Resident Evil 4 for iPhone Will Cost $60

[sack_peak]

If you just got the 15p it’s not about money. Is about interest. If you are interested in gaming you get/ already got a console. Some will get it just to see that their new Gadget can do.
More price sensitive people don’t own the newest 15p and don’t want to spend 60$ for a game which is much too complex to play for 15 minutes in bus or train.

Billions of people see no value in gaming PC & consoles.

If they did then there would be 10x more active users.

Even if 1% of the 5 billion iPhone & Android active users were to buy a $60 game that translates to $3 billion in revenue without overhead of stupid discs or game cards as all transactions are digital.

To put it more solidly that is 9 of 100 Windows 10 & 11 users with an active Steam account.

To Capcom, Apple, Google and other devs its about revenue and not the spirit of triple-A gaming.

They be monetizing it as producers and let the users argue philosophies.

 

[Torty]

Billions of people see no value in gaming PC & consoles.

If they did then there would be 10x more active users.

Even if 1% of the 5 billion iPhone & Android active users were to buy a $60 game that translates to $3 billion in revenue without overhead of stupid discs or game cards as all transactions are digital.

To put it more solidly that is 9 of 100 Windows 10 & 11 users with an active Steam account.

To Capcom, Apple, Google and other devs its about revenue and not the spirit of triple-A gaming.

They be monetizing it as producers and let the users argue philosophies.

5 billion got the 15p? Never. So do your calculations with 1% of sold iphone 15p. Dead on arrival. Apple will go out there with a loss. Capcom secured their share but think twice next time to release such a game for only the latest iphone.

 

[sack_peak]

Existing hardware? So everyone has an iPhone 15 Pro (Max)? No. Those phones start at $999. For that price I can easily buy an XBOX Series S, the game and a TV. Or I could use my monitor and buy the Series X + Game.

Its a schedule purchase for a 12 day old phone.

Billions of people who own a smartphone see no value in a console as its primary purpose is playing games.

 

[sack_peak]

5 billion got the 15p? Never. So do your calculations with 1% of sold iphone 15p. Dead on arrival. Apple will go out there with a loss. Capcom secured their share but think twice next time to release such a game for only the latest iphone.

Within 5 years over 9 of 10 phone users will upgrade to a smartphone with ray tracing & 8GB RAM

Source: https://www.pcmag.com/news/the-2-year-mobile-phone-upgrade-cycle-is-mostly-dead

It took Apple & Google about 5 years to defunct Moto (2011), Blackberry (2013), Palm (2010) & Nokia (2011) when they shipped the 2007 iPhone & 2008 Android.

I expect both platforms to be approx 20% of game console market share by Dec 2028.

They're after new users who would least likely to buy into any gaming PC or console.

 

[theonekcrow]

The reason the game is $60 for iPhone/iPad is because Apple wants 30% right off the top. You're paying the developer about $40 and you're paying Apple about $20. That's the crux of iOS development when you have an added built-in cost you need to account for.

I don’t think it’s the App Store pricing per se. $60 seems to be the standard rate for most Triple A games on the major console platforms. With that being said, I am surprised that it is not more expensive, given what you said. Part of me thinks that Capcom (and maybe Konami too) could have special deals for Triple A titles on the App Store.

 

[iDento]

Great. This means we will get more AAA games, if this sells well.

I’m not holding my breath though, gamers won’t use an iPhone, and iPhone gamers aren’t going to spend 60$ on a game.

 

[theonekcrow]

They're not the primary target market. They're smart enough to buy it for $12 or less on whatever other preexisting hardware they have.

It is the equivalent of anyone with a fully furnished and functioning kitchen saying cooking at home is cheaper than eating out.

For those living in a room without any way to cook... it is economically cheaper to outsource a meal from Mickey Dee's.

Those are the sort of users Google and Apple are focusing on.

I concur.

 

[NvidiaIntelPC]

A lot of people don't have a gaming PC or console

Gaming PC maybe (expensive) but console? anyone who’s interesting in video games already owns one.

 

[sack_peak]

Gaming PC maybe (expensive) but console? anyone who’s interesting in video games already owns one.

In Jan 2019 the PS4 has an attach rate of 9.6 games per console. The "average" PS4 owner would own between eight to ten games.

Let us say for the iPhone or Android that is just 20% of those number of games. That's 1-2 $60 games from 1% of 5 billion active smartphone users worldwide.

This translates to $3-6 billion from just 1% of all active smartphone users worldwide.

9 of 100 Win10 & Win11 active users worldwide has an active Steam account. It was reported in Jan 2017 that the average game count per Steam user is about 11.

 

[SanderEvers]

Its a schedule purchase for a 12 day old phone.

Billions of people who own a smartphone see no value in a console as its primary purpose is playing games.

But will those people be interested in a $60 game on their 12 day old $999 smartphone?

I think not.

And honestly, for $999 I could even spec a PC that could run the game decently at 1080p.

This game will fail at launch and Capcom will say "mobile games don't sell", and blame it on the iPhone.
This is only for a select few people that just buy everything because of FOMO. And it has been proven, in the past, that that isn't a healthy business case. AT ALL.

 

[Torty]

In Jan 2019 the PS4 has an attach rate of 9.6 games per console. The "average" PS4 owner would own between eight to ten games.

Let us say for the iPhone or Android that is just 20% of those number of games. That's 1-2 $60 games from 1% of 5 billion active smartphone users worldwide.

This translates to $3-6 billion from just 1% of all active smartphone users worldwide.

You speak again about 5billion units. It’s only the 15p which can run this game no other iPhones.
Bad management decision here.

 

[sack_peak]

But will those people be interested in a $60 game on their 12 day old $999 smartphone?

I think not.

And honestly, for $999 I could even spec a PC that could run the game decently at 1080p.

1% of 5 billion active smartphone users worldwide is 50 million.

That translates to $3 billion revenue from a $60 game that you claim no one will buy.

People generally have 1 phone. 9 of 10 active users are scheduled to upgrade to a ray tracing & 8GB RAM phone within 5 years.

Billions of active smartphone users never scheduled a purchase of any gaming PC or console.

Perhaps tens of millions do but not billions.

That's the primary target market that will buy $60 games on a phone as they would never buy any gaming PC or console as they see no value in it. A waste of money.

 

[sack_peak]

You speak again about 5billion units. It’s only the 15p which can run this game no other iPhones.
Bad management decision here.

5 billion active smartphone users worldwide.

Over 9 of 10 of active users will have ray tracing & 8GB RAM phones within 5 years from now.

If even 1% of them buys one or two $60 games that's $3 billion or $6 billion.

Billions of active smartphone users schedule their phone replacement.

Billions of these users would never consider buying a gaming PC or console. For them it is a waste of time, money and effort.

 

[NvidiaIntelPC]

In Jan 2019 the PS4 has an attach rate of 9.6 games per console. The "average" PS4 owner would own between eight to ten games.

Let us say for the iPhone or Android that is just 20% of those number of games. That's 1-2 $60 games from 1% of 5 billion active smartphone users worldwide.

This translates to $3-6 billion from just 1% of all active smartphone users worldwide.

9 of 100 Win10 & Win11 active users worldwide has an active Steam account. It was reported in Jan 2017 that the average game count per Steam user is about 11.

These “full” games on phones are never going to reach the popularity and user base level of consoles/ PC.
It’s going to be more like a novelty/ niche.

anyone serious about playing these types of games will already be playing them on consoles or PC.
these games aren’t the causal , candy crush type of games.

realistically a controller attachment is needed,and battery life will be depleted fast so it’s not like everyone with an iPhone will be suddenly playing Resident Evil on their phone.

 

[Torty]

5 billion active smartphone users worldwide.

Over 9 of 10 of active users will have ray tracing & 8GB RAM phones within 5 years from now.

If even 1% of them buys one or two $60 games that's $3 billion or $6 billion.

Billions of active smartphone users schedule their phone replacement.

Billions of these users would never consider buying a gaming PC or console. For them it is a waste of time, money and effort.

No one cares about this game in 5 years. Maybe not even available in AppStore. Then you have 5 more latest and greatest iPhone generations with their own latest and greatest games were the sales numbers are little because apple do apple things.

 

[SanderEvers]

1% of 5 billion active smartphone users worldwide is 50 million.

That translates to $3 billion revenue from a $60 game that you claim no one will buy.

People generally have 1 phone. They are scheduled to upgrade to that ray tracing & 8GB RAM phone.

Billions of active smartphone users never scheduled a purchase of any gaming PC or console.

Perhaps tens of millions do but not billions.

That's the primary target market that will buy $60 games on a phone as they would never buy any gaming PC or console as they see no value in it. A waste of money.

How much of that 5 billion people have the top level iPhone (the 15 Pro), I am guessing here.. It's not even 0,1%.
But okay, let's say it's 0,1%. This 5.000.000 phones. (PS5 total sales today is more than 40 million, XBOX Series X is a bit less. But say together it's 50 million)

How many people who own a game console (50 million) are going to buy a new $60 game? It's around 80%.
How many people who own an iPhone 15 Pro (5 million) are going to buy a new $60 game? It's going to be 1% max.

The people on a console buying new games is around 40 million. (MarioKart 8 Deluxe has sold more than 50 million copies, so this is about the max) The people buying $60 games on an iPhone 15 Pro is 50.000.

 

[sack_peak]

These “full” games on phones are never going to reach the popularity and user base level of consoles/ PC.
It’s going to be more like a novelty/ niche.

anyone serious about playing these types of games will already be playing them on consoles or PC.
these games aren’t the causal , candy crush type of games.

realistically a controller attachment is needed,and battery life will be depleted fast so it’s not like everyone with an iPhone will be suddenly playing Resident Evil on their phone.

The citations of my post that you quoted is supporting your reply to me.

If the new user is just buying 20% of the quantity of games of a typical console then why a console?

Buy a Switch just for 1-2 games only when it is already available on any smartphone with ray tracing & 8GB RAM they likely already have or scheduled to buy within the next 5 years?

 

[Torty]

How much of that 5 billion people have the top level iPhone (the 15 Pro), I am guessing here.. It's not even 0,1%.
But okay, let's say it's 0,1%. This 5.000.000 phones. (PS5 total sales today is more than 40 million, XBOX Series X is a bit less. But say together it's 50 million)

How many people who own a game console (50 million) are going to buy a new $60 game? It's around 80%.
How many people who own an iPhone 15 Pro (5 million) are going to buy a new $60 game? It's going to be 1% max.

The people on a console buying new games is around 40 million. The people buying $60 games on an iPhone 50 Pro is 50.000.

Exacly. Bad decision by some apple managers. Dead on arrival.

 

[sack_peak]

No one cares about this game in 5 years. Maybe not even available in AppStore. Then you have 5 more latest and greatest iPhone generations with their own latest and greatest games were the sales numbers are little because apple do apple things.

Perhaps that's why they're charging $60?

 

[Abazigal]

We can still criticize Apple for a lack of quality games in the App Store because that's exactly what there is - a lack of them - and a handful here and there like an 18 year old game like RE4 isn't changing that. Price is an additional avenue for criticism. This is an 18 year old video game. It shouldn't command a recent-release price.

Everything else equal, I would of course rather pay less than more.

However, I do also feel that developers have effectively priced themselves into the ground over the last decade by charging rock bottom prices while conditioning users to expect that their apps would be maintained and updated indefinitely.

Maybe it’s time to start charging and optimising for the people who do buy these apps, rather than focusing on the people who aren’t / won’t.

It’s a good move for the App Store overall, IMO. Developers need to charge more to be sustainable, and users should get used to paying more. I get that this is a 2005 game, but it’s about time to draw a line in the sand.

 

[Torty]

Perhaps that's why they're charging $60?

We are running in circles. I can only repeat what I wrote above: it should have been possible to run this game also on previous gen iPhones maybe with reduced graphics quality.

So they could still push their new iPhone.
The potential buying base would have been bigger so it would have been possible to sell at a lower price.

How they managed it way it it’s a fail.

 

[sack_peak]

Kindly provide citation of your claimed numbers as I have taken effort to do so for you.

How much of that 5 billion people have the top level iPhone (the 15 Pro), I am guessing here.. It's not even 0,1%.

Provide a time frame. If you say within 12 days my guess is below 1 million.

But okay, let's say it's 0,1%. This 5.000.000 phones. (PS5 total sales today is more than 40 million, XBOX Series X is a bit less. But say together it's 50 million)

PS5 & Xbox Series X was launched nearly 3 years ago. You are comparing it to a 12 day old phone?

How many people who own a game console (50 million) are going to buy a new $60 game? It's around 80%.
How many people who own an iPhone 15 Pro (5 million) are going to buy a new $60 game? It's going to be 1% max.

The people on a console buying new games is around 40 million. (MarioKart 8 Deluxe has sold more than 50 million copies, so this is about the max) The people buying $60 games on an iPhone 50 Pro is 50.000.

At $60 no one with a gaming PC or console will buy that on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

This game is for new users who will never buy a gaming PC or console.

 

[sack_peak]

We are running in circles. I can only repeat what I wrote above: it should have been possible to run this game also on previous gen iPhones maybe with reduced graphics quality.

So they could still push their new iPhone.
The potential buying base would have been bigger so it would have been possible to sell at a lower price.

How they managed it way it it’s a fail.

Understand the concept of different markets. BTW may I know where you live and what you do so I may hopefully provide a simile that would communicate my ideas better?

At $60 no one with a gaming PC or console will buy that on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

This game is for new users who will never buy a gaming PC or console.

Be aware that billions of smartphone users much less billions more actual humans would ever buy a gaming PC or console.

They see it as never being part of their lives as it does not align with their time, money or effort.

Capcom, Apple and possibly Google are trying to reach the last billions of users that may only buy 1-2 $60 game when a typical PS4 console has 9.6 titles.

 

[Torty]

PS5 & Xbox Series X was launched nearly 3 years ago. You are comparing it to a 12 day old phone?

exactly that was the bad decision by some apple managers. To let it run only on their latest an greatest phone. And everyone knows that there will be every year a new latest and greatest phone.

 

[sack_peak]

exactly that was the bad decision by some apple managers. To let it run only on their latest an greatest phone. And everyone knows that there will be every year a new latest and greatest phone.

Your point of view is within 12 days. Apple's looking at this over a span of at least 5 years to decades for their triple A games business. Their primary objective is to grow the market for future iPhone handset sales. It takes time to do so. App Store revenue is a secondary objective.

If it fails in your mind then that's just 1 title that Capcom likely making gravy for a new platform. For Apple it's a drop in the bucket for advertising expense telling the world you can now play $60 games on iPhone, iPad & Mac.

Imagine yourself deciding to buy a A16 phone vs A17 Pro phone.

Then you see a $60 game that is A17 Pro-only.

That may induce buying the more expensive phone as you would never buy a gaming PC or console to just play 1 game.

Why? Because from the buyer's perspective it is a waste of money to buy a gaming PC or TV + console just for 1 game.

Now, if the plan is to play 10 $60 titles then a gaming PC or TV + console makes more sense to do. Why? As others pointed out you can get the title for $12.

When buying things most consumers look at utility, value for money and other things important to them.

Billions of smartphone users will never buy a gaming PC or console as they do not see the value in them especially when they have zero plans to play more than 1-2 $60 games.

Again, different markets.