You could say that about every game ever released. I'll gamefly shit like The Division and Far Cry.
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The Witness price revealed ($39.99 / 36.99)
- Thread starter Cyberia
- Start date
You could say that about every game ever released. I'll gamefly shit like The Division and Far Cry.
Voysa Reezun
Banned
I'm sort of interested because Braid was interesting and this looks interesting. If there is a physical release eventually coming, I'd rather just wait for that because otherwise, it would be in my backlog that I'm trying to clear out right now.
I hope that it is successful, though, because Blow is an auteur and gaming needs as many of those type of men and women as possible.
I hope that it is successful, though, because Blow is an auteur and gaming needs as many of those type of men and women as possible.
orthodoxy1095
Banned
Huh, since you know it's overpriced, that means you must have played the game.
Can you tell us more about it? Make sure to use spoiler tags!
Manny Calavera
Member
Well for me personally it's around 15-20 euros, but there are couple of occasions where I think I paid around 25-30 euros. I don't remember seeing many indie games that costed more than 30 euros. But I don't really have any problem with the pricing of Witness, I'm sure the game is worth every penny and it's among my top 10 anticipated games this year. I was misguided and just somehow though it would be a bit cheaper.
EDIT: I also have to add that I was not aware that the game might be more than 30-40 hours in length. I haven't been really following the production in long time and was expecting something like 5- 10 hours game. Now I can see how the price might be completely justified.
More_Badass
Member
Review embargo lifts on Monday 6pm GMT | 1pm EST | 10am PST
The latest Eurogamer podcasts talks about the game a bit. "Quite involved puzzles" that make you feel clever, comparisons to Portal and Portal 2, lavish environments and high production values
The latest Eurogamer podcasts talks about the game a bit. "Quite involved puzzles" that make you feel clever, comparisons to Portal and Portal 2, lavish environments and high production values
Dangansona
Member
This is a beautiful looking game with a ton of content, but all of a sudden $40 is too much because it's indie or doesn't involve combat?
I'm actually not too upset about it being $40 because if it's a success than maybe publishers will see it as a valid price to sell a game for. Your responses aren't encouraging on that front though.
I'm actually not too upset about it being $40 because if it's a success than maybe publishers will see it as a valid price to sell a game for. Your responses aren't encouraging on that front though.
I think this reasoning is pretty dumb, and I actually dont see a lot of people in this thread saying that. The point is, it's an above average priced indie game (and thats not a problem, by any means) that we know almost nothing about. The only footage we had was the first 4-5 puzzles, and they all were just a variation of a single mechanic, and a quite simple one too. It's not too hard to imagine why some of us were concerned. These later previews paint the game in a much better light, though. I'll wait dor impressions but, if the game is good, I'll have no trouble paying that price.
Dangansona
Member
I saw plenty of posts that outright said it, like the one above me, and more that probably suggest it. But of course wait and see if it's good, I'm certainly not going to pre-order it. It's just sad to see the sales dropping for this game before my eyes on a game that Johnathan Blow spent so much time and his own money making because it's an unconventional price point.
More_Badass
Member
Which isn't even that unconventional in recent times. A bunch of high-profile indie games released in 2014/2015 at $30 and $40, all of them very popular. Kerbal, Divinity, Prison Architect, Talos Principle, SOMA, and so on
I dont think they would buy this kind of game regardless of the price. But just the idea behind those comments is indeed pretty sad.
What's obvious is that this is not a game that can be easily marketed.
- showing almost anything beyond the first minutes is bound to spoil big parts of the game
- gameplay is highly nuanced and appears mundane at first glance
- the developers were not primarily concerned about making a game that would "sell"
So, I'm not surprised that many are balking at the price. If this game is successful it will be because of good reviews and good word of mouth, with most of the initial purchases coming from fans of Blow or people who can spot the Myst/Riven influences and are really jonesing for another experience like that.
Personally, I think it's refreshing to have a game in this situation, as it promises to be idiosyncratic in a way that most games can't afford to be. It's risky. But if it does succeed, it might pave the way for more games to be able to take similar risks. That's how the industry grows.
- showing almost anything beyond the first minutes is bound to spoil big parts of the game
- gameplay is highly nuanced and appears mundane at first glance
- the developers were not primarily concerned about making a game that would "sell"
So, I'm not surprised that many are balking at the price. If this game is successful it will be because of good reviews and good word of mouth, with most of the initial purchases coming from fans of Blow or people who can spot the Myst/Riven influences and are really jonesing for another experience like that.
Personally, I think it's refreshing to have a game in this situation, as it promises to be idiosyncratic in a way that most games can't afford to be. It's risky. But if it does succeed, it might pave the way for more games to be able to take similar risks. That's how the industry grows.
BarringGaffner
Member
good points that I am surprised most people here don't understand and don't want to reward the dev for.
and If there is any game you would want to be a part of the conversation of from day one, it's this one, as I think there is much more than meets the eye.
Ryo Hazuki
Member
I think the only fair criticism of the price is that you prefer your games to be on physical media. In which case, wait for that. This isn't a game that will appeal to everyone, which is fair enough, but to criticise the price for that and the fact it is an "indie" game is absurd in my opinion.
The way this game has been presented is part of the appeal for me. I like not knowing anything about it. I like the mystery of not knowing what all of the puzzles entail. I want to go in to this game as blind as possible because the art style, development process and small description of "Explore an abandoned island and solve the puzzles you find there." is enough for me to trust this is a game I'll enjoy.
I honestly feel sorry for people dismissing it immediately because it's an "indie game" and shouldn't cost this much. Because in your ignorance you're missing out on great games. I got The Talos Principle at launch which sells for the same price, knowing very little about it. It's not only my favourite game of the past couple years but it's also become one of my favourite games of all time.
The way this game has been presented is part of the appeal for me. I like not knowing anything about it. I like the mystery of not knowing what all of the puzzles entail. I want to go in to this game as blind as possible because the art style, development process and small description of "Explore an abandoned island and solve the puzzles you find there." is enough for me to trust this is a game I'll enjoy.
I honestly feel sorry for people dismissing it immediately because it's an "indie game" and shouldn't cost this much. Because in your ignorance you're missing out on great games. I got The Talos Principle at launch which sells for the same price, knowing very little about it. It's not only my favourite game of the past couple years but it's also become one of my favourite games of all time.
Remembrance
Member
On the Steam forums Blow has moved a bunch of threads into a new "Price Complaints" subforum.
It has actually encouraged more price complaint threads after it was created.
It has actually encouraged more price complaint threads after it was created.
family_guy
Member
Well I think the marketing is part of the problem. I know it's kind of hard to really market a puzzle game effectively, but I don't feel like they have shown enough to get people really interested. It won't be until it's out and there's more word of mouth that sales will take off. I personally wouldn't spend $40 based off what I've seen in the trailer. However I felt the same way about Talos Principle. It looked boring but turned out to be amazing.
ZERATUL PL
Member
I dont see business justification for $40 price tag for The Witness. Unlike big blockbusters or AAA games, The Witness did/does not have a huge marketing campaign
studio of 200+ developers did not work on this game. The game is sold online only so there are no transportation/distribution costs. Not sure about the fee Sony and Valve charge for selling game on PSN/Steam but I would imagine it is less than retailers such as Gamestop charge. I feel like the price tag is simply a cost of Jonathans project management skills or rather lack of those skills.
theangrypirate
Member
I haven't heard anything about how good or bad this game is. Nothing about this game seems very interesting from what little media there is on it. I liked braid a lot but this game looks nothing like it so why should I be interested? If people like it I will try it out when it's on sale but the lack of hype surrounding this game is telling.
Most indie games coming out are $20 and offer like 6 hours of gameplay. This one is a huge game, that has a way bigger budget behind it and offers dozens of hours. I think it's totally fine that the game costs 40 bucks.
Ryo Hazuki
Member
You think there's a lack of hype for this game? The Talos Principle barely had any marketing at all and that has done really well for itself. I'd say more people are familiar with The Witness, especially because it's coming out on PS4 at the same time.
On the other hand, they have eight years of development costs to recoup, and can't depend on revenue from other products to fill a potential shortfall. Precisely because of the lack of marketing and the challenges of marketing a game like this, they are probably not expecting to sell a huge amount. And there will be a retail version down the road (probably), so you can't ignore those costs.
I'm sure they thought long and hard about what the price of the game should be, and decided this price point had the best chance of balancing things out.
AndrewDean84xX
Banned
I can wait for a sale.
More_Badass
Member
Do you feel the same regarding games like Kerbal Space Program or Divinity Original Sin?
This game has a bigger budget than Divinity. ~$4 million vs over $5 million
GlamFM
Banned
I don´t see why Blow has to "justify" anything.
Also, what about this entirely made up project management skills crap?
ZERATUL PL
Member
I should not be paying for 8 years of development costs. These were not 8 years of productive development costs.
If it takes 8 years to make a game it means the project is not well managed.
Sounds like you should wait for reviews, but if you are interested, then there has been plenty of press coverage and media.
Here's a preview and interview with Blow from Gamespot after they played it for 20 hours back in September, and a round up of interviews and previews from about the same time.
Eurogamer's reviewer discussed the game today, though he can't go into detail until after the review embargo is up.
GlamFM
Banned
ZERATUL PL
Member
Well if it took him this long to make a game like this I would also add lack of development skills.
More_Badass
Member
Does it? Do you even know anything about the development of this game? Or are you just assuming things?
Do you feel the same way about Uncharted 4, which has been in development for five years (since 2011)?
Oh, okay, now you're just trolling.
GlamFM
Banned
Ah! Cool, now you add lack of skill to your baseless rant.
Well done.
I should not talk to you anymore.
ZERATUL PL
Member
Obviously it means PlayStation 4 is not as easy to program as Sony claimed since every game is being delayed and it takes years to finish.
Truth hurts.
He should've hired 100 people, make the game in 2 years and then fire them.
Efficient development skills right there.
GlamFM
Banned
Oh for fucks sake!
Can you stop pulling these weird conclusions out of your ass?
Please!
Troll.
ZERATUL PL
Member
I used a word BUSINESS justification... not a perfect-world-where-everybody-is-happy justification.
Please stop being such a sonyslave.
GlamFM
Banned
Well played...
It was a very small team with the goal of taking as much time as was needed to make the best game they could make, without pressure of time or money. Blow put all of his earnings from Braid into it, and the game grew tremendously as it went. In the end he got to make the game he wanted to make. It simply took time.
And he's been very transparent about it. The development blog is right here.
http://the-witness.net/news/
Updates start in 2009. I've been following it monthly since then.
Here's what the island looked like in May 2010.
August 2010.
March 2011. As of that update the puzzle count was 275.
Jumping ahead to December 2013. Puzzle count 595.
You can follow the development straight on through, from the development of the engine, visual design, puzzle design philosophy, how the game grew in scope as it went, etc. Final puzzle count is about 700.
GlamFM
Banned
Robert at Zeboyd Games
Banned
There's also a sub-forum for "Dumb Internet Comments." Best forum ever!
Ryo Hazuki
Member
I can barely get through those Steam threads without cringing at some of them. It actually hurts my brain to know they're actually serious too. To be fair the same could be said about some of the posts in this thread too.
All this argument on the price and how long it took is absolutely pointless.
If the game is a quality product then that time and price is justified.
How does it affect your life how long the game takes? If the game is too expensive don't buy it at launch. Wait for a sale.
If you think complaining is going to make Blow change his mind about the price point or make indie developers think twice about raising the price point of their products think again.
Vote with your wallets.
If the game is a quality product then that time and price is justified.
How does it affect your life how long the game takes? If the game is too expensive don't buy it at launch. Wait for a sale.
If you think complaining is going to make Blow change his mind about the price point or make indie developers think twice about raising the price point of their products think again.
Vote with your wallets.
Chezzymann
Member
I was hesitant before, but after reading this thread seeing how long he's been working on it and how much care and effort he put into it, this might be a day1 purchase for me, that is if reviews are good though.
AndrewDean84xX
Banned
I was really hoping for a lower entry point. I just have so much on my plate. I don't think that interview Jonithan Blow did with Austin from giant bomb sat well with me either. Kind of came off as a D-Bag. Just my opinion of course.
More_Badass
Member
I can't imagine modding a Steam forum. They are a pit of insanity.
