june gloom on 16/1/2014 at 16:50
Bioshock Infinite was a major disappointment, and I say this as someone who generally prefers Bioshock 1 over System Shock 2.
Platinumoxicity on 16/1/2014 at 17:19
If you pre-order, you basically approve of any changes or features instantly, regardless of whether you love them or hate them. It's like you just don't care. You threw money at a product, and at no point did you care if it's even any good. Sounds pretty crazy to me. Isn't it called fanaticism when you insist on getting more of something, and you are totally apathetic about what you're actually going to get? When you buy something, you are making a statement that you want more of the same. There is a disconnect between sales and developer feedback. You buy games without knowing anything about them, but the developers still work with the assumption that you bought the games because you like the features, not because of your ignorance and the effectiveness of the deceptional promotional campaign.
Pyrian on 16/1/2014 at 21:19
Nonsense. Pre-orders are motivated by faith and reward.
A pre-order is more faith than other options, but not necessarily a lot more. I don't think a halfway-decent demo would've kept me from buying Bioshock:Infinite; the game takes kind of a slow-motion nosedive, but it's got its good parts. Meanwhile, there are plenty of games out there I wouldn't waste my time playing a demo of.
But I pre-ordered BS:I because, in addition to a few cents off the price, it came with XCom-Enemy Unknown, which I was planning on getting anyway.
I never finished either game, but I feel like I got my money's worth.
MrMunkeepants on 4/2/2014 at 22:28
Now that release is almost here, I've been thinking about the distribution method as well.
I would have hoped that the Master Thief Edition would come in something nice; not super fancy, since that's reserved for high-profile games, but perhaps a nice box like this one:
Perhaps we'll get it if/when a Game of the Year edition (with hypothetical DLC) comes out?
But I do want all the extras that come with the MTE...
Quote Posted by Phantom
when someone pre-orderes a PC game all that they receive anymore is a download card, the same kind you can get on the rack at Wal-Mart and other various retailers that has a scratch off activation number key and download link. :mad:
well, if we don't get anything else - save that Thief card!
Quote Posted by Platinumoxicity
Apparently, not only are playable demos becoming more and more rare, but the actual concept of trying products before investing seems to have become associated with illegality. :erg: Game promotion is deceptive, and consumers are discouraged to buy after reviews by content being taken away if they don't buy in advance. There's something very wrong with the market. Back in the old days, devs thought that their games were so good that they couldn't wait to let people try them so they put a little (or a lot) extra effort into producing demos. Today, devs think that their games suck so bad that they can't let anyone form an educated opinion on their products before buying, because they absolutely know that opinion is going to be negative, and purchase non-existant. So demos are out of the question, and sensible consumers need to be extorted with pre-removed content to be included only in a blind purchase.
Oh, and since someone did associate trying games with piracy, let's think about this... The concept of trying before buying piracy would be an universally, objectively positive thing. The devs don't need to lift a finger to give concerned consumers a gameplay demonstration, whereas in the old days they needed to produce the demo. Good devs who make a good game will be compensated when the player's expectations are met, and their direction and style is supported. Bad devs who make a bad game do not recieve anything, and their direction and style is not supported. Good guys win, bad guys lose, and natural selection makes the industry better for everyone. And absolutely free of charge.
I don't think it's developer confidence or laziness, but production timelines; the games you're likely thinking of from back in the day were made by studios with a "when it's ready policy" which is much rarer nowadays. A date is announced, and the devs scramble to get everything ready on time - not even on the disc, but in time for day-one patches. Making a demo (with a tutorial and custom shell for the level, that will work on multiple computer systems (to say nothing of console variants)) on top of that would likely cause other areas to suffer.
Another possibility is the shift from indie developers to Hollywood-style studios: instead of passionate people being in charge of the game, there are layers of managers telling them what to do. There still are plenty of indie developers, and many of them still create demos, but the major studios are much more like the film industry, deciding that customers 'will buy it and like it.'
Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about it; that just seems to be the way the industry (aside from Blizzard) works these days
Anyway, I'm sure members of our creative community will make wonderful case sleeves for those of us with a need for physical objects to print at home :D
gnartsch on 4/2/2014 at 23:29
Does anyknow know (is there some info available?) whether the boxed PC Version will be multilingual?
From the latest trailer I see that the english audio seems to be way better, but I would like the option to play in german (if I want to).
In case I go with Steam (which is quite unlike since I do not wish to do so, nor did I ever bother to buy a game online) are you typically able to switch languages or do you pay per download (=language) ?
june gloom on 4/2/2014 at 23:32
You cannot buy the PC version in a box.
Typically when games are multilingual, you're able to switch languages but Steam has to download the proper files. (if they bothered recording audio, that is -- text is usually translated on the fly.)
june gloom on 4/2/2014 at 23:54
Interesting. Wonder why they even bothered if they're not going to do it in the US...
gnartsch on 5/2/2014 at 00:00
Don't know. Maybe downloading has always been popular in the US.
I am not too much into gaming anymore since about 2000, but none of the major games would even dare to be published online only.
It would be an almost complete loss to the gaming industry.
They would simply loose 70% (or 50% at least) of the possible clients.
It's just the same as with cars. Everyone still wants manual gear shift. If you sell 'Automatic' only, you have lost.
And germans can not be reeducated that easily - I guess :cheeky:
SubJeff on 5/2/2014 at 00:00
Because they hate you.