Limited Run

[flojocabron]

I got my copy in early! Howboutdat?

[wclem]

Now that is funny. Way to go my man LOL

[ElkinFencer10]

You bring up a lot of valid points, and I can't rebuke a lot of them. I myself have wondered why they sell the games so far in advance of receiving the shipments, and it does bother me. Let me tell you why I continue to support them, though, because as Michi said, I'm a pretty damn hardcore supporter of Limited Run Games. Certainly the most fervent supporter here and probably one of the most loyal supporters they have in general.

While they're certainly not the only folks bringing physical releases that otherwise wouldn't exist, they are the most well known and the most prolific. They're also devs themselves; the first two Limited Run releases were games made by the development branch, Mighty Rabbit, so they know the kinds of challenges that small indie developers face and how to help them succeed while ensuring their own success.

Their packaging certainly isn't flawless, and there's room for improvement, but I've never had a problem with it. I've never had anything arrive damaged or dinged, and while that's just my personal experience, considering that I've bought literally all of their releases (including the two that went on sale today), I think that experience carries at least some weight.

A handful of their releases have also gotten physical releases in Asia with Play-Asia being the biggest international distributor of these releases. While this may be somewhat more specific to me as an American but more importantly as a North Carolinian, I like knowing that my money is supporting a distributor based not only in the United States but in my home state, doing my small part to help support local small business (and with only about a dozen employees IIRC, they definitely count as a small business)

Most importantly for me, they've always been extremely prompt and helpful with customer interactions. Whenever I've had a question about a release or shipping (the long-delayed Skullgirls release, for example), I've tweeted either to the LRG official twitter or to Doug or Josh, and I've always gotten a response within a few hours if not under an hour. They were developers before they got into publishing, and they were gamers before they got into development; they have experience with pretty much every angle of gaming to some extent, including customer frustrations.

They're certainly not a perfect company, and a lot of the criticisms you pointed out are extremely valid and worth bringing to attention, but their prices are fair, and they've got a better record with customer interactions than any other business I've ever dealt with. Also as Michi pointed out, they tell you well in advance of the sale date when a game is expected to ship, and if you're on their mailing list like I am, they usually send out e-mails informing customers of unexpected delays. That has been rather hit or miss with the timing of the e-mail notification in the past, but they've definitely gotten better about being prompt with the notification. Also as Michi pointed out, not only do they make no guarantees of shipping speed, but like I said, the whole company is less than half the size of one of my classes; they don't exactly have a robust workforce that can pump out hundreds of shipments a day as well as all of the other things necessary to run both a development studio and publishing distributor.

[MrPopo]

I suspect their business model has razor thin margins and they are extremely sensitive to even minor things going wrong. Since they are doing single manufacturing runs they have to pay for it fully up front, which they would then recoup by selling to people. That means they need a decent amount of cash on hand to start things off, and the faster they try to pump things out the more likely that cash is going to be tied up with in-flight runs. So I'm not surprised they've started taking money before production; they probably have very little left in the bank and can't afford to tie up more in another production run. I'm also really surprised they aren't really putting a major markup on these titles; minimum orders and bulk discounts are a thing in manufacturing and they're probably making less per unit than your standard AAA release is at these prices.

[LimitedRunGames]

Glad to see that it looks like everyone who wanted a copy of Wonder Boy got their order in.

Also the shipping and wait time is getting stupid. Selling games before they have them then send you an email a couple weeks later crying that is the fault of Sony.

Not sure where this is coming from. It stated very clearly on the page for each game before they were even released if that particular release was going to ship out at a later date.

For example, the Lawbreakers page clearly states "Physical copies of the game are expected to ship in September." Jotun and Neurovoider had a similar messages before release. So I'm not sure why you're complaining about something that was clearly stated to begin with.

the point is they point the finger. Own it for yourself, do not pass it on to someone else. If you do not understand that it is setting up further delays then you are blind. They need to own it as their fault, not Sony. Man up, be responsible. You made a promise you will not keep.

It does not clearly state that more delays are expected until after they have my money. Maybe they are not paying bills on time at Sony and they are pushing back runs. Normal business practices is 60 days to pay, makes me wonder.

Do not defend them with a partial statement of fact. It is taking longer and longer to get things, A really bad sign. Then toss in blaming others and it scares me to continue to give them my money blindly.

This post confuses me. We aren't pointing the finger at anybody, we posted ahead of time that the games were still in manufacturing due to it being peak season with Sony. So for us to say we don't have the games right now because Sony is still manufacturing them is 100% legit.

It clearly says if a game is delayed when you buy it now.

We can't push back the releases for some of these games because we have contracts that state when these games have to be out by. Some of these games have been ordered a month and a half ago and still aren't ready. We don't see this kind of delay usually, but with peak season you will. Sony is busy printing tons of Destiny 2, Call of Duty and Assassins Creed right now. Even if some of those are a ways off from being on sale, they get printed super far in advance due to how many they need, which is why you see such huge day 1 patches. They aren't going to just stop printing Destiny 2 to do a Limited Run release.

[Sarge]

That absolutely makes sense. Thanks for the post!

[ElkinFencer10]

That absolutely makes sense. Thanks for the post!

Yeah, that was really informative. That information clears up what few bits did bother me. Thanks for sharing that and helping us understand some of the mechanics behind the scenes.

[Segata]

I got my copy in early! Howboutdat?

OMGWTFFLP

So did I! I swear on me mum the sticker is from the WB release and not from another LRG game.! But the rum is gone.

[wclem]

Then just say there were production delays. At the end of the day it is your game for sale and nobody cares what Sony is doing. Your explanation of how you are being left out due to being a small company is not needed. People will respect you as a company more when you just tell them like this... "We apologize for the shipping delays as there are production issues. We as a company will continue to push to get deliveries out as fast as possible and will continue to inform you immediately as we get a firm shipping day for you".

Do not even use the word Sony, just "Limited Run Games" as in the end you are selling me something, Sony is not and most people do not give a shit about Sony. (sorry for swearing but it fit) It comes off as if you are complaining to your customer. Remember this, to your customer LRG is shipping slowly and having delays, that is all they will see.

Please do not see this as a bash guys. I am offering this up because I feel it is a valid point. People will respect you more when you point the finger at yourself. Otherwise the update emails was appreciated, I just think you need to word it differently. You could walk away smelling like roses telling bad news but you just look more like the victim with the way it is worded. The only victim is the guy who shells out money if there are delays.

Also, maybe use a slightly faster shipping method. It take 5-7 for me to get something from you sometimes. I would pay a little more for regular old USPS shipping. Unless it is there because I am clicking like a mad man when I order and might have missed it LOL.

By the way, what you are doing is great. Keep it going for as long as it will last. Though I have fears about things I do wish you best of luck in a market that has to have a small margin. Cash flow has to be a constant issues and bad things can happen. I do feel a lot better that you took the time to address a single guy on a small forum. If you feel my previous post may be detrimental to you I can go back and edit them out. My discussion though public was not meant to go beyond the few people who may read this thread on our forum.

If I may ask, do you have a target for how many more games will go up before the end of the year?

[LimitedRunGames]

Then just say there were production delays. At the end of the day it is your game for sale and nobody cares what Sony is doing. Your explanation of how you are being left out due to being a small company is not needed. People will respect you as a company more when you just tell them like this... "We apologize for the shipping delays as there are production issues. We as a company will continue to push to get deliveries out as fast as possible and will continue to inform you immediately as we get a firm shipping day for you".

Do not even use the word Sony, just "Limited Run Games" as in the end you are selling me something, Sony is not and most people do not give a shit about Sony. (sorry for swearing but it fit) It comes off as if you are complaining to your customer. Remember this, to your customer LRG is shipping slowly and having delays, that is all they will see.

Please do not see this as a bash guys. I am offering this up because I feel it is a valid point. People will respect you more when you point the finger at yourself. Otherwise the update emails was appreciated, I just think you need to word it differently. You could walk away smelling like roses telling bad news but you just look more like the victim with the way it is worded. The only victim is the guy who shells out money if there are delays.

Also, maybe use a slightly faster shipping method. It take 5-7 for me to get something from you sometimes. I would pay a little more for regular old USPS shipping. Unless it is there because I am clicking like a mad man when I order and might have missed it LOL.

By the way, what you are doing is great. Keep it going for as long as it will last. Though I have fears about things I do wish you best of luck in a market that has to have a small margin. Cash flow has to be a constant issues and bad things can happen. I do feel a lot better that you took the time to address a single guy on a small forum. If you feel my previous post may be detrimental to you I can go back and edit them out. My discussion though public was not meant to go beyond the few people who may read this thread on our forum.

If I may ask, do you have a target for how many more games will go up before the end of the year?

We tell people about Sony because we have always been as transparent as possible and a lot of people want to know more about why something is delayed. I don't feel like I'm blaming Sony since I'm not mad at them at all, it's just to be expected this time of year.

Until the end of the year, we have something on most Fridays. But we were just told something today that might push some releases back a lot further and if that happens we won't "pre-sale" anything because we won't know how long it will take to adjust to the new changes.