Is there anyone who wants a contract floating ship but is waiting to see if the price will come down because it’s too expensive? How do developers directly think about sale plans and prices so that they become a deciding factor in purchasing? I would like to announce.
Conclusion on why we don’t have a sale
- I think the take-home pay is 2,268 yen, which is a small amount considering the 3,200 hours of development effort.
- I think the reason why it’s not selling right now is because it’s not well known.
- We believe that people who find it attractive and really want it will be willing to pay 3,780 yen for it.
- We generally do not hold sales until the end of a product’s lifespan.
- Even if there is a sale, it is usually 10% off several times a year. (It’s only a few dollars different)
A video summarizing the hardships of 4 years of development
The explanation is in Japanese, but please enjoy the video alone.
Development difficulties and take-home pay
Isn’t the price too high?
Contract Floating Ship is being sold for $35, which is a very high price for an indie game. The average indie game is less than $20, and most of them are sold in the $10 range, but this is a high-priced product that costs more than $30.
Steam tax is higher than expected
The price paid by the consumer is “35 dollars”, but the money that actually comes to the developer is ”22 dollars” after paying Steam tax and consumption tax. In fact, 40% will be deducted as a commission and 60% will be taken home by the developer.
It was made with great care over many years.
- 2001 I want a game like Contract’s Floating Ship
- 2010 First time using Unity
- 2015 The birth of the egg that would become the floating ship of the contract took place.
- 2018 Started making games while working
- 2020 Quit the company and start building contract floating ships in earnest
- 2022 Contracted floating ship completed
- 2024 Contract Floating Ship, English localization
The origin of our desire to create a floating contract ship can be traced back 23 years. Ever since Final Fantasy 10 was released and I switched to PS2, I’ve been craving a game where you fly through the skies in an airship and explore the world.However, the airship only appeared in one part of the game, and there wasn’t even a part where i could operate it.
No matter how long i wait, a 3D game in which i adventure in an airplane like an airship will not appear.The decision to actually create it came 14 years later, in 2015.
As I gained more life experience, I learned that there is a game engine called Unity, and even amateurs can now easily create games.Software licenses, which used to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, are now almost free, and PC specs have improved, making it possible for anyone to create high-quality games.
The idea for the contract floating ship itself has already been around since around 2015, and although it is not a complete proposal like the contract floating ship, ideas and concepts that can be said to be its origin have begun to emerge.
Since then, I’ve been cheating on myself by playing VR games, and in 2020, coronavirus infection outbreak.That year, I began to gather more interest and knowledge about side jobs, and realized that my income from business was sky-high, and that no matter how hard I tried, I would never get used to being rich with my labor income.
Originally, I started building contract floating ships not for commercial success, but for my own personal satisfaction.I produced it with the faint hope that it would be a big hit and make me a millionaire, but the reality is not so easy, and sales have been as low as a sparrow’s tears.
Even though it was on the verge of death, it took more than 3,200 hours to finally release the contracted floating ship into the world.It was a really fun and fulfilling production, but of course there were some tough times.After the game release, i suffered from mysterious health problems for more than a year, and despite many hardships, the game is like my own cute child.
To consumers, it feels like just another game on the market, but from the creator’s perspective, it’s a work that has been a long journey that they’ve had in their hearts for over 20 years.Would you like to sell it cheaply?
About the sale
Don’t you have a sale?
Now, if I sell the work I spent so much time and effort making to one person, I’ll get a take-home pay of 2,268 yen.How do you all feel?If it sells to a large group of tens of thousands of people, it will be a big sale, but honestly, I don’t want to sell it because the profit is small compared to the effort. Don’t you feel that way?
Of course, for those who don’t know the hardships of development and the near-death experiences involved, it might seem that it could be priced more cheaply. However, for someone who has risked my life to create it, I feel that the take-home pay is still too low.
Wouldn’t it be better to raise the list price and have more frequent sales?
On Steam, if you don’t set your prices with sales in mind, you’ll be at a big disadvantage in the battle for exposure.It seems that some smart developers intentionally set the list price of a product that they originally wanted to sell for ＄60 at ＄120, and then periodically set the price at half the price of 50% off to make it a reasonable price.
Should I have done that too? I thought,I hesitated to set an even higher price when AAA titles are priced at $60, and with 70% off.I regret it a little.
A few dollars or tens of dollars when it’s cheaper
If you get 50% off, $35 becomes $17.50, which is a savings of about $20.I don’t intend to sell it that big due to the hardships of development and the amount of money I receive.I also think that we were able to create a game that is worth the price.Even if i do, it’s 10% off.The launch price, which I wanted to get the cheapest, was 15% off, so even if it’s cheaper, it’s still less than ＄5.
Don’t you think it’s a waste of time to wait years for $5 on a sale that may or may not happen? When it comes to children’s pocket money, that’s one thing, but for working adults, I hope they can buy the game with the money saved from skipping just one night out.
I want someone who really likes it to buy it.
Also, the reason why I have made the price a little high is not only because of the hardships I went through, but also because I want people who really like my work to buy it.If you really like the game, I think you can easily afford $35 if you work normally.
More than that, the PCs that run the contract floating ships now require fairly high specs, so I feel really sorry for that, or rather, I feel like I’m at a pretty disadvantageous position.
About the game
A completely new game style unique to individual production that cannot be created by large companies.
The contract floating ship was built by an amateur and made by one person. While many games are being sold as remakes, remasters, and irreplaceable sequels of past titles, games are being created with completely new concepts.
The concept is a completely new approach to the game where no one can be defeated. It has a bright atmosphere and a unique worldview that has never existed anywhere else.
Operate a floating ship, a vehicle that allows you to travel freely in the sky, and enjoy progressing through the game’s story while enjoying the extraordinary experience.
Packed with passion
I created it with a lot of attention to detail as a unique game that doesn’t exist anywhere else.
- A completely new approach to the game where no one can be defeated.
- A bright atmosphere and unique worldview that never existed anywhere else
- The camera’s viewpoint can now be manipulated to the maximum extent possible.
- The UI has also been designed so that you can turn the display on and off as you like.
- You can save with comments so you can remember what your saved data was.
- A purposefully unfriendly game design that requires players to think.
(I want you to feel the exhilaration when you clear it on your own.) - Clearing a different route that cannot be experienced with normal clearing
- Many achievements unlocked
The volume is worth the price! (should)
It was so much fun to make that the content of the game ended up being voluminous, regardless of whether the content was good or bad.So if you calculate the price per scene, it shouldn’t be that much of a rip-off.Well, that’s why the price has gone up…
I want you to aim for a complete clear and enjoy it.
I think those who can completely clear the game without a strategy book will definitely experience an enjoyable experience that far exceeds the purchase price.
Please try various trials and errors and see if you can aim for complete clearing.
I’ll start doing business from now on.
I have briefly introduced the game, but from now on I am planning to promote and sell the appeal of floating contract ships on YouTube and Twitter.I’m not sure if I should buy it, but what should I do? If you like it, please watch the sales videos of contracted floating ships that will be uploaded in the future, and if you like it, please purchase it.
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