Unhealthy interest in sales figures

[Goral]

Why do you think, that setting price lower will help to sell it?

At this point those still nterested are waiting for 90% discount or a 1$ price in a Humble Bundle. Why pay the full price when they know it will be discounted sooner or later at least 80%?

 

[laclongquan]

It's freaking Christmas season. AoD has to compete with tone of other games release now, with discount.

Deep Discount for now sounds about right.

 

[Goral]

AoD has to compete with tone of other games release now

Except AoD is not a game that can compete with anything other than some really obscure indie games which sell even less.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Sad it's selling less and less.

It's been 2 years since the game was released and by now most people who might be filed under 'target audience' have either bought the game or dismissed it. We sold 120k+ copies which is a lot more than I thought we'd sell. I think that 150-170k copies is probably as much as we can sell without bundles. Most of these copies would be sold at 75% off.

How many units do you sell daily? In a non sale time.

6-12 copies.

Why do you think, that setting price lower will help to sell it?
I think, at this stage those who buy it, doesn't matter the price, they seek PRG.
Or I am mistaken?

It's a sale-driven industry. We sold 2,500 copies since the sale started. Considering that it's the third consecutive sale, it's not bad at all.

AoD has to compete with tone of other games release now

Except AoD is not a game that can compete with anything other than some really obscure indie games which sell even less.

It's safe to say that anyone who's really into RPGs would have heard about AoD a long time ago and made the decision one way or another, so we are talking about people who kinda like RPGs but not enough to prioritize them above everything else.

 

[Sitra Achara]

I dunno man, I bought about 10 copies and haven't played the full game yet. I have time for about 1 game/year now and I spent it all on the Divinities.

 

[Fenix]

Wouldn't it make more sense if you set permanent sale for 50% of full price, or if steam doesn't allow that, cut set new price for 50% of old price, and don't take part in discounts?
So nobody would need to wait for sales.

 

[PlanHex]

I think the permanent sale would likely get far more than permanently lowering the price, but I assume Steam has something in place to stop that.
Otherwise all the <$5 bargain games would have $30-$60 as their original price tag to put on a veneer of being non-shit, while being permanently discounted to be <$5, just to take advantage of the people going "well, dunno if i should buy this, but it's pretty cheap right now..."

 

[AbounI]

quoting Vince:
http://www.irontowerstudio.com/forum/index.php/topic,7530.msg152920.html#msg152920

Sales 2018 year-to-date:

AoD: 5,917 copies, $42,498, $7.18 avg
DR: 2,810 copies, $11,765, $4.19 avg

$54,263 in 4 months. If the trend continues we should expect to sell roughly 20,000 copies of AoD vs 43,000 last year and about 10,000 copies of DR in 2018. Between 150 and 180k for the year, which is less than half of what we sold in 2017 ($389,114).

Are you far away from delivering TNW combat demo as expected this year? Maybe it could help the sales by giving ITS more visibility outside your target audience?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Nick (our programmer) thinks we're on schedule. He's planning to finish the combat system, including the AI, which is a big chunk of work, by the end of June. Even if he's off by a month or two, it should still give us plenty of time for balance, polish, and all the little things. I will keep you posted.

 

[Blakemoreland Hybrid Boss]

The numbers look much better than I expected, to be honest. I expected that in this period ITS would sell nothing or at best an insignificant fraction of that amount. I know that my opinion doesn't matter much to your plans, but just expressing the perspective from a supporter who cares.

 

[Vault Dweller]

I think we're doing better than expected too.

 

[HoboForEternity]

Nick (our programmer) thinks we're on schedule. He's planning to finish the combat system, including the AI, which is a big chunk of work, by the end of June. Even if he's off by a month or two, it should still give us plenty of time for balance, polish, and all the little things. I will keep you posted.

wait is this the same nick that worked at archmage rises?

 

[Vault Dweller]

No.

 

[Goral]

wait is this the same nick that worked at archmage rises?

You're confusing him with IHaveHugeNick who now works at Obsidian Entertainment.

 

[Vault Dweller]

Dec 7 2016:

AoD: 66,228
DR: 8,924

Jan 4 2017:

AoD: 82,529, avg.price $17.12
DR: 14,998, avg.price $6.33

Mar 6 2017:

AoD: 97,612, avg. price $15.29
DR: 19,148, avg. price $6.07

July 5 2017:

AoD: 109,149, avg. price $14.48
DR: 24,068, avg. price $6.07

Oct 4 2017:

AoD: 116,193, avg. price $14.15
DR: 28,523, avg. price $5.87

Nov 29 2017:

AoD: 120,253, avg.price $13.92
DR: 31,082, avg.price $5.70

May 11 2018:

AoD: 134,155, avg. price $13.03
DR: 35,732, avg. price $5.46

 

[Blakemoreland Hybrid Boss]

 

[Blakemoreland Hybrid Boss]

Vault Dweller, do you have the numbers of refunds?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Vault Dweller, do you have the numbers of refunds?

4,118 for AoD (3%), 947 for DR (2.6%).

I think that anything below 10% is normal as the refund policy has become a safe to try games in the absence of demos (so less people bother to download demos in the first place). For example:

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/276450/Rust_Garrys_Mod_dev_shares_data_on_refund_rates.php

Last year Rust was refunded 330,000 times or 6%. The media as always shows it as 4 mil in lost sales but it really isn't:
https://www.vg247.com/2017/06/29/ru...t-because-of-bad-performance-and-lack-of-fun/

Other links with some stats:

https://steamed.kotaku.com/a-lot-of-people-are-using-steam-refunds-1709938036
https://www.pcgamer.com/valve-received-more-than-205000-refund-requests-yesterday/

 

[Jedi Master Radek]

"Game is too difficult".... Just a hunch, but I guess not many people are refunding games because there are too easy. Is there even an option like that in the refund poll?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Here is some refund data from another thread, each new line is a different refund request:

Combat is impossible, if you can't even survive the first encounter after trying it multiple times then whats the point in even playing the game.

I have not expected this game to be that hard as it was said that it was like Divinity 2 and that I will be intrested in the product, it is way more difficult and more complex than I have it expected to be

I expected hard fights, but combat is WAY too rigged against the player. This is going with mercenary background + imperial legion and blacksmithing.

I can't progress in any way. It seems like every option is impossible.

Was not expecting this kinda difficulty, simply put...it's not for me

The game is far to complex to enjoy , I do like MMO based games but It takes 'Hardcore' to a new level, new help or guide lines and to be honest the game isnt what it says it is and I think it's terrible. I cant enjoy or even play the game but I did try.

Combat is difficult, and unforgiving

There is too much for me to understand.

I don't have enough free time to fully understand and enjoy this game.

I tried everything I could in the first area to see if I could make it work for me somehow, but it is unreasonably hard to the point where I experience no joy playing it in spite of my best efforts.

can't get past first battle

the game is incredibly difficult, to the point of being incompletable for me.

I didnt think you'd be force to fight people in this game, i chose a loremaster expecting to not have to fight people, but i have to and end up dying everytime i try to complete the main quest.

It is too punishing & requires multiple reloads which makes it not fun.

Too difficult. There is no difficulty setting; shame to even be on Steam.

The game is heavily unbalanced and if you dont start how they want, you die. Can't play how you want to. Silly.

wayyyy to much reading, the training itself is a tiresome drag, I can't imagine how the game itself plays.

i dont have the brainpower for this game

The game for me is too hard. I am not good at these types of RPGs. I am sorry.

Demo was promising and fun however after the demo the content difficulty skyrocketed making it near impossible to progress.

This game is really hard. Interested because I love games like Divinity Original Sin.

I'm literally a gung ho, head first, tanky warrior kind of player and this game just isn't for me. I can't really see myself beating it.

The devs specifically state that the game is very difficult and indeed it is. I gave it a try but it's not a game for me.

i dislike the graphics and i don't like the core game play as i feel there is no noticeable progression.

I find the game quite hard and there is a lot of text. The game is not entertaining to me and the system is too difficult for me.

It is a little too difficult when you die multiple times on the training fight...

I wish I could enjoy this game, I really do, but my temper is way too short for me to enjoy this game.

I want to like it but when the first real fight is next to impossible, it becomes a test of patience.

 

[kintake]

Do you think people are too entitled and need to be pandered to, or are they simply as entitled as they have a right to be, considering it's their money?
Like you say, opting for a refund in lieu of a demo seems valid to me, I'm asking non-biased questions.

 

[Vault Dweller]

When it comes to refunds, it's not about entitlement or rights. It's about good business that increases consumer confidence, makes trying games easier, which leads to more sales not less. Any paying customer should be able to return a product he/she didn't like within a reasonable timeframe.

As the list above makes clear these people aren't our customers, they don't like the types of games we're making, buying AoD was clearly a mistake and I'm glad they were able to correct it. Obviously, we want to sell more copies but not to people who are unable to enjoy them. Their exact reasons are irrelevant, what matters is that they didn't like the game. The only thing the list shows is that difficulty is a big deal for many people and the #1 reason for refunds and bad reviews, but it's not something we're concerned about.

 

[kintake]

Haven't gotten around to trying AoD yet, as I've frankly lost quite a bit of interest in gaming, and my huge backlog is not exactly rekindling my interest. But I'm damn sure it's a product for me based on my preferences and reading peoples reasons for refunding it (Along with everything else I've read of it) so I guess even if I never get around to it, a dollar gone the way of a developer who still dares to take some risks is a dollar well spent in my book.
Consumers are whores to me, to take care of their confidence is probably the right choice, the way a pimp chooses to strike or stroke his ho.

 

[Big Wrangle]

Vault Dweller There was talk about people who played AoD but couldn't get into Dungeon Rats, fo obvious core design reasons. Have there been any cases where it's the other way around, like someone not getting into AoD (for whatever reason, like the skill checks and stuff) but expressing having a blast with DR?

 

[Vault Dweller]

Not sure about 'not getting into AoD' (I simply don't recall) but some people on the Codex liked DR a lot more than AoD as it's closer to their preferences and definition of RPG.