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Author Topic: Preorders and Sales  (Read 67543 times)

hairrorist

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #90 on: October 13, 2011, 01:56:14 PM »

Spaz is super repetitive and grindy... it has none of the sandbox elements that made games like X, Elite, Star Con, and Escape Velocity great.  Its not a bad game, just something I'd expect a much younger demographic would enjoy.
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8BitHero

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #91 on: October 16, 2011, 10:43:47 PM »

Whew. Finally got around to preordering. 8) Can't wait to get home tonight to activate and play!
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ZildjianKX

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #92 on: January 02, 2012, 07:34:32 PM »

Sorry to reply to such an old thread, but I had a question after reading through all 7 pages.

Is the only advantage for Starfarer joining the humble bundle just to get free publicity for your game?  I'm sure the "humble tip" can't be enough to make that much money off of, since most of the money goes to charity.

As someone who buys indie games all the time, I like how these pay what you want charity bundles get indie games attention, but I can't help but feel that they cheapen the value of indie games.  I know many of my friends now consider whether an indie game will be part of the humble bundle before purchasing it (and deciding to wait if they think it might be).  I really think indie developers should *NOT* put new games in these bundles (new games meaning less than a year old).  I like supporting developers, but I can't help feeling a bit irked that a game I bought at launch a month ago is already part of a humble bundle (and still bug ridden, I'm talking to you, The Binding of Isaac).  I almost bought Nuclear Dawn the other day, but sadly I'm now kind of glad that I didn't since it's part of the Indie Royale bundle launching this week.

To a large extent, I think the market is also getting over-saturated with these bundles too, just like what happened with Groupon and its clones.  They are no longer as unique or as exciting.

Sorry to rant, but I just see all these indie bundles as a downward spiral for devaluing indie games and creating a "wait and see" mentality for people who frequently support them.  I'd honestly be much more likely to purchase Starfarer if it didn't make its way into a bundle.
« Last Edit: January 02, 2012, 07:39:37 PM by ZildjianKX »
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Dark.Revenant

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #93 on: January 02, 2012, 11:39:34 PM »

It would be foolish to put a new game on the bundle.  I think TotalBiscuit said it pretty accurately: indie games go to the HIB to die.  And make a bunch of money while doing so.
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Alex

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #94 on: January 03, 2012, 10:45:29 AM »

Sorry to reply to such an old thread, but I had a question after reading through all 7 pages.

Is the only advantage for Starfarer joining the humble bundle just to get free publicity for your game?  I'm sure the "humble tip" can't be enough to make that much money off of, since most of the money goes to charity.

As someone who buys indie games all the time, I like how these pay what you want charity bundles get indie games attention, but I can't help but feel that they cheapen the value of indie games.  I know many of my friends now consider whether an indie game will be part of the humble bundle before purchasing it (and deciding to wait if they think it might be).  I really think indie developers should *NOT* put new games in these bundles (new games meaning less than a year old).  I like supporting developers, but I can't help feeling a bit irked that a game I bought at launch a month ago is already part of a humble bundle (and still bug ridden, I'm talking to you, The Binding of Isaac).  I almost bought Nuclear Dawn the other day, but sadly I'm now kind of glad that I didn't since it's part of the Indie Royale bundle launching this week.

Hi! Hmm, this is something I've been mulling over for a while. My thinking on it mirrors what you've said, mostly. It makes good sense, but unfortunately we don't have the hard data to say whether it's actually true or not.

It certainly seems like a mistake for a new game to be in a bundle, but how do you really weigh the added publicity vs the reduced per-sale amounts? Also, using the HIB as an example, I have no idea what actual percentage ends up going to each dev. There are certainly a *lot* of ways that money gets split, though.


To a large extent, I think the market is also getting over-saturated with these bundles too, just like what happened with Groupon and its clones.  They are no longer as unique or as exciting.

Sorry to rant, but I just see all these indie bundles as a downward spiral for devaluing indie games and creating a "wait and see" mentality for people who frequently support them.  I'd honestly be much more likely to purchase Starfarer if it didn't make its way into a bundle.

Well, the last HIB was the biggest one to date... there are lots of other bundles springing up, though, so I guess it is getting crowded, especially for any newcomers. I wonder, how many people actually don't play most of the games they get in a bundle? I'd wager that's a lot. Of those, how many *forget* they own a certain game, and buy it again? I got one of the first few HIBs myself, and I certainly don't remember everything that was in it.

So, I can't really say whether Starfarer will end up in a bundle at some point. It's definitely not something I'm actively seeking, though. For me, the goal is to end up on Steam, even though I realize it's difficult, and far from a sure thing.


It would be foolish to put a new game on the bundle.  I think TotalBiscuit said it pretty accurately: indie games go to the HIB to die.  And make a bunch of money while doing so.

Again, sounds sensible. But I know of at least one game that got on Steam right after being in the HIB, and ended up being *very* successful. I don't know if being in the HIB actually helped get it on Steam, but it seems like it. If so, that's definitely a case of the added exposure being well worth it. That's just a single example, though, and far short of any conclusive argument.
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ZildjianKX

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #95 on: January 03, 2012, 12:02:05 PM »

There are certainly a *lot* of ways that money gets split, though.

There definitely seems to be a lot of ways the money is split.  I wish HIB would publish their breakdown after a bundle closes... and after the charity contribution, I'd be surprised if the developer tip is split evenly amongst all the games.

Well, the last HIB was the biggest one to date... there are lots of other bundles springing up, though, so I guess it is getting crowded, especially for any newcomers. I wonder, how many people actually don't play most of the games they get in a bundle? I'd wager that's a lot. Of those, how many *forget* they own a certain game, and buy it again? I got one of the first few HIBs myself, and I certainly don't remember everything that was in it.

I'd imagine quite a few people don't play most of the games and buy the bundle for a game or two that they're actually interested in.  I wouldn't count on people buying a game again by mistake, especially if they registered the HIB on Steam, since Steam will tell you if already own it or not, which would prevent repurchasing.  I actually went to buy a game that was on sale on Steam only to find out I already had it as part of a past HIB, so the HIB actually cost them a sale from me.  The last HIB was arguably the best, but I'm not sure if they can keep that kind of momentum up, but we'll see.

So, I can't really say whether Starfarer will end up in a bundle at some point. It's definitely not something I'm actively seeking, though. For me, the goal is to end up on Steam, even though I realize it's difficult, and far from a sure thing.

Thanks for the really, really detailed response, I wasn't expecting this.  As soon as I'm done posting this, I'm going to go ahead and pre-order your game to support your community involvement and transparency.  I hope you make your goal of ending up on Steam, even if it takes a bundle along the way to get there (but I hope not :P).  If you make it on Steam, it would be really cool if you managed to get Steam keys for all your alpha/beta supporters :)

Edit - And as a side note, supporting OS X also was a reason I just pre-ordered...
« Last Edit: January 03, 2012, 12:04:23 PM by ZildjianKX »
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Alex

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #96 on: January 03, 2012, 12:17:55 PM »

I'd imagine quite a few people don't play most of the games and buy the bundle for a game or two that they're actually interested in.  I wouldn't count on people buying a game again by mistake, especially if they registered the HIB on Steam, since Steam will tell you if already own it or not, which would prevent repurchasing.  I actually went to buy a game that was on sale on Steam only to find out I already had it as part of a past HIB, so the HIB actually cost them a sale from me.  The last HIB was arguably the best, but I'm not sure if they can keep that kind of momentum up, but we'll see.

Ah, didn't know Steam was integrated with the HIB like that - that's great. "Accidental repurchases" are certainly not something you'd want to count on (or want at all, in the first place), but given the numbers of people involved, I was just wondering what the occurence of those would be. Sounds like the Steam integration pretty well takes care of that, for those that use Steam.


Thanks for the really, really detailed response, I wasn't expecting this.  As soon as I'm done posting this, I'm going to go ahead and pre-order your game to support your community involvement and transparency.  I hope you make your goal of ending up on Steam, even if it takes a bundle along the way to get there (but I hope not :P).  If you make it on Steam, it would be really cool if you managed to get Steam keys for all your alpha/beta supporters :)

Thank you for your support! I'll do my best to get the Steam keys, if I'm fortunate enough to get in :)


Edit - And as a side note, supporting OS X also was a reason I just pre-ordered...

Just in case - if your OS X version is below 10.6 (so, anything prior to Snow Leopard), you might have to do a few extra steps to get it running. Anything from 10.6 on should be fine as-is.
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Ravushimo

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #97 on: January 05, 2012, 02:22:50 AM »

Hi Alex, i just love devs from indie games that really care about talking with "fans" ;D

A little tip - what about trying to get to Desura first before steam? They support Alphafunding model of sale (http://www.desura.com/groups/desura/news/alphafunding-for-indie-games), they have really nice client, and u should really see a grow in sales tbh :D its not like i adore Desura over Steam (i have like 10 games on Desura vs 200 games on Steam :D) but imo its easier to get there in first place + alphafunding is core feature of that platform to support unknown small games to public like Project Zomboid or rlly nice King Arthurs Gold. Plus its really easy to publish games there http://www.desura.com/groups/desura/howto :D

/cheers, gonna preorder it directly from u after checking 0.5 demo, couse im more eco/trade/etc over combat fan in sci-fi games ;]
« Last Edit: January 05, 2012, 02:35:22 AM by Ravushimo »
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Alex

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #98 on: January 05, 2012, 09:40:22 AM »

Thanks - yeah, I've been in touch with them, and they seem great. I'm certainly for getting Starfarer out there in different ways - Steam isn't the only goal - but it does have a lion's share of the market.
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PastaMonster

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #99 on: January 08, 2012, 03:41:38 PM »

Just preordered this today based on a comment in a post on the indiegames subreddit. Just got my key. Looking forward to this. Space games are generally my favorite, so it's nice to see some indie devs picking up where the industry has dropped it off.
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12733s

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #100 on: January 10, 2012, 07:52:49 AM »

i bought it today(still waiting for key)after hearing TB mentioning he might do a playthrough or WTF is starfarer which could easly give this game 100k sales ,considering magicka,terraria and many other indie game's get massive boosts in sales after his juggernaut of a communty hear about it .   alex you may want to contact TB(totalbiscuit)and ask if he could do a WTF starfarer alpha ,he might do it hes preety nice and within a day u could be in the 5-6 digit range in sales
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Thana

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #101 on: January 10, 2012, 01:51:34 PM »

i bought it today(still waiting for key)after hearing TB mentioning he might do a playthrough or WTF is starfarer which could easly give this game 100k sales ,considering magicka,terraria and many other indie game's get massive boosts in sales after his juggernaut of a communty hear about it .   alex you may want to contact TB(totalbiscuit)and ask if he could do a WTF starfarer alpha ,he might do it hes preety nice and within a day u could be in the 5-6 digit range in sales

I'm not Alex, but I'd personally think the optimal time for that might be later when the game is more complete. Maybe after the next version, maybe once the campaign is in in a multi-system capacity. At this time, while it's awesome, it's still fairly light on content.
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Zarcon

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #102 on: January 10, 2012, 01:55:07 PM »

I'm not Alex, but I'd personally think the optimal time for that might be later when the game is more complete. Maybe after the next version, maybe once the campaign is in in a multi-system capacity. At this time, while it's awesome, it's still fairly light on content.

I agree, I'm going to begin throwing my very limited influence around to all the gamers I know once the next more fleshed out version is ready, I also think Alex has a pretty good idea of the readiness of the game, and will push for a stronger spotlight when the time is right.  :)
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BeanusMaximus

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #103 on: January 12, 2012, 11:58:16 AM »

I'm very tempted to buy this game when my money goes into my paypal which should be tomorrow, feel wounded how VAT bumped the price from £7 to £8.50 ish -.- Looking forward to it though :D
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Zarcon

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Re: Preorders and Sales
« Reply #104 on: January 12, 2012, 12:03:10 PM »

I'm very tempted to buy this game when my money goes into my paypal which should be tomorrow, feel wounded how VAT bumped the price from £7 to £8.50 ish -.- Looking forward to it though :D

I would feel wounded by VAT on a constant basis if I was effected by it.  :(   Ouchies, not fun at all.
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There is no instance of a nation benefitting from prolonged warfare.
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