I've decided to attack the problem from another angle.
for our next game, we may implement a system of purchasing that is akin to 'donation-ware' but a slight twist.
basically each product that a price range, for MW lets say this price range would currently be (for the download version)
$10<----->$30
The buyer can choose any dollar amount within those bounds, they get the same game as everyone else, but they get to choose their price (within limits).
everyone is urged to choose what they feel is a fair price.
since everyone has a different sense of 'value' this makes purchasing somthing somewhat easier, yet it still requires you pay.
this 'should' open us up to a larger market, increasing sales (which will hopefuly make up for the loss in potential price per unit)
we need to make sure however that everyone doesnt automatically choose the lowest.
though, even the concept of choice might work, for instance.
$15<----->$40
I higher, high-end makes the low end feel better, and yet it would only be 5 bucks shy of the current price.
I want to hear what you all think =)
People have very definite personal opinions about the value of things. Whenever I see a product the first thing I tend to do is evaluate its worth and then work from there. In the case of video games there's a very broad spectrum of customers, with myriad different backgrounds, wages, values, etc. So while a publisher can only market for the majority demographic, a large group of people won't agree with the games value.
On the other hand, your system requires quite a bit of honesty on the part of the consumer. If you chose it, you'll likely see an average worth below what you would put on the game. That said, you will probably get many more sales, and as long as sales at $10 cover publishing costs (and a bit), your sorted!