ORIGINAL: IFlySlowPlanes
With all these sims coming in at around $200, is it only a matter of time before one company or another realizes that in order to win market share, they'll need to lower their prices? I mean, I know we're supposed to think "Yeah, but it's still cheaper than wrecking a real one." And let's not forget, "But this is such a small demographic....we have to make up for the lack of volume!"
While I won't go so far as to say these programs are the equivalent of other mass-market video games, and should therefore be priced comparably, I DO think every one of these programs is over-priced, particularly when you consider the hardware requirements to make them function at anywhere near the capability they demonstrate in ads and on the show floors.
I for one won't bother until the prices become reasonable (and yes, I know my definition of reasonable may be different from yours!). Not saying "never"...because that's a long time!
Just my $0.02
I agree with the $200 price tag. It is just too much for what it is. I think a $99 price point is where they really need to be at to generate a greater number of sales.
I'm sure there are several arguments supporting this price and I will address a few of them.
1. $200 is cheaper that crashing a plane
However, point is that none of the simulators guarantee your plane at the field. As good as the best simulator may be, it is not the real thing and practicing on it may help you at the field, but it isn't enough in itself as the realism isn't all the way there. In fact, you could argue that the simulator might actually make a person a little over confident and cause them to crash the real plane. I'm sure someone has said: "that didn't happpen like that on the simulator".
2. Development costs have to be recouped
Of course they do. I don't know how many millions of dollars they spent developing the DVD player, but I can guarantee you not many people would have paid $10,000 for one. Volume comes when the price point gets to a key area. The basis of any sales decision is pretty simple. When Value > Price or Perceived Value > Price, a sale is made. When not, people don't buy. I don't know the magic that so many companies use to develop products and recoup their R&D cost, but it is not by being overpriced in the marketplace. It just so happens that the RC Sim market hasn't had anyone do a price drop yet.
3. They don't sell enough copies to justify a lower price
There is a balance between volume and profitability. A company has to determine how many units it can move at each price point. It also has to determine how large their marketplace is and how many potential customers exist. However, marketing can help overcome some of these issue. For example, bundling a "Lite" version of a Sim with airplanes could result in much greater sales by putting the product in front of more eyes than traditional marketing.
There are others as well.
My point is this...
If I am sitting in my living room and not jumping at the $200 price tag then it results in no sale. However, if I would buy at $99 and one other person would too then the math is simple. ZERO at $200 or TWO at $99. Looks like a $0/$198 difference. What would the developer rather have?
I truly believe that $99 is the magic number.