What price fun?

I thought for a while about why I like certain types of games one week and the next I might have a different sort of craving I need to satisfy. The thing is, I couldn't really formalise it in anyway except for 'sometimes I likes one thing, sometimes I likes another.' That doesn't make a very good blog post so instead I'll talk about pricing for downloadable games, specifically in XBLA, because that's what I know most about.

I'm starting to think using a points system is a mistake, because it seems to make people forget how good value a lot of these games actually are. 4,000 Xbox Live points is the equivalent to about £34, which in turn is approximately the retail price of a new game. For 4,000 points you can buy five 800 point games. Or you could buy two 1,200 point games and two 800s. Or the most expensive XBLA game for 1,600 points (Penny Arcade Adventures Episode 1 - and very lengthy for an episodic title, at that) and still have enough left over to buy a 1,200, 800 and 400.
Some of the games that could be placed into the above bundles include ones that are full priced on handheld systems (such as Puzzle Quest, Lumines, Exit and arguably Worms), were once full priced and have aged really well or been updated, (such as Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Rez HD and Sensible World of Soccer) and many of the completely new titles are ones can be enjoyed as much as any full price game you care to mention (such as Geometry Wars 2, Penny Arcade Adventures and it looks like Braid, coming out tomorrow, could well be another to add to that list)

I hope that at least puts the pricing somewhat into perspective. What people are most worried about, though, is price inflation. XBLA released with a lot of cheap and small Arcade titles, low on features and only occasionally high on fun (such as with the original Geometry Wars). People understandably took 400 points to be the entry price for XBLA games but actually it has become obvious now that 800 points is more the standard - with 400 being reserved for the quick and dirty arcade ports or games with too few features to justify a higher tag.

After 1,200 point games and now 1,600 point ones started emerging, people are concerned that it's some sort of upward trend. I'm not sure it is, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, there are other variables involved. For example, the raising of the cap on filesize for XBLA games has enabled games of greater size and complexity to come out and so it seems only fair that these would carry a higher price tag and that more games for 1,200 or even above would start (and indeed have started) to emerge. Secondly, the decisions about pricing have been fairly consistent through this change. Older arcade games are still 400, while games with higher production values, length, etc. are often nudged up to 1,200. There have been a few exceptions to this where something has been priced surprisingly high but it mostly holds true.

The bottom line, though, is that even if we started to see more of a trend toward a 1,200/1,600 pricing scheme and away from 800/1,200, we'd still be getting a good deal - just not the truly great one we're getting at the moment. I think it's time we started recognising that and celebrating the many great games that are available and continue to be developed as I write. Roll on Braid (this Wednesday, 1,200 points).