Don Bradman Cricket 14 General Discussion

[barmyarmy]

The Indian price being tied to the Australian price via the US$ has caused us great pain. If I had known about the low Indian sales volume then I would be honest and say I'd have priced it for Australia without regard to India.

What would have been the effect on the Australian price there?

 

[Biggs]

A lot higher, I assume?

 

[Ricco_M]

A feature advertisement on steam or a weekend deal with 10% off might help raise profile a bit as it didn't get much exposure on release due to steam sales.

I obviously dont know the costs implications on this but every little thing helps and in the back of the patches the reviews and user scores are very positive to anyone looking to buy now.

 

[Alberts]

What would have been the effect on the Australian price there?

Would have got the Australia tax probably.

 

[The Nihilist]

You don't get it. It's ALREADY cheap. The price is modified already to get it selling. $50 is not expensive.

I'd be against your views. Flipkart (Local Online Retailer) has it priced at ?3,799. That's easily the costliest game I've seen out there, beating even Titanfall and many other well-known titles. $50 on steam is not cheap either when compared to other games. 30 or...40 would have been more reasonable if you ask me. I still am getting it anyways given the hardcore cricket fan that I am.

But even with the hefty price tag, it doesn't give a valid reason to pirate the game. Buy it or don't play it at all. My thoughts on that.

 

[barmyarmy]

PC Cricket gaming is a pretty niche market, the issue isn't with the marketing.

Disagree with you there. Certainly in the UK the issue is with the marketing. AC13's marketing was better.

It's with the fact the most populous cricket nation on the planet has the most populous gamers online playing it and 80% of them haven't payed a single f'n dollar for it. That's your problem. It's $50! Just pay for it, christ. You brought the computer and the controller!

You don't rely on the Indian market to hit your sales targets. As I said before piracy is clearly worse than we feared but the success and failure of the game will depend on UK/Aus and not India. As we knew from the FIFA figures you're not going to make a lot of actual money in the Indian market and I can't believe Ross was relying on heavy sales there.

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A lot higher, I assume?

My impression was that it was quite high already. Was trying to see what sort of mark-up we're talking about.

 

[Alberts]

So your understanding is "price it bargain basement to get some money, because that's better than none?" Do you understand how totally unsustainable that is and how it's not getting us any closer to the goal of getting regularly financed cricket gaming products? Talk me through these "many ways" to combat it, because for me there's only one; Pay a fair price for it. That fair price, is $50.

It's not "to get something", it's for visibility and profile.

$50 is cheap for the Australian market.

 

[MattW]

Codemasters tried cheap with Ashes Cricket 2009. It failed. Pirates at $50 are pirates at $10 are pirates at 99c.

 

[barmyarmy]

A feature advertisement on steam or a weekend deal with 10% off might help raise profile a bit as it didn't get much exposure on release due to steam sales.

I obviously dont know the costs implications on this but every little thing helps and in the back of the patches the reviews and user scores are very positive to anyone looking to buy now.

If Big Ant are able to make a second version next year they will be going to market with a much more solid product and, with licenses and bigger and better marketing, I would expect them to hit the sales levels of IC10 at least. Right now my concern is that the hugely disappointing sales of the game despite its quality, will make a follow-up unviable. I find it astonishing that Ross is still here answering questions and providing support for a game that feels like it was made exclusively for Planetcricket members.

 

[BigAntStudios]

Not heavy sales, balanced enough to reduce the Indian and Australian price.

 

[Gamer Pradosh]

Codemasters tried cheap with Ashes Cricket 2009. It failed. Pirates at $50 are pirates at $10 are pirates at 99c.

Yeah agreed,If decided to pirate the game then they will regardless of the price..

 

[Deleted member 9102]

It would be a shame if this franchise doesn't continue on PC - I'd be happy to wait if it meant having it released at some point. This seems to be the plan, but it doesn't sound very concrete.

I won't be buying a console ever again, so the only way I'll get to play it is on PC...

I try to get the word out about this game wherever I can if I think someone may take an interest, and a few people have sounded keen on it, but the game doesn't seem to be widely known. I suppose it didn't get much exposure during the Steam Sale and I don't remember seeing any console copies in any shops in my town centre.

 

[KP_Nuts]

If for some reason it doesn't continue on PC, of which would be catastrophic

What would be the chances of getting my mits on the source code, so I and the community could keep it going?

 

[ZoraxDoom]

So what, did they just get given a computer and controller for free did they? How about their internet connection, did that fall off the back of a lorry? I'm in a mood because there's a whole bunch of dicks out there ruining cricket games for everyone and you're like "oh well, shit happens, maybe make it cheaper for them?". They're the same guys that steal $1 iPhone apps... it's not about price.

a) Internet is very cheap in India
b) Fake controllers exist
c) Most people will be playing these on low end, several year old PCs on the lowest setting.

ALSO coming from an Indian family I can tell you I've had the discussion, and part of the negotiation to get your parents to buy you a nice computer and a controller or a console is that that will be the only investment they are making and you will handle obtaining the games yourself.

And even if they could afford the game, the culture is that you don't pay for something when you can get the same thing for cheaper or for free. Doing so makes you look like an idiot.

Now I'm not saying this attitude is right, but it is important to understand the culture of the market you are selling to. You can't change the customer, but you can understand them and market your product accordingly.

The free games with ads system is very popular in India and with Indian phone apps, as is the free Lite version + paid Premium version. Both definitely worth checking out.

Also having said all this, is there any system in place by which those of us who want to further support Big Ant and their efforts to make cricket games to donate cash to them, outside of buying the game? Cause I'm sure you'll find several people very willing to donate.

 

[Ricco_M]

If Big Ant are able to make a second version next year they will be going to market with a much more solid product and, with licenses and bigger and better marketing, I would expect them to hit the sales levels of IC10 at least. Right now my concern is that the hugely disappointing sales of the game despite its quality, will make a follow-up unviable. I find it astonishing that Ross is still here answering questions and providing support for a game that feels like it was made exclusively for Planetcricket members.

That's a sobering thought I never thought the sales would struggle to that extent given the product and I take it to advertise on steam would be expensive then and therefore unviable in this instance?

I must say that i have found the experience of having insights from game developers like Ross and Jamie here at planetcricket to be fascinating over the past few years and appreciate the effort Ross has made and hope this works out in the long run for him, hopefully PC gamers will be along on the ride.