Is KSP too expensive?

[Yakuzi]

1.0 feels more like a beta version than .90. That's a bit of a problem.

This is my view of 1.0 as well.

[Darnok]

It is worth it, you won't agree with me after first 10 hours, but after 100 hours you would buy KSP again

[xnorb]

Indie games on Steam are usually around 20-30€.

Seeing a 40€ pricetag on an indie game raises the expectations.

Looking at screenshots and videos (low LOD settings, obvious repetitive textures, "dead" planets)

40€ seem a bit much to ask. Especially with games like Elite Dangerous around (50€).

I think everybody here loves KSP and has no problem with it's price, but i'm with the TO here:

The entrance barrier could be a little too high.

[katateochi]

It's £30 in the UK and that is too much in my opinion for an largely unfinished game. KSP is probably my favorite game of all time. I love it. But it is unfinished.

The new parts where made by one man and it shows. They are not AAA quality by any means. Sound effects need changing, fairings need fixing, Unity 5 promises much, may deliver nothing. The aero model will change, again.. Performance is terrible, there are no environmental effects. there are bugs, big bugs, memory leaks, graphical glitches, nothing to do on planets except come home again, and I still bloody love the game but charging £30 is too much. I say £15 is more realistic.

Yes I have played thousands of hours on this game but others wont. We are the hardcore. Most players wont go to all the planets, they will give up after a while.

I could not have said this better.

1.0 feels more like a beta version than .90. That's a bit of a problem.

Exactly. I remember being so immersed in the game in previous versions (pre 0.90.0, more like the 0.24 days) and just being totally focused on what I was building and the mission. Now I'm so distracted by bugs (and yes I'm playing stock) and poor performance that I can't really get immersed in the game in the way I used to.

I've always said that when KSP moved out of open-access I would buy it again (I bought it in 0.15 and that was a great deal) but I just can't bring myself to hand money over for 1.0.2. I can accept some of the bugs and I really don't mind the occasional crash, but I just can't stand the poor performance. I will buy it again, but not now, it's just not there yet.

[steve_v]

$40 for the stock game, with no mods or community bugfixes? Not a chance.

$40 for a mostly bug-free, polished 1.0? Sure. But it's not

Been fooling myself that performance will improve and bugs will be fixed since 0.17, but 1.02 is buggier and slower than ever.

Edited June 2, 2015 by steve_v

[Wallygator]

I'm sure the price (just like the game) requires a bit of balancing. They will get it right at some point. But right now, regardless of price, the game presents itself as a marvel of play time and enjoyment. So much so that it might be off the chart from a comparison perspective (YMMV).

I would expect a good price to be in the $30 to $40 range. Additional content modules could be released in the $10 to $20 range per release (as an example).

All told, the current price is probably a good starting point. Demand and reviews will dictate if the price is sustainable.

[Raptor9]

I have a few PC games I payed $50 or more for (like multiple DCS modules) that I don't play nearly as much as KSP. From a gameplay over time perspective, KSP has been the cheapest game on a dollars (or cents) per hour scale. Are there issues? Sure...but nothing that prevents me from having a fun gaming experience. (DISCLAIMER: I've been playing KSP since 0.13 so if I remember correctly I purchased it at ~$15, but based on what it has become, I'd gladly pay $40 dollars now)

Bottom line, what your getting for $40 dollars is well worth the cost, not to mention when they release updates...they're free.

[Freshmeat]

I only buy a couple of games per year, so I tend to do my research before I buy. I don't think I would have bought it at €40, and that would have been a loss for me. I guess that is why one should keep an ear to the ground. Then again, I would have gotten it eventually on a Steam sale.

[dom700]

40€ is by far too much to ask (paid 27$ on the squad website ). I am guessing that the current demo is running on the same principal as the 0.18 (?) demo. If that is the case, I wouldn't be compelled to pay 40€ for KSP.

[Rithsom]

I agree with most people here, 40$ is an excellent price considering how many hours I put into KSP. But it might not be for someone who is new or is looking in to buying it.

There are just too many bugs and lack of polish in some areas for it to have a 40$ price tag.

Edited June 2, 2015 by Rthsom

[Orbital Vagabond]

40€ is by far too much to ask (paid 27$ on the squad website ). I am guessing that the current demo is running on the same principal as the 0.18 (?) demo. If that is the case, I wouldn't be compelled to pay 40€ for KSP.

I'm 98% sure the demo got updated. I think it's 0.25 or 0.90.

I agree with most people here, 40$ is an excellent price considering how many hours I put into KSP. But it might not be for someone who just bought the game.

There are just too many bugs and lack of polish in some areas for it to have a 40$ price tag.

Agreed with both of these: 40 Euro feels like a scam for this game (and YES I KNOW THATS BECAUSE OF STEAM), but even $40 is too much for a game that is basically still in beta. There are still too many promised features not in the game, e.g. dV readouts and reasonable aero/heating models.

I may be biased, though. I'm really disappointed with how Squad has communicated with the community during development, so even now I don't feel all that great about the $23 I paid for the game at 0.22. I'd love to buy some of the lil Kerbals for my desk at work, but I don't want to give Squad any more $$$.

Edited June 2, 2015 by TestPilotTheta

[Dirty Bob]

I don't buy any game near that price. so for me it is too expensive at $40. Honestly, I think steam sales have driven games to place a higher "regular" price on games so they can set a sale price that they're willing to live with when the sales come around. With midweek madness and weekend sales giving you even more opportunity for a discounted sale, it really is the only thing that makes sense from an economic standpoint. The fact of the matter is if you tell people it's on sale, more will buy it and Steam has really started to reflect this in the last couple years. If they set a price of say $20, I think they'd really be screwing themselves during the two big sales of the year with a price that would be much too low compared to the value of the game.

[adsii1970]

I bought the game for 20 dollars in a steam sale. I saw it today for 39.99. I know this isn't my place to judge, but I think that's a bit much. Don't get me wrong, I love the game and have logged hundreds of hours on it, but I see it as a bit of a barrier to entry. I've recommended KSP several people about it and every one of them said it was too expensive. I would love to hear your opinions on this.

SmallFatFetus

EDIT: think of whether it's a turn off to new players. Is $40 too steep for a game they might not like?

Well, when I purchased KSP, it was also in development and I think I paid $5.99 for version .22 through STEAM. Using the equation someone else presented (amount spend/hours played = value), that means that each hour I've played is valued at $0.006, basically FREE! (As of today I have 941 hours of play time).

Now, about the price... I have paid $39.99 for many games going as far back as 1996. Some of them were "da bom!" while others, well, "bombed." KSP is priced about right; I would easily and without reservation have spent that much to purchase this game based on the demo alone (the original demo I played was .17, I think). The expansiveness of the Kerbal universe is astounding when you stop and think of it. There is no other game that allows such design flexibility to where you can do with it based on what you think is fun and challenging.

[Majorjim!]

$40 for the stock game, with no mods or community bugfixes? Not a chance.

$40 for a mostly bug-free, polished 1.0? Sure. But it's not

Been fooling myself that performance will improve and bugs will be fixed since 0.17, but 1.02 is buggier and slower than ever.

These facts concern me greatly. I too have been waiting for the performance and stability to improve.

I told myself, as soon as version 1 hits all will be well. Sadly the opposite has happened.

Unless Unity version 5 gives us a large, and by large I mean, three fold increase in part performance, KSP will never reach the giddy heights it aspires to.

We/I are continuously banging up against the invisible perfomance barrier when building craft( what this game is designed for).

I grew bored of low part count ships after a few months. Its just too damn restrictive.

[Red Iron Crown]

I'm 98% sure the demo got updated. I think it's 0.25 or 0.90.

The demo updated when 1.0 was released, it is currently a subset of KSP 1.0.0. Perhaps after 1.0.3 if they decide they've finished with hotfixes they'll update it to current.

[andrew123]

These facts concern me greatly. I too have been waiting for the performance and stability to improve.

I told myself, as soon as version 1 hits all will be well. Sadly the opposite has happened.

Unless Unity version 5 gives us a large, and by large I mean, three fold increase in part performance, KSP will never reach the giddy heights it aspires to.

We/I are continuously banging up against the invisible perfomance barrier when building craft( what this game is designed for).

I grew bored of low part count ships after a few months. Its just too damn restrictive.

Building a new Aegis Destroyer or Aircraft Carrier with the part count restrictions is just not fun. I managed to run 4000 part craft for validation, but it's not pleasant.

I want the devs to streamline ksp's code. Optimize or bust.

[Moon Goddess]

At this point I've paid less than a cent per hour of entertainment for KSP.

The only other game I've ever gotten so cheap is minecraft.

[Ninjahgoblin]

I would say $40 is a bit much for how vanilla the game is and how much modding needs to be done. -that is my opinion on my experience-

I get the quantification of hours of play per dollar. But in this case, I think OP is referencing out of the box. At that point no one has had more then a few hours of play. -imo-

Edited June 2, 2015 by Ninjahgoblin

[michaelsteele3]

No, but your username is priceless.

Anyways, I bought it when it was around $23

[Xannari Ferrows]

I'd say it's worth it. Even if you don't know how to play, there's a whole plethora of resources to find out how. There's no end, no rules, and lots of goofing around.

[lazor_Wither]

Yeah I mean you can practically do anything

[Hotblack Desiato]

I just looked at the ksp-website and saw:

Kerbal Space Program

40,00€

honestly, you're talking about 40$, but I would have to pay 40€ (currently 45$).

where does the 5 dollar difference come from?

[Hobbes Novakoff]

$40 is a lot of money, but it's worth every cent. Much better than those AAA games, and I think that the community is one of the best.

[EtherDragon]

I would say $40 is a bit much for how vanilla the game is and how much modding needs to be done. -that is my opinion on my experience-

I get the quantification of hours of play per dollar. But in this case, I think OP is referencing out of the box. At that point no one has had more then a few hours of play. -imo-

I have lots of hours, after deployment of 1.0, playing nothing but Vanilla and loving every minute of it. -IMO- this game is worth every bit of $40, had I paid that much on release. It doesn't need lots of modding to be done.

[pandaman]

Like most on this thread (probably) I've clocked up hundreds of hours, so judgement may be a bit biased. But I don't think $40 is over priced. It's cheaper than many games that lose their re playability after only 10's of hours.

Like all games it won't be to everyone's taste and those who aren't interested most likely won't buy it. Some who buy just won't get on with it even if they are interested. But once you grasp the basics suddenly you can see the huge scope even if you don't yet have the skills or knowledge you realise that you can have and will have in the future.

For me, if I just bought it now, after trying the demo, for $40 I think I would be more pleased with my purchase than I have been with several other games.