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General discussion (archive)Update: Prices Drop on Mr. Bree+ and Restaurant Empire!(73 posts)(73 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted May 05, 2014
Good Games Never Get Old, but They May Drop in Price.

Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Prices have reached new lows for Mr. Bree+, which has dropped its price from $9.99 to $2.99 permanently. Recent speculation in the pork futures market has lead to a steep decline in estimated value of anthropomorphic pig-persons, and as a result you, my dear gamer, can pick up this awesome hardcore platformer about a pig, a kidnapping (pignapping?), and a journey home.

Maybe jumping and running and falling and dying and jumping again isn't your thing? Don't worry then, because we've also dropped the price on Restaurant Empire--it's now just $5.99. If you've ever dreamed of being a restaurant tycoon whose knowledge of the industry and skill selecting sous-chefs make you a superstar, then this is incontrovertibly a game for you! Select everything from the food that's on the menu to the font that's on the menu, and see how your actions result in a successful Restaurant Empire!
Posted May 05, 2014
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PaterAlf: Yes, it was in Groupees Greenlight bundle 4 before it was even out (the included beta version had no boss fights and was a little buggy). But do you really think that this one bundle had such a great impact on the sales?
Wasn't there also a free version? Maybe that played a role?
Posted May 05, 2014
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HypersomniacLive: Wasn't there also a free version? Maybe that played a role?
Possibly, but Cave Story+ and Stealth Bastard Deluxe did alright, so a free version does not preclude commercial success (although I might be wrong - both of those found their way into bundles pretty swiftly as well).
Posted May 05, 2014
At the time of release, I remember there were complaints that Mr Bree+ price was too high due to the fact there weren't so much differences with the "regular" Mr Bree which is a free html game, that's why the "+" version didn't sell well in my opinion. Better communication from the devs about the plus-value of the "+" version would have been welcome...

Here is the html version (findable on various websites such as kongregate, etc.):
http://www.freekigames.com/mr-bree-returning-home

Now for 3$, you get improved graphics, changes in some level designs, offline play (obviously) and most of all for this type of game : a x360 pad support (haven't tried with another pad).

I had problems under win8 (game crashes between levels when autosaving) but it works fine under win7
Posted May 05, 2014
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zeffyr: It joined Super Hexagon into 2.99$ ('steal') club :)
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MichiGen: Oh, I've thought that this is the first game here with a 2,99$ price tag.
Though, it would be more appropriate for Mr.Bree to join VVVVVV, Gateways and Shuggy at 4.99$ (almost steal) club :D
id leave out Shuggy from that list...geeez
Posted May 05, 2014
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zeffyr: It joined Super Hexagon into 2.99$ ('steal') club :)
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MichiGen: Oh, I've thought that this is the first game here with a 2,99$ price tag.
Though, it would be more appropriate for Mr.Bree to join VVVVVV, Gateways and Shuggy at 4.99$ (almost steal) club :D
Thank you for these tips. I almost missed out the latter two.
Posted May 05, 2014
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zeffyr: It joined Super Hexagon into 2.99$ ('steal') club :)
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MichiGen: Oh, I've thought that this is the first game here with a 2,99$ price tag.
Though, it would be more appropriate for Mr.Bree to join VVVVVV, Gateways and Shuggy at 4.99$ (almost steal) club :D
Don't forget the first Escape Goat :)

Oh and before Novotnus shows up, Downfall is also a steal at $4.99 :P
Post edited May 05, 2014 by JudasIscariot
Posted May 05, 2014
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tinyE: I've heard Mr. Bree is pretty good but I've also heard that Mr. Gouda and Mr. Cheddar are a lot better.

*bows*

I'm not proud! :P
Hmm could comments like the one above be why you are missing 3 stars :)

Damn anti pun crowd. +1 towards the 3 stars.

I'm terrible at platformers, yet I might grab it for this price anyway.
Posted May 05, 2014
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Oddeus: Thank you for these tips. I almost missed out the latter two.
You are welcome, enjoy :)

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MichiGen: Oh, I've thought that this is the first game here with a 2,99$ price tag.
Though, it would be more appropriate for Mr.Bree to join VVVVVV, Gateways and Shuggy at 4.99$ (almost steal) club :D
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JudasIscariot: Don't forget the first Escape Goat :)

Oh and before Novotnus shows up, Downfall is also a steal at $4.99 :P
Oh silly me, how could I forgot the Escape Goat? Thanks.
The Shivah is $4,99 too,.. and the club is complete. :)
Posted May 05, 2014
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tinyE: I've heard Mr. Bree is pretty good but I've also heard that Mr. Gouda and Mr. Cheddar are a lot better.

*bows*

I'm not proud! :P
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zeffyr: Copyrights by TET from 'In case you missed it - here's what's new!' video :)
If somebody don´t know that vid, here is what´s old:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iDHdf_uZD0

Shit, we definitivly need those vids back!
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TheEnigmaticT: I camembert such terrible cheese puns! I must ask you to caerphilly reconsider your choice of words. >.>
We know that you won´t continue them. But what´s about somebody else? I´m sure you´ll find a Marketer Junior Guy that could do that job...
Posted May 05, 2014
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Oddeus: Thank you for these tips. I almost missed out the latter two.
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MichiGen: You are welcome, enjoy :)

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JudasIscariot: Don't forget the first Escape Goat :)

Oh and before Novotnus shows up, Downfall is also a steal at $4.99 :P
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MichiGen: Oh silly me, how could I forgot the Escape Goat? Thanks.
The Shivah is $4,99 too,.. and the club is complete. :)
You or I missed one:

Time Gentlemen, Please + Ben There, Dan That :)
Posted May 05, 2014
high rated
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RadonGOG: I don´t think that this pricepoint can help Restaurant Empire anyways, but it´s nice to have Mr. Bree+ at that point.
I´ll pick it up sometime...
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lugum: what's up with the reviews and ratings, lots of people saying restaurant empire is not that good yet it gets a 3 1/2 rating total.
It's actually quite a good game, with some unforgivable flaws. The main flaw is terrible pathfinding and AI on the part of the restaurant staff, and that can cause massive frustration. Trying to be objective, I'd give it 4 starts, but in reality I rated it 5 because it's one of my favourite games. I can't really understand the low average rating and the reviews, especially because reviewers claim to be fans of the genre. My best guess, based on the reviews, is that people just expect the game to give them a walkthrough on how to get everything right, instead of actually observing the gameplay mechanics and experimenting, learning by themselves. They're right to complain that the feedback and guidance provided by the game are occasionally useless and generally insufficient, but it doesn't take much effort to examine the various processes taking place and identify problems yourself.

For example, complaints about food taking a long time to arrive are almost always caused by a huge backlog in the kitchen, which is easy to observe as all the meals that have to be cooked are listed when double-clicking a chef. Watching a chef reveals that certain dishes take an overly long time to prepare, and these should be taken off the menus of busy restaurants. Watching waiters reveals the stupidity of the pathfinding and AI and allows you to experiment with floor layouts that minimize the problem. Watching customers reveals that they don't pay for anything they've ordered if even a single item doesn't arrive on time, so you should reduce your seating capacity to the maximum level that the chefs you have available can adequately serve during the busiest times. This can easily be determined by saving the game at the start of the day and fast forwarding through it several times, to test different capacities.

Now, I agree that games should provide clear information on how things work, and I can understand if modern gamers don't want to spend the time figuring things out themselves, but I thought GOG was a place full of people who've grown up doing this sort of thing, and wouldn't just give up at the first hurdle.
Posted May 05, 2014
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lugum: what's up with the reviews and ratings, lots of people saying restaurant empire is not that good yet it gets a 3 1/2 rating total.
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Vercinger: It's actually quite a good game, with some unforgivable flaws. The main flaw is terrible pathfinding and AI on the part of the restaurant staff, and that can cause massive frustration. Trying to be objective, I'd give it 4 starts, but in reality I rated it 5 because it's one of my favourite games. I can't really understand the low average rating and the reviews, especially because reviewers claim to be fans of the genre. My best guess, based on the reviews, is that people just expect the game to give them a walkthrough on how to get everything right, instead of actually observing the gameplay mechanics and experimenting, learning by themselves. They're right to complain that the feedback and guidance provided by the game are occasionally useless and generally insufficient, but it doesn't take much effort to examine the various processes taking place and identify problems yourself.

For example, complaints about food taking a long time to arrive are almost always caused by a huge backlog in the kitchen, which is easy to observe as all the meals that have to be cooked are listed when double-clicking a chef. Watching a chef reveals that certain dishes take an overly long time to prepare, and these should be taken off the menus of busy restaurants. Watching waiters reveals the stupidity of the pathfinding and AI and allows you to experiment with floor layouts that minimize the problem. Watching customers reveals that they don't pay for anything they've ordered if even a single item doesn't arrive on time, so you should reduce your seating capacity to the maximum level that the chefs you have available can adequately serve during the busiest times. This can easily be determined by saving the game at the start of the day and fast forwarding through it several times, to test different capacities.

Now, I agree that games should provide clear information on how things work, and I can understand if modern gamers don't want to spend the time figuring things out themselves, but I thought GOG was a place full of people who've grown up doing this sort of thing, and wouldn't just give up at the first hurdle.
Good stuff. We need more posts like this on the review page. Thank you!
Posted May 05, 2014
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jamyskis: Possibly, but Cave Story+ and Stealth Bastard Deluxe did alright, so a free version does not preclude commercial success (although I might be wrong - both of those found their way into bundles pretty swiftly as well).
Just to clarify - I was merely wondering if the existing free version (among other factors) hindered commercial success for this specific game; I didn't mean nor imply that it's a universal rule.
Posted May 05, 2014
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tinyE: Good stuff. We need more posts like this on the review page. Thank you!
I actually wrote a review on the game some time ago, but couldn't post it because of the ridiculous character limit on reviews. So now it's gathering dust in a text file somewhere, waiting for the GOG staff to come to their senses.
Posted May 05, 2014
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HypersomniacLive: Wasn't there also a free version? Maybe that played a role?
I would like to think not. I got Mr Bree from a Groupees bundle and because I enjoyed it (did not get far, but I still enjoyed what I played) I bought it here when it was on sale a few weeks back.
I bought Super Hexagon for the $3 price point and would also happily pay $5 for Stealth Bastard Deluxe here on GOG because the game (both free and paid) is really, really good. I grabbed that in a HB bundle a while back.

I personally think that the real problem with pricing these days is we have all become so accustom to sales. If you look on the front of Steam, GamersGate, Gameolith, GOG they all run regular sales and it has become the norm for games to be sold with a high regular price so they can run the 60% discount every few months and still be making money.
This is okay for large publishers who can rotate many games and still keep ticking over, as well as the "stores" who continue to take their share, however reduced. This plan though does not help indie developers who need the money to survive day to day in some cases and for whom the games are far fewer so they cannot rotate so much.
For the indie developers I often wonder if the selling at a lower price point works any better as they might get 1000x$3 instead of the 200x$10, but as I read somewhere on these forums before. Indie games only tend to sell high quantities on sales before then plunging back into obscurity after the sale until the next time. So it is now to just wait and see how things pan out for the developer of Mr Bree.
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General discussion (archive)Update: Prices Drop on Mr. Bree+ and Restaurant Empire!(73 posts)(73 posts)
(73 posts)