darkSpyro

Here we are about 40-45 days following the release of Trap Team. For those of you who bought the game at launch and paid $75 for the starter pack, you paid 88% more than the current price at Target and Amazon ($39.99) and over 100% more than the current Walmart price ($37). That's just under a dollar a day for the first 40-45 days. Not to start a debate on how to spend money, but do you guys feel it's worth it to be an early adopter of the game seeing such a sharp decline in it's cost so soon after release? Moreso than other video games, it seems like Skylanders and Disney Infinity have a steep markup at launch as to penalize true fans of the franchise for playing a month and a half early before the deep discounts and more reasonable prices set in.

I think it's worth it.. It takes people like the early or day one buyers to play the game and rate it for the sales to be such a big hit, IMO.. They hear it's great, and then wait for a sale, making it even more pol popular than ever! Making activision want to keep up the good work, by making the work they put in feel like it really paid off.. $75 really ain't that bad, considering most new games are $60 anyways, and don't come with new gimmicks or toys...

I generally pre-order a game to get a pre-order bonus (remembering the first few S/Landers games where the bonus was a free fig). I then also price match with a chain store - these stores will have the game at a low price when released but not for a while after that.

Not forgetting we don't have Black Friday sales here, so the good price often does not kick in until a post-XMas sale.

Without the early adopters, this game wouldn't be made. Be thankful for them.

For Everything...Turn! Turn! Turn!

^yes sir

i got the dark edition, all the stores in my area only got enough to fill pre-orders, and aren't getting anymore. so there is no "waiting till prices drop" for me on that. same happened with SF, so i knew it was going to happen again.

i will be waiting till the post christmas sales to get the regular version though, usually goes down to half price, $50.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Without the early adopters, this game wouldn't be made. Be thankful for them.

For Everything...Turn! Turn! Turn!

Same goes for any video game...but the deep discount so soon after release doesn't happen with many other video games. For example, when do you see Mario Kart 8 or Smash Brothers for the Wii U going for a 50% or greater discount ($30 or below). The latest PS4 and XBox One games being released right now won't see big discounts until later next year. I might be in the minority, but I believe the starting price for the Skylanders and Disney Infinity games are vastly overpriced and that's why we see such a huge price drop soon after release. Keep in mind that these toys to life franchises have the crutch of figures and peripherals (traps or power discs) to stand on for profit. Marketing is done differently as you want more people to have the base unit (starter pack) as that will ultimately drive the sales of the figures and peripherals. The bait is the starter pack and the impetus to rope people into buying more stuff, so I understand why there's such big discounts on the starter pack right before the holidays. There's a reason why Skylanders hit the billion mark in sales a few years back as figures flew off the shelf like hot cakes and every new Giant was the highly anticipated next new thing.

I'm sure the huge discount so soon after release leaves a bad taste in the mouth of some early adopters, so this discussion is more to discuss if it's really worth it. Skylanders and Disney Infinity definitely have a different dynamic in pricing than your typical video game and it's worth talking about.

As for me, I did get the dark edition starter pack near launch for $80 with the Best Buy Gamers Club Unlocked discount as there was no way I was taking a chance on that selling out and the fact that I didn't anticipate it to be included in Black Friday sales (which worked out to be true).

The business term is a loss leader. Truth be told, I presume that even at a radical discount, it is not a true loss, per se, but the base premise is the same...

Skylanders would make more money from their figures sales and to sell figures they have to sell the game. People are more likely to buy the figures if they own the game. So they entice them in with the discounted starter and hope the spend more on the toys.

I don't see any incentive for Activision to lead with the lower price. If they know people will buy it at $75, and they will earn a profit, then that's where they'll set the price. I don't see it as a penalty for die-hard fans, it's just a sales strategy that obviously works for them.

Considering it hasn't been released in my country yet, all worth it. I have a smaller chance to be spoiled the sooner I finish, play with friends who can't buy it at all before the hype is over, and the discount adds more since I'll be able to afford future figures and enjoy it for another month(no, I don't play games too frequently).

Quote: min8or

i got the dark edition, all the stores in my area only got enough to fill pre-orders, and aren't getting anymore. so there is no "waiting till prices drop" for me on that. same happened with SF, so i knew it was going to happen again.

i will be waiting till the post christmas sales to get the regular version though, usually goes down to half price, $50.

This is what we did this year too, especially after missing the dark edition last year.

Plus you never know, they may not make as many starter packs someday which is what happens with popular games and toys so there's an even madder rush before christmas to find that product. Which gets more people to buy it at mark up.

Plus not everyone goes out on black friday.

ALSO

I don't know if anyone knows this, but by the time the store gets the game the company has already made it's money.

Activision essentially made all of it's money when it sold to stores in the first place, then they sell it for the mark-up at the store to get profit. so this is just how the stores clear out those ones that didn't get picked up at pre-order, or when they over compensate. But activision has already made it's money.

That's why there's this great debate with the best game example right now: Destiny. They made 365mil that first week, but it's not actual sale of games, but rather how many were shipped to stores. The actual bought amount is much different and after the terrible reviews they will never release those actual numbers.

I got major discounts day 1 on all 3 of my starter packs. Saved $21 on my ps4 starter pack I bought at target (as I got nitro KK and outlaw B&C free as I was planning to buy both anyway). And I got my Wii U dark version and 3ds version on a buy one get one 50% off deal, Plus I got a free mega blox set worth $9.99. (and the dark set will be hard to find on black Friday).

I'm picking up the starter and additional items on Black Friday.

Basically half price for the starter pack and Trap master will be $11 rather than $17 (This is in Canada). Not giving it to my kids until Christmas. Really easy to pretend it just doesn't exist until it's much cheaper in price.

For all you collectors out there it's not really an option to make sure you get everything and won't miss out but for someone that is just picking it up to have fun with the kids there's no way I'm paying retail. Especially this year in Canada where they bumped the starters up to $85 and trap masters up to $16.99 and cores up to $10.99.

The greedy business model is really turning me off from buying as well. Forcing the requirement for a trap master of each element while offering very little content specific to them (if I understand correctly since I don't have it yet). Also it just feels like the two adventure packs should have just been included in the base game. I don't need to spend $30 a pop for some magic items and figures I don't care for.

This extra light and dark stuff sounds like a cash grab too.

Maybe it just seems par for the course for hardcore skylanders fans and collectors but as a parent it feels like they are pushing it to the brink where I will just stop buying these for my kids.

It must be in the ball park of $300 to get all the stuff you need without even the extra cores, TM's etc. That's an awful lot of money every year when the next gimmick comes out.

Quote: Loxone

The greedy business model is really turning me off from buying as well. Forcing the requirement for a trap master of each element while offering very little content specific to them (if I understand correctly since I don't have it yet). Also it just feels like the two adventure packs should have just been included in the base game. I don't need to spend $30 a pop for some magic items and figures I don't care for.

This extra light and dark stuff sounds like a cash grab too.

In theory, you only need Trap Masters and maybe a Giant to finish the entire game(and traps,of course), it's not as much of a cash grab as they tried to make one but people who are new to the game don't need Cores like we did before and the only thing making people buy them are collection purposes and favorites. And the two new elements don't even have as many 'landers at the rest, but it is a thing that from now on 10 gimmick-landers will be needed instead of 8.

Quote: mantez

Skylanders would make more money from their figures sales and to sell figures they have to sell the game. People are more likely to buy the figures if they own the game. So they entice them in with the discounted starter and hope the spend more on the toys.

I think they said at one time that the amount of customers buying most/all of the figures is up there, so yes practically "giving" away the game is the first step on their financial success chart. The real money maker for them is selling the figures...need the game though to hook them in.

I think just getting the figures from launch, then get the game on Black Friday is much more worth it.

^ I like this idea a lot!! Other than STT, wasn't it only about a month after release that the deep discounts started?

Quote: Bifrost

Quote: Loxone

The greedy business model is really turning me off from buying as well. Forcing the requirement for a trap master of each element while offering very little content specific to them (if I understand correctly since I don't have it yet). Also it just feels like the two adventure packs should have just been included in the base game. I don't need to spend $30 a pop for some magic items and figures I don't care for.

This extra light and dark stuff sounds like a cash grab too.

In theory, you only need Trap Masters and maybe a Giant to finish the entire game(and traps,of course), it's not as much of a cash grab as they tried to make one but people who are new to the game don't need Cores like we did before and the only thing making people buy them are collection purposes and favorites. And the two new elements don't even have as many 'landers at the rest, but it is a thing that from now on 10 gimmick-landers will be needed instead of 8.

Keep in mind they have 2 adventure and 2 action packs that are sold after the core game as well as needing the 8 trap masters and 11 traps.

Retail price works out to about $366 for that content. I think what bugs me more is the decision to make it necessary to buy 11 traps PLUS making the element gates only openable by trap masters (who have nowhere near the added value of swappers with the challenge zones). Swap force you could open the dual element gates with 2 cores.

That decision alone makes it require an additional $119 for 7 trap masters with maybe 2 more for light and dark?

So in Swap force I needed 8 swappers but they added more value (interesting challenges/zones) and I didn't ALSO have to buy 11 traps. Also I only needed to buy ToT and SWI as levels where in STT they added 4 additional levels which somehow could not be included in the release product (even though they were released right at or after release).

Oh and they raised the Canadian price of everything too.

After my fourth year of buying one of the games on black friday, yes and no.

First off, I bought SSA on launch day. Similarly, I decided that BF was a great time to pick up the 3DS version for both SSA and Giants. In doing so, I felt that the price point was much more satisfactory due to the content and whatnot of the game.

However, I think that waiting for BF to buy the main version of the game is a great idea. Lets be honest; the games will never sell out and even if they do on launch day, they'll never disappear forever. On BF, you do have a chance for your particular version being sold out, but even if you miss out, by the summer and fall of next year, the games will be down to a similar level if not cheaper with coupons and things like that.

The only things that should really be bought on launch I think are special retail exclusive figures, minus the Legendaries at TRU. Most stores (ie, Target) don't carry their exclusives for very long, and it becomes increasingly hard to find them after the new year. There are some exceptions of course (I've seen spotty coverage of Enchanted Hoot Loops and Walmart over the last year and I still see an obnoxious amount of Target's Water trap with Brawl and Chain quite frequently, although those should hopefully go down with this year's Black Friday)

So basically, I'd recommend my style lol ; buy the main game on BF. If you're getting the 3DS version too, wait until next year for sales and coupons and you can walk away with it for like $20-$30. Buy up exclusives asap because they can disappear very fast.

Don't disagree. It's the balancing act of price vs patience (and stock availability). I'm finding many of the wave 1s of a game are more difficult to find in later waves and subsequent years...so may make sense to get those close to launch in conjunction with a sale. My .02.

Quote: GhostRoaster

Don't disagree. It's the balancing act of price vs patience (and stock availability). I'm finding many of the wave 1s of a game are more difficult to find in later waves and subsequent years...so may make sense to get those close to launch in conjunction with a sale. My .02.

if you are going for the have every type of skylander model look then i bet it is hard to find some.
but here in the uk, with a mix of Amazon UK, Smyths Toys and CeX, i found both new and 2nd hand skylanders to play in game.
as i am not trying to get every type of gill grunt out there ( there is what 7 models if you count Eon's elite )
now i did note that each new skylander has a higher base line then it last model. a Prism Break from SG has a higher base line then a Prism Break from SSA, so i see a point to getting the newer ones. even if in Trap team the Bonus's to power up your skylander like you can in SSA, SG and SSF is no longer there.

still finding some of the skylanders new is not as easy as it sound. i know i cound not find CL Hex. and that is why i picked CeX after all you can reset the levels and skills..

and on to the subject of Early Adoption.
for SSA i think i got it just before Christmas the year it came out, for SG i dont remember maybe after christmas but i got it on the Wii (loco shop did not sell PS3 copy at the time) SSF i also don't recall but i know it was after christmas. and i pick up STT-dark-E about the day it come out. (thank you Game UK for still having a copy on the Ps3 to buy)

getting it when it come out and playing a little more can have it Plus sides, ( Dark Wildfire!!!!!!!!! )
but if money is on the low side waiting for it to come down in Price has it pule points. ( case in point i just pick up SG Booster Pack PS3 at least for £11.13 + shipping ) wish there was a Booster Pack for SSF, i know with the adding of the Traps that a Booster Pack is out of the question for STT.

any how i will stop typing now have fun.