5 ms·

I'm curious to hear at some point an insider's view on WTF happened here. I know EA was looking to make money faster, but they shot themselves in the foot by pu

by tibbon 13y ago

I'm curious to hear at some point an insider's view on WTF happened here. I know EA was looking to make money faster, but they shot themselves in the foot by putting out such a terrible title that was so broken- whereas if they had waited 6 months and done it right they very well may have had something fantastic that would have sold 4x as much (or more). Didn't they see that coming?

wmf 13y ago
It's not clear that it would have sold more; a lot of us suckers bought it anyway. And as Zynga has taught us, forced social = microtransactions = profit.
- tibbon 13y ago
  Maybe I'm atypical these days. I don't preorder. I only play the 'top' games that are rated and reviewed exceedingly well unless I have a specific reason to do otherwise (specific niche that I want to play). I waited until after launch and then heard it was terrible- so I didn't buy. But I don't have time to play most games. 90% of the games I've bought on Steam I've put less than 5 hours into.
  - sorenbs 13y ago
    I haven't bought a game in five year but I preordered simcity the moment it was available.
  - 6d0debc071 13y ago
    This suggests around 30% of purchases are pre-orders: http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/28/how-to-maximize-your-online-game-launch/ http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/28/how-to-maximize-your-onlin... At least among whoever they got their data from Most games I buy on steam I put in 40+ hours. I also follow the don't pre-order model. The last game I pre-ordered was Sword of The Stars 2 - and that was a 'never again' moment. These days I wait until the lets plays and the like are out on YouTube. The reward of saving yourself a few hours download time when it comes out, and a few £££, just doesn't line up with the risk of getting an awful game and feeling like a sucker for me.
    - tibbon 13y ago
      I personally just don't see the point of preorders. There is no scarcity of games. There is no downside in waiting another week if your local Gamestop (or Amazon) are sold out to get it later. In fact, I kinda like waiting months... or even year to check out a game. It gets past any hype about the game, and then all bugs/patches are done. And cheaper.

by tibbon 13y ago

wmf 13y ago

It's not clear that it would have sold more; a lot of us suckers bought it anyway. And as Zynga has taught us, forced social = microtransactions = profit.

tibbon 13y ago
Maybe I'm atypical these days. I don't preorder. I only play the 'top' games that are rated and reviewed exceedingly well unless I have a specific reason to do otherwise (specific niche that I want to play). I waited until after launch and then heard it was terrible- so I didn't buy. But I don't have time to play most games. 90% of the games I've bought on Steam I've put less than 5 hours into.
- sorenbs 13y ago
  I haven't bought a game in five year but I preordered simcity the moment it was available.
- 6d0debc071 13y ago
  This suggests around 30% of purchases are pre-orders: http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/28/how-to-maximize-your-online-game-launch/ http://venturebeat.com/2014/02/28/how-to-maximize-your-onlin... At least among whoever they got their data from Most games I buy on steam I put in 40+ hours. I also follow the don't pre-order model. The last game I pre-ordered was Sword of The Stars 2 - and that was a 'never again' moment. These days I wait until the lets plays and the like are out on YouTube. The reward of saving yourself a few hours download time when it comes out, and a few £££, just doesn't line up with the risk of getting an awful game and feeling like a sucker for me.
  - tibbon 13y ago
    I personally just don't see the point of preorders. There is no scarcity of games. There is no downside in waiting another week if your local Gamestop (or Amazon) are sold out to get it later. In fact, I kinda like waiting months... or even year to check out a game. It gets past any hype about the game, and then all bugs/patches are done. And cheaper.