You can't complain that this game is costly

[Sombre]

Well I've played AoW and time in dominions is going far over 20x what I played that with modding etc etc I can't imagine you spend as much time on AoW as you are doing on Dom 3 Sombre but if you say so..

I didn't say so or imply so. Did you actually read my post? I said Dom3 is one of my top games, but I am biased. When advising others in terms of game purchases, I would maintain a far more objective view, which is that Dom3 is not great value for money. How much time I spent on it isn't relevant. Hell I don't play AoW at all, but I recognise it's damn near as good as Dom3 at a fraction of the price.

I still think that for pplz into these kinds of games paying about 20 E extra for dominions compared to nearly all other games will give them MUCH more value for their coin.

Except that Dom3 costs more than an extra 20E over a huge number of excellent games.

Im not sure if this is the type of game which would make a really big jump in sales based only on the price. The number of players which would enjoy a game like this seems fairly fixed. Maybe if it was "prettier" by new game standards you could sell quite abit based on cost alone.

Well I just gave an example of people who would probably buy it if it was cheaper. My friends. Again, I'm not trying to tell Shrapnel how to do their job. I'm just unwilling to ignore topics like "You can't complain this game is costly"

I find the 'if you can't afford 50 bucks you're a joke' attitude in here pretty silly too. For one thing, it's far more than 50 bucks for a lot of people. I ordered dom3 when I was in China. Not only did it cost more than 50 bucks total, it also cost me a substantial chunk of my wages. Plenty of people won't spend 50+ on a game when there are far cheaper alternatives available, regardless of the 'just skip going out one night of the week' BS you spoiled students are coming out with. If you're going to compare it with the cost of other things, make them comparable eg. other strategy games that have been out as long as dom3 (or have other similarities).

[Gandalf Parker]

Everyone has something comparable they could give up. Maybe some Starbucks, or fast food,
or maybe a couple bags of herb.

[lch]

Or a liver or a kidney. Hell, everybody got at least two of them.

[thejeff]

Maybe I could not buy groceries, 4-5 days without food should cover it.
Or not buy gas for a week+, of course then I can't get to work, which sort of defeats the purpose...

Actually I had no real problem affording Dom3 when it came out, partly because I live pretty cheaply already, but I have to agree that this idea that everyone is casually blowing $50+ a week on entertainment or fast food is nonsense. There are a couple of fairly regular things I could cut back on before getting to food, but not a lot.

[Tifone]

C'mon guys! A week without weed and you can afford the game

(Joking, never used drugs)

[Aezeal]

Sombre I read your post.. but when giving your opinion you are supposed to be biased, they are asking your opinion aren't they . And for me my opinion is that giving 50 euro for Dominions is a better deal than spending it on 5 games (I could name a few) that in total would give me less satisfaction.

on the getting the cash by not spending it on other stuff: I think you are a bit harsh to students that happen to have cash or pplz with a decent job that can afford going out for 50 dollars (which I think is quite a large part of quite some nations) Well even 50 E can be reached by saving 5 E a week.. if you can't save 5 E a week on anything then you shouldn't be buying games at all I think since you have other stuff on your mind

PS I'm going to study now else dominions (this thread alone even) might cost me 1400 E when I don't succeed my advanced trauma life support course (yes I know it's way cheaper in the states but here it actually is 1400 E.. and my boss only pays if I succeed it.

I can afford not to mind 50 E once in a while but 1400 is a lot of money (anyone who disagrees can start donating cash right now)

[Beorne]

The issue has drifted away ... I wanted to say say that, yes, DomIII for 50 is costly. But almost any very good and new strategy game costs almost the same, and when the price drops it is mandatory to buy the epansions and when the price and the expansions will go budget there will be the n+1 release.
I'm currently playing EUIII, very good and well done game, but without the expansions the AI is simply silly.

[JimMorrison]

Originally Posted by Sombre

In a straight cost and time ratio it would lose by default to all the free games I've played. So that's not a sensible way of measuring the value for money.

Nonsense. Your computer is necessary hardware to play any game at all. Therefore, the cost of the initial purchase must be ameliorated out over the cost of each game/hour.

Placed in these terms, it makes the cost "reductions" of other, inferior games that much more ludicrous. It also makes a free flash game that you play for 3 hours and never look at again, utterly unable to compete against games that you put any real energy into.


In your case Sombre, I think it's pretty simple - you can gauge your friends' tastes. Either they won't get deeply enough into Dom3 to appreciate it at its fair price - or they will. I can't imagine that anyone who likes TBS fantasy wouldn't go head over heels for Dom3, just like the rest of us have.


So, while you can argue that the purchase of the software (and CD-key) required to play Dom3 is more expensive than the software of some other games, the stigma of "costly" erodes rapidly when you look closely enough at what you get, for what you pay.


Personally, I find it rare anymore that I purchase a game, and I'm happy with the amount of money exchanged, and what I got. Hell, I bought Sword of the Stars for $15 on Amazon, and I still felt ripped off. :P

[Archonsod]

When I pre-ordered Doms 3 it didn't cost me any more than the average game from the store (slightly cheaper in fact), but then I get to take advantage of currency fluctuations :P

(Weird thing was it managed to get from the US over here to the UK, pass through customs and reach my door within three days. Comparably, stuff posted from Jersey (the UK one, not the US) has been taking over a week to arrive since they brought in the anti-terror security. Makes me think there's something the government haven't been telling us )

Originally Posted by Beorne

To Sombre:
Al the other games I cited cost more than Dom3 if you take them complete (with the expansions)

To look at it another way, when you compare what (purely for example) Warlords added to Civ IV with the content added in the average Dominions update they're pretty much equal in terms of content added. Dominions updates are free though, whereas 2K Games wanted twenty quid for Warlords.

Personally though Dominions 3 has been one of the cheapest games I ever bought in terms of playing time vs. cost.

[Theonlystd]

I've beat this horse to death every time this debate comes up.


As long as the game costs basically 60 dollars comparable to games that have millions and millions in devlopment costs while looking like it does.. Then factor in its age.

I wont be able to get any one to purchase it..


And the whole Dom3 will give them the best cost to play ratio.. Thats a horrible argument cause not everyone will like dom3.. Its a great game for me but not something everyone is going to like. So they gotta take into account prices and such.