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[locknic]

Hi guys, while I don't have any commercial games myself, I was thinking about games that release on multiple platforms. If you make a smallish game that runs on both desktop computers and mobile devices, do you price them the same on all platforms?

Say for example you were planning on releasing the game on PC for $5, I would assume that you should price it the same on mobile to be fair. However, a $5 game on mobile seems rather high end, and might not be competitive with the other games on that market. What options would a developer in this situation have?

[Christian Knudsen]

I think mobile releases are most often considerably cheaper than their PC counterparts (up to -50%). Like you said, the price level on the mobile market is ridiculously low.

[Silvanis]

It's two different markets that support different price structures. You don't really have to worry about pricing being different between them as only your biggest fans will buy both PC and mobile versions.

That said, a couple of things to keep in mind:

The guys on PC who buy AAA are going to pan your game as a mobile port whether it is or not. They aren't in your market, but you will have to deal with their negative feedback on PC related pages (Greenlight or your Steam product page, if you make it on Steam, for example).

I wouldn't put the price of both the mobile and PC versions in the same place. I would just have logos/links to the Google Play and iTunes stores without having a price on my website. The PC versions would need a price, especially if you have a checkout system on your website. Making the difference obvious will only work against you, even though the viewer had no intention of buying the mobile version and thinks your PC version is priced fairly.

[erebusman]

Silvanis is right about rage-nerds throwing fireballs at you whether warranted or not.

There are some multiplatform releases that really have distinguishable and noteworthy platform specific features but it rarely gets them a pass from the negativity.

The reason that matters is in a world where people rarely take the time to comment on your game having only 1-2 comments and them all being negative could turn off purchasers ; so it is relevant to consider that.

Aside from that yeah; mobile pricing will not bear PC prices unless your product is extremely niche.

In general my experiences are:

PC:  Depends on product but lets say 6.99 up
iOS:  .99 cents or free
Android:  free

Android has a real problem with refunds and piracy. Someone can download your android app, transfer it to their external device (pc, memory card etc) then 'deinstall it' and get a full refund from google play.  Then they just copy it back and they have your app for free.

Before the Android marketplace becomes more healthy google will have to get real DRM in their apps; until then if you want to make money on Android you will probably have to do Free (with adds) or F2P (monetezation)

 

[Muz]

Android isn't so bad. I've paid for $3 games lately and I'm relatively poor. I've paid $10 for AAA bundles but won't go higher unless it comes with an extensive demo. All in all I've spent more money for Android games than PC games.

Copying your APK then demanding a refund isn't a major problem - most people won't go through that effort to skimp on a dollar.

There are plenty of games making lots of money on Android sales. And the bar for competition is pretty low.. I'm fine with paying $3 for a game that entertains me for 3 days (totaling maybe 2 hours). Kairosoft level games, which go up to like 15 hours on a straight play, are good at $5.

I pretty much hate all PC to smartphone ports though. Mouse and keyboard translate poorly to touchscreens. There are decent ones that port from smartphone to PC (e.g. Angry Birds), but they're not that good. Keyword is control. Different target markets, different controls, different expectations. Comparing apples to oranges.

Something like Pixel Dungeon is a superb touchphone game but is too simple to stand against PC roguelikes. Kairosoft games can't even translate to tablets, much less PC. They're good strategy games to play while you're lying down, but won't be saleable for much more on PC. Avadon was an ok PC game. Once ported to Android, it's horrible because there's no mouse over mechanics. It gets high ratings, but I could barely play it because it's so damn tiny and kept clicking the wrong things. Nobody wants to squint when playing a game while relaxing.

I'd bet if you can get something with high replayability and a lot of fun time without being stressed out over controls, people would be happy paying PC AAA prices for it.

[Gregg Williams]

Charge based on the platform and distribution medium. (This means you may well charge less on Steam, than direct website, etc.)

[Photon]

There are some multiplatform releases that really have distinguishable and noteworthy platform specific features but it rarely gets them a pass from the negativity.

I've actually heard (emphasis on that word!) that one of the best ways to monetize is to go cross-platform and monetize across the board, so its interesting to hear these kind of remarks.

That being said, I have little interest in the mobile market. The demands on your game seem kind of lofty at times for such a small price tag. I'm not against high quality gaming at a reasonable price, but some of those reviews I read...

[Slader16]

Do you guys think that they're should be a price difference between Ouya and iOS/Android versions?

Example:
Ouya: $2.99
iOS/Android $0.99

[Gregg Williams]

Do you guys think that they're should be a price difference between Ouya and iOS/Android versions?

Example:
Ouya: $2.99
iOS/Android $0.99

I'd say it depends on the Ouya platform, its current prices, and so forth. Another consideration is that the total potential volume of sales is greatly lower than say IOS or Android.

[Dropout]

I put the Desktop version of 10000000 at 5 bucks. Its 2-3 on mobile platforms.

I had a couple of reasons. Probably the biggest is that I would have preferred it to be 5 bucks on mobile, but I didn't think that would work because of the market there. (Changing my mind about that a bit now though)

Also, i figured that support on PC, with all those different configurations would take up quite a bit of time, so I factored for that too. That came true to an extent - but not as much as what I expected.

When it released i got a bit of hate for doing that, and I thought i'd pretty much blown my chance, but it turned out that was maybe 5-10 people that decided to get really angry, but then over the next few days it sold like 40k copies to people who didn't mind.  I think the lesson there is be aware that will happen but not worry too much about it

[Muz]

Never expected that. I wouldn't even buy 10000000 for a PC because it's not really a 'PC' kind of game. Android games have little competition, so buying 10000000 was a no brainer.

It's not so much the price, but it being a genre that didn't fit so well with PC gamers. So getting 40k sales on desktop is a surprise to me.

10000000 falls into the category of a game where you can play while waiting at the bank. I wouldn't actually play it at home when I have a PC, with games like Spelunky or Dwarf Fortress. For mobile, it's perfect.

Honestly, I probably wouldn't have paid more than $3 for 10000000 on Android there. Really hesitated the first time and only got it because Pixel Dungeon wouldn't let me play past 12 AM. Most of the hesitation was due to the graphics.

But I'm notoriously cheap with buying games, so don't take my advice.

[ryansumo]

I put the Desktop version of 10000000 at 5 bucks. Its 2-3 on mobile platforms.

I had a couple of reasons. Probably the biggest is that I would have preferred it to be 5 bucks on mobile, but I didn't think that would work because of the market there. (Changing my mind about that a bit now though)

Also, i figured that support on PC, with all those different configurations would take up quite a bit of time, so I factored for that too. That came true to an extent - but not as much as what I expected.

When it released i got a bit of hate for doing that, and I thought i'd pretty much blown my chance, but it turned out that was maybe 5-10 people that decided to get really angry, but then over the next few days it sold like 40k copies to people who didn't mind.  I think the lesson there is be aware that will happen but not worry too much about it

Thanks for the insight.  I wonder how companies like mode7 (frozen synapse) and 17bit (skulls of the shogun) have done with an initially more expensive PC launch and then a cheap mobile launch.