To me, the former says, "Get lost.", whereas my version hopefully comes across as "Stick around".
I'm still not clear that "get lost" isn't the right response (suitably editorialised, of course).
You can't make *everybody* happy, and globally discounting your game or such every time you need to keep a single customer happy is a great way to lose money in the long run.
I do agree "get lost" is the right response in some situations, but I don't think price-complaints are where you want to use that, unless the potential-customer is clearly acting like a jerk, or continuing to try to argue with you.
I'm not globally discounting my game because of someone complaining.
I'm merely informing them, and anyone else who happens to see the tiny post in a tiny nook of whatever forums, that the game was already planning on going on sale in [duration to next planned sale]. I was thinking of something like, "if it's still too much money, pick it up during [the Steam Summer sale]" or "[Good Old Game's winter sale]" or whatever, depending on what known sales are around the corner.
However, I've also been thinking about experimenting with having a hidden page on my site where the game is constantly on sale for a tiny discount - say 10-15%. And hopefully 15% isn't so high that players get annoyed if they didn't know of the secret page when they bought it. By having a "secret" page,(which ofcourse people would spread around on internet forums) I think human nature would make people want to buy from that page (and thus, from my website, avoiding the 30% cost of digital stores), even if the discount is minor, because it'd make it feel special.
So the response is basically:
- I'm a human, not a corporation.
- Different people value the same game differently, so there's no price that'll please everyone.
- As a gamer, I understand the risk of buying a game that you later feel wasn't worth it.
- Alot of people think my game is worth the money, so go ahead and give it a shot.
- If you don't like it, I'll refund the price. (The point is to get my foot in the door and get them to pay, because the chances of them asking for a refund even if they don't like it, is still significantly less than 100%)
- Here's a ""secret"" 15% discount that's always available.
- Buy it from the next Steam sale if it's still too high.
The point is, I'd be trying to show not just that one person, but everyone reading, that I'm a small-time indie who's friendly, understanding, and personable. Secondarily, it's to hook the person and others into a long-term fan relationship, so they buy not just my current game but future releases as well. Thirdly, it's to make sales in general, and so to reduce the feeling of risk of wasted money for anyone who comes across the page. Finally, it's to make the current sale, if not at 100% then at 85% (via the constant-effect ""secret"" discount link), and if not at 85% then at the 35% that would've already been available (50% on a major online store sale, minus the store's 30% cut).
I wouldn't be doing anything special for that one user (and definitely not a global sale just to please them). This would all be standard what was already available or what was already coming. I wouldn't be engaging the gamer in an extended back-and-forth discussion, unless he has genuine questions (in which case my responses would again be serving anyone googling who comes across the thread).
I think this is a better solution to getting into a back and forth debate about them comparing the price of your game to other unrelated games from unrelated companies, and you comparing your price of your game to theater plays and movies and cups of starbucks coffee. That'd just become "Na-uh", "Yea", Na-uh", "Yea!", "You're wrong!", "No you are!", and eventually you'll stop replying or they'll stop replying, and either way, you look stubborn or oblivious, and they look like jerks, and for anyone coming across the conversation in the future, it's a wasted advertising opportunity - either an opportunity to sell yourself as a indie developer, or to sell your game by discussing why it's worth paying for.
By having an intelligent pre-canned or pre-bullet-pointed responses, I think I can just make a post and maybe answer a follow-up question, and then get back on my way in only a few minutes, and potentially get an immediate sale (and potentially retain the individual as a longer term fan), and potentially reduce the friction for a few future sales from other people. Yea, a lot of "potentials", no absolutes, but for a few minutes time per complaint, I think it's worth trying.