作者：Damien McFerran

Square的RPG游戏《最终幻想战略版：狮子战争》最近在iTunes App Store上线。这款游戏的发布值得关注，因为这款游戏普遍被人们认为是有史以来最棒的战略角色扮演游戏。

自该公司确认游戏将移植到iPhone后，粉丝们便已经开始翘首期待，可以想象这款游戏获得了多大的关注度。

Final Fantasy Tactics：The War of the Lions(from gamefaqs.com)

但是，游戏在App Store上显得出众是出于另一个原因——价格。《最终幻想战略版》的售价是10.99英镑，这对于普通iPhone用户（游戏邦注：通常只付费购买不足1英镑的游戏）来说确实是一笔很大的开支。

不出众人所料，许多人对游戏的价格提出了质疑。有些人甚至将其称为“Square Enix Tax”，这种虚高的价格似乎只会这款使出自日本著名开发商的游戏深受其害。有些iPhone用户觉得该公司是在利用粉丝的心理抬高价格，因为该公司知道无论定价多高，有些狂热的粉丝都会下载游戏。

这种看法不无道理。相对比许多很少打破业内“默认”价格点的iPhone发行商，这种将一款非原版全新游戏的售价设置得比一般游戏高10倍的做法似乎甚为不妥。

Square Enix在这款游戏中只是将PSP的原创游戏移植到iPhone上而已。根本无需大量开发成本，对许多评论者来说，Square Enix的做法是极具风险的。

但是，这场辩论还存在另一种观点。以App Store标准来看，《最终幻想战略版》确实很昂贵，但是相对比任天堂DS和索尼PSP版本来说，这款新版本显得更有价值。

这款游戏移植自PSP版本，而后者的零售价为30英镑，这与抢钱无异。即便现在，游戏发行已过去多年，二手市场上PSP版本的售价依然高于10.99英镑。

所以，你就必须考虑能够从这款游戏中获得多少乐趣。单纯根据价格来判断下载应用的价值是个极具技巧的工作，某些69便士的游戏可能只能给你提供1天左右的乐趣，但是你仍然不会抱怨，因为69便士确实很少。《最终幻想战略版》确实需要你投入一笔费用，但是游戏本身的可玩性能够让你获得数周甚至数个月的乐趣。

如果你想要完成全部任务，构建其每个角色的能力，收集每个道具并且完成可选的多项任务，那么这款战略RPG游戏便有可能给你带来60个小时的游戏体验。

出于这个原因，该游戏所设定的这个价格还是合理的。与目前全球最为流行的电子游戏《愤怒的小鸟》在iPhone上的售价相比，10.99英镑确实显得过于昂贵，但这两款游戏的可玩性根本就无法相比。

前者是你每天去上班的途中用来打发无聊的时间，后者是需要你投入数小时的时间的游戏，它迷人的魅力可以吸引你晚上在家中坐上数个小时。

当然，并非所有标价10.99英镑的游戏都可以像《最终幻想战略版》这么棒，我们希望其他发行商不要简单地模仿Square Enix的做法。有些狂热的粉丝乐意花上两倍的价格来购买《最终幻想战略版》，但是只有独特且令人惊奇的游戏才能够有此影响力。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

How much is too much when it comes to App Store prices?

Damien McFerran

Square’s near-legendary RPG Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions recently went live on the iTunes App Store. This is a notable release because the game, which originally graced Sony’ PlayStation back in 1997, is widely regarded as one of the finest tactical role-playing titles of all time.

Ever since the iPhone port was confirmed, fans have been counting down the days until launch, and that speaks volumes about how highly this critically acclaimed piece of software is viewed.

However, its arrival on the App Store is note-worthy for another reason: the price. Final Fantasy Tactics is being sold for £10.99, which to the average iPhone owner – weaned on a diet of downloads usually costing less than a pound – is going to seem like a colossal amount of cash.

Unsurprisingly, many have questioned the price point. Some have even bitterly mentioned the infamous ‘Square Enix Tax’, an imaginary price hike which seems only to afflict games from the famous Japanese developer. Some iPhone owners feel the company is taking fans for a ride and pushing up the price of its games purely because it knows the devoted flock will download them, irrespective of the high cost.

These baying hordes have a point. When you consider that many seasoned iPhone publishers rarely break ‘The Pound Barrier’ with their products, it seems cheeky to be charging over ten times as much for what is essentially an pre-existing game.

All Square Enix has had to do in this case is port the PSP remake of the original game to the iPhone. No major development cost has been incurred and to many critics this makes Square Enix’s actions dodgy to say the least.

However, as is often the case, there are two sides to this argument. Yes, Final Fantasy Tactics is expensive by App Store standards, but when compared with Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable releases, it actually represents very good value.

And when you consider the PSP version on which this port is based originally retailed for £30, it makes it seem even more of a steal. Even now, several years after its publication, the PSP edition regularly sells for more than £10.99 on the second-hand market.

Then you have to consider the amount of enjoyment you’re likely to get out of this game. It’s a tricky job judging the worth of a download based purely on price: Some 69p games will entertain you for perhaps a day or so, yet we never grumble because 69p doesn’t seem like a lot of money. Final Fantasy Tactics may cost a lot of cash, but it offers weeks and potentially months of gameplay.

If you complete all the of missions, build up each character’s stats, collect every item and embark on the optional side-quests, you can expect to enjoy well over 60 hours of one of the finest tactical RPGs ever made.

For that reason, it’s a little easier to justify the inflated price tag. £10.99 may seem like a lot when you consider that Angry Birds – unquestionably one of the most famous video games on the planet right now – costs a tiny fraction of the price on iPhone, but comparing the two is like comparing chalk and cheese.

One is a title which will fill the odd spare moment you have travelling to work each day, while the other is a totally engrossing affair that will consume hours of your life and is the kind of game you’ll sit down to play for hours in the evening, such is its captivating power.

Of course, not every game pitched at the £10.99 price point is going to be as good as Final Fantasy Tactics and we sincerely hope that other publishers don’t look upon Square Enix’s actions and naively assume they can artificially expand their profit margins by following suit. There’s a dedicated fan base that would have gladly paid twice what is being asked for Final Fantasy Tactics, but we are talking about a unique and astonishing piece of programming, not some cheaply-made mobile escapade. (Source: Know Your Mobile)