Planetary Annihilation costs 90$ (right now)

[alphamalet]

One of the biggest tricks the industry has ever pulled is convincing people that doing Alpha and Beta tests is a privilege that should be looked forward to. You know how bad a real alpha and beta test actually are? It makes you want to ram your head against a wall!

OT: NO WAY I'm spending $90 on a game. No way!

 

[gibboss28]

I both get it and don't get it at the same time. One of those feelings that makes your head want to explode.
Either way, whatever I'm looking forward to this game so I'll get it later on down the line when the price has normalised, which funnily enough will probably be about the time the game is in a playable state.
Let the steam forum have their temper tantrum about something that honestly doesn't affect them in any way.

 

[Olas]

Wow, some people have lots of money I guess, but it's their choice how they use it.

Meanwhile I just bought [a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B005G4CXPK/sr=/qid=/ref=olp_tab_all?ie=UTF8&colid=&coliid=&me=&qid=&seller=&sr="]Assassin's Creed 1 and 2 on Amazon for 5 bucks[/a]

 

[Crozekiel]

Actually the price is what the Kickstarter backers paid for to get Alpha Access.

$90 Tier

A game key e-mailed to you & digital download
Exclusive wallpaper download
Exclusive PA Asteroid Pin & PA Asteroid Belt flair items for SMNC
Early download and access to the game during alpha & beta stages
Digital download of the soundtrack
Access to the exclusive backer forums
Limited edition in-game Progenitor commander, only available to backers
Limited edition in-game Alpha commander, only available to backers
Digital art book
Your name in the credits

The store states that you get many of the items an Alpha Access backer also gets, such as the Soundtrack, Wallpapers, and Artbook.

The only problem with that is the list of extras you get with steam early access is similar but shorter. You get less from the steam early access, so it should cost less. Kickstarter backers received exclusive perks for paying $90 that steam customers do not get. It may be little stuff, but the little stuff is what many people pay big money for in these games (look at the original purchase options for prison architect for example). So who is really being greedy here? The people that bought the game with exclusive perks (and knowingly paid more to fund development of a product) and are supposedly going to get upset if other people can also purchase the base game for less? The people that don't think they should pay the same price as the kickstarter backers because they won't get the same, or as many, exclusive perks for their money? Or the developers that asked for a ridiculous high price for a game in the hopes to get funded(understandable), and upon their stated funding goal being nearly tripled, continues to ask that price despite giving less for it(not understandable)?

 

[WoW Killer]

I feel pretty glad that he's not shitting up Planetary Annihilation. The disgusting betrayal and disaster that was Supcom 2 demostrated quite well that Supcom Forged Alliance (which was superb) was either a total fluke, or the last gasp of his fading talent depending on how generous you're feeling.

Lol, seriously? Guy made a shitty video game; that's not a betrayal. I was betrayed once: girl told me she loved me, and she was cheating behind my back. And you once bought a shitty video game. How awful.

 

[Iklol]

It's because it's one of those "Ultra Special Super Prestige Edition" things. You can see all the version pricing on their website here: https://store.uberent.com/Store/PreOrder?titleId=4

The standard edition is only 40$ which I'll probably pick up. The whole "special edition" thing is pretty standard for video games, though I don't know why people feel the need to pay for beta access or a bloody zombie torso or whatever.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Actually the price is what the Kickstarter backers paid for to get Alpha Access.

$90 Tier

A game key e-mailed to you & digital download
Exclusive wallpaper download
Exclusive PA Asteroid Pin & PA Asteroid Belt flair items for SMNC
Early download and access to the game during alpha & beta stages
Digital download of the soundtrack
Access to the exclusive backer forums
Limited edition in-game Progenitor commander, only available to backers
Limited edition in-game Alpha commander, only available to backers
Digital art book
Your name in the credits

The store states that you get many of the items an Alpha Access backer also gets, such as the Soundtrack, Wallpapers, and Artbook.

The only problem with that is the list of extras you get with steam early access is similar but shorter. You get less from the steam early access, so it should cost less. Kickstarter backers received exclusive perks for paying $90 that steam customers do not get. It may be little stuff, but the little stuff is what many people pay big money for in these games (look at the original purchase options for prison architect for example). So who is really being greedy here? The people that bought the game with exclusive perks (and knowingly paid more to fund development of a product) and are supposedly going to get upset if other people can also purchase the base game for less? The people that don't think they should pay the same price as the kickstarter backers because they won't get the same, or as many, exclusive perks for their money? Or the developers that asked for a ridiculous high price for a game in the hopes to get funded(understandable), and upon their stated funding goal being nearly tripled, continues to ask that price despite giving less for it(not understandable)?

It was either piss off Kickstarter backers by lowering the Steam Alpha price or this way.

To be honest I would have preferred the Grim Dawn way of doing things by limiting the number of Alpha keys being sold after the Kickstarter Campaign and not having a sale on Steam. (Which limits the number of uninformed and stupid morons who can't read whining).

The result is allot less bitching from all sides.

 

[Crozekiel]

Iklol, that is kind of the problem. The way it looks on steam is "here is a game you can download and play immediately for $90". It looks an awful lot like a $90 indie game (which is terrifying) and not a $40 indie game with an optional $50 addon pack full of perks that also comes with early access to the alpha/beta versions. The front store page for the game doesn't explain that the game will be $40 at launch, and the list of extra perks is a mile down the page, so that isn't obvious either. IMO, they should have had a "pre-order full game for $40" option at the top, followed by a "Or pay $90 and get all these perks and access to the alpha and beta phases!" right under it.

 

[Alfador_VII]

Restricting access to the Alpha to people who paid $90+ on Kickstarter, not a bad idea.

Listing it on Steam available for $90 to anyone at all, possibly the worst move this year that doesn't involve the Xbox One.

They may well have completely killed any interest in the game for most people, and prevented the launch being successful when it does appear at the "normal" price.

 

[Candidus]

Lol, seriously? Guy made a shitty video game; that's not a betrayal. I was betrayed once: girl told me she loved me, and she was cheating behind my back. And you once bought a shitty video game. How awful.

To quote you, lol, seriously? I'm pretty sure it depends why the game was shitty. It didn't happen in a vacuum. He made a shitty game because he was catering to people who were turned off by Forged Alliance, trying to grab them back. In so doing, he pretty much gutted everything that made Forged Alliance such a fantastic game.

Any way that you cut it, if you capture an audience with a game like Forged Alliance, then go on to develop a sequel that specifically compromises the features appreciated by that audience for the sake of the crowd that disliked and turned away from Forged Alliance, then your fans are going to feel shat on. And for what? For the sake of clawing back people who couldn't even be clawed back, as GPG learned to its great cost-- can't say I'm sad about that.

I'm not even going to address your flawed little jab about perspective, "I was cheated on; that's betrayal". The scale and profundity of the cases might be very different I acknowledge, but there are a tonne of ways to get stabbed in the back.

 

[fix-the-spade]

So, the gist of it is that early access to Planetary Annihilation costs now 90$ and will decline step by step till the actual release in December, going the opposite road than most other early access/preorder schemes.

I can't really make up my mind between understanding why they're doing it and scratching my head in confusion... What do you make of it?

I think they needed to be clearer that this is really an expansion of the crowd funding now that they had reached a level Steam would accept for sale.

It makes a great deal of business sense to me, they swap Kickstarter's cut for Valve's cut and add an extra method of gathering funding. They just needed to be clearer what they were doing and that the finished game would be cheaper, plus that cheaper options were available on Kickstarter.

Also, anyone who opens an argument by calling the other guy Jewish should have their internet license revoked!

 

[deth2munkies]

It's a shady one to be honest, I get that this price was running on kickstarter but there you are actually making a partial donation for development not to mention getting all the extras.

Also while I love their concept and have backed it myself this game even when finished isn't anywhere near that value, I doubt it will be good for anything above $30.

How the fuck is it shady?

Seriously, this shows off the mass dumbassery of the internet public. If you really, REALLY want a preview version of this game, pay out the ass for it. If you don't, wait till it comes out at normal price. Instead of NOT letting you get into the alpha, or restricting it to kickstarter people or by random draft online, they chose to set a huge price point. It's just a method of population control.

Funny story, if you think something is a rip off, don't fucking buy it.

 

[Vareoth]

I find it weird that there are people who pay such an amount of money to receive the "privilege" to be in the alpha even after the original kick starter doubled it's goal. Why not make such a thing a kick starter goal in the first place instead of asking for such an outrageous price later on? This just sends the wrong message.

 

[RoonMian]

Here is the message and the accompanying steam forum thread: http://steamcommunity.com/games/233250/announcements/detail/1658730021561594175

And because some of the first posts there were cussing out the developers as "Jews" I don't really want to discuss it there.

So, the gist of it is that early access to Planetary Annihilation costs now 90$ and will decline step by step till the actual release in December, going the opposite road than most other early access/preorder schemes.

I can't really make up my mind between understanding why they're doing it and scratching my head in confusion... What do you make of it?

There was no cussing and racial slurs against the developers. You. are. lying.

Do not take this mans words and look at the rage on BOTH sides of the debate.

http://steamcommunity.com/app/233250/discussions/

Captcha: The dude abides

Really?

You're calling me a liar?

I link the thread on the steam forum reacting to the official announcement right there in the opening post where just ten postings in there is gold like this:

Lol, every other game charges LESS for alpha access because the game is UNFINISHED. Hey Marc Scattergood, you're a f ucking cheap ass jew asshole.

And you're calling me a liar? That my word is not to be trusted?

That there was no cussing and no racial slurs?

Seriously?

 

[Imper1um]

There are four different price points, with the base one being $40. The higher ones are "collector editions" with bonuses.

https://store.uberent.com/Store/PreOrder?titleId=4

 

[Candidus]

EDIT: I'm not accusing you of all of these things, I just wanted to address this general philosophy that is sometimes found among gamers.

Hey, I don't mind this sentiment at all: "Video games aren't really something to get upset about". If that's how you feel, then adopting that stance isn't wrong for you.

But.

They're my hobby. Not a pass-time. As well as being happy, hopeful and feeling rewarded by their hobbies, people will and should feel angry, frustrated and disappointed by them at times. People's investments in their hobbies don't stop at the financial.

I don't think people can tell others what their hobbies are worth to them, or how they ought to react to developments within them. Whatever is right for you is only right for you.

 

[Crozekiel]

He never said they were all trolls. Re-read the post you keep quoting... It says "some of the first posts were..." not "all of the posts are..." and it sounds like the tone of the first few posts over there made the OP uncomfortable and they wanted a to have a different discussion about it.

 

[Playful Pony]

They should NOT have put is on Steam like this, they should at least have waited for it to get into BETA... Maybe it's being put there so people that already backed can get a Steam version for easier downloads and updates? I haven't recieved an email or anything to indicate that, but I also haven't checked out their website in a while... I think the rewards they set up are pretty reasonable, but they come out TERRIBLE putting it on steam like this. Providing alpha access to people the way Minecraft did, by making it cheap early on and then increasing the price, would have felt like a major slap in the face of the many early backers that shelled out $90 for the Alpha access bonus, so I can certainly see why they wouldn't go lower than that.

Again, stupid move putting it on Steam so soon, the way they did their backing tiers they should really just wait for the game to be ready and released before they put it on there... Bad move Uber Entertainment!

 

[GoaThief]

They should NOT have put is on Steam like this, they should at least have waited for it to get into BETA... Maybe it's being put there so people that already backed can get a Steam version for easier downloads and updates? I haven't recieved an email or anything to indicate that, but I also haven't checked out their website in a while... I think the rewards they set up are pretty reasonable, but they come out TERRIBLE putting it on steam like this. Providing alpha access to people the way Minecraft did, by making it cheap early on and then increasing the price, would have felt like a major slap in the face of the many early backers that shelled out $90 for the Alpha access bonus, so I can certainly see why they wouldn't go lower than that.

Again, stupid move putting it on Steam so soon, the way they did their backing tiers they should really just wait for the game to be ready and released before they put it on there... Bad move Uber Entertainment!

Why is it a bad move? I really don't understand why anyone is getting so angry over this. Everything has been clearly stated and the reasons are transparent and acceptable.

Honestly, the sense of entitlement - and it's pretty much the first time I've used that expression in a gaming context - is astounding.

 

[Crozekiel]

It isn't really transparent and clearly stated... Its on the scroll for the main store page in steam, just says the name of the game, and the price of $89.99... Then you click the store page, and it says its early access and the price was determined by kickstarter. Anything beyond that, and you have to either go to the game's website (outside of steam) or click through their news feed. Which is a large part of the problem.

I love how all the defenders keep talking about the "sense of entitlement" that apparently only the nay-sayers have... Like the kickstarter backers don't have a "sense of entitlement" that no one else will get the game cheaper than they did, or the developers don't have a "sense of entitlement" to the $90 they think their early alpha testing experience is worth. I feel like consumers are entitled to know, clearly and without digging, that they plan to release the game in 6 months for less than half what it costs to get now, especially since this is NOT a standard practice, or a practice done by anyone else currently...

I am sorry I sound "entitled" when I would have liked them to start with the planned retail price of the game (and a release date) as opposed to making it seem like the game is just $90, or worse, it starts at $90 and is going to go up from there, like every other game that does the early access model. I don't see how it isn't either poor planning or purposefully burying the lede(which is very shady).