Under Defeat Coming to 360, PS3

[kingoffighters]

I didn't buy Strania, the demo didn't do much for me. But I would buy UD/BD if it is ever on XBLA/PSN. Import? Nah.

[Diff-chan]

I don't think it's obvious at all. This genre has been irrelevant for over a decade, anyone who cares a little about these games knows who G.Rev is (like me). The only games that break out of that a bit are from Treasure.

[Frogacuda]

That's an absurd premise. Obviously not everyone who likes shooters enough to spend $10 has an import 360. And obviously not everyone who likes them enough to spend $10 likes them enough to spend $80. There are clearly people who are alienated by a retail release. Like, for example, everyone who has posted in this thread thus far. I don't think it's just us.

Now, I'm not saying you're ENTIRELY off base. It's true that it's a small market and that market is willing to pay a premium. If you put it on Live for $20 and included the DLC to sweeten the deal, you'd probably sell about as many copies. Maybe even put it on Games on Demand for $30 like Cave did for DeathSmiles IIX. But $80 is a prohibitive cost to most for ANY game, and the need for unique hardware eliminates most of those who would be willing to pay that.

[icarusfall]

$10 xbla or gtfo.

Or, even better, $5 ios or diaf.

Shooters are dinosaur niche products. It's a brand new world. Figure it out or go extinct.

[Tain]

To clarify, I'm very likely buying Under Defeat for 360 on day one.

I agree that there's a Western following that falls into the "kinda dedicated but not importing games dedicated" middle area, but given that both Cave and G.Rev have tried XBLA releases with pretty poor results, I'm don't think it's a big one. Their paying fanbases in Japan dwarf the Western internet forum crowd.

I don't see the downside to waiting a few years and releasing retail titles in other regions at discounted prices, but only Cave actually knows how well that did for them.

[Frogacuda]

$10 xbla or gtfo.

Or, even better, $5 ios or diaf.

Shooters are dinosaur niche products. It's a brand new world. Figure it out or go extinct.

Yeah, but you didn't buy their game that WAS $10.

I think there's some kind of compromise here. Strania did feel like an absurdly good value to me, I even bought the DLC and it still felt like stealing. I totally would have bought it for $20. Probably could have even gotten $25 or $30 out of me. But not $80. And not enough to buy an import 360.

I agree that there's a Western following that falls into the "kinda dedicated but not importing games dedicated" middle area, but given that both Cave and G.Rev have tried XBLA releases with pretty poor results, I'm not sure that it's all that big of one. Their paying fanbases in Japan dwarf the Western internet forum crowd.

It's not that big. But how much per disc do you think they actually take home? Would they be making that much less off a $20 or $30 download?

[icarusfall]

I didn't buy Strania because i didn't think it was a good game, not because of the price. The price was perfect.

[Frogacuda]

Also, it bears mentioning that this is a port. Much of the point is to sell it to the people you couldn't sell it to the first time around. Placing those same barriers in front of people feels like more of a mistake in this case.

I didn't buy Strania because i didn't think it was a good game, not because of the price. The price was perfect.

Right. So we're talking about the people that would want to buy it in the first place. You might fall outside of that audience.

Admittedly, Strania was not their best shooter, nor their worst. It was pretty par for the course, except for the graphics which were a cut above their earlier work.

[Tain]

It's not that big. But how much per disc do you think they actually take home? Would they be making that much less off a $20 or $30 download?

Through Microsoft's policies? I have no idea, honestly.

[No One]

Obviously not everyone who likes shooters enough to spend $10 has an import 360. And obviously not everyone who likes them enough to spend $10 likes them enough to spend $80.

Exactly my point. Even the standard domestic prices for new releases would be more than a lot of shooter fans (let alone gamers oblivious to the genre) would be willing to spend, I think. Senko no Ronde has sold 30k copies in 5 years, and I imagine most of those were probably after the price drop to $10.

Deathsmiles and Otomedius both did a little better, selling 100k and 70k respectively. So I guess if you want to expand your fan base, you'd better get with the hot loli action and bouncing breasts.