That Dominions 3 game actually looks pretty good... but not $50 good. >_<
You have to wonder if they sell more than one copy a year, if that. I guess they believe that if they drop the price to, say, $10, they'll only make $10 that year instead of $50. Maybe they don't care, or they totally forgot they even made a game and website, and have come to believe those rare sales that show up in their bank account are a holiday bonus from their actual job or a tax return.
Software Dynamics still sells Operation: Inner Space, starting at $25 for the basic game. They should be happy anybody would still want an obscure game from the Windows 95 era for any price, no telling if it'll work on most people's computers.
Basilisk Games and Spiderweb Software are some of the more well-known examples of misguided price schemes, they love to lose profits by charging more on their own store, while charging less when other digital distributors get a cut of the profits.
Software Diversions doesn't host much of Steve Moraff's old work, and much of what they do have, they sell for $10, with a bundle of five games for $20-$25. That's actually pretty reasonable compared to a lot of the above, but when you can get a pack of Might and Magic I-VI for $10 (and that's when it's not on sale), well, I'd sort of expect a complete pack of everything the guy did in the 80's-90's for that price.
Soleau Software makes some of the most excellent puzzle games I've ever played, though I've yet to buy a single one. To their credit, they have discounts depending on how many games you buy, with the price of a single game ranging from $6.66 to $18, but I think I'll continue waiting for the day when I can get a complete pack of their DOS games for $20-$40, rather than $220.
Information pertaining to Tommy's Toys is practically non-existent now, but way back when, I was able to locate the demos for all 300 or so games. There were clones, board and card games, and some more unique little games, all done in ascii. I never bought any of those games either, but I enjoyed them (and the catalog system that included a clock) immensely, despite the 60 second nag when starting a game. It would have been several hundred dollars to get all the toys, and now they're pretty much as lost to time as you can get.
You can make great games and still know jack shit about how to sell them, unfortunately. :/
Post edited November 23, 2011 by Skunk
