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.