Last week, I told you about developer 2D Boy deciding to let gamers pay whatever they wanted for the PC version of its critically acclaimed puzzle game World of Goo, in celebration of the game’s one year anniversary. Well, because the promotion was such a hit, 2D Boy decided to start surveying gamers who purchased the game to see why they paid what they paid, and the results are quite interesting.
Of course, according to 2D Boy’s Ron Carmel, almost 57,000 people had purchased the game as of Monday, but right now, only about 5,900 people have contributed to the survey. However, there are some pretty clear indicators in the data that suggest that the survey could be a solid representation of how the rest of those who purchased the game think about the pay-what-you-want model and game prices in general.
For instance, almost 29 percent (the highest percentage group) of the current 5,884 respondents said they paid between $5 and $10. The second biggest group (20 percent) paid between $1 and $2, while just over 13 percent paid just a few cents. One hundred people (almost two percent) paid $20 -- the actual retail price -- or more.
As for why people chose to pay what they did, the two most popular answers were “I like the pay-what-you-want model and wanted to support it” (24 percent) and “That’s all I can afford right now” (21 percent). Clearly, the most honest response, which almost 11 percent of people selected, was “I’m a cheap bastard and I’m proud/ashamed of it.” Classic.
When asked how much games like World of Goo should cost, the three most popular price points were $10 (around 35 percent), $15 (26 percent), and $20 (almost 22 percent). Close to two percent said it should be free, while nearly three percent said it should cost $30 or more. Obviously, the idea of paying what you can afford plays a significant role in understanding what value people place on games, since it’s unlikely that someone would suggest a price point they can’t afford for a product they enjoy having/know they will want in the future.
2D Boy’s pricing experiment has been one of the more interesting debate starters to come along in a while, and it’s been getting such a huge response that the developer has decided to extended the promotion until Oct. 25.
Have any of you purchased the game during this pay-what-you-want period? Care to share how much you paid and why?
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Comments
Displaying 1–7 of 7
YouROFLMyWaffle
WHY WASN'T I TOLD ABOUT THIS?!?!?
Okiwan
I paid $5, if you paid 1 cent you should be ashamed of yourself.
bi0raid
only paid .01. why? because it was offered at that price. if it was for sale for even $1 i probably would not have bought it.
Sodacapman
I paid $0.50 My birthday was on the 15th, and I was having a terrible week, so I decided to take advantage of their Birthday to make MY Birthday a little better. Had it been under different circumstances I would have paid $5
crusader8463
$.01 because i am a cheap bastard and because the game didn't look all that fun.
jro59
$5 because I'm a cheap bastard but not so cheap to just pay $.01
PuppetpalKlimp
I have it on WiiWare now i put it on my mac recently. I payed $15 dollars for it and it's still worth it as its the best downloadable game ever. (Braid comes a close second)
Displaying 1–7 of 7