Homebrew prices

OK, I admit it, I am cheap. What I do not get though, is how 2600 homebrews can go for $20 a piece over at Atari Age's store, and yet new INTV and CV releases are almost always priced at $50-$60 range. I realize homebrewers are free to ask any price they want, but AA (2600 Boulder Dash excepted) shows that the $50-$60 asking prices on many are nothing but sheer greed. Even 5200 homebrews on AA and Good Deal Games are in the $25-$35 range, not the $50-$60 that CV homebrewers would have you believe is the break-even mark. I say that if the homebrews were offered in the $30-$35 range, the developers would sell so many more copies that profits would be through the roof.

I'll get down off my soapbox now...

Well, the price of homebrews varies a lot. I've seen several 2600 hombrews that sell for more than $50. I think the difference with CV and INTV may be the model used to release the games. Vendors have programmers for the games and pay them for their work (at least, that is what I've seen so far). Many of the 2600 homebrews are released directly by the developers themselves. Vectrex games can also be expensive to get. So, I'm not sure what the explanation is but there certainly are many variables.

I know what you are saying, but can you honestly say that $50 is a fair price on the homebrews coming out recently? I have to say that I truly do not know, because I have never published a video game, but it is weird that sites like AA and GDG can sell homebrews at much lower prices.

I do have to say that I had severe sticker shock when I saw the going rate for 2600 Boulder Dash over at the AA store. $80? Ouch!

I know the situation with Boulder Dash for the 2600 also involved licensing fees. The box is also professional grade, so that adds to the expense. Remember the volume is not as large as a commercial release, so there are fewer copies to help recuperate the expenses.

It does take many hours to program these games, so I'm guessing that is factoring into the cost of the INTV games. Not knowing all the details related to the cost of bringing the game to us, it is hard to judge how "fair" or "unfair" the cost is. I'm going to guess, though, there are a lot of costs we are not aware of.

Aren't the Atari homebrews mostly cart only?

Maybe the Atari ones are easier to program as well?

I agree about the easier to program.

Only thought I have is over all system owners. More 2600/7800 owners. Guess you could include the Atari expansion for Coleco and Intellivision owners.

More people to buy 2600 games so you could sell more and not charge as much as you would on other systems. Maybe it would still give you a good return on the product.

revolutionika wrote:Aren't the Atari homebrews mostly cart only?

Maybe the Atari ones are easier to program as well?

Many of them are cart only. Boxed ones do tend to cost more but price does vary by console as well.

Regarding ease of programming, that depends on the console. I know the Jaguar is tough to program for and homebrews that are boxed do cost more. I think we tend to underestimate the cost of printing and making boxes!

Recent case: Mean Hamster is selling 5200 Gauntlet for $40 and Left Turn Only is selling INTV Christmas Carol for $60.

5200 Gauntlet is a cart only with neither box nor instructions and sells for $45. INVT Christmas Carol comes in a sealed box with instructions and two overlays in addition to the game cart. I don't think that is a fair comparison. If anything, Gauntlet can be considered to be expensive given what you get for the extra $15 with Christmas Carol. Of course, the reason for the price being what it is for Gauntlet is that the cart is a 64K bank switching cart.