Prison Architect Dev: Early Access Trumps Retail

[Fanghawk]

Prison Architect Dev: Early Access Trumps Retail

According to Introversion, Prison Architect's alpha was successful because it didn't need to compete with Triple-A games.

If you want evidence of how much games publishing has changed over the past decade, look no further than indie developers. Teams like Introversion can bypass traditional retail distribution by <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103008-Steam-Promotion-Saves-Introversion-From-Death>putting games on digital platforms, sometimes before the project is even finished. At a recent Rezzed 2013 panel, Introversion's Mark Morris and Chris Delay stated that <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/122816-Valve-Introduces-Early-Access-Games-Program>sales of playable alphas have become incredibly beneficial tools for indies. As proof, Morris revealed that Prison Architect's alpha is currently Introversion's biggest financial success, something that couldn't have happened in a traditional publishing environment.

"Publishers and retailers are c***s," Morris said. "I can expand on that. From our perspective we couldn't get our games anywhere near UK retail when we started out. There was no interest in picking up any obscure titles. They just wanted 100 copies of the latest AAA title. If that model had continued then the indie revolution would not have occurred."

Meanwhile, early access models popularized by Minecraft and Steam allowed Introversion to obtain revenue and feedback that paid off in the long run. "Prison Architect is the most financially successful project that Introversion has ever done, without a shadow of a doubt," Morris explained. "It's wonderful for us as we've never previously released a game that we were happy with - it always took us another six months to get to where we wanted to be on version one."

Obsidian's Chris Avellone, also speaking at the panel, added that Triple-A publishers admittedly have a hard time investing in risky projects. "To play devil's advocate here, to an extent I understand where publishers are coming from," he began. "When they're investing $20-30 million in a crazy Triple-A game, their desire to take risks and be innovative, their desire to experiment with a hardcore or PC-only game... They don't want to hear any of that. They know their investment is so large and they understand the level of return they need to get."

Either way, Avellone certainly doesn't want to drop digital alternatives for traditional publishing. "The more we can get out of the loop of the old business model the better."

Source: <a href=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-06-22-prison-architect-dev-introversion-explains-the-struggles-indie-developers-face-trying-to-get-their-games-in-shops>Eurogamer

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[Vaccine]

"Publishers and retailers are c***s," Morris said.

Sums up the entire post for me really.

 

[Idlemessiah]

I really like this growing trend in pre-retail sales. It's good for the developers because they get free playtesting by potentially thousands of people as opposed to having to pay 4 or 5 people or do it themselves. They also get more money which can then be channeled into more development. And they look cool for letting people into their game early.

As for the consumer; we get to play games sooner, laugh at hilarious bugs, maybe get your own idea into the game if it sounds good (the devs have all that pre-retail cash in the bank right! Why not use it?) and also each update makes the game better and in a way feels like you're getting free DLC.

 

[synobal]

I don't like the preretail sales and such. It's going to encourage shotty and fly by night developers who are just there to make a quick buck and don't give a damn about actually delivering so long as they have the money in pocket. That sort of thing is what lead to the first great video game crash.

 

[JediMB]

I noticed Prison Architect on Steam a while ago.

The game itself didn't look like it's for me, and the price seemed a bit high, but I really appreciated that the tiered model (much reminiscent of what we often see on Kickstarter) has made its way onto Steam.

And, as usual, it's up to the individual consumer to decide what is worth investing in and supporting.

 

[GAunderrated]

I noticed Prison Architect on Steam a while ago.

The game itself didn't look like it's for me, and the price seemed a bit high, but I really appreciated that the tiered model (much reminiscent of what we often see on Kickstarter) has made its way onto Steam.

And, as usual, it's up to the individual consumer to decide what is worth investing in and supporting.

I can't wait to support this game... around $15 bucks or so. I can wait for a steam sale until then but I am glad that they are doing well. I feel torn because I want to support them but I feel a bit ripped off when I've played equally fun games if not more for half that price. It becomes hard to justify when I think of it that way.

 

[Roxor]

I like the look of Prison Architect, but it's a bit too expensive. Get the price down to $20 and I'll buy it, though.

 

[Stevepinto3]

I don't like the preretail sales and such. It's going to encourage shotty and fly by night developers who are just there to make a quick buck and don't give a damn about actually delivering so long as they have the money in pocket. That sort of thing is what lead to the first great video game crash.

This is admittedly the downside to such a system, and we saw this happen with War Z. Of course you will then recall that War Z got it's ass chewed out by the gaming community at large and was pulled from Steam, and only allowed back with a big warning that the game was incomplete.

The old crash happened not just because of a large influx of shoddy games, but also because consumers had no way of knowing what was or wasn't good (hence Nintendo's quality stamps).

We now live in the age of the internet, with reviews, Metacritic, Let's Plays, and so on. The information consumers need to avoid getting scammed is readily available. To top it off these alpha games are usually marketed to more hard-core niche audiences that tend to be well informed.

I admit the risk is totally there, but I also think that this situation is far less likely to result in people getting ripped off, and greater consequences for developers that try to do so.

 

[synobal]

I don't like the preretail sales and such. It's going to encourage shotty and fly by night developers who are just there to make a quick buck and don't give a damn about actually delivering so long as they have the money in pocket. That sort of thing is what lead to the first great video game crash.

This is admittedly the downside to such a system, and we saw this happen with War Z. Of course you will then recall that War Z got it's ass chewed out by the gaming community at large and was pulled from Steam, and only allowed back with a big warning that the game was incomplete.

The old crash happened not just because of a large influx of shoddy games, but also because consumers had no way of knowing what was or wasn't good (hence Nintendo's quality stamps).

We now live in the age of the internet, with reviews, Metacritic, Let's Plays, and so on. The information consumers need to avoid getting scammed is readily available. To top it off these alpha games are usually marketed to more hard-core niche audiences that tend to be well informed.

I admit the risk is totally there, but I also think that this situation is far less likely to result in people getting ripped off, and greater consequences for developers that try to do so.

I think it just has to happen with one or two big games and it will do enough damage that the rest of the industry will feel it. This fear though is admittedly one of my own, and why I don't do kick starters or preorders at all for games.

 

[Jamous]

What does everyone think of Prison Architect? Is it worth picking up? I've been looking at it, and it seems like something I'd like but I'd like some players' opinions before I finally commit.

OT: It -is- a nice model. It's also kind of cool seeing games go through additions and updates as you do with this model. I've seen a fair few scared about people who'll just take the money and run without delivering on the product they're supposed to; whilst it's a very valid fear we haven't seen that happen too often so far.

 

[lacktheknack]

I'll buy it, simply because these are the insane geniuses who released Uplink, the best hacker sim of all time, and DEFCON, the most awful, horrifying concept game I'll ever whole-heartedly demand that you try, as well as one of the most intuitive and simple yet bizarrely fun combat strategy games I've ever tried (Multiwinia) and a computer-terminal based Strategy-RPG hybrid.

A Strategy-RPG hybrid.

That <link=http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=8643>won awards.

I agree with them, really. Uplink got more or less no attention at the time that I can find, and remains one of the most tragically overlooked games ever, as far as I can tell. Because publishers.

I'm glad to see that they're out of their fiscal slump.

 

[weirdee]

....

does that say "alpah"?

i saw a fanfic for uplink and it was super cool, although i forgot where it is now.

either way it's readily available on sale or in a bundle during significant amounts of time

 

[mechalynx]

Fuck pre-retail sales. They basically mean that you pay to be the devs QA. I prefer to pay for a finished product, no way I'm shelling out money to do someone's job for them.

This from someone who was in paid beta for SW: The Old Republic and Guild Wars 2. One of them was worth it, the other taught me a lesson about pre-paying.

 

[OZAuCkn7J28sHLCv]

I was there! Wahoo =P

 

[OldNewNewOld]

"Early access trumps retail"

Sure, if you're a developer like those guys, you sell an unfinished product for $30 and never deliver the promises you made... yeah, I can see why they like it.

 

[AzzA-D]

"When they're investing $20-30 million in a crazy Triple-A game, their desire to take risks and be innovative, their desire to experiment with a hardcore or PC-only game... They don't want to hear any of that. They know their investment is so large and they understand the level of return they need to get."

But this game definitely didn't cost $20-30 million to make!

They should be investing smaller amounts into games such as this, where it's going to be easier to hit the level of return where it's greater than what they originally put in.

Damn guys.

 

[Chessrook44]

"Early access trumps retail"

Sure, if you're a developer like those guys, you sell an unfinished product for $30 and never deliver the promises you made... yeah, I can see why they like it.

They made a litany of other games.

Multiple that won awards or became cult classics.

Its only this game did they have funding issue with because their last game fell through.

People whine about Early Access, but its no worse than a pre-order of a AAA game. Except early access gives you proof what you are getting while its developed.

If Aliens Colonial Marines got an alpha while it was being made, it wouldn't have gotten as far as it did.

I'd say this is the risk. You can either know EXACTLY what you're getting but not always be sure that it'll reach completion, or KNOW that it'll be completed but be unsure if it's what you're getting.

 

[Antari]

I didn't really need to hear it from Introversion, I know publishers are the lowest form of life on this planet. Personally I like Introversion games, they may look very different than what you were expecting. But they have never let me down in the fun department, including Prison Architect.