for $10. If the project is EPIC in scale, ie its around 80MB and will be played for a good 2 years for sure (ie like Escape Vel.) then go for $20. Remember that budget AAA games can be had for $15 to $20 these days though.

As for advice to start the price at AA and then increase it to BB. Don't. Why? You put your game up. Inside is a registration form. It says $5. That game goes around the world and a few months later you want to ask for $10. But you have all these people with copies that say $5. So guy A is paying $5 and guy is paying $10. Never screw customers, as brand loyalty is the MOST important part of being a developer.

BTW... Some people didn't like the interview with the CEO of Extreme games. But here is something interesting. Most of the games they sell look BAD (sorry to say). AmbrosiaSW games are vastly better, yet they (made) a lot of money. Which goes to prove "There's a Window's gamer born every minute."

Ok, I'm at lunch so the above hasn't been "proofed" so expect rambling and contradictions.

Summary: Make your game, put it up for download for this community and then make a poll on the price. I think uDG this year was great because of how devs were helping devs!

Cheers

[w_reade]

Just to mention - I wasn't suggesting you ever change the price for a game, I was just suggesting that once he'd made a few games he'd probably be producing new games that were better enough than the earlier ones that he could charge more.

[David]

Just a comment...

You make more $$ if you get one registration for a $10 game than if you get a hundred thousand downloads of a free one.

[Jake]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, I have decided to NOT use kagi because of there 1.25 + 5% fee (that 1.25 is alot if im charging $5). I am currently debating between a Choose You Own Price idea (no 1-10$ scale), or a fixed rate of $5 for my first game, then change the price after that. I need to find a way to accept payment and have a autoreply from paypal with a cd key to enter

As for that $1.00 donation that turned into 0 after fees, HOW??? My paypal charges something like 2% or something small, with no fixed $$$ + that %.

[David]

Suggestion, use Kagi AND Paypal. Then you get more registrations. The paypal ones will give you more, but the Kagi ones are better than nothing. Or just charge an extra $1 for kagi users.

[Josh]

You could be bold and try Reg.net. I posted a news story about it a week or so ago. I don't recall how their rates compared to Kagi, though... If you do end up using them, please tell us how it goes! :)

[Zwilnik]

suggestion. avoid PayPal like the plague. They are very dodgy and have been hacked several times now.

Try Amazon's z-shops, or Reg.now (PomPom games use Reg.now and they tell me it works well for them).

[Zachary]

What's wrong with the postal service? :p

[w_reade]

What's wrong with the postal service is: People need to get pen, paper, envelope, stamp, maybe print out a form, and then leave the house to send it off. Any one of those steps is a chance for them to think "oh, I can't be bothered".

Compare and contrast: Connect to internet, go to a site, type in a few numbers. No contest.

The easier it is to register, the more registrations you'll get. A postal option would be good for those without the internet (as long as they can actually get your game somehow), if you can be bothered to deal with it all yourself, which you'd probably have to.

[Carlos Camacho]

>What's wrong with the postal service?
Disgrunted workers with shotguns?

I'll bite, what's wrong?

[FCCovett]

I put a form on my web-site asking how much they were willing to pay for my game, ranging from $5 to $30, and the average price response fell between $15 and $20.

Now, try to use eSellerate.net as your online shop. I am very happy with the quality of their services, and they also have developed partnerships with portals like Tucows. Very convenient.

As for postal services, we have a new mailman here and he dropped my sales paycheck into my neighbor's box, who thought the cheque was his tax return... :)

Anyway, I got the cheque, finally.

[Jake]

Originally posted by FCCovett

Now, try to use eSellerate.net as your online shop. I am very happy with the quality of their services, and they also have developed partnerships with portals like Tucows. Very convenient.


That looks like what I am going to use, Thanks