Square Enix has chosen to release Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions on iPhone this Thursday. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the company has opted to price the game at $16, much higher than typical iOS fare. Even worse, Square Enix has implied that while they are working on an iPad version of the game, it is going to be different enough to require purchasing and downloading separately. If the iPhone version is this expensive, just imagine what the tablet edition is going to cost…
First off, Square Enix has the right to charge whatever price they want for the game, that’s the beauty of the App Store. Rather than being tied to specific price points, Apple lets publishers set their own rates and the market is then allowed to decide how much is too much. Still, in this instance the decision to attach such a hefty price tag to a rather old game seems a bit shortsighted and potentially damaging. The publisher is playing with fire in this instance, and no matter the outcome someone is going to get burned.
It’s strange that the game is launching at such a high price point, especially considering that it can already be purchased on PSN or PSP for $9.99. A variety of sellers even offer used copies of the PSOne original for under $20. With this in mind it’s hard to imagine a legitimate reason Square Enix would ask such a price on the latest version of Tactics; a touch screen and Retina Display don’t really justify the added cost, especially for a non-universal app.
Unfortunately, this decision is going to be a net loss no matter how the game sells. If it tanks then we may see major publishers shy away from iOS, worried that they won’t be able to recoup costs or make a profit with traditional games. If that happens then the evolution of iOS titles into something truly rivaling that of modern gaming consoles will be stalled considerably, and we may be forced into several more years of small-fry developers chasing after whatever goose happens to be laying the golden egg that month.
Conversely, if the game does sell well it will create upward pricing pressure, and many titles will probably become more expensive as a result. Just like how the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 maps debuting at $15 has caused downloadable content on consoles to creep up, a pricing uptick would likely occur in the App Store. If consumers signal that they’re willing to pay previously unheard of prices for major releases then publishers will feel free to charge more and more for their games. While $0.99 or $1.99 may be the standard now, this could easily jump to $7.99 or more if companies believe customers are willing to pay that much. Though this may spur more interest in the platform and get more of the major players involved in the mobile space, it’s going to come at the cost of your wallet.
No matter the outcome, this may prove to be a watershed moment for gaming on mobile platforms. Success will likely bring higher prices, failure may prevent future titles of FF: Tactics quality from ever appearing on iOS. It feels like a true lose-lose situation for all sides.
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