Fifty-One Dollars!

[Guest IanGrant]

Captain Sim announced the price of the Herc, and it is $51.30. Does anyone else find the staggering price increases in FS addons alarming? I mean seriously, an addon under 30 bucks these days is a rarity, and I applaud Dream Fleet and FSD for keeping their prices with in reason. 50+ dollars for the PMDG 747 I can understand, due to the increadably in depth nature of the aircraft. I don't own it, probably because the price tag, but it is a must have for any jumbo pilot. But it seems everything now days is really pushing the limits. I know what it takes to make an add on, and yes, it is alot of work. I think that this is teetering on an outrage here. I was going to buy the Herc, since I have a special fondness for them. Not now, forget it. They can keep the stupid thing.

[Guest dpc]

Already a thread with 59 responses to this. Next page back.Dave

[Jay R 0]

Stay far far away from it. It's laughable to be honest.Although I am going to sit back and watch for the cries of despair once someone disregard whats been posted about CS time and time again, and purchases the Herc, and am simply going to say, "You were told so!!"

-----------------------------"There is an art . . . to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss!"

[Guest 4watties]

I mean the cost of FS2004 is 50 bucks. How is one aircraft...or scenery package for that matter worth the same price? Let's see...I get one entire world that allows me to simulate the flight of 20 or so aircraft OR I can pick up one aircraft. Even the 747 isn't worth that. Some day they will learn.

[Guest]

whos "they"?do you realize how much time it takes to create, test, and release a complicated aircraft? If you enjoy a simplistic add-on aircraft, go right ahead and enjoy the countless out there. but please don't insult those that will pay 50 dollars for a quality add-on that will give me hours and hours of enjoyment because it is so realistic.microsoft has a lot of money and they can charge 50 dollars per game. Small time developers who spend 2+ years creating an add-on aircraft might have to charge 50 dollars just to pay the bills and barely get by with enough funding for the next add-on they plan to make.While the game itself is great, without add-ons, and specifically payware add-ons like flight environment, ultimate terrain, add-on scenery airports like fly tampa, etc. the game is just too bland for many people such as myself.So go enjoy the vanilla game with simple free add-ons and laugh at those who don't mind paying a few bucks out of our pockets as thanks for the hard work and dedication to allow me to fly the most realistic 747 out there without paying for sim time.

[byork 2,259]

Well, as a developer (not affiliated in any way with Captain Sim) I think the price difference between addons and FS2004 stems mostly from the fact that MS sells millions of copies of FS2004, whereas the average add-on (even the "must have" ones) sell absolutely no where near that amount. That's been said a thousand times before.Here's an interesting question for everyone though:Let's assume Developer X makes an outstanding payware aircraft, but instead of charging $40 USD for it, or even $30, Developer X only charges $5.Do you think Developer X would make more money in the end selling his product for $5 versus selling it for $40 on the basis that at $5/copy he would presumably sell a whole lot more product?Let's assume Developer X is only selling his product as a download and that his bandwidth costs are very small.-Bryan

[flyerboy 114]

Bit like the 'law of demand'people will purchase more, if it costs less. This does not seem the case with fs addons sometimes.

[michal 44]

>Do you think Developer X would make more money in the end>selling his product for $5 versus selling it for $40 on the>basis that at $5/copy he would presumably sell a whole lot>more product?I think he would definitely make less profit by selling for $5. If you however said $20 instead of $5 I would be less sure.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[Guest Peter Sidoli]

Really $50 $100 $500 :-) It doesnt really matter what someone asks it is what someone is prepared to pay.What someone is prepared to pay is determined by a number of factors.The percieved quality and ground breaking uniqueness is one such factor which will set a particular aircraft apart.There are a whole mass of aircraft which are a much of a muchness and what the market will tolerate is very small and hence the price band for these aircraft is slim.Occasionly something special comes forward and people are prepared to pay much more.I have a mass of aircraft on my hardrive bought over a period of time which fall into category one ie the much of a muchness. They maybe the $20 offerings.But they sit there unused taking up hardrive space. The really unique specials are the ones I use time and time again and their value to me in pleasure may exceed $100.We can waste so much money on much of a muchness aircraft pressing the purchase button on impulse only to be dissapointed.Now I am much more selective and as such would consider even paying $100 if I was sure that the aircraft was truly unique and would give me hundreds of hours of pleasure.What I do not like is deception where claims are made in a marketing exercise and people are fooled into parting with money for false promises.The guard against that is to choose producers with a high reputation or to hold fire and watch what others say before making the purchase.With more complex aircraft I am also becoming wary of purchasing before the inevitable patches arrive because these patches tend to be huge and I still do not have broadband.Please do not harp on about MSFS only costing $50. MSFS sells in its millions not a couple of thousand units like a commercial addon. Millions X $50 is one heck of a lot of money work out the maths for both?At the end of the day commerial addon creators are not charity organisations. They want as many sales for as high a price as possible.Its you the purchaser who determines the number of sales and the price NOT them ;-)Peter

[Guest Ashleigh Davidson]

"so realistic"........a claim made by many, sadly the truth is far from the hype i.e. 707, 727. The reality being yes a pretty model but falls flat in terms of claims, pretty crappy service thrown in to boot, it doesnt matter if you pay .50C or $50, you dont deserve to be lied to.I've no doubt many will rush to buy and cry later. Ash

[G7USL 117]

>whos "they"?>>do you realize how much time it takes to create, test, and>release a complicated aircraft? If you enjoy a simplistic>add-on aircraft, go right ahead and enjoy the countless out>there. but please don't insult those that will pay 50 dollars>for a quality add-on that will give me hours and hours of>enjoyment because it is so realistic.Here you go again Alex...............No one is insulting you for wanting to pay $50 for an ad-don. That my Friend is your own individual choice. I can't understand why you keep taking this inferiority complex about your purchases.We are all different, to some of us $50 or, its pounds sterling equivalent is a lot of money.Therefore, the expectation for VALUE FOR MONEY is higher. Similarly, if you bought a Rolls Royce car, you would expect to get many many trouble free miles of use from it. You certainly wouldn't expect it to drive along with jerky (To quote an example) transmission, would you?If, on the other hand, you bought a 'banger' or what you call a s/hand car over there?, you would half expect it not to run as smooth.The 'legendary herk' as they intend to call it has been on the drawing board for years. C.S. have now won a reputation among true flight simmers for not finishing their products properly; a-la-707 and 727 so, with that in mind - the price expected for the Herc is now totally unrealistic. Their fault, not ours.>So go enjoy the vanilla game with simple free add-ons and>laugh at those who don't mind paying a few bucks out of our>pockets as thanks for the hard work and dedication to allow me>to fly the most realistic 747 out there without paying for sim>time.Yet another one of your arrogant, ignorant and unwelcome comments Alex! What makes you believe that people laugh at your requirements?The PMDG 747 you keep referring to is not the subject of this thread. The thread starter was just giving HIS opinion of the way software is going. He is entitled to say that, he hasn't asked to know how fat your wallet is?Don't forget that we are ALL individuals with our own ideals.Dave T. .........On the lovely warm Devon Riviera and active 'Flight-Sim User's Group' member at http://www.flightsimgrpuk.free-online.co.uk/

[Guest B52Drivr]

Hello All, Well, I'll stick my .02cents in here -- people will pay what people will pay! Although I know the PMDG 747 has some problems, I also know, (I wish they would hurry it up a bit), that in the long run, PMDG will solve these problems, or face the hoards of unhappy customers they will have. In truth, the 747 is so complicated that it will take time to sort it out, but I do have faith.The flip side of that coin is that people will look at CS's track record of fixing problems before they plunk down 50 bucks for an aircraft. (keep in mind here I have not said anything to the fact that the offering is good or bad, seeing as we have NOT seen the final release). Saying that, again the track record and first reports will probably be the determining factor for the successful or not so successful release of this aircraft.When it is released, time will tell -- until then it is just so much speculation.Best to all, Clayhttp://www.dreamfleet2000.com/gfx/images/F...ers/Dopke01.jpgClayton T. Dopke (Clay)Major, USAF (retired)"Drac"

[Guest IanGrant]

Here is the paradox so to speak: Making a great addon takes alot of time, which in turn makes the devs want to hike the price up a few extra notches to get compensated for their time spent. But there will come a point where the price will just become out of reach. I think based on this trend, that may happen just a few months down the road. Also take into account exchange rates. Ariane for example wants 49GBP for most of their aircraft. A bit high, but still under The 'big fifty' mark. But for those of us living in the USA, that puts that plane right at about 85 USD, and absolutely ludacris price tag. Like wise, European developers have seen a 30-40% drop in profits for still tagging their products in USD. This is a problem that will never be solved since the cause is rooted in something much much bigger than our little Flight Sim economy. That beinge said, I am not sure we are going to see an end to the rising prices, which unfortunately is going to hurt developers in the long run more than it will hurt the consumers. I can only hope that FS10 will facilitate add ons even better than FS9. Built in and editable navaid databases and supported code for programming flightplans via an XML gauge would certainly help since alot of development goes into those wonderful little FMCs that we adore so much. There are alot of systems that could be added to the default FS programing that would make life alot easier for devs, and thus drop costs of addons. As far as the C130 goes... I bought the 707. I flew it once. It is no longer on my hard drive. 51 dollars for something similar is just quite simply out of the question. This one might be the straw that breaks the camels back for captain sim. Pity since it really does look nice. Too bad no one on earth is going to buy there 767 either.

[Guest JIMJAM]

I think most would sell alot more if they kept them in the $25-$35 range ala Flight one. Alot more people would try and there would be more impulse buys. At $50 plus, you really better want it bad and I found myself visiting a site many,many times and reading everything I could find before buying. Whereas if the plane was reasonable, I would have " what the heck" and bought immediatly. There are a few however that feel that "Lets stick it to them one good time." Repeat buisness isnt that important.

[Guest United]

A software publisher can charge whatever they want. If Capt. Sim wants to charge $345.00 US then that's the bloody price, pay it or dont, just please, why do we have to hear of this everytime a new title is released.Randy Jura, KPDX