Namco Bandai is used to charging big bucks for its console games. But the Japanese company is taking the odd strategy of pricing its iPhone music rhythm games at $55 each.
In doing so, you could say it is crazy in going against the grain of publishing free-to-play games on iOS (games for the iPad, iPad Mini, iPhone, and iPod Touch). NamcoBandai said its iDOLM@STER (we prefer the spelling “Idolmaster”) rhythm game will be split into three separate apps that sell for $55 each in the U.S. market, as first reported by Touch Arcade.
In the Namco Bandai game, you manage the career of an up-and-coming music star. The gameplay is based on rhythm sessions where you tap on the screen in various combinations to match the beat. The series started in 2005 and has had various versions on consoles and handhelds.
This isn’t the first instance of a Japanese publisher putting a hefty price on a rhythm game. Square Enix charged as much as $150 for its Theatrhythm Final Fantasy app, a game it lists for free on the App Store. Its model relies on microtransactions.
Namco Bandai isn’t hiding behind microtransactions — it has split iDOLM@STER into three separate apps: iDOLM@STER Shiny Festa Rhythmic Record [$54.99], iDOLM@STER Shiny Festa Melodic Disc [$54.99], and iDOLM@STER Shiny Festa Harmonic Score [$54.99]. Each is a selection of idols and songs that you can play with. Each app is about 2GB to download and 3GB installed. This means that, in addition to being wildly overpriced for the platform, it is also inaccessible in that it can’t be downloaded over a 3G or 4G network. You’ll have to use a computer or access Wi-Fi to download it.
Would U.S. audiences, who are used to free-to-play rhythm games, going to pay $165 to get these apps? And wouldn’t they be more fun if there were a larger social community around them? How would that community develop if the app is so expensive? On the other hand, maybe people who spend too much money on virtual goods in free-to-play games might appreciate a fixed price, wouldn’t they? Those are good questions for Namco Bandai.