Square Enix Talk About Exorbitant iOS Prices

Posted on Tuesday 9th October 2012 at 20:23 by Rangers51

Let me preface this two ways: first, by saying that there's some real editorial in this news, and second, by saying that I actually don't have an issue with the pricing Square Enix put on some of their mobile games. Despite the market saying that games need to be free or under a few dollars for mobile markets, I think that games with real depth and quality shouldn't sell themselves short for a few bucks. I personally don't see an issue with $15 - $20 for games like Final Fantasy I or Final Fantasy Tactics or Secret of Mana; if I played more games on the go (and didn't already have FF1 and FFT for my PSP), I would strongly consider buying at those prices.

That said, Final Fantasy Dimensions recently released at $30, and the new Demons' Score game mentioned earlier today came out at $44. Those are serious console-level pricing schemes for games that are simply not console games, and a lot of people take offense to that level of wallet-lightening. Very few, if any, other developers take this pricing model, and that is why in his article today, Kotaku writer Jason Schreier calls this phenomenon the "Square Enix Tax."

Schreier interviewed Squenix headquarters via email, in an exchange published on Kotaku today; you might not be surprised to know that the company largely defended their price points and incremental cost models, and do not seem to see much middle ground between the undergrowth of sub-five-dollar apps and the peaks of pricing that their games represent. Even worse, for me, is the company's apparent lack of interest in making their games available to multiple devices for one purchase - if there are upgraded versions for higher res devices (think iPhone relative to iPad), not only should one purchase always make both available, cloud save availability should be a must.

Do you own any Squenix games on mobile? If so, are they the lower-cost remakes and ports, or are they the full-on, $30 and up new (or new-to-the-West) games like Dimensions? Has their pricing structure scared you away personally? Is this a sign of Squenix trying to reinvent the mobile gaming scene, or a sign that there's a new platform and a new set of customers that they just don't understand?

Source: Kotaku, Apple US App Store

Posted in: Square-Enix News

Written by

Rangers51

CoN Webmaster

Member Since: 1997-07-31

News articles posted: 558

More articles by Rangers51

Comments

Chewbekah

Comment 1: 2012-10-11 23:53

I'm not sure how I feel about it. It is a bit ridiculous to drop $30 down on a game for my phone, particularly because I don't prefer to play games on my phone, however, I enjoyed the FF:D Prologue, so I'll probably end up doing it. I would say that $44 and $30 are too much for phone games, especially when you consider games like SoM and Chaos Rings were technically full games and did not cost near as much.

Rangers51

Comment 2: 2012-10-12 13:36

See, that's the thing, Chewbekah - to me, I'm a lot more torn. I never paid $30 for any of my PSP games (I get them all used), so I would definitely have trouble doing so for my iPhone or even iPad if I had one. But, at the same time, I actually use my phone for gaming more than I do my PSP, because my life doesn't really make sense for me to carry a PSP everywhere - heck, I actually don't know where it is since I moved. I'd probably be MORE likely to pay $30 for an iOS game than the PSP if not for the control deficiencies so many iOS games seem to have.

Chewbekah

Comment 3: 2012-10-12 18:38

Yeah the control issues are the main reason I don't like to play on my iPhone and the screen size is a bit too small. I wish I had an iPad to make playing Dimensions an even better experience but I can't justify dropping that kind of money even for a referb first generation iPad for the one game that I actually want to play. I think the control issues would improve a little using an iPad vs iPhone but probably not enough.

I wish they'd just port Dimensions over to PSN and then I wouldn't have to worry about it.

I should say, however, that I haven't actually purchased Dimensions yet, but I believe at some point I probably will end up doing so, if no other options for it become available.

Control scheme aside though, it really depends on the quality of the game. If the mobile games contain the same quality and depth that you can find on a regular console, then the price point should ultimately be worth it regardless of the device. I think we have in our heads "mobile = cheap" because so many mobile games are cheap and lack the depth of a true full-fledged console game.

Rangers51

Comment 4: 2012-10-12 18:41

Very much agreed on your last point, and that's why I think the real solution for Squenix is to meet in the middle. Their games can make a very good argument for being deeper and worth more than, say, the latest Angry Birds. It's not Squenix' fault that the other devs have been coming in with dollar or three-dollar games forever. But it is the reality of the situation, and just saying "our games are better!" is not really a sufficient answer.

Chewbekah

Comment 5: 2012-10-13 18:09

If they find an overall negative response to their price point as in, people not buying their games, I don't think Square Enix is above making adjustments. They seem to admit mistakes eventually and try to fix it, i.e.. Final Fantasy XIV. Maybe we can hope for that. I know that plunking down the $30 for Dimensions right now definitely isn't priority over other things. So perhaps if we wait a spell it will change.

TheEvilEye

Comment 6: 2012-11-05 15:51

FF1 is going for $15 - 20 on the iOS version? I do find that particularly crazy, but moreso because I paid $6.99 for FF1 on the Android platform. This is my only real gaming purchase experience through Square Enix. My thoughts:

-The price tag didn't really stop me, because I knew I would enjoy the experience. I might have truly stopped to think though if the game was actually priced at $15-20.

-The game was quite a bit easier than the original (though I'm sure this was more of a port from the remake) but fairly polished.

-One gripe I had was that it required an internet connection to play. Quite often the times I would find to play involved me being in a spotty internet area, as well as my internet being a little spotty in general (I've since had my SIM card replaced and it works fine). It was probably there for anti-piracy issues but it did at times become an inconvenience.

I understand and respect the desire to move into the smartphone market and try to emulate the price points of a handheld. I don't feel that the controls are all there yet (the D-pad is usually quite awkward) but that's something time will fix. I encourage it from the standpoint of wanting to avoid the price tag of yet another handheld in my house that will inevitably collect dust, as opposed to a smartphone that I carry with me every day (as has been mentioned here before). If I have a hankering to play while I suddenly have hours to kill at a remote location, all the better to whip out my phone. But I won't ultimately pay handheld prices while the technology is still in its infancy.

To get my money, this partnership would need (for now):
1) Longer battery on phones. My smartphone already dies in a day without gaming on it.

2) Better controls. I don't know if it is to be accomplished with an add-on to the phone or if there is some sort of touch-screen controls that can be refined, but there needs to be better interactivity for my dollars.

To sum it up, I'm okay and encourage the direction they're going but I think their price point is a bit reaching comparative to how the experience really is. It's a good step to start with the older games (SoM, older FF's, etc) since they have simpler controls and it would be a relatively easy port. But both the phones and the game company will have to do a little better than that for $20+ games.

C-Bo Wroth

Comment 7: 2012-12-13 12:54

Most things on the IPhones will cost a bit more than on an Android, but I've purchased and been immediately disappointed with at least a dozen or so games for my phone; so I will be purchasing the game so I can FINALLY have a quality game on my phone. It may seem like a lot more than the other games price wise, but that's because it's a lot more than the other games in value too. I don't play MMOs because I don't have time and haven't played many console games lately for the same reason, so a FF on the go is perfect for me.

Please Log In to Add Comments

Caves of Narshe Version 6
©1997–2025 Josh Alvies (Rangers51)

Note: this printable version may not contain the entire contents of the full version. In particular, web forms are removed, and any links you could check for further information on the given data are not shown. You may check the URL at the top of this document for the full and up-to-date version.
All fanfiction and fanart (including original artwork in forum avatars) is property of the original authors. Some graphics property of Square Enix.