Back to the Future pricing

[Maikel Steneker]

Telltale is really pissing me off. I need to get this off my chest.

When Back to the Future was available for preorder in december of last year, I thought about getting it, but in the end I decided to wait for the Steam/PSN version. The price of 20 dollars (15 euros) was definitely worth it for me, but I'd rather keep my games in one place.

The Steam version then launched for a fair price of 25 dollars. The European version was slightly more expensive, but with other companies ripping us of when they get the chance, 19 euros wasn't bad at all.

By the time the second episode came out, the first episode finally launched on PSN. They kind of made it up by lowering the price to 20 dollars though. I patiently waited for the European release. I reasoned that, because Telltale has always been fair when it comes to exchange rates, I might as well wait for that.

Today, more than two months after the PC release of episode 1 and 3 weeks after the US PSN release of episode 1, Back to the Future finally launched on the European PSN. For a price of 20 euros. In other words, they simply replaced the dollar sign with the euro sign and made European PS3 owners pay more than anyone else.

Unwilling to pay this high price, I booted up my PC to get the Steam version. Unfortunately, as we can see on steamgamessales.com, the price of the Steam version was increased to 25 euros!

I'd really like an explanation for this, because I just don't get it. It feels like Telltale is deliberately teasing me. There are people who preordered this game for 15 dollars and got it on day one. I patiently waited for over two months and I was willing to accept late PSN releases for all other episodes, yet I have to pay 27 dollars - almost twice the amount other people paid!

Who else is frustrated by this?

[VeryTori]

I am sorry to hear that. Unfortunatly there is nothing I can do. How about you try checking the hints and tips forum for Back To The Future or try emailing TellTale Games at support@telltalegames.com.

[thesporkman]

If you get the game from Telltale directly, it's $25, which is about 18 Euros.

Edit: Sorry, I didn't read the whole post. You already knew that. But at this point buying the game directly from Telltale is still your cheapest option.

[Emo Hoe]

If they gave discounts for delays on steam etc why wouldn't the price go back up?
You have to remember people want their cut so prices go up.

PS3 price: has to cover telltale costs to make the game + the costs in converting said game to ps 3 format + the cost of submitting it to the ps 3 store etc.

It's like the difference between buying wholesale and buying in a normal shop.
Shop price is higher because the shop owner wants their cut.

Plus with europe side of things you have to factor in taxation; I'm fairly sure digital products like on the ps store etc now are subject to some kind of taxation (same way as when u have stuff shipped from us price is higher as they have to add on uk import taxes or w/e)

[Rather Dashing]

Steam is a retailer. They have more control over prices on their end than Telltale does, and this seems like a classic case of Steam mucking up pricing in other territories. This is especially evident because when you go to where Telltale themselves have full control over pricing and distribution, it's a flat charge across the board(though apparently their international shipping charges are insane).

[Maikel Steneker]

Originally Posted by Emo Hoe

If they gave discounts for delays on steam etc why wouldn't the price go back up?
You have to remember people want their cut so prices go up.

PS3 price: has to cover telltale costs to make the game + the costs in converting said game to ps 3 format + the cost of submitting it to the ps 3 store etc.

It's like the difference between buying wholesale and buying in a normal shop.
Shop price is higher because the shop owner wants their cut.

Plus with europe side of things you have to factor in taxation; I'm fairly sure digital products like on the ps store etc now are subject to some kind of taxation (same way as when u have stuff shipped from us price is higher as they have to add on uk import taxes or w/e)

The thing is that with everything you say, you think about it from the developers perspective. I know how retailers work, I know that Europe has higher taxes and I know that porting a game to the PS3 costs money. However, that's not how prices should be set. The Devil's Playhouse was initially developed on PS3 and then ported to PC, but that cost the same on every platform.

Also, I'm not sure why you think the price increase on Steam makes sense. This was not advertised as some kind of discount. They did have a discount, so you could buy the game for 17 instead of 19 euros. Then the discount ended, and the game was 19 euros. For some reason, Telltale recently increased the price to 25 euros. Even if you take the whole story about porting costs, taxes, retailers etc. in consideration (which, in my opinion, you should not), this makes no sense. When you release a game, it gets cheaper over time. Granted, there is an exception to this rule (namely preorder discounts), but in general a game's price won't be increased unannounced.

I guess that worst part is that Telltale acted like the exact opposite was happening. Basically they told PS3 users that they were sorry for the delay and that they wanted to make it up by offering the PS3 version for a lower price. What they did was increase the price on Steam and then offer the PSN version for more than the Steam version initially cost.

Originally Posted by Rather Dashing

Steam is a retailer. They have more control over prices on their end than Telltale does, and this seems like a classic case of Steam mucking up pricing in other territories. This is especially evident because when you go to where Telltale themselves have full control over pricing and distribution, it's a flat charge across the board(though apparently their international shipping charges are insane).

I don't see how Steam has got anything to do with it. When you're selling a game on Steam, Valve takes a part and Europe takes a part with taxes. As a developer, you have decision to make: do I increase the price in Europe, letting roughly half of my customers pay a lot more, or do I cover these costs? Although Steam seems to advise a higher price for the European market, in the end the developer decides. In this case, Telltale did decide: they made the European version only slightly more expensive. Then they increased the price.

I assume the same holds for PSN. Telltale released The Devil's Playhouse for a fair price. They chose not to do the same with Back to the Future.

[Giant Tope]

Steam sells the game their own way. Separate marketing and all. If you want to blame anyone, blame them.

[Vainamoinen]

Wait five months, then compare again.

[Emo Hoe]

The devils playhouse was not original made for ps3.

Telltale games are all made in the telltale tool for the pc formatt to begin with then are ported out to otherplatforms

[Ribs]

Originally Posted by Emo Hoe

The devils playhouse was not original made for ps3.

Telltale games are all made in the telltale tool for the pc formatt to begin with then are ported out to otherplatforms

Nope, someone from TTG said it was made with the developers tools for PSN first, then the PC/Mac version came from that.

[mightypiratetm]

Originally Posted by Ribs

Nope, someone from TTG said it was made with the developers tools for PSN first, then the PC/Mac version came from that.

If the PC/Mac are ports of the PSN version, then why does the PC version run better than the PS3 version?

[Maikel Steneker]

Originally Posted by mightypiratetm

If the PC/Mac are ports of the PSN version, then why does the PC version run better than the PS3 version?

We don't know. Even if the PC version wasn't a port, that's not relevant to the main point of this topic.

[CoolDust]

I bought a $20 PSN card for £14! Everybody who wanted it at the same time as the US should have done the same. I even seen a $20 card as low as £13 on ebay! Pretty happy i got it a month earlier and cheaper. Roll on episode 2 this month! (15th i guess?)

[Vainamoinen]

Although TTG has been known to rapidly drop prices, nothing like that has happened with BTTF yet. You could somehow manage to get the PC version for 19.95 via the facebook game, but that's about it. The PC version is still 24.95 if you buy it from TTG (Season DVD included).

It's different with Steam, as Giant Tope noted. They make their own prices, and that's where anger is supposed to be directed if you feel that their pricing policy is too unreliable. Same goes for PSN.

[Maikel Steneker]

Originally Posted by Vainamoinen

It's different with Steam, as Giant Tope noted. They make their own prices, and that's where anger is supposed to be directed if you feel that their pricing policy is too unreliable. Same goes for PSN.

I'm a bit confused now, because I was actually convinced of the complete opposite. For example, take a look at this quote:

#
OMG WTF BBQ those differences are ridiculous. Be ashamed of yourself Valve!?

Well, the prices may differ heavily, but don't blame Valve - they don't make the prices. Each publisher is on his own responsibility.

Maybe Telltale can tell us more about this?

[Falanca]

Originally Posted by mightypiratetm

If the PC/Mac are ports of the PSN version, then why does the PC version run better than the PS3 version?

The compatibility of the engine they're using has something to do with it. They can make multiplatform games using the engine but the engine was designed to make PC games. Even if they port the game from PS3 to PC, it works more efficiently in PC.

[zounds!]

All this confusion over the pricing and release dates of this game. I agree that TT kinda dropped the ball here, I would be frustrated with all the date and price changes if I had been watching them from the start.
However it seems like you had the opportunity to jump on a couple different editions of this game at lower/preorder prices. You gambled and lost, essentially. I paid 25 dollars for this season on Steam in December, and could really care less that some people got it for 5 dollars less. Just my 2 cents.

[Alan Johnson]

Basically we have full control over our pricing at the Telltale Games store. There's a lot more that goes on behind the scenes for pricing of our games anywhere else though.

[Sisyphus]

Originally Posted by Ribs

Nope, someone from TTG said it was made with the developers tools for PSN first, then the PC/Mac version came from that.

An oft-quoted quote, but one that seems relevant:

Originally Posted by TTG - Caleb
When we want to put a game on any of the major consoles, we have to send Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo/etc a finished version of the game for approval. This approval process usually takes at least two weeks--sometimes longer, if the company finds problems or requests that changes be made. Every game that comes out for every console goes through this same process.

On Sam & Max Season 3, the PS3 versions were developed first, and the PC/Mac versions were finished while the PS3 versions were in the approval process. So when each episode was approved and we knew when it would be up on the Playstation Network, we could release the PC/Mac versions at about the same time.

With BttF, it was decided to develop the PC/Mac versions first, which is why they're coming out earlier--the PSN versions don't take that much longer to finish, but the approval process can take a while, and those versions can't come out until they're completely approved.

Hope that clears things up a bit.

[Sixkiller]

What does it matter if your games aren't all in the same place? Does that hinder your enjoyment of them? Just go with the cheapest option.