190 réponses à ce sujet

[Reinnaert]

BTCentral wrote...

Reinnaert wrote...

WHAATTT they had the SE?
and it is indeed a good retailer. Going to buy DA ultimate edition(don't have certain DLC and it's just too awesome and handy) and DA2 together and it'll only cost me €57 o.o.

and thanks for the replies everyone

Yes, and oddly... it was cheaper than the regular version is.
Though obviously unfortunately in your case, no longer available.

When did you order it? Because I searched it on there last month but only thing I could find was the version that was still there. I'm sad now though:(

[LordPaul256]

StormbringerGT wrote...

I saw real numbers once ever. It was from from a game company and I had it saved. And no that story wasn't to prove their business practice I just thought it interesting. I never take online stuff as fact. In this day and age my 13 year old brother is a blogger has thousands of subscribers hanging on their word.

I'm trying to dig it up again; the numbers. Even then it wasn't from Steam themselves but a different game company that used Steam.

Well, it's 12am here, I have to get up in 6 hours, and still need to finish up some details for work tomorrow.  I'll check sometime then.

Thanks to everyone who was actually willing to talk about this. 

[In Exile]

LordPaul256 wrote...
Again, as someone who works in business and someone who's hobby is gaming, I would love to see any links to evidence that Steam is charging more to sell games on their system.  It would be fascinating from so many points of view, and really speak a lot about their very secretive business model.  

I also can't imagine how they got to be the dominate force in the market by charging extra, so it would have to be a more recent shift, but I would love to see any available numbers...

As yourself, what is Valve getting from Steam? It costs money to keep the servers running. Where are they making that up?

ETA:

Further, ask yourself what the point of cornering the digital distribution market would be if they weren't getting a cut.

Modifié par In Exile, 14 janvier 2011 - 11:06 .

[StormbringerGT]

Sadly I see steam doing what I tunes did with the market; where it decides the terms of the market sales, not the other way around.

[BTCentral]

Reinnaert wrote...

When did you order it? Because I searched it on there last month but only thing I could find was the version that was still there. I'm sad now though:(

26th December, though it was definately available as pre-order right up until the 11th January, as I saw it was still up on the 10th.

[LordPaul256]

In Exile wrote...

LordPaul256 wrote...
Again, as someone who works in business and someone who's hobby is gaming, I would love to see any links to evidence that Steam is charging more to sell games on their system.  It would be fascinating from so many points of view, and really speak a lot about their very secretive business model.  

I also can't imagine how they got to be the dominate force in the market by charging extra, so it would have to be a more recent shift, but I would love to see any available numbers...

As yourself, what is Valve getting from Steam? It costs money to keep the servers running. Where are they making that up?

ETA:

Further, ask yourself what the point of cornering the digital distribution market would be if they weren't getting a cut.

Sorry, this will be my actual lost post tonight.

If Steam is anything like my pre-Switzerland company, they would make money with low turnover (in the British sense of the word) and high volume of sales.  This would engender customer loyalty, which would then increase sales, having a strong growth effect.  Combine this with strong deals and a legendary customer support, and you have a very strong business strategy.

Also, I can't imagine cornering the market was their initial goal.  It may have evolved into a long term goal that saw immediate fruition by providing a superior service, but you have to get there first.  Step 1 is never "Dominate the market."  Even at the very least, it's a Step 3 or 4.

Again, I'll check tomorrow, but if anyone has any publicly available information, I would <3 LOVE <3 to get ahold of that.  Speculation is rampant in the business world, and is of no use.  And, again, this is professional curiousity. 

*sigh*... just lost another 15 minutes of sleep...

[CoS Sarah Jinstar]

Chris Priestly wrote...

Reinnaert wrote...

Quick question since I don't want to make a new topic. Will the normal DA2 version ( http://www.thehut.co...2/10225748.html ) contain the Black Emporium dlc and the weapon/shield? Because on that site, they don't make it clear and I want to buy it over there(since it's supercheap like hell...)

All new editions of Dragon Age II will have the Black Emporium. Whether you pre-order the game or buy it at release, it will be included. If you pre-order Dragon Age II, you will also get Fadeshear and The Lion of Orlais.

I hope that is clearer.

So which is part of Project 10 dollar? The extra companion, the Black Emporium or both? Sooner or later you guys, or the EA portion of marketing is going to need to let the cat out of the bag.

[Reinnaert]

BTCentral wrote...

Reinnaert wrote...

When did you order it? Because I searched it on there last month but only thing I could find was the version that was still there. I'm sad now though:(

26th December, though it was definately available as pre-order right up until the 11th January, as I saw it was still up on the 10th.

Damn my blindness. I think I'll send an angry mail to EA and demand a signature copy. 

[thepiebaker]

CoS Sarah Jinstar wrote...

Chris Priestly wrote...

Reinnaert wrote...

Quick question since I don't want to make a new topic. Will the normal DA2 version ( http://www.thehut.co...2/10225748.html ) contain the Black Emporium dlc and the weapon/shield? Because on that site, they don't make it clear and I want to buy it over there(since it's supercheap like hell...)

All new editions of Dragon Age II will have the Black Emporium. Whether you pre-order the game or buy it at release, it will be included. If you pre-order Dragon Age II, you will also get Fadeshear and The Lion of Orlais.

I hope that is clearer.

So which is part of Project 10 dollar? The extra companion, the Black Emporium or both? Sooner or later you guys, or the EA portion of marketing is going to need to let the cat out of the bag.

the black emporium, which does come with a mabari war hound companion.

project ten dollar on ME2 was the cerberus network and for origins it was shale.

Modifié par thepiebaker, 14 janvier 2011 - 11:17 .

[StormbringerGT]

LordPaul256 wrote...

In Exile wrote...

LordPaul256 wrote...
Again, as someone who works in business and someone who's hobby is gaming, I would love to see any links to evidence that Steam is charging more to sell games on their system.  It would be fascinating from so many points of view, and really speak a lot about their very secretive business model.  

I also can't imagine how they got to be the dominate force in the market by charging extra, so it would have to be a more recent shift, but I would love to see any available numbers...

As yourself, what is Valve getting from Steam? It costs money to keep the servers running. Where are they making that up?

ETA:

Further, ask yourself what the point of cornering the digital distribution market would be if they weren't getting a cut.

Sorry, this will be my actual lost post tonight.

If Steam is anything like my pre-Switzerland company, they would make money with low turnover (in the British sense of the word) and high volume of sales.  This would engender customer loyalty, which would then increase sales, having a strong growth effect.  Combine this with strong deals and a legendary customer support, and you have a very strong business strategy.

Also, I can't imagine cornering the market was their initial goal.  It may have evolved into a long term goal that saw immediate fruition by providing a superior service, but you have to get there first.  Step 1 is never "Dominate the market."  Even at the very least, it's a Step 3 or 4.

Again, I'll check tomorrow, but if anyone has any publicly available information, I would <3 LOVE <3 to get ahold of that.  Speculation is rampant in the business world, and is of no use.  And, again, this is professional curiousity. 

*sigh*... just lost another 15 minutes of sleep...

If I ran a business thats how I would do it. Fry's electronics most of my business because of this. As oppose to other stores which charge to get as much money out of you per purchase frys trys to sell a lot of everything at lower price. I suppose a laymans way of explaining what you just said!

[Legbiter]

*shrug*

Bioware's marketing has always been made out of good-natured fail.
As to this short-sighted penny wise, pound foolish move by EA, I'm still a loyal fan (have been since BG I) of Bioware, but I'll not automatically swing into action in case of a barfight to help out Greg & Ray.

I just might let you guys eat a few punches first.


Ok, not really...but next time will be different!!!

[JakBot]

I am extremely disappointed at this too. Since the launch is still months away I didn't actively look for releases. Also I was/am hoping for proper collector's edition which I still haven't seen. I did notice the signature edition on the retail sites, but since I was waiting for the CE I thought I'd order it later if no such thing arrives closer to the release date.

As a big fan of all BioWare games ever since it was formed and as a game collector it's important to me to get the special versions if such are available, I am EXTREMELY disappointed at such silly marketing. At least tell the retail stores to put such dates to the names of the items so one knows, I only found out now because all of a sudden they seem to be sold out everywhere.

Edit: I propably posted on the wrong thread as I am more interested about the retail, cardboard copy of the game. The $7 is not a problem, not even if it was $70, I don't care about the costs, only about missing out on the special edition.

Modifié par JakBot, 15 janvier 2011 - 12:30 .

[ClayMeow]

LordPaul256 wrote...
Again, as someone who works in business and someone who's hobby is gaming, I would love to see any links to evidence that Steam is charging more to sell games on their system.  It would be fascinating from so many points of view, and really speak a lot about their very secretive business model.  

I also can't imagine how they got to be the dominate force in the market by charging extra, so it would have to be a more recent shift, but I would love to see any available numbers...

Valve gets a percentage of sales, but it's miniscule compared to what publishers take at retail, thus why they can sell games at the same price or cheaper than retail. This is great for indies and some developers, but my guess is that part of Bioware's agreement with EA was that EA handled all aspects of sales, which means Bioware can't go through Steam directly and instead rely on EA to cut the deal. Since the EA/Bioware probably sets a specific cut for Bioware, anything Valve takes out of the sale would be coming from EA's cut, and thus why EA was probably trying to negotiate better terms.

[KingDan97]

Here's my theory on why Steam wouldn't have signature edition. I don't believe they can do timed preorders. They can run preorders normally as we all know but this is a very specific set of circumstances that I don't believe Steam has ever been faced with before. Can you name any game on Steam that has ever had a "preorder before" date set? How about broadening it, because I don't think any game has ever had a preorder before bonus. You can claim that EA is behind this but it could damn well be a simple technical limitation never before encountered in the digital distribution market. Part of Steam's setup, and perhaps it's main flaw, is that almost all(Only exception I can think of is the 2D HL game that was cut because it had a virus on the site it linked to) game are visible.

[christrek1982]

hi all I’m not really
bothered about the SE version of the game but what worry me is that
there is no release date on the steam store page dispute the release
date being well known so I have to wonder.  is there a different
date for steam? are they going to do the same thing they did with
Hawxs 2 with this game? or is it part of the deal they did with steam
that it come out on a different date?  I would be grate if
someone could put my mind at ease   

at the end of
the day if it is not out by midnight on the said release date and
there's not a good reason for it then I will just get a refund and
get it somewhere else or get a different game


sorry if this is the wrong place to post.

[Destructo-Bot]

Steam didn't have to do a darn thing for the Signature Edition.

How it could/should work:

You pre-order and get a key from EA and register it on the Bioware Social site that activates your DLC... as long as you register before 1/11/11. When the game is released you install the DLC from your social account to your game.

Modifié par Destructo-Bot, 15 janvier 2011 - 02:48 .

[KingDan97]

Destructo-Bot wrote...

Steam didn't have to do a darn thing for the Signature Edition.

How it could/should work:

You pre-order and get a key from EA and register it on the Bioware Social site that activates your DLC... as long as you register before 1/11/11. When the game is released you install the DLC from your social account to your game.

You make the assumption that this is a simple task, but if the infrastructure isn't there then it isn't as easy as you'd like to think it is. Steam are the only ones who have the list of people who preordered, not EA, not Bioware, Steam. If the structure isn't there for them to compile a list of so arbitrary a fact as "who preordered before XX:XX on XX/XX/XX" then it's a very hard thing to do. They make the credit to your account for "one copy of X" but who's to say they keep as specific a record as would be required so that everyone doesn't get it.

The point still stands, if Steam doesn't have it set up so that a cut off can exist for a preorder while still keeping the digital rights to those who preordered before that date, then it couldn't have happened anyway. Regardless of whether this is true or not, your whining and tantrums will do nothing when it comes to Bioware's bottom line. Even if everyone who claims they won't be buying any Bioware games ever again because of this actually go through with it, it's still only a small shave off their bottom line, and I'm sure they don't mind rounding up 20 when deciding whether they sold 1,000,000 copies or 900,000 copies.

[StingingVelvet]

The simple facts of this issue remain:

1) If you knew about the Signature Edition and saw it was not on Steam you would have the decision of either getting it elsewhere or not getting it and waiting for Steam.

2) If you did not know about the Signature Edition you would have missed out on it anyway, no matter what stores it was on.

In either case missing out on the SE is the fault of the customer.

Modifié par StingingVelvet, 15 janvier 2011 - 05:17 .

[Azjurai]

Do I like steam? Yes.

Do I cry about it when a game isn't on Steam? No.



Plenty of chances to get the SE elsewhere (as many, many others have said) - and it's not like it wasn't advertised in many places - so what's there to whine about exactly? You don't like EA and didn't want to order from them? Fine. People made their choice, live with it.



I'm also not really one of the people believing the "Well I'll sulk in the corner and not get my game for another year, when it's cheap and has all the DLC. Neener neener" people seem to be throwing about. Chances are most of you are going to break down and buy the game well before then. Enjoy eating crow.

[Raygr]

I can easily wait. There's a lot of games coming out. I'm not going to blame anyone. I tried to be patience and messed up. Simple as that but diffidently don't feel like paying 60 for what is considered in my opinion a water down version.

[msp]

Azjurai wrote...Chances are most of you are going to break down and buy the game well before then. Enjoy eating crow.

Not a chance here. Business is business. It looks like EA got themselves a nice deal from some retailers by offering them exclusive content and a head start over Steam. I only buy games from Steam nowadays, so I grudgingly passed on SE and I do not feel in the least inclined to give EA close to $70 for full DA2. Given how DLC-heavy Bioware games have become, it makes a lot more sense to wait for the inevitable "kitchen sink" Steam edition for $30, than to pay $70 day 1, followed by another $30 - $50 in DLC. I'm sure EA will understand.

Edit: damn shpelling.

Modifié par msp, 15 janvier 2011 - 07:53 .

[bluecapsule6]

StingingVelvet wrote...

In either case missing out on the SE is the fault of the customer.

I completely agree with this, but losing a sale to a pissed off consumer is Bioware/EA's fault. 

[Destructo-Bot]

KingDan97 wrote...

Destructo-Bot wrote...

Steam didn't have to do a darn thing for the Signature Edition.

How it could/should work:

You pre-order and get a key from EA and register it on the Bioware Social site that activates your DLC... as long as you register before 1/11/11. When the game is released you install the DLC from your social account to your game.

You make the assumption that this is a simple task, but if the infrastructure isn't there then it isn't as easy as you'd like to think it is. Steam are the only ones who have the list of people who preordered, not EA, not Bioware, Steam. If the structure isn't there for them to compile a list of so arbitrary a fact as "who preordered before XX:XX on XX/XX/XX" then it's a very hard thing to do. They make the credit to your account for "one copy of X" but who's to say they keep as specific a record as would be required so that everyone doesn't get it.

The point still stands, if Steam doesn't have it set up so that a cut off can exist for a preorder while still keeping the digital rights to those who preordered before that date, then it couldn't have happened anyway. Regardless of whether this is true or not, your whining and tantrums will do nothing when it comes to Bioware's bottom line. Even if everyone who claims they won't be buying any Bioware games ever again because of this actually go through with it, it's still only a small shave off their bottom line, and I'm sure they don't mind rounding up 20 when deciding whether they sold 1,000,000 copies or 900,000 copies.

So why even bother with a TIMED preorder anyway? It is a digital good... can't be a scarce resource. Just allow anyone who PRE-ORDERS the game to get the Signature Edition. Pre-orders still support Bioware by purchasing sight unseen and in advance and Bioware rewards ALL their customers that pay full-price for the game before release, THE SAME WAY.

Why is one pre-order better than another pre-order? The signature edition being time limited for only part of the pre-order period makes very little logical sense.

But there are Bioware fanboys just like there are Steam fanboys so this topic will continually revolve around the drain. Just a note, I've bought every Bioware game at full price on or before release. I will not be buying DA2 immediately, and perhaps not at all... there are a lot of other games out this year. The poster above me is quite correct.

Modifié par Destructo-Bot, 15 janvier 2011 - 09:30 .