Lexis Numérique to let gamers decide the final price of AMY on PSN
Yesterday, VectorCell and Lexis Numérique announced a release date and pricing for AMY, and due to questions raised over the $3 price difference between the XBLA and PSN versions, the firm has decided to let the gaming community decide if the PSN version should be dropped in price.
Currently, the download-only title is will run you 800 MS Points ($10) on Xbox Live, and $12.99 on PSN. The firm wants the community to decide whether to keep the price structure the same, or whether it should drop the PSN price to $9.99, which is in line with the 360 version.
"During the whole development of the game, we tried to be as transparent as possible on our decision making and we believe this situation is a good opportunity to explain what is at stake," commented José Sanchis, CEO of Lexis Numérique. "It’s also a very good opportunity to involve the community in order to decide on the final price of the game in the US.
“We decided to have a new approach to digital distribution by proposing heavy content at a very reasonable price because we believe price is a key issue, especially during hard economic times. Indeed, we believe AMY could have been sold a little bit higher. However, the issue we have to deal with is that a price in MS points doesn’t have the same value in all countries. Indeed, because of fluctuations between the dollar and the euro, 800 MS points are currently worth $10 in the US but €10 in Europe, which is about $12.80.
“As we have the same price in MS Points in all countries, there will be a difference of pricing whatever decision we make between countries and/or platforms. The pricing scheme we announced enables everyone to buy the game at a reasonable price with great value for the money, with an even greater deal for the XBLA gamers who indeed have it cheaper.
“But because we didn’t explain the situation, we understand the reaction of certain US PSN gamers who don’t understand why they should pay a little bit more than their friends who play on XBLA. Now that the community has the elements to understand why we proposed this price scheme, we want to involve as many players as possible to tell us what to do with the price in the US."
Those in the US can vote on whether to change the PSN price through a poll on Facebook, which can be accessed through here.
At present, 30% of users (241 votes) believe the current PSN price is a fair one, while 70% (559 votes) feel the "price difference with the XBLA version is a huge issue" and are "okay" with a with the firm postponing the release of the game in order to fix the pricing.