¢FUTURA EDITORIAL - ISSUE 8¢by Stuart J. Murray¢¢¢SOFTWARE PRICING¢¢ The subject of software pricing is a tender one for the long-time Atari 8-bit user. Back in the early and mid-1980s we were forced to pay twenty to forty pounds for a good program while Spectrum, BBC and C64 programs were selling for five to ten pounds!¢¢ Things improved slightly in the years that followed but the gap remained until the 1.99 Atari 8-bit release of Action Biker by Mastertronic. US Gold were also selling Datasoft and Microprose programs at under fifteen pounds (the same level as the C64). However, any US imports which were not released by US Gold remained very expensive (I remember paying forty-five pounds for Star Fleet I by Cygnus and thirty-five pounds for Computer Quarterback by SSI).¢¢ Obviously, today's software market is very different with many MegaDrive and SNES cartridges retailing at over forty pounds. The average price for an ST or Amiga game is fifteen to twenty-five pounds.¢¢ Obviously, the Atari 8-bit market is now much smaller than it was in the 1980s. The cretinous behaviour of Atari UK post-1985 is well known in the European Atari 8-bit communtiy. As soon as they received their first ST's, they lost all interest in the 800XL and 130XE at a time when the Atari 800XL had battled to move itself up among the leading systems (Dixons had sold 100,000 800XL's).¢¢ Many people would argue that a reduced market should mean an increase in software prices. I disagree! With any reduced market in the very competitive computer industry, I believe that software developers and suppliers have an obligation to maintain the current size of user base by pricing their products accordingly! High prices force people into either accepting pirate copies or moving onto other systems. This, in turn, increases prices and so on.¢¢ Atari 8-bit supplers such as Gralin International, KE-Soft, Miles Better Software and Page 6 deserve praise for keeping prices at an affordable level. Micro Discount also offers many reasonably priced titles but does tend to occasionally inflate prices a little. Derek has recently mentioned that the price of Brundles (a new Lemmings clone from Europe) will be fifteen pounds plus P&P. This is disappointing. I feel that NEW Atari 8-Bit software should be priced at under ten pounds. For fifteen pounds you can buy Sensible Soccer for the ST!¢¢ Older software titles are a completely different matter as they must be priced according to the cost of purchase. It also depends how much you want the program. If you're desperate for a copy of Broderbund's Print Shop, you may feel that forty pounds is a good price. Others may see this as an extortionate price for a piece of software with very little back-up support from the parent company.¢¢ My point in this editorial is that NEW Atari 8-bit software should be priced at under ten pounds. Only then will we stand a chance against competing systems and the continuing problem of piracy.¢¢ However, software suppliers are not the only ones to blame. Developers must also sell their products at a realistic level! If a developer wants ten pounds for his product then the supplier has no option but to sell it for fifteen pounds or more. Neil Ottaway of Tiger Developments must be congratulated for keeping his software under five pounds.¢¢ If both developers and suppliers keep prices at a realistic level (allowing for a reasonable profit which will encourage future projects, of course) we may see a drop in the amount of pirated software and an increase in the Atari 8-bit user base. I hope so.¢¢¢¢Keep 8-Bitting!¢¢¢S.J.Murray, Futura Editor.¢
