Penny Arcade Game Sees Record Breaking Numbers

Kotaku is reporting that the new Penny Arcade game is showing record breaking numbers, earning $330,000 in the first three days, surpassing previous record holder Worms HD. Penny Arcade's Mike Krahulik was very pleased with the result saying: "Given that our price point was double the other games on that list I'm pretty f***ing happy. We fully expected some people to complain about the $20 price tag but we honestly felt like our game was worth it. Pricing something like this is tricky. Obviously you have to look at the length of time it will take someone to complete the game but you also need to factor in the quality of the experience."

a little clarification

The way the Kotaku article is worded - and it comes through on the summary is a bit confusing. Basically if the VGChartz esitmate is right they broke a record for earnings. They came in third for number of downloads- and that is what Gabe is talking about when he says "Given that our price point was double..." He means that he is happy they had the third most downloads since their game cost so much more than the others that came before it. He does not say anything about how much they made or make any comparisons regarding income to the other games. In a screencast they did for the game, he even jokes that due to the large initial cost of creating the game, they aren't making any money yet. You can see that video if you scroll to the bottom of this post. [penny-arcade.com]

Re:a little clarification-even more

This is only for XBox Live Arcade, not a total sales record against all the platforms the game is available on.

Re:a little clarification

In a screencast they did for the game, he even jokes that due to the large initial cost of creating the game, they aren't making any money yet.

Actually what they said is rather funnier than that - he said that at first they were doing it for the money, but then it turned out there really wasn't any money, so now they are just doing it.

He did say they are hoping to actually see some profit around episode three, hopefully good sales of the first one moves up that timeframe for them. It's obvious they, and the game studio, put a lot of work into the title.

Port it to WiiWare

I'll purchase it in a heartbeat.

Re:Port it to WiiWare

Before you buy the Xbox Live version, realize that the Windows/Linux/Mac licenses are portable between each other, but are incompatible with the Xbox Live license.

So if you buy it for Xbox Live, you won't be able to play it anywhere else. If you buy it anywhere else, you'll be able to play it anywhere but a console.

Might still be worth it to get it on Live, just saying...

Best $20 spent for a game

I laughed, I rolled my eyes, I kicked mime and clown ass up and down the street. Could've blown it on booze and strippers but this was by far a better way of spending 5hrs of my life.

Re:

$20 doesn't buy much booze, and we won't even talk about what kind of stripper you can get for $20.

I'm not suprised.

The game was amazingly done, and it has many qualities that would bring me to expect it to do well. Mainly:

-It is for more platforms that most mainstream games (Mac/Windows/Linux/Xbox360).
-The animated cutscenes were brilliantly done, especially how they used an animated version of the character you created at the start.
-The script was hilarious.
-The popularity of penny-arcade lent to easy advertising.
-It was only $20

Figures are 360 only!!

The game was amazingly done, and it has many qualities that would bring me to expect it to do well. Mainly:

-It is for more platforms that most mainstream games (Mac/Windows/Linux/Xbox360)...

I agree with the game being amazingly well done, and a lot of fun to play. But the reported figures are from one platform only (the 360) so they don't even really go so far as to show the benefits of the multi-platform release...

One thing it does go to show is that the value of the game lies in the artistry and storytelling, and since (in my opinion) the Penny Arcade guys are great at both it was a natural the game would be good - not to mention that as gamers they would know if the control scheme sucked and make them fix it.

Re:

-The script was hilarious.

And that is why this game rocks. Without the writing it's just a fairly well-thought-out stereotypical RPG game, one that I would bore of within a half-hour of play. The writing is something else though, just enough intrigue to keep you going, and many bust-out-loud laughing moments.

Where?

Important data left out of summary... This record is for XBox Live Arcade downloads. Has nothing to do with actual total sales.

An excellent example

It's great that an indie game can be developed in a relatively short time with relatively small costs and released to a wide for a meaningful profit. Penny Arcade shouldn't just be proud of making a good and financially successful title; they also proved the viability of the business model.

Will their example inspire less visible developers to explore distribution? I hope so.

How many games on your hard drive...

... are purchase copies of low-budget games developed in relatively short time frames which were released by someone without a pre-existing audience of millions of rabid fans?

Its not like Penny Arcade descended down from heaven yesterday and declared "And let it be possible to sell video games, for money, over the Internet! So it is written, so shall it be done!" Its been done. The overwhelming majority of folks who do it fail to make any significant amount of money relative to the fair-market value of the time invested.

http://www.gameproducer.net/category/sales-statistics/ [gameproducer.net]

Those statistics aren't representative -- everyone likes hearing about the success stories (hint: most of the ones with numbers in the title). Vastly more numerous are results like these folks:

http://www.gameproducer.net/2006/09/20/sales-statistics-pharaohs-curse-gold-2000-yearly-sales/ [gameproducer.net]

Several man months of labor. $2,000 worth of sales.

Games are just a tough, tough market to make money in. Your core customers don't want to spend money and fly the Jolly Roger by default. Your product will be obsolete in 3 to 6 months, even for "casual" gaming. You have enormous expenditures for assets to remain competitive. Your customers have rather little loyalty and it is difficult to turn them into ongoing revenue streams.

Compare this to selling software on the shareware model: your core customers have problems and are willign to pay to solve them. Your core customers don't have LimeWire installed. Your product will last for years. Your expenditures on assets may cost less than a date (I started my software business with $60... working on hitting $20k this year, on about 2 hours a week). Your customers provide a built-in base of people to sell upgrades and new related products to, and they are often fanatically loyal to you.

It was a gold mine waiting to happen

Seriously, it's a game where you can beat evil mimes to death with a rake. Who wouldn't pay $20 for that?

Nice game

I really liked the battle system. It's kind of a cross between Paper Mario's timing based mechanics and Final Fantasy's active time battle system.

It shows some symptoms of fetch quest syndrome, but the combat, art style, and shear volume of amusing things to see kept it from dragging.

Overall it's a very enjoyable game and I'm looking forward to the next episode.

For those interested in getting this for Xbox...

I just purchased it today... with a Xbox Live Points card from Target. Until Saturday, Target is selling $20 Point cards for $15. So, in essence, you can purchase Precipice for only $15 - 25% off!

Re:

There's a patch, or at least a new build, out already. Check out the greenhouse site again.

Re:

So download it for Windows/Mac/Linux and play it on your computer.

Re:Bought it...

There is an option to zoom-in in the options menu. It's a bit annoying, since it cuts off part of the side of the screen, but it makes the text readable.

Re:If you're thinking about the PC version: DRM

Actually from everything I've heard the key you get for activation works for any installation you do, I.E. if you want you can get the Windows version, get the activation key and then install the Mac and Linux versions using the same key. As such, I suspect your information as incorrect.

Re:If you're thinking about the PC version: DRM

The folks at HotHead have stated, repeatedly, on their forums that the activation is a one-time-only when you first install the game. Yes, it reactivates for each machine you install it on, but you can install it on any number of machines that you want (not sure where you got the 3 limit from), using the same license. As others have stated, the same license key even applies across all platforms (Xbox excluded.)

After the initial activation, you never again need a check or even an internet connection to play. That's the kind of copy protection I am comfortable with, and that's why it didn't stop me from purchasing it.

Re:If you're thinking about the PC version: DRM

It does do a one time activation thing, but given its download only thats hardly going to be inconvenience. Also, I do not believe there is any download number restrictions - one key will cover multiple installs on multiple platforms.

Quote from a dev:
We don't anticipate having to limit the number of redownloads but remember that each new machine or major hardware change may trigger a new key to be issued against your license. Our plan is to allow multiple installs and to be generous in that regard to cover murdered systems, planned upgrades, people wanting to play it on their PC and their Mac or even Linux box etc. Even if the limit is reached--a limit that we have not determined yet--we will be flexible in resetting or increasing the limit for paying customers. If you are registered, we will keep your license keys stored for you in your profile and you will be able to see the number of times that license has been used for various systems so there will be no surprises.

Original thread:
http://forum.playgreenhouse.com/jforum/posts/list/302.page [playgreenhouse.com]

Not quite as bad as our old friend SecuROM methinks.

Re:activation

Yeah, that online activation is terrible, far worse than:

• Creating an account at the game's website
• With an email address!
• And a real name!
• And a credit card number!
• And a billing address!

to get the game in the first place.

Re:activation

Or click the option marked "Skip creating an Account and Just Buy The Game" (my wording, but it's there in the first phase of buying the game online.

Re:Perhaps I Didn't Get the Memo...

I think the main thing most people ran into was movement, right?

Here's a tip: Click and hold the button down. At least one reviewer never figured this out. I admit it took me awhile.