At a time when many are moving on to a different scheme like freemium model, it’s interesting to see 2k Games buck the trend by introducing XCOM: Enemy Unknown at such a high price – $20.
It makes me think of this quote by Marco Arment:
The race to the bottom. Deceptive low-now, high-later pricing. Scam and clone apps. Shallow apps with little craftsmanship that succeed, but many high-quality apps unable to command a sustainable price.
Obviously, the $20 price tag will put off many people. I reckon many gamers will also be put off by the high price. But let’s not forget it’s different from other models where you need to pay for in-app purchases to unlock new levels, access to other gameplay and things like that. Let’s also not take away that the game seems highly polished from the first go. It’s unlike some of the others console to mobile port where interactive elements are strange and awkward. In future updates, performance will be improved, bugs will be fixed.
It may take a while to get used to, but I’d rather pay a quality one-off $20 purchase than multiple in-app buys. Subconsciously, while they may be small amounts that slip off our mind, it all adds up at the end of the day.
I don’t own an iPad, so that’s the only thing that holds me back from getting it. I believe this game is best enjoyed on the bigger screen and playing it on the iPhone would be limited in many ways. If I ever own an iPad in the future, this would definitely be one in my shortlist.
Just make sure you have ample spare space. The game occupies a whopping 3.2GB.