The Ouya is due to be shipping to Kickstarters at the end of March but now the talk is about the price of the games. On a normal game console if the price of games was between $5 – $20 you would be happy but the Ouya isn’t a normal console it is a microconsole. On an Ouya forum developers and gamers are discussing the pricing of Ouya games and it seems many of the game developers are pricing their games at the $5 + range, but is this too high?
I am excited about the Ouya but this pricing debate has concerned me as most of the game developers are talking about a $5 minimum for paid games. That may not sound a lot for a video game but most of these games will be available on various Android stores and on iTunes where we know most games sell for around $1. This raises the question is a +$4 premium worth it to play a game on their TV or will the masses be happy to play games on their mobile devices?
I am not against paying $5 – $20 to game but many of the games on the Ouya lists currently circling are, frankly and I mean this with all due respect, throwaway games. These are games which you would buy, possibly, if they were priced at $1 on a whim. There are also some games for the Ouya that I am really excited about and would think paying $5 – $20 would be reasonable.
There are other factors at work here too. This $5 starting level may be the case of a vocal minority but I think a reality check is required for the developers. The Ouya has roughly 500 games coming to it. To put this in perspective, the Playstation 3 currently has just under 800 games but with an install base of around 52 million. The Ouya will have a small install base with a conservative figure of around 50,000 consoles available. Can you see the problem? Too many games not enough users, which is something I hope will change.
How can the $5 mark be viable for the majority of games with those factors? The simple answer is – it won’t – so if the developers want their games to sell at all, they will need to align their game prices to those on mobile devices. The Ouya was created to take the benefits of mobile devices but put it onto a big screen. If you increase the prices of mediocre mobile games by 400% how can the Ouya succeed?
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About Duncan Baxter
Gamer since the C64 days. Married with 4 kids and avid Liverpool supporter. Interested in all new shiny consoles.
Mobile App experience deserves Mobile App pricing.
Engaging Video Games deserve (and will require) a video game price.
These are different kinds of products that require different expectations, and we’re doing a disservice to future OUYA content and game developers by combining the price point.
Its like going to a car dealer. All the cars have essentially the same purpose, but they are at different price points based on the quality and features. A compact car (Moblie App) does not deserve the same price point as a SUV (OUYA videogame).
The Ouya has many mobile games slated for release and the rumblings are that ALL Ouya games will come in at $5 minimum. That being the case, you’re now paying a $4+ premium over a mobile game solely to play it on a big screen with a controller and the question posited is, will people be willing to PAY that premium over playing the game on their Kindle or smartphone? Mobile games for the Ouya should have a mobile market friendly price (read $1) and more engaging, original content should come in at $5 minimum.
Ports are probably going to be the same price, possible a $1 or 2$ more than in the App Store. But there will be a lot more exclusive content and good original video games that are being developed with the Ouya’s hardware in mind. Tablets and Ouya may have a lot of the same games but I feel like phones are going to have fewer ‘new’ or original titles.
As someone who has taken part in said forum debate, I think the $5 price floor threat is being overblown in this article. I’m pretty sure most developers understand that they need to offer more than a mobile experience if they want more than mobile prices for their wares. As for those who don’t, well they’ll figure it out when everybody’s trying their game but nobody’s buying. That’s the great thing about everything being free-to-try, the gamers will have a good feel for what a game is worth when it comes time to make the buying decision.
Craig. These aren’t mobile games. They are games developed on a platform that is used similarly by mobile devices. This is not a mobile device. It will not have mobile games. It will have console games.
Ok, I was thinking one thing and typing another. You are right, these are not MOBILE games (although at least a few games on lists that I have seen will in fact be mobile ports) many of the games slated for release are throwaway’s that aren’t really in the $5 class which makes them like the majority of mobile games which are generally priced at $1.
What I wanted to do was start the debate of the prices and from the comments here and on reddit it is very interesting debate. I think we all want developers to get paid a fair amount but Ouya pricing is going to really subjective. While there are some games developed primary for the Ouya the vast majority of the games will be mobile game ports. This the real big point and where they need to be very careful. Hopefully Im just two weeks or so away from getting my Ouya and we will see how this pans out.
$5 for a game shouldn’t be a deal breaker. Keep in mind all game are supposed to have a free trial version.