You’re right to be confused by the above headline. Heck, I still am, but here's the bottom line: who wants to pay more for anything?
Amy is an interesting looking (and hopefully scary) horror game arriving next week on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network from developer VectorCell and publisher Lexis Numérique. As it stands, the game would be several dollars more on PSN than it would be on XBLA, and understandably, people complained.
The response was to poll potential consumers about the problem.
Amy would be 800 Microsoft Points ($10) on XBLA and $12.99 on PSN. The poll asks users if $12.99, nearly $3 more, “is a good [price].” Take a wild guess at the results.
Lexis Numérique CEO José Sanchis explained the difference in a press release, citing Microsoft’s “points” system as the reason for the price discrepency. Points have the same value worldwide, even if actual currency values are not the same. Sanchis points to 800 Points being $10 in the US, but 10 Euros overseas--or $12.8.
“Because we didn’t explain the situation, we understand the reaction of certain US PSN gamers who don’t understand why they should pay a little bit more than their friends who play on XBLA,” said Numérique.
The poll stands at 464 votes, as of this writing, with 71% voting in favor of changing the PSN price.
“Because we value the opinion of the community, we commit to apply the voters’ decision,” he continued.
If users demand the price should be changed, it will be changed. If that happens, and there’s no reason to think it won’t, the PSN release will be pushed back a week, as the change ripples through Sony. The XBLA version would still come out next week, however, as it currently has the lower price, and the poll would not impact it either way.
Thought some person's name was Amy Developer
Yeah... it's a weird one.
I- ..what?
Not gonna lie, I have no fucking clue what this article is about. Might be because I'm trying to read it while listening to the Radio Show though.
Who the fuck cares about $2-3? This is just another case of a bunch of kids raging on the forums about things they have absolutely no knowledge of.
Come on people! Yes the economy has gone to shit but it's only $3 more. If you own a Xbox 360 and are paying for live gold (Can you buy XBLA games with a non gold account?) and CAN"T spend a few extra bucks then you have much more serious problems.
@AlexW00d said:
Actually, it looks like American 360 owners were getting a better deal than Europeans and American PS3 owners. Now all Americans will get a better deal than Europeans, but American PS3 owners will get the game at least a week later.
If I were an American PS3 owner, I'd rather pay the extra $3 than wait while everyone else already gets to play the game on 360. However, I am European. So I probably get to wait longer to pay more. :-( Having said that, I don't think I'd be interested in this game either way. So I really have no reason to complain at all. :-P
I would totally pay more for something if I could afford it and felt invested in the well being of the seller or the project. I totally voted 15$ on that Bionic Commando Rearmed thing they did.
This going to be a good year for horror games. AMY, Alan Wake American Nightmare, Shadow of a Soul, can't wait!
Man the Xbox really does seem to mess up so many things for other consoles. I wonder if it's all kind of intentional.
$13 is already pretty cheap for a title like this. I was expecting it to be at least $20.
I don't mind the extra $3 for the psn one. Such a little thing to worry about when the game is already at a good price point. Also, I would rather pay the extra $3 than wait another week for release. That's just me though.
well that is if you were actually going to get it to begin with
don't care if it's not for PC, but $=€ pricing is always shit, but they dont do it for pounds
This is something most U.S. gaming sites, bloggers, podcasters, consistently ignore when talking about value for money. I have met Canadian gamers who actually think 800 points cost them $10 because they've read it so often in parenthesis next to the moonbucks number, just as in this article.
In Canada (and other markets) the same game is cheaper 90% of the time on PSN than XBL, because most PSN store prices match USD but charge in CDN. Totally expected since it was on par for so long... but XBL point prices never benefitted the end user.
For exclusives its an easy decision, but then it comes down to your service preference. I waited for Renegade Ops on XBL, without a good reason for doing so, honestly...
Glad to see this being brought up by an upfront developer open to feedback. I can't wait to see all the Major Nelson blog comments linking to this game as an example of consumer pushback working. :D