Trine PC Priced at $40?

[FB_Lauri]

My "cheap shots" are not aimed on anyone, and if they are, it's the Steam "community" which seems to be a bit ungrateful sometimes

We also know perfectly well what weekend deals can make as we have had one with Shadowgroundses. I'm sure we have one with Trine, but it really isn't the smartest move to begin with. We'll see when the time is right.

However, current price seems to be fair for most, as it's in-between the "instant buy" and "waiting for torrents"

What comes to piracy in general, we are in a lucky position for "indie" for being able to develop for both Xbox 360 and PS3 as well.

[Denamic]

Considering $40 is a whopping 2 hours of work for me, I'm not exactly in shock and horror by the price.
Adding to that the fact that I realize what the economy's like and that a smallish developer like Frozenbyte (no offence) has to stand up against giants.
I'm also European and used to pay $90 for games.
Yes, we pay $90 for games.

[FlukeRogi]

Yeah trine can do good with this price, but it could do ways better with lower price, however again lowering later means RIPPING fans like me now.
If next time that will happen i will happily pirate next FB title. Fair exchange.

How pathetic. If you buy a film on dvd only for it to come down in price a few months later, do you then pirate the next film you were going to buy because you were ripped off with the previous one? Get a grip - you're not being ripped off now. You're not being forced to buy the game immediately. Anyone who spends time and effort producing anything has the right to charge whatever they want for it. By your logic, I should go out and shoplift my next graphics card as my current one is now on sale for half the price I paid for it, and Intel should owe me a free CPU given the money I've spent on those in the past.

Hell, I'm a fan of the Final Fantasy games for example, but I don't bitch that every time a new one is released that it isn't cheaper than the previous one. Just because I'm a fan of something doesn't give me any right to expect that I should be treated to some some sort of special concession. If you're going to pirate FB's games, then as they've said, there's nothing they can do about it, but at least stop trying to justify why it's ok to be a thief.

[Gnoupi]

It's incredible how the "indie" move went, recently, thanks to (and that's the kicker) the publishers and marketing people.
Before, independent games were what they were, games made by a few people, without publisher, without a corporation-like environment.

Now, when salespersons noticed the success of some of them (and I stress that point, SOME of them, because for one World of Goo, there are hundreds of games which will stay unknown), they took the "indie" word, and marketed it as a new "genre" (example of "indie" category on Steam, who cares to browse games like that ? "indie" is not a type of game).
The worst is, especially with PSN, XLBA, and in general online distributors, they put everything in this ! All crappy little games, now are labeled "indie", almost as an excuse : "Ok, it's short, feels unfinished, and it's crappy, but hey, we're indie, bare with us !"

Trine is not an independant game, though it feels like this, if opposed to blockbusters with hundreds of developers. (and I mean it feels more "human" and friendly, like someone actually loved that game when making it, and not simply peed their code all day long without any goal)

But anyway, it's impressive to see, on Steam, or here, people complaining. Now, with all cheap games (which are not selling if they are more expensive than a "happy meal"), and with all "weekend deals", people just got spoiled and even more stupid. Now, they are ready to pay 70 euros for the latest blockbuster game for their PS3/xbox/PC sometimes.... But they complain about any game over 10 euros when it's not one of these things.
People lost even value of games, with that. They will complain about 8euros, they will be attracted by a "less than one euro" reduction price...
The same people would buy a magazine for 8 euros, read it in 10 minutes, and put it away, in less time than they wonder about if some game would be too expensive or not.

And I understand that FB can get tired and disgusted by this. Because of such trend, people are like saying "ok, ok, your game is not Arma 2, it's not Gears of war, so why should i even give you money or that ?"
It's like saying (and in fact saying it even directly, like in earlier pages) : your game is not a great game, I won't pay more than 10euros for it.

Their game IS worth the price, but people are just so glad to complain on forums, and to "push their consumer power" with "This game is not worth it, i will not pay it more than...."
How do you know even what is worth what, stupid people ?

[kolorabi]

I only said that Trine was lacking in the value-for-money department, nothing more. Even if you honestly believe that it outdoes ARMA2, Street Fighter 4, The Witcher, etc. you could just agree to disagree with my opinion, no need for cheap shots.

Interesting choice of examples there. First of all, ArmA II and The Witcher are far from the norm in terms of how much content they offer. A large proportion, maybe the majority, of full-price games offer less than 10 hours of linear gameplay. If ArmA II and The Witcher had been representative of full-price mainstream games, then you would have had a point. But they're not. Terminator Salvation, X-Men Origins, stuff like that, would have been more representative.

And then there's Street Fighter 4. Which is... well, it's a 2D 1 on 1 fighter with 3D graphics. The first SF-game I bought came on a cassette tape, and the formula hasn't really changed very much since then (and it hasn't changed at all since SF2). It's one of the simplest concepts in gaming. So why is it acceptable for SF4 to be full-price, and not for Trine?

Again, I think it's a preconceived notion about how much certain types of games are supposed to be worth. Which I think is sad as this widespread idea hurts variety in mainstream gaming.

[SGR]

You mentionned Braid, that costs 20$ for a 2 hours gameplay with not good replay value.

Wow, you are good.
In other words: lol.

[DarkJee]

You mentionned Braid, that costs 20$ for a 2 hours gameplay with not good replay value.

Wow, you are good.
In other words: lol.

Sorry but Braid is really short: 6 levels

[Gnoupi]

You mentionned Braid, that costs 20$ for a 2 hours gameplay with not good replay value.

Wow, you are good.
In other words: lol.

He exaggerated probably a bit with the 2 hours, but it's for sure no more than a few hours.
And for sure the replayability is unexistant.

One thing I like about Trine, is that after playing several times the same level in demo, I realized how many ways I had, to pass a puzzle.
Braid is a good game, artistic, nice concept and else (i quite liked it, especially the ending), but it has no replayability at all, it's a fact.
For a simple reason, most puzzles from it are perfectly timed. There is only one way to solve them, and on the exact same timing each time.

With Trine, I could easily let myself replay a level, just to try it another way

[vividbox]

Wow, I'm not even going to bother reading the last couple pages because this is insane. You people are crying about 40 bucks for a game that should be the standard 50/60? Have you people even played the demo before claiming it should be within the 10-20 dollar range?

And if you have - then what is your logic? Because they're labeled "indie?" Did you check the game out? It doesn't look indie to me. It looks pretty damn professional. Actually, if I had to be more specific, I'd say there are many professional games that don't even come close to this.

This game is one of the most refreshing games I've played. Amazing graphics, great story, great voice acting. If you don't think it's worth the money, then don't buy it. Pretty simple.

Now then, let's give it 1920x1080 support and we'll be good to go.

[DarkJee]

Because they're labeled "indie?" Did you check the game out? It doesn't look indie to me. It looks pretty damn professional. Actually, if I had to be more specific, I'd say there are many professional games that don't even come close to this.

Actually indie games are becoming more professionnal than big games, thats why I love indie game, indie gaming is the future of video game! Indie term doesnt mean "little game", that only want to say the game was made with love and passion, not with money

And I agree this game is a perl

[Syrijon]

According to Shacknews.com, Trine will cost half the PC-price on the PS3, $20 that is: http://www.vg247.com/2009/06/29/trine-p ... hat-of-pc/

That's what I call extreme. I can understand the decision, this thread alone very much shows what I suppose has led to it, but I still feel very uncomfortable about it. And I'm sure other PC-players will be a lot less happy, feeling like they have been ripped off.

[bibi]

According to Shacknews.com, Trine will cost half the PC-price on the PS3, $20 that is: http://www.vg247.com/2009/06/29/trine-p ... hat-of-pc/

That's what I call extreme. I can understand the decision, this thread alone very much shows what I suppose has led to it, but I still feel very uncomfortable about it. And I'm sure other PC-players will be a lot less happy, feeling like they have been ripped off.

do console players feel ripped off when they have to pay $60 for a game that pc gamers usually pay $39-49? i don't know. yes i understand there are many people who want to bitch cry and moan about everything and certainly will after hearing these news. but since i have a job good enough to pay for my hobby, im very happy to support frozenbyte. essentially frozenbyte is getting ripped off by this low price.

[FB_Lauri]

According to Shacknews.com, Trine will cost half the PC-price on the PS3, $20 that is: http://www.vg247.com/2009/06/29/trine-p ... hat-of-pc/

That's what I call extreme. I can understand the decision, this thread alone very much shows what I suppose has led to it, but I still feel very uncomfortable about it. And I'm sure other PC-players will be a lot less happy, feeling like they have been ripped off.

According to Shacknews, PSN version will cost $20, source: http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?story=59321

At the moment the cheapest PC versions are nowhere near 39,95, so the "double" talk is a bit early in this case

(But yes, PSN version seems to be the cheapest indeed)

[Nygovtsky]

According to Shacknews.com, Trine will cost half the PC-price on the PS3, $20 that is: http://www.vg247.com/2009/06/29/trine-p ... hat-of-pc/

That's what I call extreme. I can understand the decision, this thread alone very much shows what I suppose has led to it, but I still feel very uncomfortable about it. And I'm sure other PC-players will be a lot less happy, feeling like they have been ripped off.

do console players feel ripped off when they have to pay $60 for a game that pc gamers usually pay $39-49? i don't know. yes i understand there are many people who want to bitch cry and moan about everything and certainly will after hearing these news. but since i have a job good enough to pay for my hobby, im very happy to support frozenbyte. essentially frozenbyte is getting ripped off by this low price.

Games are generally more expensive on the console than a PC due to the extra development costs. Generally, dev kits have to be bought for each console and a variety of other factors. Console players typically have little reason to feel ripped off, when their games require far more resources.

[Ark]

Game's on console cost more because Microsoft and Sony get royalty's, whereas on PC nobody owns the platform.

This talk about Trine being half price on PSN compared to PC is abit of a disappointment though.

[Syrijon]

According to Shacknews, PSN version will cost $20, source: http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?story=59321

At the moment the cheapest PC versions are nowhere near 39,95, so the "double" talk is a bit early in this case

(But yes, PSN version seems to be the cheapest indeed)

Oh, okay, I just took the price mentioned in the thread's title for granted.

The main "problem" for me would then actually be the difference between the dollar and euro price. The Steam version costs $30 for Americans, but 30€ for most Europeans, and as you said the PSN version will likely also cost 20 $ and € alike.
Do you have any information on why the $ and € prices aren't at least somewhat equal?

[FB_Lauri]

The main "problem" for me would then actually be the difference between the dollar and euro price. The Steam version costs $30 for Americans, but 30€ for most Europeans, and as you said the PSN version will likely also cost 20 $ and € alike.
Do you have any information on why the $ and € prices aren't at least somewhat equal?

I could blame our publisher, previous US president and a number of other "evils" making simple, honest developer's life such a pain ...

But I also see why it is that way, the euro price is the "correct" price (we pay to our employees in euros) and the dollar price is a discount for US people so they could survive the economical crisis and maybe get usd:eur to 1:1 some very sunny day

(Back when Frozenbyte was founded 1 usd actually was something like 1,03 euros!)

[Syrijon]

I could blame our publisher, previous US president and a number of other "evils" making simple, honest developer's life such a pain ...

But I also see why it is that way, the euro price is the "correct" price (we pay to our employees in euros) and the dollar price is a discount for US people so they could survive the economical crisis and maybe get usd:eur to 1:1 some very sunny day

(Back when Frozenbyte was founded 1 usd actually was something like 1,03 euros!)

Surely I didn't mean to complain, I just honestly wondered about it. Still, it's not like the economic crisis only affects the USA

[hvkasteren]

But I also see why it is that way, the euro price is the "correct" price (we pay to our employees in euros) and the dollar price is a discount for US people so they could survive the economical crisis and maybe get usd:eur to 1:1 some very sunny day

Well, that makes me feel a lot better. I'm expected to pay 20% more than US people, just because they're suffering from the same crisis we are. I know this is probably a publisher decision, but a defense like this only makes it worse.

[lowhonor]

your pricing makes no sense. why would someone purchase it on pc when its half the price on the PSN and presumably on XBLA as well. people on pc will get angry and simply pirate the game considering this unfairness. and maybe they are justified in being angry since they are essentially getting screwed over.

dont mention the current 29.99 steam deal because obviously the greater majority of people will not take part in it and it is only temporary.

as i mentioned in another thread, to purchase a 20 dollar psn game it requires an individual to get TWO psn cards because of the tax. (i am aware there are users who simply enter their credit card information, but i like MANY ps3 users do not purcahse anything without a card.) thats just unncessary an completely avoidable if a developer just thought about it for a second. no one wants to go through that much trouble to purchase a PSN title.

if this gets released at the same time as fat princess or even something like zombie apoclypse it will not get many sales. the game has no hype. no post on the official playstation blog about imminent release? when a person sees a 9.99 game versus a 19.99 game, what are they going to pick?

as far as the price per amount of gameplay is concerned it also seems unbalanced. as mentioned numerous times, crash commando is 9.99 and has far greater value. presumably fat princess will also follow suit. bionic commando rearmed also had a price that made sense (even got it on sale for 9.99 at one point.)

people also seem to compare the game to braid. yes braid was short and YES braid was NOT worth the money. no matter how highly rated a game is it comes down to the cost to content ratio. the demo of trine has 2 levels correct? it barely took that much time to complete it. how much longer is 15 levels? the coop is the saving grace here otherwise the price is not matching the content. maybe some collectables or so called multiple ways to complete the levels based on your characters and combinations.

as for production values, yes the game looks good, but no it doesnt look good enough to warrant a price comparable to full budget titles and fully featured.

i want this game to succeed and sell well but the pricing is simply unreasonable for the product that we are getting.

[Mr. ShadowStealer]

Lowhonor.

If you don't feel like buying the PC version and want to pay only 20€ for PS version, then go ahead and do so.

Also notice that this game price is still less than in most cases it would. Normally games cost 50€ on PC and 60€ on consoles.

And finally, if you don't feel like supporting Frozenbyte by buying this cheaper game than other retail games and getting more in-depth gameplay experience, feel free not to do so.

So why you come here and bitch about the price if you are already saying that you will pirate it for PC? Doesn't that say that you are caring about the game and want to play it but you just don't want to pay at it?

Just get the PS version if you want to get the game on cheap or keep your mouth shut and don't buy the game then. Simple as that. Not to meantion the price will come down after a few months...

There are tons of messages already about the price and I'm starting to get sick of them. I want to say to people that just download the free demo which is already available before the actual full game, and test it out and decided whether or not it is worth the 20€ or 30€ price and then buy it. Simple as that. Frozenbyte's team consists of human beings too and they need money to live and to me the 30€ price tag for PC AT THIS POINT is cheap when you compere the quality of graphics, sounds, gameplay, idea of the game, story and the depth of this game.

Very many modern retail games made by EA or some other companies aren't worth even this 30€ because their gameplay depth and experience is as flat and weak as a wet paper.

Frozenbyte truly decerves their 30€.

Buy it or don't. Don't come here to bitch at the price, their publisher made the final decission. Go on their site to bitch about this, not here.

[Syrijon]

lowhonor, you are wrong in several respects.
Firstly, you can't just compare the content of one game to another and say that they have to be priced accordingly. Maybe you only pick games totally depending on the time it takes you to play through it, not at all taking into account how much fun you actually have, how charming it is, how innovative or creative the design it. But, hopefully most people don't. I, for example, thought Braid was absolutely worth its price, even though it is only a few hours long. Why? Because it's an outstanding, wonderful game in my opinion. And I expect no less from Trine. I will much rather pay for a game like this than another one out of which I might get 50 hours of play time, but without a single one of these hours coming even close to being as much fun as, for example, the demo of Trine was for me. And, just by the way, Trine is said to take 7-9 hours to play through once, and it's very likely dynamic enough to make me play through it several times. That's exactly the same amount of time most recent full-priced action games take to play through.
Another thing is that you can't just say "There is another good game that is cheaper, so yours mustn't be more expensive!". Only because there are cheaper games that doesn't mean that every single more expensive one is overpriced. I hope that goes without explanation.

Lastly, you could just think of the PC version's price being the "normal" price, as a developer stated. Maybe this won't make you feel better, but just consider that maybe if the PC version had the same price as the PS3 version, Frozenbyte would go bankrupt. I surely don't know if this is the case, but I guess it's true that the PC version isn't unusually expensive, but rather the PS3 version is just a bargain.

[fallacy]

I read the whole thread, had to register to put my "wordz" in. I'm gonna buy the game, demo impressed me. I also played and beat Braid, Zeno Clash, Bionic Commando, and a slew of others.
I'll be paying $30 on steam and that's not bad IMO.
But... what I just found out is that there is no online co-op, which burns me a lil as my friend and I were stoked to play this.. So that makes me want to punish the Dev's a lil by waiting til it drops down in price point. But I won't.. "A.D.D Must own now "will override my lil bitchness within me.

But u guys got 2 things going for u.

1) I love the comment by the Dev that "Trine might not be for you" (To the people bitching about the price).. That comment alone makes me want to buy it. So don't filter what we know you want to say to people, the kids bitching about the price will prolly torrent it anyways.
2) This is a game that's going to stay in your collection. Unlike Braid, which like others have said.. There's only one way to solve a puzzle. Trine looks to be different (I tried to make it through the whole thing with the thief... can't do it.. but I tried).. You'll see this game sitting in your Steam folder and be proud to own it.

I'm hoping for DLC. Patches that'll add online co-op (AAA titles have their own network stack to handle that, or they licence one, just remember that when u claim this can hang with a AAA title)

We're (Gamers) are also setting ourselves up for fail. If this title sells at that price point, that'll only push future publishers to set higher price points on "Indie" games, and will set a bad trend.

To those that like these kinda games I also suggest the "Another World" remake.
Good luck Dev's. You'll have my not so hard earned money. I'd just prolly blow it on replace/drugs and or rock and roll.

PZ

[SGR]

He exaggerated probably a bit with the 2 hours, but it's for sure no more than a few hours.
And for sure the replayability is unexistant.

Well, there are two possibilities.
1. He's a genius. Seriously. If it only takes you 2-3 hours to beat Braid you are a fu****g genius.
2. He played with youtube/gamefaqs walkthroughs i.e. he didn't play it at all.

As for the Trine pricing:
I won't buy it. At least not now. I don't like the dollar/euro conversion (yeah, euro is the real price, poor u.s., economy crysis, jaddajadda), I don't think it's fair that the console version is much cheaper, I just feel like we, the euro PC gamer, are the cash cow in this game.
I really like the design of the game an will buy it eventually, but not for the full price.

[Araris]

I won't buy it. At least not now. I don't like the dollar/euro conversion (yeah, euro is the real price, poor u.s., economy crysis, jaddajadda), I don't think it's fair that the console version is much cheaper, I just feel like we, the euro PC gamer, are the cash cow in this game.
I really like the design of the game an will buy it eventually, but not for the full price.

Euro is the real price? Any evidence to back that up? The US has a larger "various forms of electronics" market currently (Europe is catching up) and as such most forms of entertainment are offered cheaper. If you don't want to pay for the game that's fine and all, just no need to start listing a bunch of stuff. Also, what's with Europeans complaining about the dollar/euro conversion? You aren't getting paid in dollars, you get paid in euros. I'd care if you got paid in dollars and had to convert into Euros but I don't think that's how it works here on Earth. I don't go to a store, see a $50 game and say to myself, "Geez, €36 is a steal, I better buy it!".