D'artagnan (and others), I think some of you have a strange notion of "worth" of a marketable product. Maybe Vogel is partly to blame with his blog post. But I think it should be very clear: Of
course the market determines what price you can ask! In the posts I link I think he simply makes the point that certain games usually sold at a very low price point are also very simple, and that for that reason as well as the small market segment he targets he has to ask more to make it viable, and people shouldn't expect him to be able to sell at the same price, just because he is "Indie".
Now the Appstore follows different rules than the PC gaming market, I hope we can agree on that? Now look at it from a different angle for a moment: An AAA PC game will be about $40-$50 right? He sells his games for 25-30, I think? On the Appstore an AAA game (yes, there is such a segment, with the usual trappings: strong graphics, well known developers, mediocre gameplay
) is usually 5.50 to 7.50 (CHF, so a little less in $). Highest prices for games is around $10. so relative to the market he actually asks MORE on that platform. I am sorry, but you just can't divorce "worth" from the market you sell on, as long as you are equating it to the price of the game - it simply doesn't make sense in a free economy.
Also, D'Artagnan, of course a price point is calculated to maximize profit. You make it sound like vogel is commiting some kind of crime by doing that. I don't see that in the slightes. There is nothing wrong or greedy about maximizing the profit from a given product, especially not when you are very immediately living of the revenue. It is simply economics.
Of course you can judge the merit (or "worth") of his games based on your own criteria, and then decide if you find the content interesting and the price OK. But even the most artistically driven game developer would be very well advised to maximize his profit from the sales he can get, if he wants to make more games.
