Gray Matter - Distribution options
 

I'm here in the Untied States. There is apparently no plan to distribute Gray Matter to North America.

So.... What are the available distribution options for someone living in Chicago, or Toronto?

But I think the question needs to be broader than that. Because there are still a lot of people who don't seem to have immediate access to the game.

As has been stated elsewhere, we all know that whomever is running the marketing and distribution operation for Gray Matter is stupid beyond belief. But is it possible to post an Excel-style spreadsheet that says:

If you live in North America, England, Germany, Australia, et al; you can purchase the game from this source, at this cost, and you will, or will not get a boxed version of the game for that price.

Just a thought.

I think that's a bit harsh. It's disappointing that a simultaneous release in all territories isn't in the cards, sure, but this certainly won't be the first time an English language game launches in the UK and not the US (or vice versa). Maybe dtp hasn't been able to find a North American publisher willing to take a chance on it? We don't know what's happened behind the scenes, but I doubt it's a case of everyone involved being so "stupid beyond belief" that releasing in North America never even occurred to them.

I remember a similar "What about us?!" uproar when The Moment of Silence launched in the UK with no North American release in sight. (I bought a used copy of the UK version of The Moment of Silence at a premium -- at the time it seemed like the only option -- and a few months later The Adventure Company released it in North America and even left off the Starforce protection and I wished I'd waited!) Even if a North American launch never materializes, importing the UK version will be an option, if not from distributors like Amazon due to territory issues then at least from Amazon sellers, eBay, and the like.

Once the game launches in February I'm sure it'll become clear where Americans can buy it and what the costs will be. (Retail distribution is sometimes negotiated right up until the launch -- the companies themselves might not even know all the details yet of where it will be available.) I'm personally hoping it'll show up on Steam, but I can understand people wanting boxed copies, too. In fact, even though I've already played from a downloadable review copy, I'll probably buy a boxed copy myself if it doesn't involve jumping through too many hoops.

well, assuming iv got all the confusing facts straight: theyv got their smaller local release by dtp, and the big "global" release by mamba. They shouldv kept the dtp release only in german. They couldv still included the english voice pack and just kept all the subtitles and menus in german. That wouldv helped preserve the hype for the "big" mamba release. Because otherwise the hype seems like it was deflated and everyones confused about which version they should import and when. Options seemed to be, import from dtp in november, or import from mamba in feb.
I dont think its dtps fault either. I suspect the blame largely belongs to mamba for not being prepared to synch their release with dtp, when they were originally scheduled to.

If what I read on the Larian (Makers of Divine Divinity, Divinity 2 etc) forums rings true and equally applies to the UK (Larian publish through dtp in Germany), then the Mamba release would have been delayed due to the UK. There's something about UK retailers that can upset the market horrifically for these types of games, and Amazon were allowing Gray Matter pre-orders for a small £12, so the release had to be delayed to minimise the effect of this.

I think it's also a case, again from the same source, that the US market is harder for non-US and non-major publisher backed titles to get a foothold in, so it's often a case of the game coming much later once support has been seen (Again, Divinity 2 is subject to that) and backing has been received, or someone like The Adventure Company (to use an above example) would have to pick it up and distribute it.

I believe some US gamers use a website called ShopTo to import their games from the UK.

Do you have a source for this? I don't remember any announcements stating that Lace Mamba would be publishing the English version globally. Typically they have released games in the UK; I could be wrong but I can't think of any Lace Mamba release that has been sold in North American stores so far.

At this point there is so little space in the main retailer shops for PC releases that adventure games never actually hit hte stands and a probably sold via Amazon UK for the most part.

For USA people just get one of the people from this side of the atlantic to post it to you as a gift is probably the cheapest method (or get the digital download version)

i just say "global" because mamba's version is going to have 2-3+ more language options than dtps did, presumably for a larger release. I really dont know whats going on with where theyr distributing it to (probably not to north america). (plus i also added global because the company is called lace mamba global ;))

I'm not sure how it is in the UK, but any adventure games that do make it out in the US are usually bunched in with the casual games you'd find at Target and Wal-Mart. That's how some of the Runaways and Ceville made it out here, anyway. Certain games like those Sherlock Holmes titles and stuff like The Whispering World make it out into specialty shops, too, although even they are dwindling. I don't think Gamestop carried The Whispering World, although I did find it at Micro Center, a computer store.

I have a funny feeling Gray Matter will make it out here eventually, although it might be awhile. Secret Files 2 isn't out yet but is apparently due in March, and that game has significantly less hype than Gray Matter, which at least has the (however small) Jane Jensen fan base guaranteeing some sales, if they haven't already imported the Euro version or flat-out pirated it.

It will probably find a distributor eventually, I've seen this happen before in a much stronger genre (M.U.D. TV, which was made by a german studio under Kalypso, came out almost 2 months later for the us due to issues getting a publisher).

Kind of surprised they aren't looking into trying to get it on a digital distributor *shrugs*. As for options, you might be able to get it through Amazon, though unlikely. More likely is having to pay a bit more to get it from somewhere in the UK that ships to the US or maybe Ebay (never bought a game unreleased in US, but know you can find them (thanks to mud again xD)).

Works like that here, too, in a way. You're more likely to find adventure games/bundle packs (Such as Broken Sword Trilogy) in non-gaming stores such as our Wilkinsons chain of stores than you are in a gaming store.

North American distribution plans announced! http://www.adventuregamers.com/newsitem.php?id=2196

Yes!!!!
http://www.amazon.com/Viva-Media-V00...5413563&sr=1-4

Fantastic news. Really hope this sells well, it would be a good thing for all adventures.

While familiar with Take2 and The Adventure Company, to name two, I am not familiar with Viva Media. Where would I know them from?

Adventure-wise, Viva Media are the North American publishers for titles such as Alter Ego, AGON: The Mysterious Codex, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Whispered World, Ankh 1 and the Viva Adventure Anthology mega-compilation. They've also released dozens of puzzle and casual titles. Most of their games wind up in stores like Wal-Mart and Target. (For some silly reason, on their website they listed Alter Ego under "Action" and TWW under "Family"! :crazy:)

Besides Gray Matter, I'm also looking forward to Edna & Harvey and Black Mirror II, other upcoming Viva Media releases.

If I'm not mistaken (source being Wikipedia), this game is released tomorrow in the U.S. and then on the 25th here in Europe? I've been waiting to see if there is a Steam edition but if not will buy an alternative copy. Dying to play this game and have spent two or so months avoiding spoilers. :crazy:

Same here. Feels like I'll have THOUSANDS of thread pages to go through once I start playing or finish the game!

I was surprised that when I went back to the UK a couple of years go, they had adventure games in with the normal PC games (albeit the "cheaper" section), and they had a lot more than we do here in Australia. The situation in the US sounds similar to Oz -- adventures are in the small, "casual" section alongside Bejeweled. You might see the odd Barrow Hill, Sherlock Holmes or Drawn and that's about it.

I have recently been seeing a lot more adventures pop up in Australian retail stores. I have seen the Black Mirror games, Machinarium, The Whispered World, Runaway and a couple of others with australian ratings logo plastered over the UK ones.

But yes, they are very few and far between and are often largely overpriced.

Yes true, I did see Machinarium and I just remembered that I seen Memento Mori in EB, so I guess we do get the majority of the adventures that come out, but they're far from prolific, that's for sure, but that's more the state of the genre, I guess.

I can usually find them cheaper online anyway, so I'm not quite sure retail matters that much to me when it comes to PC games. Region-locked console games are a different story, but the PC games I pick up are 80% digital these days. That said, you do come across freak retail bargains every once in a blue moon. I picked up Dragon Age from GAME for $20. When I returned a week later it had went up to $105 :-/