The people who are buying games permanantly are also complaining, but it is because of an incorrect paradigm on the consumer’s part. They will pay $60 for an entire boxed game, but not $20 for a downloaded game. Why?

I think it is because people have come to expect 2 price ranges depending on the game, (this is excluding DLC). Downloaded games people expect to be from $5-15 dollars, because that is where the typical price is. It goes the same with the boxed games. If a boxed retail game was listed at $70 instead of $60, people will be less likely to buy the $70 dollar game. Simply because they will think ‘Man, this game is expensive, maybe I should get Game B instead…’.

Regardless of what Braid has to offer, people will still cringe at the price tag because it is out of the norm. It is more expensive than other games, and the typical person will be less likely to research what exactly this game offers that explains the price tag.

The problem does not lie on Braid’s developers, or anyone for that matter, the problem is just what has become common on the online marketplace. Until that changes, 20 dollar games will not sell as much if they are aiming at the general public, (PA was an exception, because in my opinion that game was aimed at the hardcore audience).

In other words, Braid would have sold the same # of units at $10 than they would have at $20. There are no metrics which show that there is a discernable difference in sales between the two. If there was, “Greatest Hits” games would cost less than $19.99.

I would like to know the average age of the people complaining. My feeling is that it is a younger group that does not possess the disposable income but are wired in and ready to complain, a.k.a. teenagers. At present I had no issues purchasing Braid, but when I was 15 then 15 dollars would have been a hard bit of cash to come buy. Now I can save $15 dollars by not drinking a couple beers when I go out.

To complicate things a bit further XBLA itself presents an interesting challenge because of the purchasing mechanism. In order to purchase points then you need a credit card. I would argue that the system in place there is set more for the adult gamer. Braid and Penny Arcade adventures struck me as games geared more for that group, so pricing them at 15-20 dollars made sense. That group can use the delivery mechanism with minimal difficulty and has the disposable income to purchase the product.

On the flip side, the mechanism in place for buying say a 40-60 dollar game is frankly easier to use for a 15 year old kid. Save up your allowance, go to the store, buy your game. As you touched on, when you are done with it, bring it back and get credit towards another purchase.

So in the end I think it is not the price point that is the real culprit here, people are buying the games. I think it is the delivery mechanism used that is more of the issue.

It’s simply not worth the intellectual effort to examine the bitching about pricing for wet edge, portal, braid or too many colors in diablo 3.

To see so many publications get interview time with Jonathon Blow these past days — and then so thoroughly waste it by talking about -pricing- is depressing.

Our community apparently has no -clue- how to deal with the kinds of meaningful games we claim to desire. We clearly have no apparatus for appreciating and digesting what’s important; no organ to filter trivial bullshit out of our attention.

This is why we can’t have nice things.