There's more than one way to interpret Word Party's positioning, as the very move that marks it as not being a safe showing could also constitute a fatal risk. From a consumer interest standpoint, $20 for a foreign party game is a weighty consideration for the average person, and this is before taking account of content. Sitting in the same bracket as the well-praised Affordable Space Adventures by KnapNok Games, Word Party, in its decided firmness, cannot compete with low-barrier party games on the eShop. But in truth, it's not trying to.
Being that it is one of the more costly, non-retail offerings on the platform, GameZone approached the team behind Word Party to learn more about its pricing strategy and how the game's been faring since releasing in November.
Behind the game's high price point is a rationale, and Chris Newman of Lightwood Games brought out in his comments that there is a level of sensibleness to it. "Pricing it at $5, or even $2, isn't going to make a difference to gamers who simply don't enjoy word puzzles or party games!" he said plainly. Ultimately, the team's decisions were to squarely focus on their target audience rather than rely on residual sales. And based on what they were hearing when Word Party was first demonstrated to groups, $20 was appropriate for their aims.
"The pricing was based upon feedback from talking to players at shows," Newman said, "and also influenced by the divisive reaction we got when exhibiting at EGX. It's unashamedly a niche title, and people generally fell into two camps: they either loved it and wouldn't stop playing, or thought, 'What the hell is that doing here?'"
In keeping with this, the team ensured a demo would release alongside the full game, which again was less so for the general market and more for the benefit of their defined target audience. "It was absolutely vital," he said, adding that it helped "massively" with the game's reach. Even so, Newman didn't hesitate to acknowledge the milder sales traffic that such a decision meant accepting. "It undoubtedly does have an impact on the game's sales, especially compared to the impulse-buy price points that so many developers feel are necessary."
The team's way of striving to mitigate this issue and connect with potential users, rests with Miiverse. Through Nintendo's communication service, Lightwood Games has been doing the same as numerous other studios — simultaneously promote their game to new players and encourage existing players to continue playing. "Our games will generally appeal to the same group of players, so building a following using puzzles will help to get the word out."
Added to the default expectations that come with a niche release, Newman shared that there were other variables beyond their control that hindered the game's launch, which he felt was a bit of misfire. "Our launch was somewhat scuppered by terrible timing. "The recent Nintendo Direct was announced on the same day we released," he shared, and this had the unfortunate consequence of minimal press on Word Party. Rather than feeling shortchanged, the team is hopeful that their observations on how other word games have performed will play out in Word Party's favour also.
"We've seen in the past that word games can benefit from a strong long tail, rather than having to rely on a big launch. Because they appeal to a particular type of gamer, they often do well through organic search results — and I think this is amplified on a platform where they stand out against big-name Nintendo franchises and the type of game that generally gets referred to as 'Nindie'."
Since Word Party had a launch discount of 20% off, GameZone asked if the team was thinking of doing a sale to coincide with holiday offers from other eShop developers. But Newman said it's not in the cards. "We may do a similar offer in the future, though."
Word Party has a long way to go before it can be counted as a successful venture for the company, but if their observations materialize as originally predicted, this risky pricing strategy may turn into a slightly more stable arrangement.