Release Date situation insight from reviewer perspective

[Fissionmailed]

^^^Definitely, I remember getting it packed in with my PS2 (pretty late because i had a GameCube before #noregrets ), really loved all the puzzles, the way you got around, and the combat. It was all going great until I hit a bug that corrupted my save file I haven't gone back since, 10 bucks on steam is pretty tempting.

 

[barmyarmy]

Tru Blu and ourselves never give out review copies, I'd rather have play sessions with "real" people who are interested than a disinterested reviewer.

What about an interested reviewer?

 

[blockerdave]

Tru Blu and ourselves never give out review copies, I'd rather have play sessions with "real" people who are interested than a disinterested reviewer

would you be holding play sessions post release then?

----------

pretty late because i had a GameCube before

bought my nephew a GameCube for xmas one year - a damn good machine

 

[kasabian21]

Back on topic - Sands of Time, one of my favourite games of all time, the first game to make me feel for the character in a long time.

You've obviously never played Frogger.

 

[whiteninness]

Tru Blu and ourselves never give out review copies, I'd rather have play sessions with "real" people who are interested than a disinterested reviewer.

----------

Back on topic - Sands of Time, one of my favourite games of all time, the first game to make me feel for the character in a long time.

By receiving freebies they are no-longer disinterested, but perhaps remain uninterested

 

[IceAgeComing]

I've been playing a load of Cricket Coach since it has a Mac version and it runs a lot better than it does on my awful PC. Literally, I've not written any of my dissertation proposal because I've been playing that and Civ 5 all week...

Hint Hint, Ross...

 

[Biggs]

would you be holding play sessions post release then?

I will be. At my place. Please send $5 to secure your place.

 

[Chief]

I will be. At my place. Please send $5 to secure your place*.

* Flights and accommodation not included.

 

[kasabian21]

Why not give a copy to Cricketer magazine? The total opposite of disinterest you'd have thought!

 

[whiteninness]

Why not give a copy to Cricketer magazine? The total opposite of disinterest you'd have thought!

When will people realise that disinterested doesn't equal uninterested?

 

[kasabian21]

When will people realise that disinterested doesn't equal uninterested?

Disinterest: lack of interest (questionable definition, but still valid).
Uninterested: no interest.

Pretty much the same. The people at Cricketer Magazine would have the opposite of lack of interest, i.e. they'd have interest...no?

And yes, I know, disinterest can also mean impartiality. In this case surely an impartial review would be a good thing, especially if one is not afraid of an honest critique?

 

[blockerdave]

I've been playing a load of Cricket Coach since it has a Mac version and it runs a lot better than it does on my awful PC. Literally, I've not written any of my dissertation proposal because I've been playing that and Civ 5 all week...

Hint Hint, Ross...

absolutely love Civ 5 - think Brave New world is a great expansion after Gods & Kings which was a bit underwhelming

 

[Zapages]

Is it 'Za pages' or 'Zap ages'? I prefer the latter.

Its Z A pages.

as a reviewer, what's your thought on the Big Ant/Tru Blu policy of not giving out review copies? Genuine question.

Given that a)they need to differentiate themselves from Ashes13, and b)they acknowledge this is likely to be a slow burner, selling slow but long with word of mouth, I can't help but feel a few carefully selected review copies with people they trust can only help. I mentioned this before, @BigAntStudios didn't dismiss it entirely so I wonder if it's something they're considering now? (Appreciate it's probably Tru Blu's call?)

Yes, it is TruBlu's decision on giving out review copies. Developers usually don't have have much say at least that is the case with larger publishing houses. Hence, the rise of independent developers.

I have two opinions about this.

My first opinion is that they are not afraid of the reviewers opinion about their games. I don't know about you guys, many publishers give many "gifts" to reviewers in an attempt to sway their opinions. It happens a lot more than you can expect. There are very few of true reviewers of games left in my opinion.

The second opinion is that they are afraid of something about the game. They are hiding this fact, but this is not the case if you try the nets. We will have to test the bowling though, but that is a different story.

What occurs, if they are no review copies sent. The game will be reviewed based on the retail version. This is good, as the reviews will be accurate. As sometimes the publishers say Bug X, Y, and Z are fixed in the retail versions, but in reality that they are not. Hence more transparency in the game. If do this, then what they Tru Blu should do is give reviewers the retail version of the game a week before the actual release of the game to the public. This will allow reviewers to get the reviews out by the time the public gets to play with the game.

But, what if they don't do this! Then, the game will be out in the public and fans will buy the game based on the nets. Then the reviews will come out stating fact the game might be bad or it might just be real good. Its a really weird and bad strategy in my opinion.

A bit disappointing to see the reaction towards someone who has taken the time to register and post their thoughts. If every member is dismissed for posting something that has "already been said" it will make this a very unfriendly and unwelcoming place.

Thank you Zapages for posting your thoughts and I, for one, found them an interesting read.

Also let's move on from the knob gags please. This is meant to be a cricket forum.

I am glad you enjoy them.

I thought it was funny how the cool kids stole his thread so fast, maybe we can open a Blocker/Biggs Cake forum or something on them lines to talk crap.

PS Now for the newbie, have you got Nets yet ?

Yes, I have been playing the nets for the past 2 months or so They are fun, a bit tricky for some of the shots.

I am fine with it just try to include the new guy as he created this thread.

Zapages if I got it right, what are your views on the game ?
What do you like and don't like ?

I wish, I could move up the pitch without needing to select a specific type of shot. Also I found hook shots and playing spin to be very difficult. Aside from that, I am more interested in bowling in the game.

Don't worry everyone, 79C condones it


On a serious note, @Zapages, if you want Big Ant and Tru Blu to have a longer marketing campaign, when do you envision them to release? Obviously then late March would be out of the question, and you'll be starting to dwell into a period where cricket falls behind in importance compared to other sports. Later in the year you've also got the soccer world cup to contend with, so the next available window with big interest will be around November in the lead up to another Australian summer and the 2015 World Cup. If this was to occur then the name would most likely be changed to DBC15, demand on the PS3/Xbox 360 will wane as more convert to the newer consoles and thus price will most likely have to be lower. So when do you a suggest a release to be?

Its a very good question. I think by early April is ok (but not ideal) and the game will be success as folks who been waiting for it will be buying the game. I think TruBlu and BigAnt should not expect a lot of sales due to lack of marketing of the game. The problem I foresee (what I worry about) with this is that TruBlu and Big Ant will then release an updated version of the game in 6 to 18 months time and call it DBC 15 aka International Cricket 2009 and 2010 with all the bug fixes. What they should do is release the game and include all the updates for all versions and call it DBC 15 (plan A). Unlike other sports games ie. NFL/NBA/MLB, there aren't as many fans who can actually buy the game. The piracy in sub continent of South Asia is so rampant that it will be a uphill battle for them to buy the game. So they should do a 2 years for each update. This will allow the small developer Big Ant to make major improvements between each versions.

As for old generation and new generation. (plan B) They should then release the game concurrently for all consoles and release PC version a bit later as there won't be any disparity in the sale price for the game. The current plan if the casuals knew about the next generation versions, then they would wait to buy it. If they already have bought the current versions then they are not going to rebuy the game unless its the next version of the game (DBC 15). I think most folks here are over estimating the folks who will buy the game for next generation only as compared to old generation of consoles.

A better plan (Plan C) would be release the game now for current generation and then release the next generation version when there is established fan base to buy the game as DBC 15 on the new consoles. DBC 15 should release at the end of 2015 or early 2016.

Now for alternative release dates for the game. If they don't release it by early April Then I think then late August or after the fever for the world cup ends. Releasing the game in November will be suicide for any game publisher/developer as they will try to get attention of AAA games in the north america and the rest of world. An example of this are Beyond Good and Evil and Prince of Persia Sands of Time for Ubisoft. Both games did terrible in their initial sales. Thanks for Europe for the good sales for Sands of Time to get it a sequel. Unfortunately, the sequel was a real departure in the art direction due to the lack of sales in the USA and Canada.

The main problem is that TruBlu wants to release the game in all territories at the same time. They should do timed releases in specific territories.

1) Start of IPL Season in India/Pakistan/Bangladesh
2) Soft Launch Right now in Australia/England/Europe
3) Early Summer or Late Spring in North America

A possible solution is to release the game as DBC 14 special Edition (i.e. with bug fixes and updates and something new) in November in Australia. Likewise during Cricket Season in England and Europe.

For the rest of the territories they could do a DLC and charge 5 to 10 dollars for it.

Tru Blu and ourselves never give out review copies, I'd rather have play sessions with "real" people who are interested than a disinterested reviewer.

----------

Back on topic - Sands of Time, one of my favourite games of all time, the first game to make me feel for the character in a long time.

It was amazing, but the team moved on to AC and the whole fight Mr. Desliet kind of ruined the progression of the game.

Unfortunately, there have been 3 other attempts to make a new Prince of Persia game, but all of them have failed. Hopefully their 4th attempt is better.

I hope these answers help Big Ant and TruBlu from the my perspective.

 

[BigAntStudios]

We have had public showing of the game. It's not being hidden.

I appreciate the effort in your posts but there are some parameters that make our titles different, it's a very niche game (those without cricket interest will not purchase it) and it has a relatively low marketing budget.

Historically we have run the same campaigns and they have been very successful, indeed all of them have been #1 in Australian charts with AFL Live also being the best selling AFL game ever.

PoP SoT is the only one I finished, it was by far the best game of the series but was the least profitable.

 

[blockerdave]

We have had public showing of the game. It's not being hidden.

I appreciate the effort in your posts but there are some parameters that make our titles different, it's a very niche game (those without cricket interest will not purchase it) and it has a relatively low marketing budget.

Historically we have run the same campaigns and they have been very successful, indeed all of them have been #1 in Australian charts with AFL Live also being the best selling AFL game ever.

PoP SoT is the only one I finished, it was by far the best game of the series but was the least profitable.

You've mentioned before this is the most complex release you've been involved in - that being so, was there never any temptation to deviate from the usual path?