Are the prices a bit high?

By Thenightgaunt, in Star Wars: Armada

Ok, I preordered off of Amazon in order to only pay $70ish for the core set, and as I'm looking at the prices for future expansions I'm wondering why these are priced so high?

Now don't get me wrong, I like the level of detail I'm seeing on these ships but a tiny little CR90 expansion's been priced at about $19.95 and that's the cheapest one on the current list. It looks the small ships are going to be priced around that much for something on par (so to speak) with the level of detail we got from the B-Wings.

I'm not actually put off by the $40 price on the Victory-Class Star Destroyer but the X-Wing Falcon looks about the same rough size and level of detail and that sucker's selling for $30ish.

So this is less of a "how dare they" rant and more of just a general thought on the reason why these have been priced somewhat higher then the X-Wing ships. I'm wondering if their costs on the manufacturing side have gone up, or if after X-Wing, they've adjusted their sales projections (I'm an MBA so I enjoy this kind of stuff). Or even if it's an attempt to diminish game sizes by pricing higher. In essence, through a higher price point making the Armada game seem a bit more elite than X-wing.

Either way I'd still recommend dropping down the default price on that core set at some point. $100 bucks can be a bit steep for some gamers who'd be just as happy to pay only $60 for the core set and then basically $80 for the individual ships expansions for the same ships that make it up that core set. Though we all know the value of random, unasked for free advice. ^_^

Edited by Thenightgaunt

good question

best I can come up with are two possible reasons

1.) they expect the game to be more "niche" than X-wing because of its complexity, and thus charge higher prices to return a good profit

2.) the bases of the capital ships are far more complex than the bases in X-wing. Cheap plastic is cheap plastic, but I haven't seen another miniature company release model bases like those (and not have those stands be fall-apart quality) with such high quality models.

#2's probably a stretch, but hey

Edited by ficklegreendice

I think a factor is the complexity of the bases.

The nebulon probably has a comparable volume of material as an average small x-wing ship. But the base on the Nebulon is about 2x the surface area, and has all those bits for the shield dials, maneuver template notch, and slot/groove for the peg.

Ship volume and amount of cardboard and cards is pretty similar to x-wing, leaving that as the biggest outlier I think.

Ok, I preordered off of Amazon in order to only pay $70ish for the core set, and as I'm looking at the prices for future expansions I'm wondering why these are priced so high?

Now don't get me wrong, I like the level of detail I'm seeing on these ships but a tiny little CR90 expansion's been priced at about $19.95 and that's the cheapest one on the current list. It looks the small ships are going to be priced around that much for something on par (so to speak) with the level of detail we got from the B-Wings.

I'm not actually put off by the $40 price on the Victory-Class Star Destroyer but the X-Wing Falcon looks about the same rough size and level of detail and that sucker's selling for $30ish.

So this is less of a "how dare they" rant and more of just a general thought on the reason why these have been priced somewhat higher then the X-Wing ships. I'm wondering if their costs on the manufacturing side have gone up, or if after X-Wing, they've adjusted their sales projections (I'm an MBA so I enjoy this kind of stuff). Or even if it's an attempt to diminish game sizes by pricing higher. In essence, through a higher price point making the Armada game seem a bit more elite than X-wing.

Either way I'd still recommend dropping down the default price on that core set at some point. $100 bucks can be a bit steep for some gamers who'd be just as happy to pay only $60 for the core set and then basically $80 for the individual ships expansions for the same ships that make it up that core set. Though we all know the value of random, unasked for free advice. ^_^

Hi,

As to the comparison to X-Wing: Christian Petersen commented on Boardgamegeek just how terribly competitively X-Wing was calculated with a lot of background information. It stands to reason that they would go for a slightly higher profit margin this time around.

However the New Models also seem to be a bit more complex than many X-Wing models and have more diverse mold requirements for bases and assorted Material (Just the plastic command dials for the Victory probably already make up for some of the difference to the Falcon)

As to the core set, considering just how much more and more complex material there is in there compared to X-Wing I would be very surprised if they make a large profit on the core set. I rather believe that they accept a very low margin here to make the profit in expansions.

One indicator is that it contains stuff that otherwise retails for a combined 120$ (Ships, 10 Fighters, Maneuver Tool, Dice) and then there's piles of extra rulebooks, cards and cardboard on top.

Looking at other miniature warhames, x-wing is unusually cheap. Armada is more in line with typical really.

With xwing its the ship, a simple plastic base, and a bunch of card board.

With armada you get a complec base, more plastic, the ship and some cardboard.

Honestly though, the prices are about normal for a miniature wargame.

Ok, I preordered off of Amazon in order to only pay $70ish for the core set, and as I'm looking at the prices for future expansions I'm wondering why these are priced so high?

Now don't get me wrong, I like the level of detail I'm seeing on these ships but a tiny little CR90 expansion's been priced at about $19.95 and that's the cheapest one on the current list. It looks the small ships are going to be priced around that much for something on par (so to speak) with the level of detail we got from the B-Wings.

I'm not actually put off by the $40 price on the Victory-Class Star Destroyer but the X-Wing Falcon looks about the same rough size and level of detail and that sucker's selling for $30ish.

So this is less of a "how dare they" rant and more of just a general thought on the reason why these have been priced somewhat higher then the X-Wing ships. I'm wondering if their costs on the manufacturing side have gone up, or if after X-Wing, they've adjusted their sales projections (I'm an MBA so I enjoy this kind of stuff). Or even if it's an attempt to diminish game sizes by pricing higher. In essence, through a higher price point making the Armada game seem a bit more elite than X-wing.

Either way I'd still recommend dropping down the default price on that core set at some point. $100 bucks can be a bit steep for some gamers who'd be just as happy to pay only $60 for the core set and then basically $80 for the individual ships expansions for the same ships that make it up that core set. Though we all know the value of random, unasked for free advice. ^_^

Undoubtedly, their sales department sat down, and figured out how much it would cost to produce, and went on from there. Of course, part of that MSRP is the markup for retailers.

I'm sure in hindsight they wish they had charged more for X-Wing but unlike X-Wing in Armada with one core set you can build two complete 180 point fleets that are at least currently tournament legal. X-Wing that was never possible with just a core.

What we've come to accept as 'typical' probably isn't a good thing. Especially those that played 40k, even a new car seems *cheap* in comparison. haha

I feel that the Armada core set is premium priced, for what you get its a biiiiit high. The individual ships are not as bad, but Armada seems to be pushing to see what the market will bear. Perhaps they intend to do less waves than X-wing and thus keep it's premium status. I originally intended to buy 2 core sets, assuming they'd be around $60-$80. But at around $100, I bought just one and i'll just keep my cash for wave I and II.

good question

best I can come up with are two possible reasons

1.) they expect the game to be more "niche" than X-wing because of its complexity, and thus charge higher prices to return a good profit

2.) the bases of the capital ships are far more complex than the bases in X-wing. Cheap plastic is cheap plastic, but I haven't seen another miniature company release model bases like those (and not have those stands be fall-apart quality) with such high quality models.

#2's probably a stretch, but hey

On #2, that's something I noticed and forgot to really mention in the first post. And the bases really are quite a bit more complicated than then simple ones used in X-Wing.

What we've come to accept as 'typical' probably isn't a good thing. Especially those that played 40k, even a new car seems *cheap* in comparison. haha

I feel that the Armada core set is premium priced, for what you get its a biiiiit high. The individual ships are not as bad, but Armada seems to be pushing to see what the market will bear. Perhaps they intend to do less waves than X-wing and thus keep it's premium status. I originally intended to buy 2 core sets, assuming they'd be around $60-$80. But at around $100, I bought just one and i'll just keep my cash for wave I and II.

This is a factor that had me wondering as well. Typical wargamming isn't the way to really go. You want to spread out the interest in your product as far as possible to bring in more customers and create loyalty to ensure you can keep growing the product line. X-Wing seems to have really caught on due to the Star Wars IP, the simplicity of the rule system (compared to others system which can be intimidating to first time players), the price point (you don't need a ton of ships to play so $15 isn't too bad per ship, and finally the minis are pre-painted.

Admittedly sometimes you create the product to be a cash cow, other times you accept a much smaller profit in order to gain market share. The latter doesn't seem to be the case with Armada, but then again I have no idea what the costs were. So this is all speculation.

Then again, it really could just be all about that base(s). *drop dad joke mike and walk out*

Edited by Thenightgaunt

Either way I'd still recommend dropping down the default price on that core set at some point.

Even at $100 the core set is a decent deal. You get about $138 worth of models and extra stuff like the maneuver tool and dice. Then there's the price of all the cards, rules ect...

It may not cost much to print those cards or rules, but you have to pay the artist and writers who came up with them.

So no they're unlikely to drop the price on the core set any, because at $100 they aren't likely making a lot of money if any as is.

Honestly, if someone can't afford $100 for a core set, they likely can't afford the hobby in the first place.

Either way I'd still recommend dropping down the default price on that core set at some point.

Even at $100 the core set is a decent deal. You get about $138 worth of models and extra stuff like the maneuver tool and dice. Then there's the price of all the cards, rules ect...

It may not cost much to print those cards or rules, but you have to pay the artist and writers who came up with them.

So no they're unlikely to drop the price on the core set any, because at $100 they aren't likely making a lot of money if any as is.

Honestly, if someone can't afford $100 for a core set, they likely can't afford the hobby in the first place.

But it's also a price that takes it out of the "kid saving up allowance and chore money for a while" category that X-Wing can fall into and into "birthday gift" category. At $100 it seems like the target audience is not the more casual players. I'm not saying that's a bad thing or a good thing. Just that Armada's price point seems to have a different intent then X-Wings.

Either way I'd still recommend dropping down the default price on that core set at some point.

Even at $100 the core set is a decent deal. You get about $138 worth of models and extra stuff like the maneuver tool and dice. Then there's the price of all the cards, rules ect...

It may not cost much to print those cards or rules, but you have to pay the artist and writers who came up with them.

So no they're unlikely to drop the price on the core set any, because at $100 they aren't likely making a lot of money if any as is.

Honestly, if someone can't afford $100 for a core set, they likely can't afford the hobby in the first place.

I dont think its a question of affordability, but rather value. Now I can increase my value by hunting down a cheap deal online and you can shame me for not supporting my LGS. But I feel like Armada's price point begs the effort to find a deal. After all, I'm going to want 3 ISDs eventually.....right??

What we've come to accept as 'typical' probably isn't a good thing. Especially those that played 40k, even a new car seems *cheap* in comparison. haha

I feel that the Armada core set is premium priced, for what you get its a biiiiit high. The individual ships are not as bad, but Armada seems to be pushing to see what the market will bear. Perhaps they intend to do less waves than X-wing and thus keep it's premium status. I originally intended to buy 2 core sets, assuming they'd be around $60-$80. But at around $100, I bought just one and i'll just keep my cash for wave I and II.

So .. the core set comes with 3 ships and 10 fighters.

Buying those same 3 ships and a fighter expansion for 8 fighters cost about the same as the core set.

How exactly do you reconcile that with your opinion that "individual ships are not as bad", implying that you consider the core set a bit overpriced, when the core set comes with that and loads of material on top of?

What we've come to accept as 'typical' probably isn't a good thing. Especially those that played 40k, even a new car seems *cheap* in comparison. haha

I feel that the Armada core set is premium priced, for what you get its a biiiiit high. The individual ships are not as bad, but Armada seems to be pushing to see what the market will bear. Perhaps they intend to do less waves than X-wing and thus keep it's premium status. I originally intended to buy 2 core sets, assuming they'd be around $60-$80. But at around $100, I bought just one and i'll just keep my cash for wave I and II.

So .. the core set comes with 3 ships and 10 fighters.

Buying those same 3 ships and a fighter expansion for 8 fighters cost about the same as the core set.

How exactly do you reconcile that with your opinion that "individual ships are not as bad", implying that you consider the core set a bit overpriced, when the core set comes with that and loads of material on top of?

From my point of view the Core Set should be a significant *deal* to get you into the game. I can tell you the grimaces you get when you introduce a friend to the game and they say "This is cool, I should pick it up. How much is it?".

I don't think the prices are bad. The core set gets you more than half the points you need for a tournament 300 point game, both both factions. I scrabbled a 300 point fleet in 5 minutes with just the core, a neb expansion, assault frig expansion and a one rebel fighter expansion to show some diversity. Total $56 before shipping as Cool Stuff Inc. You could probably even ebay the factions from the core you don't want. Over time you can buy the expansions for the cards you need, or the ships.

CR90 Corellian Corvette B - Dodonna's Pride (6)
Assault Frigate Mark II (81) - Sensor Team (5) - XI7 Turbolasers (6) - Gallant Haven (8)

Nebulon-B Escort Frigate - General Dodonna (20) - Yavaris (5)
Keyan Farlander B-wing Squadron (or Luke)

B-wing Squadron (or X-Wing)

(3) X-wing Squadron

This is to just show some diversity. In an actual 300 point match, I think the rebel player might drop the corvette, or even the frig for upgrades and more squadrons (only using 73 of 100 points). And actually, I don't think this fleet is all that bad. And its done on the cheap.

Edited by wjgo

From my point of view the Core Set should be a significant *deal* to get you into the game. I can tell you the grimaces you get when you introduce a friend to the game and they say "This is cool, I should pick it up. How much is it?".

Just going off of MSRPs, the cost for the expansions for the three ships included in the game, plus one fighter expansion, a dice set, and a maneuver tool is $117.70. Rounding up to $120 for the two extra fighters you get in the Core set, and I would say that's a pretty decent savings.

Go take a look at GW's prices, you'll not consider any other miniature manufacturers expensive ever again!

I'm not saying that's a bad thing or a good thing. Just that Armada's price point seems to have a different intent then X-Wings.

No, you're still getting the same basic thing. It's just that with Armada you have larger ships which naturally cost more. So the cost of the core set is likewise higher.

If you compare what you get in the Armada Core to the X-Wing Core, the two are of comparable value based on the cost of the models themselves.

From my point of view the Core Set should be a significant *deal* to get you into the game.

Again it is. There's about $150+ worth of stuff in the core box, if you don't consider that a significant deal then we'd have to agree to disagree. Anytime I see something at 2/3rd normal price I consider that a pretty good deal.

Lots of companies are learning the ideal price of a starter box is around $70 to $80. Im betting FFG adjusted the price to deal with online retailer discounts and everything else just fell in place. Remember the leaked sales percentage. The bulk on their recorded sales are online retailers.

This isn't a Card game

And beyond the PAINTED minitures, you are also getting the base and more cards.

Back in the day I was heavy into a couple of Collectable minature games that had pre-painted mintures on bases. a Booster of 4-5 figures would cost about $7-10. That was about $2 a figure. Which is fairly close to the cost of an unpainted plastic figure.

I could buy the similar models unpainted for the same price that I am getting in one of the Expansions. But the Expansions include a painted minture, with the stuff to play a game.

No... it is not overpriced. It is a good deal.

Problem is too many people are used to buying cards for CCGs that they are not used the higher price point

There is always a lot of rush to defend FFG, whatever the discussion. I think the entry cost is too high personally. I think they would have been wise to price the core set at 50 to 60, then, once people are hooked, make it back on expansions, which are expensive as well. I want to see armada do well, and I think it would do better with early adoption if the entry cost were lower.

fighters aside - you really only get 3 ships, and one of them is a corevette the size of an xwing in xwing. the nebulon B, you could make the argument that is worth 15 to 20, and 20 to maybe 25 for the victory. Everything else is cardboard and tiny bits of plastic, not worth 100 dollars in my opinion.

I plan to buy the game, (I have 5 core sets for xwing) but at 100 dollars, it will be one core set for me, whereas at 60 bucks i would have bought 2.

to be fair, FFG deserves to be defended (relative to the quality of most game companies, including that particularly notorious one <_< )

While I feel the price is a bit prohibitive (before online discounts), I don't understand why people would want two coresets anyway until we get to a 400 point cap. The cards coming in the Wave 1 expansions are incredible (as is the idea of wave 1 expansions for anyone who wants to purchase select ships) and you can't fit two coresets + expansions worth of capital ships within the 300 point limit.

maybe it's the dice, but I bought the app a long time ago and never looked back (I've got a wild throw)

Edited by ficklegreendice

I plan to buy the game, (I have 5 core sets for xwing) but at 100 dollars, it will be one core set for me, whereas at 60 bucks i would have bought 2.

Yep. exactly. Asking around at my X-wing league night if players were thinking of getting Armada, out of 10 guys: 2 had it already, 2 maybes and the other 6 said it was too expensive and they'd stick to just X-wing.

Its clearly a factor for those considering getting into Armada.

Ok, I preordered off of Amazon in order to only pay $70ish for the core set, and as I'm looking at the prices for future expansions I'm wondering why these are priced so high?

Now don't get me wrong, I like the level of detail I'm seeing on these ships but a tiny little CR90 expansion's been priced at about $19.95 and that's the cheapest one on the current list. It looks the small ships are going to be priced around that much for something on par (so to speak) with the level of detail we got from the B-Wings.

I'm not actually put off by the $40 price on the Victory-Class Star Destroyer but the X-Wing Falcon looks about the same rough size and level of detail and that sucker's selling for $30ish.

So this is less of a "how dare they" rant and more of just a general thought on the reason why these have been priced somewhat higher then the X-Wing ships. I'm wondering if their costs on the manufacturing side have gone up, or if after X-Wing, they've adjusted their sales projections (I'm an MBA so I enjoy this kind of stuff). Or even if it's an attempt to diminish game sizes by pricing higher. In essence, through a higher price point making the Armada game seem a bit more elite than X-wing.

Either way I'd still recommend dropping down the default price on that core set at some point. $100 bucks can be a bit steep for some gamers who'd be just as happy to pay only $60 for the core set and then basically $80 for the individual ships expansions for the same ships that make it up that core set. Though we all know the value of random, unasked for free advice. ^_^

This game is expensive. :(

I feel X-Wing was more reasonable. $50 for the Imperial Star Destroyer is crazy. That's half the cost of the full game. :angry:

Edited by AdmiralPetertheGreat