71 réponses à ce sujet

[Suspire]

I never bought one, and I'm afraid of them getting here damaged, but I might get the ME2 team one. I'm only interested in characters I really really like, like Zaeed, Garrus, Jack, Aria, Mordin (I missed the Garrus ones, but to be honest I'd prefer a screenshot or a more accurate depiction). I don't care for environments, and I certainly want all these ME3 plot fails like the crucible to be far away from me.
Seems easier for me to just do my own digital paintings and print them, though. Might not be good quality but it'd be great practice and I could make them however I want.

"People like to collect memorabilia from entertainment they enjoy, not entertainment they don't." "There are a multitude of factors, likely the negative PR being the biggest. When a company backslaps their customers and then calls them whiny for complaining about it, said customers generally shop elsewhere. That is, unless their shopping fantasy involves verbal abuse and ridicule."

Yup, I'm really reluctant to spend money on anything by BW, and I certainly don't plan on buying new games. My recent spendings on the store were things I've wanted for a long time before ME3 (certain apparel and figures).
I'd like to buy DAO character-related stuff, though I'm not sure I would.

[Captain Crash]

Im hoping they get the message after the next unsigned release where they will have eight full size ME lithographs still in stock...

[Jebel Krong]

i want the javik one, although not as badly as some of the me2 ones. i think if they did a decent EDI i'd probably get that too, but i had no interest in the crucible one (beautiful though it is, because i didn't like the whole concept of that thing). The vancouver one is a ittle uninspired but i may get the thessia one, as that's a really nice piece.

[vometia]

Beocat wrote...

There are a multitude of factors, likely the negative PR being the biggest. When a company backslaps their customers and then calls them whiny for complaining about it, said customers generally shop elsewhere. That is, unless their shopping fantasy involves verbal abuse and ridicule.

That's certainly the most major factor for me.  It's not even a deliberate decision, I'm too lazy to be that militant, it's just that their attitude pretty much killed off my enthusiasm.

I'm still marginally interested in the lithographs, but it's quite hard in the face of often uninspired and unsigned artwork.  No disrespect to the artists, it's just that some pieces were never intended to be released as lithographs and it shows.

I guess EA or Bioware just became too lazy and greedy, and it's hard to stay interested.

[Si-Shen]

To be honest, since the ME3 ending issues, I have been more critical of purchases from the Bioware Store, however part of it is, to be honest, I can't say I have seen many that scream "buy me". Some intersting character art would be nice, many of the current litho's have been concept art that I have in the art book I bought. Last Litho I picked up was Anderson (for some reason Javik just did not tickle my fancy).

[SpaceCowboy II]

I have to agree with the oversaturation. When Mass Effect litho collecting took off, they had to balance demand to keep that level of interest, but I feel they released way too many, and to many with uninspiring subjects. It got to the point with many of the diehard collectors (I owned every litho minus Saren up to the dead reaper), didn't have the time or money to try to collect them all. Same thing happened to baseball cards.

Hope they can correct the ship and make it interesting again.

[Legendaryhawk]

I am definitely no longer interested. They just keep pumping these out that collecting them isn't even worthwhile anymore. If they slowed down, made more limited runs, and made more inspired artwork my interest would be rekindled. As for now, I'm just shaking my head at what once was a great thing.

[Hellhawx]

It seems they have died down compared to before. It makes me wonder what people would offer for my Citadel these days. However, I'll never sell that one. I do want to sell some of mine. The thing is, some of them I look at and think to myself how amazing it looks and the artwork. I don't even really care about profit for the ones I want to get rid of, I just want to get rid of them. I'll never be able to afford to frame all of them and find a place to hang them. I stopped after the Cerberus one. The thing is, I was captured by the art style of ones like Wards and Afterlife with the out of focus blotting technique or whatever you would call it. It is kind of making me want to order the SR2 Prototype Litho since it has that same style to it. I don't know why I bought into the character lithos. The space ones for me are mezmorizing too so hard for me to resist. I want an Alliance SR2 though. But I know I shouldn't.

[thatdude90210]

ME3 kinda killed it for me. Not only because of the ending, which I hated, but some parts like London & Geth consensus were just too tedious to play (among other issues). I don't want a reminder of that every time I look at my walls.

[stardazzled]

Lots of good reasons in here...

I recently ran out of wall space. Plus: my mom's killing me if any more letters from the custom offices show up. And yes, the motives at the moment don't kick me. Anyone remembers 'The Price of Power' - bam. The energy just flows from this. For me, it's the atmosphere that is caused by those images. I have to basically fall in love with a picture. I must want to look at it all the time. So, recently, there were pics, that I like to look at for a moment, but then turn the page and look at another one.

I already had the idea of getting all my 'minor' lithos scanned and then put them into a digital photo frame (large one) that shifts through the pictures. Minor as in: those ones that I don't have space for; I had to classify them at some point.

Well, and of course, I like to have a bit of wall space left for the ultimate Dragon Age 3 litho... :heart:

[SIim Charles]

Ebay prices have largely collapsed in the last six months or so. Most lithos aren't even selling; those that do are going for less than they used to.So it's definitely not just the mediocre recent lithos that are causing all of this. I don't know if maybe the mini-lithos or unsigned/unnumbered ones have taken their toll on the market as well.

Modifié par SIim Charles, 17 août 2012 - 08:45 .

[OniEdge]

It's fair that you point out that it can't be garbage new lithos alone. And I completely agree with you. If that was the case, the older lithos would actually INCREASE in price. If the store isn't putting out good lithos anymore, then it stands to reason that the older "good" ones would increase.

No, it can't be garbage lithos alone. But I do think we're all forgetting one harsh fact: the majority of people HATE/D the endings, even in with the Extended Cut. That is an impact that we'll never be able to measure and at the same time, can't deny. I, however, fully believe it had an impact.

Let's think about this clearly. Mass Effect 3 was the end of Shepard's story. As far as anyone is concerned, we won't be seeing anything Mass Effect related for another 5, 10, maybe even 20 years (I doubt EA would allow it to sit that long without milking). It was the LAST game for a LONG time. Theoretically, if the game had gone out with a BANG and not a whimper, that should've meant an increase in price for older (quality) merchandise and the like. But that didn't happen.

I can't prove it (it's doubtful that anyone will ever prove it, one way or another), but I'm fairly confident that it's undeniable that the ending had an impact.

[Sulious Vandomar]

OniEdge wrote...

It's fair that you point out that it can't be garbage new lithos alone. And I completely agree with you. If that was the case, the older lithos would actually INCREASE in price. If the store isn't putting out good lithos anymore, then it stands to reason that the older "good" ones would increase.

No, it can't be garbage lithos alone. But I do think we're all forgetting one harsh fact: the majority of people HATE/D the endings, even in with the Extended Cut. That is an impact that we'll never be able to measure and at the same time, can't deny. I, however, fully believe it had an impact.

Let's think about this clearly. Mass Effect 3 was the end of Shepard's story. As far as anyone is concerned, we won't be seeing anything Mass Effect related for another 5, 10, maybe even 20 years (I doubt EA would allow it to sit that long without milking). It was the LAST game for a LONG time. Theoretically, if the game had gone out with a BANG and not a whimper, that should've meant an increase in price for older (quality) merchandise and the like. But that didn't happen.

I can't prove it (it's doubtful that anyone will ever prove it, one way or another), but I'm fairly confident that it's undeniable that the ending had an impact.

I think you're totally right. I certainly haven't bought a lithograph (or any other piece of ME merchandise) since the game came out. I thought the ending was abysmal. 

To add a supplement to your point, it's not just the ending but how Bioware participated in the PR disaster that followed. They pissed off their most loyal fans and many Bioware employees said the fans simply "didn't get" the endings. As a result, less of us are interested in buying their products. It's the way these things work. 

Still, while I've vowed to never pre-order a Bioware game EVER again or buy a Collector's Edition, I admit if there was a T-shirt or Litho coming out I totally loved I would consider getting it. None, however, have been released that have caught my attention in some time. 

Modifié par Sulious Vandomar, 18 août 2012 - 05:48 .

[Legendary Chop Chop]

More or less I just think it's a cyclical effect. I think sooner or later they'll get back there, but reducing editions should be what they focus on (300/400), I believe those would sell out quicker if they went lower than 500.

Look at the Comic-Con exclusive lithographs that came out. They weren't *that* great, but had very popular characters and were signed, and those were apparently a huge hit. If they just lowered from 500 and focused a bit more on the more popular characters and have them be signed, I see no reason why they wouldn't sell out pretty quickly, considering this was an event in one location, if they released them out for the world to get you could see how that would go.

Ending complaints should be done and out as a reasoning. They released some before ME3 came out and I don't think they were immediate sellers, I'm not totally sure but I think Earth Alliance came out before the game did and I don't recall that one being one that was highly sought-after.

I think the bubble just burst for it, and will take some time to get back to the point of where it was, but to bring things back, lowering the number has to be one of the things they consider first. It's funny that you can look back at old threads where people wished there was a limit so that they could get one without the hoarders getting their piece, but now people are complaining that they aren't selling out?

That's another thing people aren't mentioning as a reason is the fact that they've recently added a limit to how many customers can buy. I can say with utmost certainty that a major reason why the older lithos sold out so quickly are because people probably bought like 10-20 of them to resell on eBay for high prices. Although since Vancouver/Thessia they removed the restrictions, and last I checked they were selling okay.

While this is irrelevant to the point at hand, BioWare did not have a PR "disaster" in my opinion regarding the ending. Not but two months later they added and filled in a lot of gaps and holes that were complaints. I don't know any other developer or company that would do such a thing. Hell, look at how Konami is handling the Silent Hill patch for 360, saying it "isn't happening", and taking months with it in the first place to even say that. No other company would address issues like BioWare did.

Modifié par Legendary Chop Chop, 18 août 2012 - 07:01 .

[Jwarl]

I don't live in a mansion and have limited wall space for lithos. I don't want a wall full of lithos cos that would look stupid so would like 2 or 3 strong images. I know some people are just storing them flat but that is probably with an eye to flogging them in future. So the issue for me is that I don't have room for any more and the only one I would be interested in now would be Liara. Way too many have been produced and many are dull. They should have released half the number, more characters, 500 limit, always signed and should have improved the packaging and increased the price. A higher price would have generated more profit and made it easier to resist issuing too many, thus making them more collectible. Look at Valve.

[thatdude90210]

Sulious Vandomar wrote...
No, it can't be garbage lithos alone. But I do think we're all forgetting one harsh fact: the majority of people HATE/D the endings, even in with the Extended Cut. That is an impact that we'll never be able to measure and at the same time, can't deny. I, however, fully believe it had an impact.

Yep. Lithographs are memorabilias, like taking photos on joyous occasions. People take photos at weddings, parties, etc, they don't take them at funerals. I hope Bioware remembers that the next time.

[carlos2552]

The thing that bugs me is people buying them up 2 copies at a time and flogging them on eBay , I only ever buy one because I'd feel like a bit of a douche that someone couldn't have something they wanted, and then had to go on eBay and spend 500% + more on something that cost $40 , it would be nice to see some great character art but I'd love to see the final battle above earth.

[sabiansix]

carlos2552 wrote...

The thing that bugs me is people buying them up 2 copies at a time and flogging them on eBay , I only ever buy one because I'd feel like a bit of a douche that someone couldn't have something they wanted, and then had to go on eBay and spend 500% + more on something that cost $40 , it would be nice to see some great character art but I'd love to see the final battle above earth.

If I don't do it, some other douche will. Better to be the douche with the money, than the douche that didn't get paid. 

[Daveros]

sabiansix wrote...

If I don't do it, some other douche will. Better to be the douche with the money, than the douche that didn't get paid. 

Hardly. <_<

This is yet another reason I prefer less limited runs. I'd rather my piece be worth less than see some unsavoury character on ebay making money off a print I, or someone else, wants. Small victories.

[SIim Charles]

Dilution is definitely the biggest factor in me not purchasing lithos any more. I used to want all of them, even if I wasn't in love with the litho, just so I could have a complete collection. Then they went and released like 15 lithos that I wasn't interested in. Now I don't know if I'd buy any litho, regardless of the artwork. The market has just been over-saturated. The novelty and the coolness factor has pretty much evaporated.

[sabiansix]

SIim Charles wrote...

Dilution is definitely the biggest factor in me not purchasing lithos any more. I used to want all of them, even if I wasn't in love with the litho, just so I could have a complete collection. Then they went and released like 15 lithos that I wasn't interested in. Now I don't know if I'd buy any litho, regardless of the artwork. The market has just been over-saturated. The novelty and the coolness factor has pretty much evaporated.

nailed it, over-saturated market means people got behind on the lithos, which makes them not care at all. I think there was a tick of greed and it bit them in the rear. I don't fault them for trying though. 

[carlos2552]

Daveros wrote...

sabiansix wrote...

If I don't do it, some other douche will. Better to be the douche with the money, than the douche that didn't get paid. 

Hardly. <_<

This is yet another reason I prefer less limited runs. I'd rather my piece be worth less than see some unsavoury character on ebay making money off a print I, or someone else, wants. Small victories.

i can see what your saying , but fortunately I'm lucky enough not to need the money, I work hard and  I collect them because I think there great and I'd be gutted if I mist out on one I wanted 

[RighteousNixon]

Bioware has nobody to blame but themselves for the current situation with the lithographs. Given the reception that ME3 had, a noticeable drop in Mass Effect lithograph sales was inevitable. Nothing they could have done could have prevented that drop. That said, I have no doubt that the bulk of lost sales are actually due to poor choices on Bioware's part and not because of ME3. In all honesty, the last 6 to 8 months should go down in the books as a perfect example of what NOT to do if your a video game company looking to produce lithographs for your game series.

First off, if something isn't broken....well, don't fix it. You would think a company as successful as Bioware would understand that adage better than most. Switching the format of these lithographs, 25+ prints in to the series, was just a an absolutely horrid decision period. It would be one thing if the prints weren't selling well and Bioware made changes to try and address the poor sales but that was clearly not the case. In fact, it was the exact opposite as ME prints had achieved a level of success that nobody could have predicted. The market for video game lithographs is incredibly small and most game companies that have tried releasing prints have failed horribly. Mass Effect prints are really the first game prints to achieve anywhere near this level of success and what does Bioware do once they reach that level of success? They make drastic changes.

Then you have the scope of the changes, which in all honesty, couldn't have been more drastic. Anyone with even a tiny bit of knowledge of the print market could have predicted what was going to happen with these sorts of changes. Changing from a white border to a black border and going from signed and numbered to just numbered. Its like they suddenly decided to do the exact opposite of what they had been doing. Signed and numbered is an absolute MUST in the limited edition print business. Prints that don't have signatures are never going to be as popular or as valuable as signed prints. This is simply common sense in this business.

Of course, one can't overlook the fact that the characters and subjects they have chosen for the prints during this stretch is questionable at best. Were now 30+ prints in and still no Mordin Solus? He is easily one of the most popular characters in the game and they have chosen to completely ignore him up to this point. The fact that they made a Prothean and Aria print before Mordin is mind blowing. I have no doubt that every print collector out there could have done a FAR FAR better job at choosing subject matter. We haven't even had a Shepard lithograph yet and he is the main character of the story. The choices seem to be completely random and I have no doubt that this is one of the main reasons that sales, and overall interest, have dropped as far as they have. It makes me wonder if the people in charge of making these choices have even played the game at all or have any knowledge of the ME universe at all. Again, it seems completely random, as if they were pulling these choices out of a hat.

If someone had come up to me 8 months ago and asked me to come up with a plan that would totally ruin the Mass Effect lithograph market, I would have told them to do exactly what Bioware has done over the last 8 months. Significantly change the prints, choose less popular subject matter, and get rid of the signatures. In regards to how far downhill this whole thing has gone in recent months, Bioware need look no further than the choices they have made. They really have nobody to blame but themselves.

The point that nobody has mentioned thus far is the fact that the series is now over. Anytime a really popular series comes to a conclusion, interest in the series starts to wane especially in the collectible side of the market. People's interest naturally fades as there is always something new that catches people's attention. They move on to new things. Thats why you always see a spike in collecible sales with every new release. For example, when the Hobbit hits theaters, interest in Lord of the Rings collectibles will spike upwards. Eventually, after the 2nd film is released,  the market will slow down to a more normal level. Its just a natural pattern that occurs in the collectible markets. So once the 3rd and final ME title was relelased, a decrease in overall interest was inevitable especially in the collectible side of the market. There would have to be a new release, be it a film or a new game, to get interest levels back up.

The bottom line - This collapse really wasnt caused by any one thing. It was a combination of everything that has been mentioned in this thread. The poor reception of ME3, the changing of format (black border & no signature), the poor choice of subject matter, fans still being upset at the way Bioware handled the ME3 problems etc.. Some have definitly played larger roles than others but make no mistake about it, they all played a role in getting us to this point. In the end, I personally feel it was bad decisions regarding the lithographs themselves that played the biggest role.

Modifié par RighteousNixon, 23 septembre 2012 - 03:09 .

[sabiansix]

carlos2552 wrote...

i can see what your saying , but fortunately I'm lucky enough not to need the money, I work hard and I collect them because I think there great and I'd be gutted if I mist out on one I wanted

That was a GREAT passive aggressive line. I tip my hat! See now, there's a difference between needing money, and leaving money on the table. These lithos used to be to the point, where you could score a few for 40 bucks + 15 shipping a piece on a drop, turn around and net five times that before they even get to you. Slap a label on, and you just got a free litho and a few hundred bucks easy, for putting a label on something. Those days are gone though, barring some insanely great limited drop, the interest just isn't there.

[Daveros]

carlos2552 wrote...

i can see what your saying , but fortunately I'm lucky enough not to need the money, I work hard and  I collect them because I think there great and I'd be gutted if I mist out on one I wanted 

Yeah, good for you. I work hard and I don't need the money, which I why I only buy one. This way, more decent people can get themselves a litho before the scum of the earth scalpers sweep in and ruin it for everyone.

Scalping a litho (or anything) on ebay is not a "free feed"; it's taking food from someone else's mouth, and it's shameful.