How much would pay for the game that gives full enjoyment for only 2 hours with no replayability?

I tend to pay very little for games in general (except on Kickstarter, and not that much there these days either), but I'm more likely to buy a short game, simply because I'm more likely to play it.

As for pricing, I think that pricing high and then having sales works out better for devs than pricing low in the first place.

1eur/hour, still too many i guess with all the games on my backlog. There are just sooo many good games out there and hard to play just all the good bundled games each month so no point to buy brand new games, i guess i would be ok with quality games for 3 more years without buying a single new one:-)

If the game is just 2h long, you may take Steam-Refunding, so it's for free ;D

What's wrong with 2 hours? It's about the length of a movie. What matters is what happens during those two hours not the length of time itself.

If whatever happens during those two hours resonates with you, you can pay whatever you can afford to pay in exchange of those feelings. It's purely subjective and it'll vary from person to person and even for the same person from moment to moment depending on their mood and circumstances.

It depends entirely on the game and how well it riffs with you.
I can't for the life of me remember the source, but there was an interview with someone in the games industry about the high price of videogames, and to paraphrase them : "£60 isn't too much to pay for a good videogame. £60 is too much to pay for a bad videogame". The single biggest factor in worth, is our enjoyment. We can never totally predict how much we'll like a game, and we can only get a rough guess of bugs and compatability issues. A seamless game that really rocks us to the core would be worth a lot more (even for two hours) than a frustrating, tedious experience. Buyers remorse can strike even when buying much loved titles, and sometimes games that are universally panned can surprise you.

For instance, I actually liked Resident Evil 6 so when I bought it at half off, it was good value for me (perhaps biased as a RE fan, but was still able to overlook the shortcomings). Whereas I bought Superbrothers Swords & Sworcery EP at launch, which people were gushing about as a moving and emotional experience, which I felt was a shallow and pretentious experience that left me pretty bitter. I never liked Bioshock, I enjoyed Spore for its creation tools, and I played APB:Reloaded pretty fiercely despite its flaws.

So uh, I guess my answer is "It depends!"

It's funny how people would not give 5-10$ for an enjoyable 2 hour game but will gladly give the same amount to see a movie which would last just as much except when it ends they retain no ownership over it.

As for the thread, 10-15$ is alright I think. I mean, I've already once paid full price for Rise of the Tomb Raider on release and then proceeded to never get around to playing it. As for a short game I have actually bought and played, 14.99$ for Gorogoa. It was pretty amazing though the fact that the Appstore version is 1/3 of the price annoys me enough to say it's not worth getting for full price.

2 hours is the length of a movie, so around the price of a movie ticket is the minimum acceptable level really for a game with no replayability. Then there's the fact that regardless of whether you really want to replay it now you own the game, and can replay it if you want to - so say the price of a new movie on dvd or blueray or something.

Around here that's at least $15-20 so start there and go upwards.

5$ at most

Game prices are a complicated thing due to the nature of the industry. Gaming has such a fast turnover that product prices are often halved before the end of the first year after release. Recently released games are also often incomplete (lacking dlcs) or riddled with bugs, not to mention the chance of them getting bundled.

This makes buying early a bad idea, except for the cases where you want to support a developer or be playing when the game is trending.

In my case, since I have a big backlog over many platforms and I do not often play AAA or multiplayer games, I have trouble buying games at full price. I only do that when I am definitely sure I'll play the game immediately.

However, in theory and depending on production values, I'd more than willingly pay 10€ for a short but great experience.

I've never looked at the price/length ratio and it was always hard for me to understand people doing so, but I guess they can use whatever measures they want to ¯_(ツ)_/¯

I always buy games on a sale nowadays, but assuming unrealistically that a game would never be discounted I could pay "over 20$".

I play a lot of 1-4 hour long games and I voted the 10-15 option, but could in the realm of possibility think of a situation where 15-20 could be justified. However, these days there are so many games and so many sales that I haven't bought anything at full price since... well, early this millennium? I think often the "9,99" base price point is very fair for 2 hours of gameplay with no replayability. It's not too expensive for most people and if compared to movies etc.

However; I wish more devs would offer artbooks as DLCs, especially for these shorter games. They are usually extremely interesting to see & a nice way to offer extra support for their hard work. There are games that just turn out to be better than you expected and kinda wish you hadn't bought them from a sale/bundle...

Funny that you mentioned Tacoma, I played it yesterday for the first time and although it was a great looking game, I had to stop it after only 10-15 minutes after I experienced serious motion sickness.

To answer your question, 5 - 10 $ regular price seems fair to me for a 2 hours game with no replayability, a slightly higher price is acceptable if the game has high production values. I traded a CS:GO key (2.50 $) for Tacoma, I didn't buy it at full price either.

I dunno, same price as a movie ticket I guess

Considering the price of a movie ticket these days and how much actual enjoyment I get from a 2 hour movie 85% of the time, I'd say even 10 euros is not too bad for a game I actually enjoy for 2 hours.

I feel like comparing it to watching a movie is a little off the mark. I'd rewatch a great movie any day. A good movie is always progressing in story, or action, or some sort of entertainment. Even if it isn't, a good ending is all it takes to make it all worth it. But with games, it's a commitment. There're usually a lot more lulls where nothing happens. For example... hell, Half-Life 2. Bloody classic, but there's so much waiting around for dialogue to finish, doing mindless travelling from A-B... I'd have to be in a really specific mood to play it again. And with games, you put some effort in, too, so a good ending isn't always enough to cut it. I played Contrast recently, which had a good story, but the gameplay was kinda tedious and unpolished. I'll probably never touch it again.

Also, since there are so many games nowadays, you have to ask whether playing it is a unique experience. I think most people would have been fine with paying a solid $10 for DDLC just because it was so unique. I wouldn't, personally, because I'm sick to death with that meta trend, but other people would buy it in a heartbeat.

So I think, if a two-hour-long game somehow manages to come close to the constant stream of entertainment that a movie offers, then I'm pretty happy to pay about $10-15. I'd say To the Moon fits that bill. It's got comedy, feels, and a few simple puzzles for a brain-teasing break. Gunpoint is also something I'd happily donate a kidney for. The dialogue/story is fun, the gameplay is unique and challenging... just a great rounded experience.

I will wait for some bundle with this game in it.

I think the experience should have the same value independent of the medium you've acquired it through.
If it's an amazing movie, game, concert or roller coaster ride, as long as it has an equivalent impact on you, why not give it the same appreciation and be prepared to pay just as much for it? :)

And if you plan on refunding a game only because it was short, even though you found the experience great, you're better off just pirating it since it means you only give a damn about your experience and not showing support to the developers and interest in games like that.

As for my answer... it follows the logic above. if it's an amazing experience that makes me wish I could relive it, I'd pay well over 20.
For something like Tacoma, if I have the money I might go as far as the full price because it's polished and overall well made. :)
For good games, smaller in scope, that don't necessarily change my life but I find fun, 5-10$ is fine.

I'm having a hard time putting my thoughts together on this, but I feel very strongly that if a piece of media really left an impact on you, you should pay the creators enough so they are in turn 'rewarded' for the time, effort, and expertise it took for them to make that piece of media for you to enjoy.

(Rewarded in the sense of making it so it's sustainable for them to have made that media and continue to make media, ie. they're not sacrificing their own personal livelihoods to make shit for other people).

I should go tf to sleep but I would absolutely rather 20 dollars to an independent studio that made an experience that is finely-tuned, unique, bespoke, that I can finish in an afternoon or two, and that leaves me thinking about it long after I stopped playing (like Gone Home, Firewatch, Dear Esther, Tacoma, Edith Finch, Beginner's Guide, etc etc). That experience they gave me has worth and value.

I'll probably just watch it on youtube.

Borderlands 2 GOTY on sale for around 10$ can give you 200+ hours of fun so I usually compare games to that.

$10 would be my max, only because I find that I tend to enjoy replayable games much more and not walking story simulators.

One way to support the developers would be to buy another copy(s) to gift someone here on SG :) even if it's on sale or in a bundle. I'd also love it if developers made optional in-game cosmetics to "tip" them with, for example I bought event in-game items on Don't Starve together and bought the optional artwork and charity dlcs for This War of Mine.

US$.50

given how much 1 picture by Gauguin costs, I wouldn't put a price on games. And also fillers are the worst.