[Dragar]

Digital distribution issues aside, which I know next to nothing about, I don't know what the fuss is about the price.. maybe it's because games are so overpriced here in australia, but this was a lot cheaper than most games I'd find in a store. In terms of impulse buying, surely this isn't the kind of game that many people buy on impulse?

It is exactly because of the kind of game it is and the depth in gameplay alongside fairly primitive graphics that is why I don't see its value diminishing over time. Graphics were never the selling point, as they are in a lot of modern games. Gameplay is where dominions shine and that hasn't degraded relative to the competition whatsoever since it was released. It's one thing for a flashy new game with mint graphics built for the latest video cards, which 2 years down the track are outdone by newer games, but Dominions is still just as desirable to its niche audience, especially with all of the patch updates.

I also don't think you can really say there are lots of TBS fantasy alternates by pointing to a non-commercial mod (Civ 4's fall from heaven) or game that hasn't even hit beta (elemental), while HOMM is a very different game and hasn't had a new release for a couple of years now.