How much?!?!?!

When you're living on an SS check $70 is plenty. We're not all young and working. Think of others beside yourself.

The others we're thinking of are the developers, who don't want to join you and make the queue longer, and whom we'd all like to have the resources for their next project and take on even more hardworking staff.

Much as we sympathise with your plight, it has no bearing on market forces and the worth of a product.

When you're living on an SS check $70 is plenty. We're not all young and working. Think of others beside yourself.

Indeed. Not being able to afford something doesn't mean you think it's bad value. Some seem to assume this, and almost take offence to it.

The others we're thinking of are the developers, who don't want to join you and make the queue longer, and whom we'd all like to have the resources for their next project and take on even more hardworking staff.

 

Much as we sympathise with your plight, it has no bearing on market forces and the worth of a product.

Exhibit A! ^^^

The price they put on it is fine. I was pointing my post at those who want it to be more.

No complaints with fair prices.

Indeed. Not being able to afford something doesn't mean you think it's bad value. Some seem to assume this, and almost take offence to it.

 

 

 

 

Exhibit A! ^^^

The whole point of this post was to discuss where we feel the right value of the F-14 falls. No one was taking offence. SS cheque or no SS cheque, commerce is a heartless and cruel mistress if you can't afford expensive toys.

Just because people feel its worth more does not mean they do not symphatise with people that have a SS cheque or are not able to afford it, they just want the best for the developer so that in a few years time (or hopefully shorter with the amount of profit they made with their previous module) there will be another module.

Not sure that's always the motive. One said he'd pay anything if he could have it now.

I'll trust HeatBlur to set a price that's fair and will give them a good profit. I bought the F/A-18 and i'll buy the F-14. My only point was that $70-$80 is not nothing for everybody.

Not sure that's always the motive. One said he'd pay anything if he could have it now.

That would probably be figure of speech.

My only point was that $70-$80 is not nothing for everybody.

Fair enough, most people probably realize that. Sadly its the nature of the beast that is called Flight Simming.

That's true and we're dealing with a lot of different personalities. Even grumpy old farts like me. :)

The whole point of this post was to discuss where we feel the right value of the F-14 falls. No one was taking offence. SS cheque or no SS cheque, commerce is a heartless and cruel mistress if you can't afford expensive toys.

Again you say value and affordability in the same paragraph is if they mean the same thing. They don't.

How much?!?!?!

When you're living on an SS check $70 is plenty. We're not all young and working. Think of others beside yourself.

The others I’m think of are the developers whom have worked their ass off and sacrificed to deliver this module to us.

I’d put the retirees with poor retirement planning further down my list of considerations. I sympathize for sure, but if I had to play sides, I’d go with the devs. Sorry.

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Simple solution to all those who think the module isn't enough. Buy more. Nothing's stopping you from purchasing more and giving them out.

The others I’m think of are the developers whom have worked their ass off and sacrificed to deliver this module to us.

 

I’d put the retirees with poor retirement planning further down my list of considerations. I sympathize for sure, but if I had to play sides, I’d go with the devs. Sorry.

 

 

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Don't assume you know me or guess wrongly about my retirement planning. Stuff happens and it happened to me. I worked my ass off all my life.

You just went to the bottom of my list while we're talking about lists.

Stuff happens

Nails it. 70 bucks isn't just a few for me as well, but in that case I didn't think for a fraction of a second and gladly spent it. I just saved up lots of cash to be able to replace my trusty old 970 with a 1080, even though I originally planned to get one of the new ones - but let's face it, noone can afford them - instead of dropping the prices of the old ones and putting the new ones in a proper range, they just packed them on top of that... I see the 3080 coming with a 2000 bucks price tag in 2 years already

Don't even think of VR... that'd be so awesome... but I'll get there as well at some point

By the way, just was looking for a new baking tray some days ago. Or rather a drip pan, 'cos my old one doesn't fit in the new oven which didn't come with one. Need that for baking cake... then I saw the price tag... 65€. Just thought I could get another Tomcat module for that instead... now compared to a coated piece of sheet metal a flight sim module looks so cheap and affordable

The others I’m think of are the developers..

Not rationally you're not. They are big boys and understand that charging that more means reduced sales, whether you like it or not. Higher prices don't always mean greater revenue.

I survive on after Bills, Rent and all that stuff on $40 (AUS) a fortnight...i put $5 a side every 2nd payment and placed it into a saving account. Yes it took me a very long time to save up $100 AUS for the F-14, but we new it was been made so had plenty of time to get the funds....now i wait for it's release.

Point is even if you are struggling like myself, dreams can come true...just takes time, and a ton of patience and self control.

Anyway you all have a great day/night.

$70 USD for us Aussies is as of today $98.161 AUD

Pricing is very complex. As said above, there are different kinds of potential customers - how to maximize the profit from the aggregate group of them?

I've seen ED justify their pricing only once and it was development cost = price. What the most are talking here is a different model, either the "fair price" / "what is it worth" or "how much can I pay". Everybody has a right to state their opinion. That is a way to provide information for ED so they can estimate also these pricing models - provided they want to take them into account.

Also the price is not just $80. Gaming companies are a bit like airlines - they stratify their customers and try to sell to different segments to bring in sufficient revenue. I will probably plan to buy the Tomcat when it's stable, costs $40, is bundled with some nice maps or other interesting content, and we can see where it fits in the DCS scene and in my selected playstyle.

ED is using different discounts and bundles to reach more customers and to sell more. I've never seen them go lower than -66%, looking at some public data from the past few years - lower than that you might get some obvious issues with brand/maintaining your pricing argument. CA was the only notable exception but that has been a bit of a sad case. I could see them going lower only in some massive once-in-a-lifetime deal/bundle - for example it could make sense to bundle and market pre-2017 modules to the Steam player base so they get hooked and can still painlessly transfer to the ED platform.

About market forces - ED has competition and I can usually get a similar gaming experience around say 60 eur (most recent data). Just 30 eur if it's a single top-tier title I'm buying. There are so many ways to approach the subject. DCS is what I call a platform game - not a single game release or a franchise with sequels but a platform that evolves over the years and decades and has value continuously added to it. For me the very best games are like this - there isn't much competition here! Two of the cases are MMOs, the sample size is small and only in both of the MMO cases I spent over $200 total on the game - in the first case over a span of 12 years, in the other, the developer was bordering on fraudulent...

One fun fact: An advantage of using Steam is that you can sell at different prices to different countries. (ED could also set it up on their own platform I think … not sure if they in fact have that?)

Simple solution to all those who think the module isn't enough. Buy more. Nothing's stopping you from purchasing more and giving them out.

A nice take on it. Obviously you do something similar if you buy all the modules and/or buy at the first opportunity.

Not rationally you're not. They are big boys and understand that charging that more means reduced sales, whether you like it or not. Higher prices don't always mean greater revenue.

The whole point we are making is that the developers are definitely not charging high prices for their products. What else can you buy that has the long-term viability of a DCS World module?

Buy a car, and it instantly loses up to a third of its value and lasts around 10-15 years while incurring huge costs to keep it both roadworthy, and fuel to keep it going. Buy a pint of beer and it will last a very short time before its all gone. Go on vacation and you spend a large sum of money over a very short timeframe and have just pictures and burnt skin to show for it. Buy a book, and it is read in a few days.

Buy the F-14 and you'll be able to fly the equivalent of the moon and back and still have a pristine, infinitely entertaining and dynamic world to entertain yourself in.

And yet at the price, it far outdoes any of the other examples don't you agree?

Another point that the majority of people have overlooked is that the cost only applies at this particular point in its lifespan. It will cost another 10 dollars when it is released, but it will be reduced to as little as half that cost in the foreseeable future.

To all those out there who are reliant on low incomes, you only have to wait a little longer in the great scheme of things in order to enjoy the F-14. How is that so unfair given that those who pay the premium price are funding your future enjoyment?

OK, you may wait longer, but I will also have to wait a while before I can save enough for a Ferrari. And that, you must agree is totally unfair! :music_whistling:

The only alternative is to discuss politics, and as we cannot, I will not expound the virtues of the communist state! :megalol:

Not rationally you're not. They are big boys and understand that charging that more means reduced sales, whether you like it or not. Higher prices don't always mean greater revenue.

I wasn’t referencing the economics of price elasticity, I was stating that my allegiance lies with the developers (at least the good ones), to the point that I would much sooner support them at whatever price they choose far before I’d complain for a price reduction on the behalf of people who can’t afford a chosen price point.

Their product, their decision on pricing. They can worry about the economics. As a consumer, it’s binary — you can either afford it, or you can’t.

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Ah ok yeah that's fair enough.

I am luckily at a place in my life where the cost of this module would have been inconsequential as to if I bought it or not - it was an instant buy for me when it was first announced!

But I can still remember as a young fella flying MSFS and PMDG would release a module for US$70-100 and that was just too much for me to cough up for some pixels at that stage, so yea I can see how the price gives some people pause for thought.

I started saving since it was first announced and now... I'm ready (purchased today)! Also ED hinted at an F-16 and I already started saving for that too. I have been doing this since ED released DCS World version 1 and now I own everything... modules, campaign, terrains, everything. What can I say some people buy books, others by models, me I sim.

Games have come such a long way and the pricing and development costs have evolved. The last days I've been flying around the new PG map just looking at things … a far cry from the old days of small maps and little detail. (Anybody still remembers wireframes?)

New and potential players look at things a bit different from loyal customers who know ED and also that what they offer is fit for their needs. For the rest of us, there are risks... is ED a trustworthy developer, is their vision something that can deliver value, do you have enough time and interest to learn high fidelity modules or will your investment sit on the shelf largely unutilized... DCS does have a little bit of a reputation here.

Why I can sit on the fence with this module is also because I already have 3 aircraft, high-fidelity, plus the CA module. Will take ages to play the ins and outs of those, so another aircraft would be just an expensive curiosity. The PG map shows what we are paying for though … start to understand where people who claim $50 or $80 is the fair price are coming from - different train of thought there ;)

Games have come such a long way and the pricing and development costs have evolved. The last days I've been flying around the new PG map just looking at things … a far cry from the old days of small maps and little detail. (Anybody still remembers wireframes?)

 

New and potential players look at things a bit different from loyal customers who know ED and also that what they offer is fit for their needs. For the rest of us, there are risks... is ED a trustworthy developer, is their vision something that can deliver value, do you have enough time and interest to learn high fidelity modules or will your investment sit on the shelf largely unutilized... DCS does have a little bit of a reputation here.

 

Why I can sit on the fence with this module is also because I already have 3 aircraft, high-fidelity, plus the CA module. Will take ages to play the ins and outs of those, so another aircraft would be just an expensive curiosity. The PG map shows what we are paying for though … start to understand where people who claim $50 or $80 is the fair price are coming from - different train of thought there ;)

I've been thinking about the same thing. I'm not one to give up on anything and i've been feeling guilty lately. I haven't given the F/A-18 a fair chance. I'm ready to park it and buy the F-14.

I think i'll wait a while. Learn the Hornet the best I can. I also need to give more time to the A-10C. Let them finish the F-14 and i'll buy it then. I also have an elk hunt to do soon. Not enough time for everything.

Its interesting to see that the prices of these modules are always in question by some of the flight sim players while their equipment probably worth multiple times the amount DCS Costs with all its module together. I have just done a quick math and I found that DCS cost about 1500$ with all of its plane , heli, and terrain modules (FC3 included) (if you buy all of them on full price without any bonus or discount and special deal used) (EU) . Well I think my mid range PC worth about the same I have to upgrade in every few year. (without my hotas, screen, and sound system)

I have spent about 200$ on my Rhino X55 a few years ago (its ok but not the best) just to play DCS and Elite:Dangerous while I have enjoyed them for many hours during these years and still have spent less on the modules I have got during this time . So personally I found the prices of these modules very reasonable considering this hobby is not mainstream and developers of these product have to make it somehow profitable with a much smaller audience while also making quality product just as it is expected in a genre like this .

(The only modules I bought on full prices had been NTTR and the F-18 because I was impatient and it will be the same with the F14 I guess because I was very satisfied with the Viggen after I bought it and I trust Heatblur :D)

Mega Million lottery is at one billion tonight. If I win i'll buy you all the F-14 and a max system to run it.

That's the easy part. Winning might be a bit harder.