mare said: Honestly, even now we still think that that making a single unified game (rather than a cheaper core game + nickel-and-dime fans with paid DLC) was a better approach for everyone. Maybe we didn't make as much money, but we made a better game than if it had been fragmented. In our (maybe horribly wrong) opinion anyway! Click to expand...

I'd be curious what a widespread poll of people would reveal. I'm a massive fan of N+ (and now N++), and even I hesitated for a bit when I heard it would be $20. Being in the beta completely convinced me that the game was worth it. But if you would, hear out some thoughts I have on price.You mentioned Towerfall at $15. To me, $15 feels like the current "psychological price ceiling" for indie games. I remember in early XBLA days when $5 was the norm, so $10 games garnered complaints. Most of the time the games were absolutely worth $10, but people hadn't gotten used to the price yet. Now $10 feels like the average, and $15 the "stretching it" spot but where games that are great still do well. $20 isn't something that I feel like the public is used to yet for most "indie" games...even though they should be!Also, I think "platforming" isn't the only issue when it comes to at-a-glance perceived value of N++. It's the "simplistic" graphics. What I see as amazingly clean and concise design might come off to many as cheap or low-effort. I say this not to devalue your game at all, but to demonstrate the barriers you're up against. I don't think N++ should look any other way at all--my suggestion here is not to change the look, but to consider this potential first impression as something that would be well combated with a demo and/or a cheaper, smaller slice of the game.Lastly, as far as "nickel and diming" fans with DLC, that language kind of makes it sound like it wouldn't matter how the DLC was priced or packaged--that it'd be seen as almost predatory regardless. I think that stance represents a loud minority of people. Many people are used to buying DLC these days. I'd actually turn that thought of yours around and say many folks probably feel "nickel and dimed" when considering a base price of $20. When you line up the # of hours, the # of levels, # amount of music...it's all a "good deal", but you're still kind of adding up nickels and dimes rather than looking straight at "what does someone want to shell out in order to even try playing N++"?Again, to be completely clear, I absolutely think the total package here is worth $20 if not more!! But I don't think the average person sees that...even potentially who played and enjoyed N+. "Well, I loved N+, and I'd love to try N++, but $20 seems like a lot, especially considering I already own N+."Ultimately, my guess / opinion is that if you priced it at $10 or $15 and put Legacy levels or some other division of levels in one or two DLCs that totaled up to the remaining $5-$10 (heck, some of the music could have been packaged with the levels as more incentive), my guess is that you would have sold substantially more copies of the base game. Not everyone would buy all the DLC, but I'd guess you might make more money overall, and even if you didn't, the word would be spreading further and faster due to more base copies sold.This post may come off as critical, but it's really just my semi-educated thoughts and opinions. I often just lurk on GAF, but I spent the time to write these thoughts up because I LOVE N++ and want to see both the game succeed and you all as developers succeed. So I'm hoping my opinions are of some insight or value.You may already be discussing it, but in addition to a demo, I wonder if eventually some releasing some sort of cheaper "lite" version of the game with the ability to fully upgrade for the same total cost might still do you guys well. We are much more in a day and age of episodic content and DLC than ever before, and even though some DLC is scummy, much of it is practical and is a good money maker. Less purchase commitment at a time sometimes leads to more purchases!Anyway, I'll continue trying to spread the word! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love and sweat you poured into this game. The physics, graphics, level design, music, fun factor, editor, atmosphere...it's all off the charts as far as I'm concerned.