Section 8 Sequel Tries New Pricing Strategy

[Andy Chalk]

Section 8 Sequel Tries New Pricing Strategy

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TimeGate Studios is trying something different with Section 8: Prejudice, offering the sequel to the full-priced Section 8 [http://www.amazon.com/Section-8-Pc/dp/B001TM3NXE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1292520017&sr=8-2] for only 15 bucks.

Section 8 promised to bring something a little different to the multiplayer FPS genre with its "spawn anywhere" mechanic, an idea I thought sounded pretty cool when I first heard about it. But in the end, the game just didn't do very well for itself; its one original trick wasn't enough to overcome middle-of-the-road reviews and competition from much more well-established rivals. So for the follow-up, Section 8: Prejudice, TimeGate [http://www.timegate.com/] is trying to attract an audience by offering a "full-featured, sci-fi-themed, first-person shooter that delivers a 5-hour, story-driven single-player campaign" on the serious cheap.

"We're challenging the notion of just how much quality and value we can pack into a digital download first-person shooter," said TimeGate Studios CEO Adel Chaveleh. "Our target is very simply to be the highest quality, best value digital FPS on the market. Prejudice is a full-retail-scoped product, so I'm sure our fans will be very happy with our price-point decision."

That price point, in case you missed it, is $14.99, a pretty sweet deal for a game that promises as much as Prejudice. Whether it actually comes across with the goods is a different matter, but as a sequel it's not unreasonable to expect that at least some of the shortcomings of the first game will be addressed, while the price will hopefully help keep the servers a little more populated. But even more important to the big picture is that if Prejudice succeeds, it might help convince other publishers with new or uncertain franchises that price point is in fact an issue for a lot of gamers. Rolling the dice on a game you've never heard of is a lot easier to do for $15 than for $50.

Section 8: Prejudice is slated for release in the first quarter of 2011 on Xbox Live, the PlayStation Network and PC digital distributors like Steam and Games for Windows Live. For more information, check out warisprejudice.com [http://warisprejudice.com].


Permalink

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

This is very smart. This is basically a guaranteed buy for me now.

I mean, Battlefield 1943 was $15, and that was 3 maps multiplayer-only, and was even bot-less.

This is a full retail FPS, campaign and online. Even if the quality is lacking a bit in the end, I'd be hard pressed to feel ripped off.

So, it worked on me, at least.

 

[Woodsey]

I'm usually one for quality over quantity, but it sure as shit shouldn't be full price for 5 hours.

And it still seems incredibly generic.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

This is very smart. This is basically a guaranteed buy for me now.

I mean, Battlefield 1943 was $15, and that was 3 maps with one shit plane focused free one later.

This is a full FPS, campaign and online.

So, it worked on me, at least.

Same.

I remember back in the day I bought Serious Sam knowing absolutely nothing about it, except that it was $20. Needless to say, that was a very well spent 20 bucks.

 

[WrongSprite]

Just saying, the English guy in that says '15 quid'. That's a fair bit more than 15 bucks! I hope it's not the actual price.

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

I've played the beta and it plays like the first one did. A decent multiplayer experience for $15 is a pretty good deal.

 

[Evilsanta]

hmm...Might get it.

Must admit it is quite the nice strategy to use.

 

[teh_Canape]

Same.

I remember back in the day I bought Serious Sam knowing absolutely nothing about it, except that it was $20. Needless to say, that was a very well spent 20 bucks.

ah, buying shit without actually knowing shit about it except that it was relatively cheap or the name was cool

memories of the old nintendo/sega days ^-^

also, same random buy I did with GunMetal

oh the memories

 

[sooperman]

I only played the demo for the original, and it was underwhelming despite all of the new bits and bobs they tried to add.

For $15, though, it doesn't matter. I paid ten for PixelJunk Shooter, I'll pay 15 for Bad Company 2: Vietnam, and I'll gladly pay 15 for for a game this big. Let's see what the reviews say about this one

 

[V8 Ninja]

I'll admit, they might just have me. While I'm one to wait for reviews, $15 isn't too much to spend on something, whether it's crap or not.

 

[ultimateownage]

I never even heard of this and I'm buying it. I probably won't play it much, but it might get it across to people like Activision that we don't want price hikes, we want price drops. Or else piracy is just going to get worse and worse.
Speaking of piracy, I bet this is one of the least pirated games of the year.

 

[Wicky_42]

Just saying, the English guy in that says '15 quid'. That's a fair bit more than 15 bucks! I hope it's not the actual price.

My first thought too!

OT: had a quick look at section 8 trailers and yeah, generic seems to be the way these guys play. VERY Halo-esq though sprint and jetpack are nice touches. None the less, if they polish the story well enough I could see dropping £10 on it for 5 hrs of entertainment - heck, I pay only a bit more for a 3D film and those are only 100 mins or so.

Won't get it on principle if they do charge £15 for it, or even 15 Euros - it's called an exchange rate, yanks

 

[Outlaw Torn]

Just saying, the English guy in that says '15 quid'. That's a fair bit more than 15 bucks! I hope it's not the actual price.

Maybe it costs 15 yen in Japan?

 

[Amnestic]

15 quid (that is, pounds) is around 23-24 US Dollars, so assuming he did indeed mean pounds, that's about $10 more depending on inflation and whatnot when it finally does come out.

 

[llamastorm.games]

Same.

I remember back in the day I bought Serious Sam knowing absolutely nothing about it, except that it was $20. Needless to say, that was a very well spent 20 bucks.

ah, buying shit without actually knowing shit about it except that it was relatively cheap or the name was cool

memories of the old nintendo/sega days ^-^

also, same random buy I did with GunMetal

oh the memories

GunMetal....i remember buying that for £1 at gamestation because it was £1 and i played it for about half an hour and thought it was was ridiculous and poop, still didnt feel ripped off.

OT: Despite my general dislike for online FPS multiplaying games, this will be around 1200 points, which is cheap enough just to try, especially if a few mates get it and even more so with a 5 hour campaign.

 

[Andy Chalk]

This is why TimeGate might really be onto something here. I've bought plenty of games that I knew virtually nothing about, just because they were under 20 bucks. Some of them were great deals, others not so much, but I've never come away feeling like I got hosed because, hey, 20 bucks. The publisher, meanwhile, makes a sale (I'll happily buy the original Section 8 for $15 or $20 if I ever see it at that price), gets its name out to a wider audience and has a chance to better establish itself as a maker of decent games. Not every game is going to be that cheap, or should be, but it's nice that somebody might finally recognize that blind adherence to standard price points isn't necessarily the best way to go.

 

[teh_Canape]

GunMetal....i remember buying that for £1 at gamestation because it was £1 and i played it for about half an hour and thought it was was ridiculous and poop, still didnt feel ripped off.

idk, I thought it was pretty good

played it mostly because it reminded me of Gundam Wing

and I loved Gundam Wing =P

 

[megs1120]

This is why TimeGate might really be onto something here. I've bought plenty of games that I knew virtually nothing about, just because they were under 20 bucks. Some of them were great deals, others not so much, but I've never come away feeling like I got hosed because, hey, 20 bucks. The publisher, meanwhile, makes a sale (I'll happily buy the original Section 8 for $15 or $20 if I ever see it at that price), gets its name out to a wider audience and has a chance to better establish itself as a maker of decent games. Not every game is going to be that cheap, or should be, but it's nice that somebody might finally recognize that blind adherence to standard price points isn't necessarily the best way to go.

Thank goodness for digital distribution! If this was going to be sold at retail, there's no way they could do this.

 

[AgentBJ09]

$15? Really? Huh.

That's interesting. TimeGate's made some good stuff before, Kohan for one, and I enjoyed Section 8 for the time that I played it, so I'm definitely supporting these guys.

Even more so since their company is in my home city of Sugar Land.