[fov]

Originally Posted by AudioSoldier

Telltale need to make some sort of profit, bearing in mind they're not absolutely sure this sort of game -- an adventure one -- will sell.

What makes you say that? I think they're fairly confident "this sort of game" will sell, or they wouldn't have based their business model around it.

Surely there are kinks that need to be worked out, but Telltale has a strong, clearly-defined vision. It's not like they just tossed this game up on their site on a whim to see what would happen with it.

[Intrepid Homoludens]

I would pay $20 for this first episode, but pretty much out of support for a startup company and out of curiosity. It's a very promising game, but based on my experience with the demo, they seriously need to work out the many bugs (and the un-scalable resolution is freaking annoying, who the hell plays on a less than 800x600 screen these days?), including keeping the game from crashing and freezing. I can't see myself paying more money in the future for a technically crappy game, much like I won't buy any more clothes from a young designer who can't cut a shirt right the next time.

[Naveed]

$20 is on the expensive side. A PC game with average length of 12-15 hours costs $40. $15 would be better, or may be even less. If Aftermath is indeed $12.95 then I will definitely buy it, but not Bone.

[After a brisk nap]

Originally Posted by draino1

The question is.........how long are you willing to wait on the game to download? I think that until high-speed Internet access becomes more available, this kind of game purchase will limit their sales. I (with a 30Kbps connection speed) won't be playing unless it appears on the retail shelf. And that's sad!

In the US, more than 60% of all Internet users are on broadband now (more if you count people connecting from work). In Canada it's more like 80%. In Europe the numbers are (generally) lower, but they tend to be around or above 50%. And people with broadband connections tend to do more shopping online, so they're likely to be an even larger part of the potential market for a game that is only sold online.

So, basically, broadband is not only widely available, it's widely adopted. Relying on broadband is no more unreasonable than demanding e.g. DirectX 8 in your system requirements.

[mag]

Originally Posted by AudioSoldier

Valve can afford to price Aftermath at $12. Telltale needs to make some sort of profit, bearing in mind they're not absolutely sure this sort of game -- an adventure one -- will sell.

Well, you're not going to make much of a profit if you price it higher than what people are willing to pay either.

Originally Posted by Juanxo

Especially when there is one positive option, two negative ones and one ambiguous one.

Little biased there, bub?

How is planning on buying it in the future a negative option? If you haven't paid the $20 yet, you need to clarify whether it's because you don't intend to or you just haven't gotten around to it yet. If you've already paid the $20, there's not much to clarify. Intending to pay in the future can hardly be considered a bad thing, in my opinion. So it would be more like two positive options, one negative one, and one ambiguous one.

Originally Posted by Juanxo

What does

I am not willing to buy it for $20 but I will

mean anyway?

Good catch. The question should have been phrased something like, "Have you paid $20 for Bone?" Thus, "No, but I will," means you haven't paid the money yet, but you do intend to. I think that was pretty obvious. No point making a big fuss about it.

mag

[Jayel]

Now that I've tried the demo portion...
I say no.

It just screams lack of polish.

[Juanxo]

Originally Posted by mag

How is planning on buying it in the future a negative option? If you haven't paid the $20 yet, you need to clarify whether it's because you don't intend to or you just haven't gotten around to it yet. If you've already paid the $20, there's not much to clarify. Intending to pay in the future can hardly be considered a bad thing, in my opinion. So it would be more like two positive options, one negative one, and one ambiguous one.


Good catch. The question should have been phrased something like, "Have you paid $20 for Bone?" Thus, "No, but I will," means you haven't paid the money yet, but you do intend to. I think that was pretty obvious. No point making a big fuss about it.

mag

Well, here's how I read it.

Are you willing to pay $20 for Bone?

Yes I already did it.
No but I guess I will anyway
No and I wont.
Other.

Two negatives there. So clarifying the options doesn't seem like making a fuss to me.

[After a brisk nap]

That's exactly how I read it, and how I answered. From the comments on the forum, it doesn't sound like the game is worth $20, but I'll probably buy it anyway, just to see what it's like.

[jp-30]

Originally Posted by Richard

There's no point comparing forms of entertainment pound for pound and hour for hour. It's apples, oranges and rollercoasters.

Actually, there is a point.

Telltale's competition isn't limited to other video games. It is vying for your money along with every other thing one could be spending US$20 on. If you'd rather spend that $20 in your account on a night at the pub rather than on the game, then obviously you think that 5 beers is a better use of your spare funds than buying Bone.

There aren't many people who will be budgeting X dollars a week on videogames. But they will be budgeting X dollars a week on "entertainment".

Originally Posted by Richard

It's the experience that matters, and whether you judge it to be worth Amount X of your money.

Exactly - and what is there to judge it against - yep, everything else that Amount X of your money could be used for.

[Maquisard]

I meant it the way mag explained it. Basically the "no (I, haven't), but I will" option is more in line with the previous option "I already have", than the actuall poll question "Will you pay the full price of Bone?". The third option is tainted in the same way.

I'd appreciate it if a mod changed the poll question to read "Have you bought Bone at full price; will you?" All the questions would make sense after that.

[Maquisard]

Originally Posted by Juanxo

Little biased there, bub?

What are you now, Wolverine? Are you gonna go SNIKT on my ass?

[Jackal]

I just changed the option wording to work better.

[Maquisard]

Oh cool, thanks. I was badgering fovily and Tabacco to change the poll question for me, but this works marvelously well, thank you. If you look closer though, answer three still makes no sense. It should simply say "No, I will not."

I guess I should pay more attention to what I'm saying, the next time I make a poll. I wish we were able to edit them ourselves though.

edit: It's all taken care of now, danke sheun!

[Karmillo]

Originally Posted by jp-30

Telltale's competition isn't limited to other video games. It is vying for your money along with every other thing one could be spending US$20 on. If you'd rather spend that $20 in your account on a night at the pub rather than on the game, then obviously you think that 5 beers is a better use of your spare funds than buying Bone.

I dont know about anyone else but a better use of my money was on Fahrenheit
Atleast after playing the demo of that i knew i was gonna buy it, but the bone demo put me off allot more. Voice acting, scenery, cutscenes, animation and those bugs*...bleh
It was fun, but not $20 worth of fun

*and by bugs I dont mean technical bugs but the one that looked like they had been copy and pasted into the game

Originally Posted by Mares

What are you now, Wolverine? Are you gonna go SNIKT on my ass?

Hahaha! That made my day

[fov]

Originally Posted by Jackal

I just changed the option wording to work better.

You did? Because I just changed it too.

And now I don't remember what it said before I changed it.

[mag]

Originally Posted by fov

You did? Because I just changed it too.

And now I don't remember what it said before I changed it.

MOD FIGHT!!!!

mag

[Maquisard]

Haha, I love it. It doesn't matter, it still works.

[Fairygdmther]

Originally Posted by Snarky

In the US, more than 60% of all Internet users are on broadband now (more if you count people connecting from work). In Canada it's more like 80%. In Europe the numbers are (generally) lower, but they tend to be around or above 50%. And people with broadband connections tend to do more shopping online, so they're likely to be an even larger part of the potential market for a game that is only sold online.

So, basically, broadband is not only widely available, it's widely adopted. Relying on broadband is no more unreasonable than demanding e.g. DirectX 8 in your system requirements.

Snarky - maybe 60% in the US now have broadband, but many don't have that option due to where they live. You don't have to be very far from a city to be unable to get cable or DSL. Perhaps they could get satellite, but that's pretty expensive. And where I work, while we can get internet access, we are restricted to certain sites and not allowed to download anything. So I feel it is more unreasonable to demand broadband access, it's not the same as having an upgrade to your computer that's a one-time thing, not a monthly payment like broadband. Even cable costs more than twice what dialup costs, so finances may be an issue as well.

Lynsie

[jp-30]

As far as broadband goes, in my country (New Zealand) uptake is very slow. I can't even get it at my house (except downstream only, hugely overpriced satellite), and I live in the suburbs of the biggest city in the country.

My dialup connection downloaded the 75MB Bone installer at a pathetic 4kbps. And guess what, it just took an afternoon. 4 hours or so. Only about twice as long a trip to a games store and back in reality. And I know for a fact that if BONE was available on a shop shelves only, you Americans would currently be playing and I'd be twiddling my thumbs for the next 6 months wondering if was even going to get a distribution deal here (hello, Psychonauts).

The new, updated download file is now only 55MB too, so a 3-4 hour wait for the game to download is nothing compared to the 6 month wait I'd be enduring. Start the download up before going to work, or before going to sleep. No hassle. No tying up the phoneline when it's needed for voice calls.

So, sum-up, a 55MB file for a full game (even if it's a shorter "episode" one) is absolutely downloadable on a dialup modem. There is no way broadband is a 'requirement' for accessing BONE.

And if that still scares you BONE is bound to end up on the next batch of magazine coverdisks.

[BigJ]

I paid without even playing, mainly because I had high expectations. They weren't entirely met (I met a huge glitch that prevented me from advancing at one point), but it was actually longer than I expected, so... Is the game worth $20? No. No it isn't. I have to hope that they'll offer some sort of discount on the following episodes to those who paid full $20 for the first episode. That said, I really enjoyed it, but I don't think it was worth the asking cost.