I see that Syberia III is out for pre-sale at about $40.00. A couple other new releases have been released at prices way beyond what used to be the norm. I have wondered how this price increase affected sales. Does anyone have any sales figures for Sherlock Holmes; the Devils Daughter, which sold for about $50.00? Are gamers paying it, or are the games pricing themselves out of the market? Please note I am seeking a discussion of whether or not the new higher prices are reasonable or fair. I simply wonder if Adventure Gaming will price itself out of the marketplace.

I recall paying 29.99 - 39.99 for games quite often when they were first released years ago. A couple I found in my files “Rhiannon: Curse of the Four Branches” $29.99 in 2008 and “Memento Mori” 29.99 in 2009. I believe one of the earlier Broken Swords (#3 possibly) was 39.99.

Compared t the costs of DarkSide games, these are much less! I believe people that can, will buy it outright and those that can't will wait for a sale. Same as the old days when trading post was hopping!

Ana

I can't even give an opinion about "reasonable or fair" but I usually wait for a sale. I try not to pay more than $20.00 and a lot less for some games, however, I have and will pay more than $20.00 depending on how much I want the game and how impatient I get.

I would be interested to see sales figures on Sherlock Holmes Devils Daughter also as that is the highest priced Digitally delivered adventure game I have seen. I don't know the truth but a rumor is that the price is so high because of the anti-piracy software (DRM)connected to it which may have cost them a lot. Which, if true, would just be another example of the true, honest gamers once again being penalized for what the bad guys are doing. Personally I haven't bought the game because of the price and the fact that its not one case/story but several which I didn't care for in their previous game as much as I loved the games before that. Doesn't mean I wouldn't play it or that its a bad game, Frogwares puts a lot into their work and produces quality results and I love what they have done in the past but this one is a little steep.

At least the games in the past that cost $25 to $40 or more you got a box or disk & case. Phantasmagoria in a big box cost me $60 when it first released with The Beast Within $56 shortly after that.

I hadn't heard about that, but apparently it uses Denuvo DRM.
According to Wikipedia, the Denuvo used in Dragon Age: Inquisition was cracked in a month.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denuvo

I'm guessing Frogwares is trying to get as much money as they can by selling the game at a high price before it is cracked (assuming any cracking group bothers to crack it -- user reviews at Steam are mixed, with complaints about short game length, about the QTE's, etc. so I doubt it would be a high priority game for crackers)
http://store.steampowered.com/app/350640/

GreyFuss kind of hit it for me, too. I don't automatically reject the $50.00 cost, but for that I'd like a box and a disk that I can save and/or display. I have loved all the Frogware Holmes games, and didn't at all mind the Multi-story game concept in Crimes and Punishments. My real fear is that the extreme costs combined with the lack of disk and box will lead to lower sales which will inevitably mean fewer games. Ah well, we all shall see.

I agree with you, The Haze

Frogwares games have been exceptionally good, for me anyway, from and including "The Awakened".
[Not too keen on what went before.]

But I haven't bought "The Devils Daughter" because the Steam only release and high price are a double whammy as far as I am concerned.

So I'm waiting to see if it ever comes up at GOG

[I don't dislike the "collection of cases" concept though.]

Exactly the same view here. Frogwares need to get over their obsession with piracy and begin understanding that good games will sell well and that people are generally honest. And that those people who illegally download games won't be stopped by DRM.

I definitely will buy and play Crimes & Punishments and The Devil's Daughter one day, but not until they are offered DRM free or for a fragment of the current asking price on STEAM.

Well I know we all love getting a great deal and this site is great for people posting whenever a sale is happening.

I haven't spent much money on games in a long time. I usually buy casuals, and even then only on sale. But they only last at most 3-4 hours. If I am going to spend more money on an adventure game, I want value. I took a chance with The Witness and bought it from Humble Bundle for $50 CDN. As I am well into my 30th hour and not even 25% done, I think that is good value. I backed Obduction, and hopefully will be wowed by the game, and at least I'll get a boxed version. Obduction will also probably be more expensive because I'll likely need to buy a new computer to play it.

I won't buy them on STEAM at any price, but I'd pay the current price if they were on GOG.

Between the obnoxious DRM controls (Nintendo anyone?) and download only models, Adventure Gaming as we know it will just die a slow death.

I buy games that have physical releases. Yes, that means I miss out on what are probably good games but I am voting with my wallet. As a collector, the box and disk are important to me (close to 400 Adv. Games).

The thieves are/have ruining/ruined gaming for all of us.

boidsonly, I don't believe not buying the games will cause them to put games on disks, quite the contrary, I believe all it will do is cause them to cease making adventures, period. There is a whole generation out there that is raised on downloads and it's growing every day. While I miss the pretty boxes, I love the ease of downloading and so do others. Physical copies are expensive to make, ship, and get store space.

Ana

At one time I thought I would never download a game but now (I have to admit) I love it. I cherish all the games I have on disc and won't part with them but I know if I were to die tonight, they'd probably all end up in my garbage can, and that knowledge is keeping me from buying any more (movie) DVD's also.

I'm not saying this to be morbid, just stating a fact.

Me too; oldbroad: I recently realized (OK; my wife showed me!) that I have an old footlocker full of old games (Most of which my newer computer won't play.) I also have several hundred too many books for the shelves I have. I have found downloading convenient and "Space-savingly" helpful. I would much rather display books than games, so I seem to have lost some of my yearning for boxes and disks.

I, too, have more books than shelf space but those I keep buying. I don't think I would like to read a book on a Nook or whatever. I tried reading some on my computer with the Amazon prime thing but didn't get very far.

I think the download model has saved adventure gaming if anything. And I love it. I must have several hundred of those big boxes with a tiny CD and booklet inside and all they do is taking up valuable space. I have ripped all my games to hard drive and put the physical stuff in storage. Only a few classics and favourites are left on the shelves. Nowadays I rarely buy games on physical media and even buy old games I already own on CD/DVD again from places like GOG. DRM is/was an even bigger issue with physical media, with really obnoxious copy protection schemes like Starforce. And those games simply won't even install and even less play on the latest Windows versions because of the DRM itself.

No, the download model is the way to go imo. Just wish they would all be DRM free. I won't pay more than 10-20 bucks to "rent" a game and only if it's not available DRM-free. The fact that Frogwares Sherlock games up to "The Testament" (apart from the first but I will never EVER play that one again...) recently was released on GOG is a good sign though. Maybe the latest two will show upp there eventually too. I'll then be more than willing to pay full price.

Really worth the money. The storyline/format is really like "Return to Zork" just not as funny..so far. "Want some rye, Course you do..They're all dead"

What's the [Password....I'm loving this, there's even a mailbox and a house....adventure.....duh.

Enjoy, please!!!

Worth 30 bucks

Chucko; are you referring to the new Holmes game? If so, where did you find it for $30.00?