It's €83 ($110) in Ireland. Hurray! Solid tactic.
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Game is even getting bashed on Metacritics (since it is featured in Steam you can Vote)
Metacritic Score of 0.6
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And that's why you always take a Metacritic score with a giant pinch of salt. Because people are whiny little bitches.
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(http://www.metacritic.com/user/Xanoxis)[This guy] seems like he makes fair and reasonable judgements.
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If you're giving a game a 0 just because you don't like the price or something equally stupid, I don't care how much you're justified, you stink more than the problem ever could.
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Even though I agree, mainly because you mentioned 0, and I believe there's no game to score that low, ever, I mean, the worst you can go might be 2, less only if the game doesn't work at all. But anything higher is legitimate, even though the reason might be not. I mean, not like the review sites are any better, with those paid scores.
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Obviously the people giving it a 10 with the reviews that say "the people giving this a 0 are retards!" are more legitimate.
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how pathetic is it to give a game 0 or 1 just for the sake of the price during alpha testing, I'm once again disappointed in the humanity
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I feel sick reading the reasons for the scores. Its filled with people complaining about the price, not the gameplay. And then there are those voting positively only to counteract the negative votes. /fp
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€83 here. Which is over $110. And it's a self-published game, no less. Another dev added to the "I won't support you!" list. In other words, I'll try to get this as cheaply as possible and won't hesitate to use any exploits to do it. Assuming, of course, I like it enough to pay for it at all after pirating.
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50 cents to a dollar? 20 dollars is to much? You sure you're not the one screwing over the devs in that situation? The entitlement in this post borders on insanity....
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> $20, which is a ridiculously high price for a game
you got my point, even though I didn't even mention it, right?
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there's no official info on the retail price yet, how did you come up with such a number?
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Post from Dev
Alpha is 90 Dollars, Beta is 60 Dollars and the price will drop for Retail. Normal version "Pre-Order" on their website is about 40 Dollars. So that will be the retail price.
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So that may be a retail price. Anyway one should wait for a release before judging on a price:quality. Quite a pity that D3/SimCity examples weren't taken seriously.
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My point mainly is that 20$ is an okay price for a game, especially for an RTS. And also devs don't try to rip you off - they've set a price corresponding to kickcstarter's one, they had no choise in this situation, thay can't give you alpha for 20$ if previously they've given it for 90+ KS backers.
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Care to explain where the self-entitlement is? I can't find it.
And I do know something about the game. I considered backing it when it went through Kickstarter and even though I chose not to, it's still something I want to play at some point.
But regardless of how much I like a game, if I'm pissed off by the business practices of its developer, I won't pay much for it. $1 is pretty much the maximum a company can get from me if it uses rip-off regional pricing.
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You just basically explained how you are acting self entitled.
You might as well pirate it and send them a picture of your privates while you are at it...
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It doesn't look all that special to me, personally. Certainly not $90. worth.
By the way, did anyone notice that this page number is 31337?
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It's not buying the game or preordering it, it's funding its development. If you are ready to fund it by 90$ - you are getting a bonus of accessing alpha. If you're not - wait for it's release.
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In this case Steam is nothing more than a distribution platform for people, who funded it 90+ on KS. And an option (offer?) to do the same for Steam users, who may not even know that KS exists (I guess that's the reason for all this misunderstanding with the price). What's the problem with ignoring this game until release? No, really. I clearly don't get what this all whining is about? Perhaps people think paying 90 for alpha is a lot. Well, it is indeed, but that was (and is) only a bonus for KS contributors, you are free to wait for release date.
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Many Years ago we got free keys to closed/open betas to help developers find bugs
Few years ago we paid a reduced price from retail for the "privilege" to have early access and help find bugs
Now we PAY 50 Dollars (Galactic Version 90 dollars minus Retail price 40 dollars) to have early acces and help find bugs
I hope you see now why people go ape-shit crazy about this.
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Galactic Edition is full of crap apart from alpha access. I guess it was their mistake with distributing bonuses when they started KS campaign, but it's too late to change anything. Anyway, some people are ready to pay for a headstart, it's their own choise.
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Just as people have a choice whether they pay for it or not, people also have a choice whether they agree with this business and marketing model or not, and they also have a choice whether to act, as consumers, on that choice to show their disagreement.
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exactly, show it by not buying the game but leave it alone with their marketing model instead of whining aroung
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Well this is my personal view on this topic:
Steam isn't Kickstarter and never should become the same. That's why people rage so much.
And whats happening right now is Marketing 101. They did the wrong move, offended the wrong people with their wrong business strategy and now have to pay the price for it.
The difference between Steam and Kickstarter is:
Steam = Customers
Kickstarters = Donors
Steam =/= Kickstarter
The devs should have known that beforehand. Steam is well known to be CHEAPER than the retail stores. People are used to Summer/Winter and Christmas sales. Daily Deals, Weekly Deals and much much more. Any game that costs more than 50 Dollars is just to much for Steams pricing scheme and will result in massive complaints.
And paying 90 Dollars for an ALPHA is just too much ...
Before you launch ANY product ANYWHERE you have to think about your target audience and what the market demands and has to offer. The devs of planetary anhiliation just didn't do that and missed the goal with their high price.
Result is, that people are outraged and dissapointed and start to vote it down on metacritic.
AND it's also about sending a message. People here on Steam fear that other Devs will think, that this is a viable business move and follow the lead. They are punishing the Devs of Planetary Anhiliation for being the first, so that others get the message that "steam users don't approve this kind of business model and doing it anyway will have consequences".
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Yeah .... that would be actually true in a normal market.
But people who buy into an alpha will normaly give "Free" Feedback, track bugs and playtest the damn thing for the devs. All these hours invested by people into helping the devs are saved money on Q&A Testers. That's why your statement isn't quite working out.
Basicly we should pay 50 dollars (alpha 90 dollars minus retail 40 dollars) to have "the privilege" of working for free?
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"You either get with the times or end up like that old man on the street corner that keeps going on and on about how things used to be."
-smallDaddy (not my opinion).
I don't think you can argue with these people.
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Wrong people? Oh boy, what world are we living in now that a few thousand dumb jerks who can't bloody read descriptions and only see the price and start complaining like complete jackasses are people we should be afraid of...
Too much? Can you please give me some facts or rules where it says that? Last time I checked that was the kickstarter price which they put on Steam for more convenience for us. Sure they get some publicity, yes, but it isn't like anyone is bloody forcing you to buy it. It is there for people who missed the kickstarter but still want to support the developers.
The target audience is probably males 30-40 who loved Total Anihilation and want to support this game. Most people who are complaining seem to be underaged, dumb sheep or worse who have been fed from media left and right that Mass Effect day 1 DLC is bad, Metro Last Light ranger mode dlc is bad etc. so when they see a big price they automatically think it is greed and not common sense and start spewing bs everywhere.
I really hope Uber does not change anything about this because this kind of self entitled morons don't even deserve to participate in the alpha. Chances are they would start whining on forums why the game is buggy without giving constructive feedback...
WHAT IS WRONG ABOUT THIS? I read several posts and literaly nobody had any valid or common sense arguments why this is bad. "BUT X, Y, Z DIDN'T DO IT" is not a valid argument. Worth noting is that this is the first kickstarter RTS game which is just so much harder to develop and more complex than a point and click RPG and other stuff.
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Well by going into steam early access they opened the box of pandora.
Even if "the kiddies" are complaining about the pricing, they chose to go into a major community with thousands of players. Some of them are older and mature and others are young and impulsive.
But that's something they should have considered before offering it for that price!! If they wanted to keep it low and only let interested people into the alpha, then they should have made some facebook promotion and sell it on their website. Since only people who actively search for the game will then play it (and pay 90 dollars).
But they chose to enter the open market of steam where the game has to compete against other early access titles, discount prices, weekly/daily deals, and retail prices (which rarely go over 50 dollars). So they have no right to complain about the reaction they're receiving right now. You're either prepared and take full responsibility for your decision (high price for alpha) or you chose another way to sell your game.
What do you think would happen if McDonalds would offer a burger for 30 dollars a piece, before other people can buy it for regular price? People would think that they're batshit crazy. You NEVER enter a Market without knowing your target audience and marketconditions. In my opinion it's their fault for causing a sh!tstorm...
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Mot people who want to support it, are supporting it. Many of them probably wouldn't have even found it if it weren't on Steam now. SO what you are saying basicaly is that it is the DEVELOPERS' fault that many people are stupid? That isn't really what I would call a strong argument that you have there...
Yes they know their audience and that audience is supporting them + the audience that supposted them on kickstarter. Just because a bunch of loudmouth idiots started spamming the internet that it is expensive WITHOUT GIVING ANY RATIONAL ARGUMENTS mind you, it doesn't mean they are right to do so. If a bunch of people shout insults it doesn't mean they are right. I mean what kind of fucked up logic would that be if they would be...
As I said before self entitlement is a completely disgusting disease that most of these people seem to be suffering from...
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If you sell a product, you can't blame the customers for not liking it.
If people are giving it a bad reputation, then you (as a producer) did something wrong.
A company wants to sell something and it needs to be careful about how they do it. That's why you can study marketing and economics. If everything would be so easy as you describe it, everyone could sell everything, everywhere.
If you paint a painting and charge a horrendous price for it and noone buys it. Are the customers to blame ? Are people "too stupid" to enjoy your painting? Or is it because you, as a producer, did just the wrong business move?
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I suggest you to read about self-entitlement before coming here and preaching me about economics. Your examples are so absurd and have so little in common with what is the issue here it beggars belief...
You do realise that other succesful kickstarter games are also doing this? For example Star Citizen. Check out their site.
Your arguments would be valid if you actually gave me some actual facts and/or reasons why this is bad. "Dumb people can't read." is not what I would call an argument.
Just check out the XBOX one disaster. DRM, kinect, no used games etc. are valid reasons why it is bad. Having to pay $90 to access early alpha like everyone on kickstarter of every game did or crap like "I feel like it is too much and will not bother to use my brain a second and just shout insults." I mean really? Is this what you are telling me are your arguments.
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Star Citizen doesnt seem to be on Steam, could you point out where I can find it in the Steam store?
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No it isn not but it uses the same kickstarter prices. Why is it that you are protecting idiots who cba reading that this price is here for people who want to get in the alpha? Is it that insanely hard to see that you can preorder the game for $40 on their site? Where does it say they should have put that one here and not this one? This one is the more logical one as it goes well with the early alpha system from Steam.
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You're missing the point. They aren't using Steam as a market, they use it as a distribution platform. But they had to put a price tag, thus a 90$ kickstarter value for those who want to get the same as those who paid 90$ before. Makes sense right?
And they have no right to complain? How so? They explained the high price, what is there to ask for? People that are clearly not interested in alpha or the game itself suddenly feel offended by that price, even though nobody is making them pay that.
And that comparison is just... ridiculous.
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Indeed, people feel that they are entitled for a cheap alpha for a game just because "other games are doing it" which is just so stupid considering other games are doing it for other reasons: publicity, awareness, marketing etc. Uber does not need whiny kids in their game. They need either dedicated testers or people who can bring them a decent amount of money to support the development of the game.
Also why is it that people think that 2mil is a whole lot of money to develop the game? Ever heard of Double Fine Adventure who raised over $3.3 mil from a starting goal of $400k? Yeah they just announced a few months ago that they are running short on money and will have to dso some compromises...
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The thing is, I don't think Uber really needs testing all that much. Alpha and beta access in this case is indeed just a "privilege", a chance to play the game earlier, thus a high reward tier. But I can see where some people in this thread are coming from saying that we shouldn't pay to work for them.
Fun fact: before SimCity's launch there was a (public?) beta. In case a tester found a bug and did not report about it or even, gasp, exploited it, he should be banned from Origin. Like, forever. They realised it was a bad idea, though. Just something I remembered.
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RTS games are probably one of the hardest video game genres to balance. Starcraft 2 is arguably the most popular RTS on the market and is still far from being balanced. I think that balance in a multiplayer centric game like PA is pretty important. Also it is worth noting that this is the first kickstarter RTS that is going to be released.
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Insulting people does not make your argument look any better, just for your information.
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Then they should have made a hidden beta like Unepic did.
Putting the game in the steam store, was exposing it to the public community of steam and now they have to deal with that decision. If the people don't like what the devs did, is it the peoples fault?
I'm sick of hearing, that customers are dumb because they "don't understand the magnificance" of something. If something is bad and people rant about it, then someone in the PR-departement did fail. Simple as that.
You can fanboy as much as you like about raging "kiddys" and stuff. But don't forget that this negative press can also alienate further customers in the future. It doesn't matter if the raging people are "dumb" or "don't understand" why they made the price that high. Only thing that matters is that Uber screwed up and is being rude about it on their forum and reddit (they are disrespectful to their fanbase). Uber is offering a service, product or a game (whatever you want to call it) and chose steam as the platform and now they have to deal with the community that comes with it. If they didn't want that, then they should have kept the alpha for kickstarters only or informed themself about the steam community (which is not very nice, most of the time).
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It isn't "the people". Please don't put me and, I am sure, a pretty big part of the community, in your so called argument. It is just a few thousands if not hundred people who can't read, not the community.
Not undesrstanding the "magnificance"? What? There isn't anything metaphorical to discuss here... Want to support developers and get in the early alpha with steam support? Pay $90. Want just a preorder, go to their site and pay $40. Wtf is it so hard to understand here, seriously...
Also in case you think I have no basis with my examples compared to yours... Nobody is selling you a painting for $90. The painting costs $40. Participating in the exposition, let's say, for the creation of the painting costs $90. THE PAINING IS $40.
What is bad about it? Uber screwed up because people can't READ? Is that your argument?
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i think they got in this awkward spot when they offered early access as the bonus of an higher tier. Maybe they should offer the lower tiers so people don't freak out, but that would be a preorder, don't know if steam would allow it,. but don't see a reason why they shouldn't
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While I don't approve of any game with supporter/limited edition exclusive content, as far as the pricing goes, I think it's up to the devs what they want to charge for it, and while charging more for alpha access seems silly, they've done it now and their choice to keep that price is a fair decision in support of their supporters, and one that I, uh, support. :)
However, the 'equal to kickstarter price' argument falls flat when they are allowing Russian players to pay half price - I mean, it's not like they let Russian kickstarter backers pay half price.
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The devs did push themselves into a corner by giving alpha access for such a high price on kickstarter and releasing the game on steam (in the early access section). To keep things fair (to the kickstarter crowd) they have to level the price.
I don't really see the problem with this, yes its awkward but its not a full game yet and when it is, it wont be 60$+.
I can't see what all the fuss is about, it's not affecting you is it? Want the game? Then buy it at launch when its reasonably priced and actually works, if you are a fan, purchase the alpha or cheaper beta and support the devs a bit more. Nothing complicated about that.
Edit:
You can easily pre-order the game at retail price here
I think one of the people on the forums summarised whats happening fairly well:
"HOW DARE YOU GIVE US AN OPTION TO PURCHASE EARLY ACCESS FOR $90! THAT IS A LOT OF MONEY THAT YOU ARE GIVING ME THE OPTION TO SPEND OR NOT SPEND."
Using the argument that steam is a retail store is not entirely valid. It became invalid when they opened the early access section of the store. Anything outside of that is retail and should be priced accordingly.
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Fucking kids and your entitled bullshit. Aww, you don't get to play a game before it's released? That's so horrible. How will you live?
Maybe just shut up and try to comprehend something beyond "I want something for nothing" or "I think x should cost less." If they wanted you to run an alpha of their game, they'd just make it readily available. But guess what? They don't want you playing it yet. It's not ready. Better to charge more for access so only people who are really interested in testing and understand what state the product is in will commit than to allow the masses of uneducated, unqualified buffoons who'll load it up and feel they got ripped off because the game falls apart every time they run it.
If you want access to the game at this early stage, you must pay for that privilege. Yes, privilege. Early access to games is a relatively new phenomenon and a developer certainly isn't obligated to offer it--at all or at any specific price point--despite what some entitled little shits seem to think.
Either shell out for access or wait until the game is released, when it will be available at an appropriate price. But for the love of everything holy, enough with the bitching about how you deserve cheap access to an unfinished product.
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Many Years ago we got free keys to closed/open betas to help developers find bugs
Few years ago we paid a reduced price from retail for the "privilege" to have early access and help find bugs
Now we PAY 50 Dollars (Galactic Version 90 dollars minus Retail price 40 dollars) to have early acces and help find bugs
I hope you see now why people go ape-shit crazy about this.
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If a developer provides free access to early builds, it's because they want help testing or just want to generate some publicity. If they offer discounted prices on early builds, it's because they want to start building awareness of their game while generating some cash flow. If they charge even more than the final game's price for early access, they neither need help testing, nor need to build word of mouth, nor are they concerned with cash flow. They. Don't. Want. You.
They'll want you when the game is complete and ready for distribution. Then they will happily reduce the price and open the gates.
Again, fuck this entitlement bullshit. They owe you nothing.
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By your logic, if they DON'T WANT ME and DON'T NEED ME, then why did they put it on steam?
They entered an open market, where the game has to compete against other titles from the early access section (which all offer a reduced price) and even compared to a brand new AAA-Title the alpha is still a horrendous rip-off. They chose to enter this market (with it's huge gaming comunity, steam is the largest digital retailer) and now they have to take responsibility for their actions. If they didn't need any more people, then they shouldn't have gone public on steam.
Uber has the right to chose the price they want. But Customers have the same right to protest against it and be outraged about it.
It's called free speech, you should look it up :)
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They have all the money they need to make the game. They have plenty of awareness. But hey, why not put it on Steam just in case someone's crazy/dedicated enough to fork over $90? That'd be my assumption, anyway, after thinking about it for all of ten seconds. Don't strain yourself.
And sure, people have the right to bitch about their feelings of entitlement and how it's so unfair that they can't play something before it's ready to be played and oh, the humanity. All the while, that $90 pricetag is right there, doing it's job, keeping those exact people out. ;)
And yes, I'm familiar with free speech. Not sure why you find that a novel concept. I could give you a few terms to look up, but they'd probably get me suspended.
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Well, if you're implying I shouldn't purchase the product then I won't. I had no intention to anyway. But, your arguments about individuals being entitled is turned completely backwards when in this circumstance a business is expecting its customers to fork out extra money to help them solve their problems.
Maybe the individuals protesting this are being entitled themselves in a way, but you cannot criticise one over the other since they are each using the same tactics of wishing to extract maximum possible value from a product.
It's not entitlement, it's strictly business.
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You're implying that the developer feels entitled and expects people to pay $90 for Early Access. I don't think that's the case. I suspect they're fully aware few people will buy in at that price and that they're perfectly happy with that. They have all the testers they could need and all the funds needed to finish the game, so they probably couldn't care less if anyone else buys in.
But it's there, just in case someone wants to pay $90 just for an early build.
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Problem is, it's generating A LOT of bad Public Relations for them.
If they can't manage to remove the metacritic ratings then the game has already 37+ votes with 0 as a score. A lot of websites are going to pick that up and they will get into a cross-fire and a possible shitstorm.
It doesn't matter if they have enough testers for all their needs, they rubbed the whole thing into the face of the public and the public doesn't like it. (Elitists who say "we don't need you if you don't have the money are usually frowned upon)
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I think it's clever marketing that doesn't have to be as overt as to say "PAY NOW TO BE A TESTER!" maybe they do have plenty of people, but ironing out the problems in massive projects - whatever they may be - always gets quicker and easier with more people to highlight where the problems are - even if it is only a few more. They have offered the incentive they have, at the price they have, to extract maximum value from it - Clever, good business.
Likewise, some people have spotted this and are thinking "I will not pay all that money so I can help you with an unfinished project! I don't like this business model and I protest because this seems too expensive for too little." These people are, just as the developer, trying to extract maximum value. Clever, good business.
Each side wants to get the most out of it that they can. The company evidently feels that early access to their product, and thus the ability to test it, is worth $90 - They feel entitled to that - if they did not they would not have set that price point. If they set that price point not as a representation of the value of that product, but merely to appease the individuals who helped crowdsource their project then that may be an honourable decision to those funders but they need to question whether Steam is the correct platform upon which to make such a brave business decision. If Steam's customers do not care their reasons for doing so, but merely feel they are being offered poor value, they are as entitled to do so as the company are entitled to offer their product at that price. Both sides are entitled, both sides are doing business and sadly with a fixed-price situation like this negotiations not only break down quickly, but don't happen at all.
Each party is as entitled as the other as each side looks to get maximum value from their products or purchases. Thus, the company is entitled to charge whatever price they see fit, but must accept the consequences of doing so when they offer their product in an open market. People who are willing to spend $90 on this - and I have no problem with them! - feel as though the early access is of value to them. Finally, the people here complaining are entitled to feel this does not offer value and disagree with this business practice and have every right to protest as they see fit.
If, at the end of it all, it turns out this product does not become as successful as it could have been as a result of their decision to put it on Steam early access the problem lies not with the over-entitlement of customers trying to do their business, but with a developer who made a bad decision and didn't do their business in a way that maximised their gains, since it is they who are offering the product, and are required to sell it in order for it to be a success. It is not the customer's responsibility to like, or even care for the reasons behind, any decision a company makes.
EDIT: Should probably add a TL;DR.
TL;DR - I support neither the moaners, nor the company - but believe this is just business.
Further Edit: I found several mistakes in this post. If you enjoy reading my posts I can offer you an exclusive offer. Next time I make a long post you can give me $0.5 Steam Credit for the exclusive opportunity to edit it, and priority access to all future posts.
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I'm sorry I'm so entitled. Even though I never planned on buying this game, either through kickstarter, or the final release on Steam, I guess arguing that it was a dumb idea for the devs to release this alpha version on steam makes me an entitled brat.
Early access to games is a relatively new phenomenon and a developer certainly isn't obligated to offer it--at all or at any specific price point--despite what some entitled little shits seem to think.
Really? Please give me a source that alpha/beta releases are a "relatively new phenomenon"
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My own personal experience over a few decades of gaming. I certainly don't remember many opportunities to access games during development in the 80s or 90s. I did my share of public and private beta testing in the late 90s and 2000s, but that's a far different beast than gaining access to pre-release builds by purchasing the game that we see today.
Are you saying I'm mistaken? Please do correct me if so.
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public and private beta testing... far different beast than gaining access to pre-release builds by purchasing the game that we see today.
If that's what you mean, then I can't see anything wrong with your original statement. To me, "early access" includes alpha and beta testing that you get for free and/or are paid to do.
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Maybe Planetary Annihilation will be the next Fortix here?
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What has this world come to?
Before, Testing a game in alpha, beta cost nothing. In-fact some even gave incentive to those testers (cheaper on release date, exclusive items). But today, you need buy "in" alpha or beta to test the game. Amazing.
Before Pre-ordering costs less than the retail price, or gives you bonus, but what bonuses that his game gives you if you pre-order? Nothing
They are already backed in kickstarter, raised twice on what they need, and they still want more $$$ in steam? If they want to use steam as a distribution method to alpha/beta-test the game, then they should have done the hidden beta testing like what unepic and galactic arms race is doing.
This devs are thinking backwards, same with prison architect. Sell high For alpha and beta access and lower the price? Bullshit.
This game is obviously not selling in steam, it's not even on the top 100 of the top sellers
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There is a pre-order bonus actually. Apparently, this early access is the "Galactic Edition".
GALACTIC EDITION($90)
INCLUDES:
Game Key
Theta Commander PRE-ORDER EXCLUSIVE!*
Soundtrack Download
Desktop Wallpaper
Beta Access
Alpha Access
Digital Artbook
If you buy the Beta:
WARFARE EDITION ($60)
EDITION INCLUDES:
Game Key
Theta Commander PRE-ORDER EXCLUSIVE!*
Soundtrack Download
Desktop Wallpaper
Beta Access
COMBAT EDITION
EDITION INCLUDES:
Game Key
Theta Commander PRE-ORDER EXCLUSIVE!*
Soundtrack Download
Desktop Wallpaper
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Then don't pay. Simple. This is direct extension of their Kickstarter tiers, some people actually welcome opportunity to participate in such way even after KS is done. Companies do that often, even Double Fine extended a tier after their famous Kickstarter has ended, although they kept it just to the basic tier and then increased the price, too, not to annoy people who originally thought they were getting limited, unique rewards on higher tiers.
This stuff here comes with different strings attached than you expect, but it doesn't make it wrong. Misplaced, maybe.
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see that's this assumption you have. That they do it so you can test it and give them feedback. Long story short: nope.
EDIT: OK well they actually do write in their note about taking feedback seriously etc. Well maybe I'm cynical but to me that's wishful thinking, writing something people want to hear rather than what you really want.. early in dev process you don't really want to hear hundreds of likely conflicting ideas. Singular, clear vision sounds much better.
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I doubt people in Beta's and Alpha's give feedback on the game unless the game crashes on them. I know when I played CoH2 Closed Beta, I just played and never gave any feedback whatsoever. :D
Anyways, get a good russian friend and ask them to get it for you. $42 is the general consensus for the price of it right now. So basically, retail price + $2 for alpha and beta! :D
That's what I'm doing at least...lolz
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Then you aren't actually acting as a beta tester, you're simply mooching some free play. Believe me, there are many people that actually contribute to the testing process, and I would say anyone who pays the $90 for early access indeed wants to contribute and shape the future of the game.
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Lolz...Not free since I actually bought CoH2 before Closed beta started, I just thought that it was fine as is.
Sure I got my ass handed back to me a lot but it's not the game's fault that I sucked at it despite the many complaints that some side was too OP compared to the other. When I played, the game only crashed at most two times and I was sure that it was because of my laptop rather than the game since it rarely happened. Sure the error window popped up and asked me to send an email describing the crash, but that was the most I did and I don't consider that feedback much.
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It has been said before but I will say it again : Steam is not the place for crowdfunding.
I have no problem with the fact that they make kickstarter backers pay $90 for alpha access, but that's for kickstarter. $90 for an early access game on Steam is just asking to be flamed. Their reputation is suffering from it, and the story is slowly surely making its way all around the web.
Wise move would probably have been to wait until at least the beta to put it on Steam. This is too soon, I repeat, Steam is not for crowdfunding. It has nothing to see with people being greedy, entitled, <insert random insult here>, it's just the wrong platform, period.
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I think people crying about the price are hugely missing the point, but at the same time devs were somewhat naive in trying to transplant Kickstarter ideas onto Steam early access. Especially that even on KS itself it may be a pretty contentious issue what is put at what tier levels because even there people forget it's more about supporting devs rather than preordering / demanding some concrete ROI.
If I were to do KS campaign I'd frame it differently for sure, offer digital rewards at lower tiers and reserve higher tiers for purely commemorative things like signatures, t-shirts, whatever. So people who do want to treat it like risky preorder get exactly that, while those who do want to put some extra money down to support the cause get some unique thank you swag. Such approach sounds more fair to me and more in line with general expectations of people, but if someone wants to go about it differently I don't see reason to complain about it.
If there's any problem with the whole situation it's the people who whine/bitch/complain, feel entitled, downvote etc etc. Because they are really missing the point. But at the end of the day these are your potential customers and if they are missing the point it kind of is your fault and maybe you shouldn't have done what you did.
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Agreed that it was perhaps naive. I suspect they'd be better off not offering Early Access and just waiting for release. It'd be a shame, since there probably are a few people willing to pay the $90 for access, but it's probably not worth enduring the entitlement backlash.
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I've got a spare copy if anyone wants it.
SPOLIER i lied.
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Not sure how the two are related, so... jelly beans.
Herdrage is quite good, though. I'm going to use that.
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Personally, I find some people in this topic to be ridiculous. This game exists because those Kickstarter people paid $90 for Alpha, and others paid money as well to help it exist.
Your opinion is "Why should the devs care about them now? Sure, they only helped make sure the game could be funded and released, and paid twice the game price, but that doesn't mean they should give a **** about them now. They already got their money. Screw them."
They paid that much before the game was even guaranteed to release. They paid this much, to get what you want now. If you want access to the same stuff, its only fair you pay the same amount. Alternatively, wait for the retail release, when it will be a regular retail price. Problem solved.
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And then these people would ***** that it is gone when Alpha is over. They don't need this game. They can wait, or they can match the people who paid to get it here.
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So you are supporting them? You agree with them? Soon every alpha/beta access will now cost money and you won't get early access through kickstarter. How is paying 50$ for alpha/beta access not ridiculous, Please tell me.
Secondly, if they want to distribute the game through steam for the people who bought it in kickstarter, then provide hidden beta access like other games (unepic, galactic arms race). They just fucked themselves by putting it in early access and ask for a 90$ price tag.
If people reaaalllly want to buy in for the game to test it (even the kickstarter funding already ended), they can do it by emailing the developers and paying for the tier they want but a little more expensive. This happens to some kickstarter.
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What I was refering to, was offering the game for 40 dollar (-10% maybe) without any bonuses, like the full retail price would be. That way it would be like pre-ordering the game and not like paying to hunt for bugs and technical issues for free.
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Alright, so you don't want to pay the extra cash for this. What about the people who have? They spent $90. What do they get, if the Alpha gets put to the final release price?
As for putting it on Steam, it gets seen there.
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Nop not at all, but by paying extra cash for this, developers(indie as well) and publishers see this as an opportunity to get more money to you on future games, can't you see that?
Kickstarter is there to fund them, now that they are already funded(in fact 2.5x what they needed) why put it on steam's early access. It isn't like they need more money.
didn't get your last point btw.
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Advertising is my last point. While their site would get a few hits, Steam Early Access gets more.
And maybe they don't need to sell it, but I'm not going to complain about the price they set, because it is set to what the backers had to pay. And as I said above, people don't need to buy it. Even my addiction doesn't have me purchasing everything.
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Still more than they would get by not advertising.
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If its anything like the people here who are complaining about the price that the backers paid to get this access, I'll just call those people entitled little ****s.
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lol funny, ok I'm a "c*nt" just because I'm complaining about the high premium price to get "access". If that makes you feel dominant sure. How come you're arguing in a whole different thing now.
I would like to know what games did this pricing scheme and become successful. Did minecraft sold the game for 50$ and lowered the price?
Let me teach your uneducated mind. Most of the games in kickstarter/indiegogo sell their alpha access cheap because they know it's where the risk is the highest for the backer. The person who buys the completed game(at the end of the development) is assuming no risk thus developers sell their finished product higher than the alpha access.
Now, why the fuck are you supporting this backward thinking by the developers.
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Hey,
I've been waiting for this game to be available on the store, I knew it was going to be expensive, but I thought more like $50 or $60!
Guess what? It's 90 freaking dollars! What the hell?! Early Access game, an incomplete game, for $90?! No thank you...
What do you think about the price of Planetary Annihilation?
Edit: The Russian price is a lot cheaper! It's ~$38 and doesn't seem to be region restricted!
Edit: The Russian price was increased to 2499 rubles on June 15th 2013.
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