Live Arcade Wednesday (4/8)

[Queasy]

Oy...twice the price of the original Puzzle Quest? Though, the original Puzzle Quest did come out at $20+ and Puzzle Quest: Galactrix on the DS is currently $29.99...

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (metacritic)
Price: 1600 MS Points ($20)
Size: 287 MB
Text: Explore the entire Galactrix universe in the exciting return of the Puzzle Quest franchise with its signature addictive RPG/Puzzle hybrid gameplay. This game requires the Xbox 360 hard drive for storage. There are no refunds for this item. For more information, see www.xbox.com/live/accounts.

Queue up the full game
Queue up the trial game

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Flock (metacritic)
Price: 1200 MS Points ($15)
Size: 101 MB
Text: Protect your cornfields and lock up your livestock, because FLOCK is here! Herd cute, cuddly animals through over 50 sandbox puzzles with the help of your UFO tractor beam! Flock together with a friend, and even create and share your own crazy levels online with the built-in level editor! With so much to do, the potential for fun is out of this world! Buy it today!

Queue up the full game
Queue up the trial game

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Didn't Puzzle Quest: Galactrix come out for the PC like a month ago? Strange that it would come out on the PC well before the 360...

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
Didn't Puzzle Quest: Galactrix come out for the PC like a month ago? Strange that it would come out on the PC well before the 360...

Not strange at all. The Puzzle Quest devs are a small shop so they don't necessarily have the resources to release a game across multiple platforms at the same time. The original Puzzle Quest came out on the DS and PSP first and then the PC and then the 360.

 

[R Nilla]

I miss the days when Microsoft didn't realize how much they could get away with in terms of XBLA pricing.

I haven't heard much good about Galactrix. I have had the Flock demo on my PC for a while now, but still haven't gotten around to trying it. Doesn't look like something I will end up purchasing, though.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: R Nilla
I miss the days when Microsoft didn't realize how much they could get away with in terms of XBLA pricing.

Like I said in the OP, I don't think this is MS. I think this is the Puzzle Quest devs. Even the downloadable PC version of Galactrix is $19.99.

But you're right that it hasn't gotten as good of reviews as the original.

 

[R Nilla]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: R Nilla
I miss the days when Microsoft didn't realize how much they could get away with in terms of XBLA pricing.

Like I said in the OP, I don't think this is MS. I think this is the Puzzle Quest devs. Even the downloadable PC version of Galactrix is $19.99.

But you're right that it hasn't gotten as good of reviews as the original.

Well let me rephrase. I miss the days when XBLA games weren't so expensive. Not that I really purchase many...

Regardless, neither of us know exactly how the pricing is determined. Wouldn't it be D3 Publisher that determines the price, not Infinite Interactive?

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: R Nilla

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: R Nilla
I miss the days when Microsoft didn't realize how much they could get away with in terms of XBLA pricing.

Like I said in the OP, I don't think this is MS. I think this is the Puzzle Quest devs. Even the downloadable PC version of Galactrix is $19.99.

But you're right that it hasn't gotten as good of reviews as the original.

Well let me rephrase. I miss the days when XBLA games weren't so expensive. Not that I really purchase many...

Heh, well...we also complained about all the crappy retro games then too.

Regardless, neither of us know exactly how the pricing is determined. Wouldn't it be D3 Publisher that determines the price, not Infinite Interactive?

Publisher/dev. I lump them all in together when talking about the price since they all have a say. Point was, the pricing for Galactrix is consistent across the platforms and not jacked up on XBL versus the PC or DS.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Weren't the Puzzle Quest makers just bought out by Sony or Activision or something? That might explain the higher price...

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
Weren't the Puzzle Quest makers just bought out by Sony or Activision or something? That might explain the higher price...

The price is consistent.

When the original Puzzle Quest came out on the DS and PSP, it was $29.99. When it came out on the PC and 360 and PS3, it was $19.99/$20.

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix is following the same pricing structure. The XBL price of the original Puzzle Quest was dropped to 800 MS points ($10) only a few months ago.

 

[BoberFett]

Didn't the original PQ on Live start at 1200? I don't remember paying 1600 for it.

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: BoberFett
Didn't the original PQ on Live start at 1200? I don't remember paying 1600 for it.

May have been. I just remember it wasn't 800 MS points because I went through the same round of pointing out the PC and DS costs of the game for comparison then.