What’s Your Price Point?
by HearItWow, HSM special guest contributor
The rise of more technically sophisticated items in Home has led to some upward pressure on prices. While we know there’s an appetite out there for higher-priced items, it does raise the question of how much each of us is willing to pay for something. So what’s the point when prices become too high for you?
Speaking for myself, it breaks down something like this:
Personal Spaces: $6.99. Above this, it needs to be something exceptional.
Active Items: $2.99. More than this and I’m very unlikely to buy it.
Furniture: $1.49
Basic clothes: $1.49, and I’ll buy anything I like that’s less than this.
Full outfits: I own the Fire Elemental, which is what, $7.99? The item needs to be really unique and detailed to get me to spend that much.
Games: $9.99. Beyond that, I can get PSOne games. I will buy add-ons for games that, combined with the price of the game, may exceed that total, but the add-ons must include some sort of virtual item or reward.
Decisions are seldom made in a vacuum. Yes, there are those who will make something and say, “How much can I get away with charging for this?” but businesses that operate on that model seldom last long. It was interesting to me to see the responses when I posted this in the Sony forum, because they’ve run across a very wide spectrum. I honestly expected the responses to point toward some happy medium, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. I hope people keep answering, because this is a vital issue in Home.
Yes, we are a microcosm of the larger Home userbase, but we cover a very wide spectrum of experiences and opinions on these Forums. I look at the comments thread for the Mech Jets, and see a 95% to 5% split on people who think they’re worth the money. I happen to be the 5%, and my percentage is shrinking with each new post. I happened to discover a great feature on those Mech Jets for Home video makers, so that’s another reason for me to own it.
Should they poll us about this in Home? Absolutely, but they also have a ton of financial data that they can sift through to see what works and what doesn’t. A small group of users answering the questions I posed can help them understand the whys behind the numbers.
The thing to remember in this is that we’re the ones who talk about this stuff. Devs read these forums, and they react to what we say. I personally find it more constructive to ask why we think something is too expensive than to argue whether it is or not. Instead of berating people for buying things, we should be asking why things cost as much as they do. Instead of attacking each other, we should be asking Sony and its third-party developers why they don’t make a greater effort to put out reasonably priced items.
Sony, by the way, has also given us some of the best value items in Home. Check out the Winged Demon, Hades or the life-sized chess set, which are all more than worth their price tags.
The argument cannot be “I hates peoplez who spenz da moniez.” It needs to be “Why does this cost so much?” The only real answer in some cases is that things cost what they do because that’s what enough people are willing to pay. You’re never going to change that attitude. Ultimately, all you can do is support developers that provide what you believe is a good value for your money, and let others do the same.
Here are a few other responses from the original thread on the Sony forum, reprinted as they originally appeared.
From Jersquall, HSM Podcast Editor:
I buy all of the estates regardless because I am a collector of estates. I like each and every one in some way. Prices do matter but it’s just something I like doing. Besides it’s handy for video’s and tours which is a plus.
Clothing: I am an impulse buyer as I am sure most are. If I see it and like it. MINE! I really don’t mind paying $1.99 but it has to be something I REALLY like. $.99 – $1.50 is fine by me.
Companions are on the average of $2.50 and I think thats a bit much but I understand these are ”Special” and the animations are unique and fun. I have maybe 12-15 so buying once in a while is fine.
Active items, Again- if I really like it and it’s not $5.00 I can get it.
I still refuse to pay $10.00 to $15.00 for a suit/outfit. If it came with 3 NEW dances and 3 NEW movement emotes I would consider it.
From Keara22HI, HSM team writer:
What do you own: A car? A house? Some clothes? Tangible items you can eat, drive, wear – for as long as they last. Or until you replace them with some more tangibles you like better.
But, you also own memories. And memories are the only things that will be yours forever. Intangibles are the only part of this life you will take with you into eternity. The material things you wanted so much will be gone – only the memories of the thrill of acquiring that item will remain.
That’s why we all spend money on experiences. Look at your credit card receipts, your checkbook record, and your pocket calendar. How much money was spent on experiences this month? That latte you bought at Starbucks was a tasty experience going in. It cost you about $5.00 and lasted about 30 minutes before beginning the slow descent out of you. The movie ticket probably cost you $8.00 and you can still remember some of the better scenes in there.
So, experiences DO have a cash value, don’t they? And what you are willing to spend depends on how much you want the immediate pleasure plus those lasting memories of that experience.
Now that we will be able to use Navigator the week before a new personal space goes on the market (to be able to tour on our own), I suspect I will get a lot more ‘fluid’ on what I will be willing to spend. Although I purchased quite a few for $4.99 each, there are some huge differences that make some of them well worth more than that and others that I really regret buying now – at any price. To me, the Sunset Yacht is worth two Summer Places for a whole lot of reasons.
Same with items – if they can find some way to indicate the dimensions of items (such as an eight-foot-tall statue), I will probably buy more items. My fear factor is: is that a statue or an action figure? Will it fit on that shelf in my living room or not? If they can show my avatar wearing new clothing items I am considering buying, why can’t they put me in the picture next to a dragon?
From MahmoudEm, HSM guest contributor:
*Personal Spaces: $4.99. Above this, it needs to be something that gives me magical powers.
*Active Items: $1.99. More than this price it better give me more than 2 optional activities.
*Furniture: $2.50. If more than I will likely use it in ever single Personal Space I own.
*Basic clothes: $1.99 If I see alot of people wear it, then I’ll pass. (I like to be in the group were you see people bearly wear it)
*Full outfits: $4.99 If I can’t dress like any Mortal Kombat Characters well, then it’s a pass.
*Games: $39.99. If higher than it most likely will be a game that I can play with most of my friends online, let me free roam, I simply freakin LOVE, or a Collectors Edition.
*Add Ons: $19.99 It applies the same, if it optimizes a better experience for me in gameplay/strategy wise then I’ll grab it.
*Themes: $3.99 If I can make my friends say “Holy Shish Kabob! How’d you get that bro?!?” Then It’s not worth the money
*Avatars: $1.99 For my favortie game characters of all time!
NorseNote: Behavioral economics has always been a fascinating field, and Home presents a remarkable case study. How do you determine what the market value is for a nontangible commodity which the developer can modify without advance notice after the purchase is completed, and which cannot be privately resold by the consumer? As Home experiments with seeing what the market will bear — particularly as they now have years of consumer data to study for trends — it is interesting to see how the consumer base will respond.
Case in point — the Gold Suit. Though members of the Home community may have found it aesthetically distasteful, or railed against what they saw as a blatant attempt at creating social classes within Home in order to generate revenue, the reality is that the Gold Suit generated a significant return on invested capital. Even if fewer people purchased it, it was priced so much higher than other items — and at the time there was nothing else like it — that it did extremely well. If something does well in Home, you can expect to see more of it; it’s important to remember that ultimately the consumer drives the marketplace, which is what makes this sort of information and insight so valuable.
Some insights from the development side of things, as related in the cover story of HSM’s fifth issue:
“We have a list of ideas of things we would like to see in Home. But if even one person in the suggestion thread (in the Sony forum) mentions an idea that’s already on the list, it gets bumped up, and, many times, added to the schedule right then….The SCEA PlayStation Home team has lots of data. They help inform and guide us based on the metrics they are seeing, and at the same time, give us a lot of freedom to experiment and be creative.”
So: what’s your price point?
October 27th, 2011 by HearItWow | 3 comments
HearItWow is the former producer of HomeCast, which may have entertained some people as recently as 2012. He is currently attempting to reinvent talk radio and occasionally pokes his head up to write about really cool things happening in PlayStation Home. His weekly radio show can be heard live on wmfo.org from 7 to 9 PM Eastern on Wednesday nights.
Great article HIW! My price points are basically the same as yours. I have never paid more than $4.99 for an estate, though I might if it was really special, but never more than $7. Clothes I will spend up to $2 on if I particularly like it, like the Billabong dresses. Furniture is $1.49 for me and I prefer $.99. Active items, $1.99, though if it is a cute pet I might consider $2.49. As for games, some disk based ones I am still willing to pay the full price for, but I have only purchased a couple of downloaded ones, and they were both $9.99. So I guess you could say that’s my ceiling.
I love Home, and I believe that the people who develop and create new things for it do as well. As it grows I am sure that the pricing and items will evolve to suit what comes.
One thing that anyone who wants to sell in Home needs to remember is the economy as well. Many people are hurting right now when it comes to having disposable income, it is evaporating at a fast pace for many, for some it has disappeared all together.
Nice article. I enjoyed reading it.
I’m not sure about price points but I do know when it comes to clothes I really look for outfits that consist of separates. I think they offer considerably more value than one piece. I’d like to see at least 5 items per costume/outfit. I know Lockwood understands that very well.
2.99 is about what I would expect. Items more than that really need to be special. Outfits without previews in the mall I will rarely buy by the way.
Personal spaces: There may be a law of diminishing returns with personal estates. Once you’ve built up a list of your favorites, a new space really has to offer something unique and different to warrant a purchase. I won’t go above five dollars for a personal estate unless it aesthetically matches what I like (natured-themed spaces primarily) *and* offers something unique. I like the Mansion pool deck, for instance, but it’s just not different enough from the Tropical Escape to warrant an investment. Now, that said, if a personal estate came out that was truly fantastic and appealed to me personally, I’d be willing to spend Mansion-level money to acquire it.
Active Items: Depends on the active item. If it’s something sufficiently unique, I might spend up to three or even four dollars. Otherwise, I’d cap it at a buck-fifty and call it a day.
Furniture: I don’t like furniture bundles. I really don’t. Purchasing a la carte is much more my style. Generally speaking, I won’t exceed a dollar per item unless it’s something quite unique (I tend to spend a lot on ornaments).
Basic clothes: Two dollars is really my upper limit, and that’s only for something I really want. Otherwise, one dollar is about the sweet spot on the tennis racquet.
Full outfits: I rarely purchase full outfits. Give me separates all day long.
Games: There really isn’t a limit here. It depends on the game. I’ve easily spent twenty to thirty dollars on Novus Prime, and same goes for Sodium2. I tend toward games which are free to try out and then require a buy-in (or are dramatically enhanced with a buy-in) over games which demand my money up front.