Gunlord confirmed for Dreamcast in December!

[dsheinem]

I just saw a review of this by Gamester81 on YouTube, and it looks freaking amazing! I so want a copy. I'm gonna wait about 6 months, and then see if I can get copies for cheaper, used.

Or do you guys think that just the opposite will happen and this becomes an even more expensive collector's item?

Why not just support the developer and buy it new? Things like this are well deserving of top dollar from communities such as ours.

[mjmjr25]

I just saw a review of this by Gamester81 on YouTube, and it looks freaking amazing! I so want a copy. I'm gonna wait about 6 months, and then see if I can get copies for cheaper, used.

Or do you guys think that just the opposite will happen and this becomes an even more expensive collector's item?

There are going to be a lot of them out there - pre-orders were good and now it is getting a lot of secondary sales due to the buzz around it again.

The AES/MVS versions will be collectors items due to the limited run and high price from the developer, they will likely increase in value long-term.

The DC collectors edition, hard to say, obviously of the (2) DC versions, the CE has a better shot at long term value. I imagine the SE will do what Last Hope and Fast Striker have done, hover at about the $25-40 range for the foreseeable future, never jumping hi or low.

I agree with dsh's point about supporting these independent developers. That said, in the case of NegDev Team, the communication during the delays was sporadic, particularly to those who pre-ordered and had initial delivery dates of November 2011. 7 months and not one email initiated by the company is alarming. The website was updated as I said, sporadically, often with the same updates being on the main page for weeks at a time. The lack of a daily, or at least weekly update is ridiculous when you've received the number of payments they had received.

Additionally, customer service, when I did get replies (to multiple emails initiated by me), was curt at best. Not a great experience - I wouldn't suggest anyone blindly support them because they are independent. Independents we expect super customer service from - they are fans like we are, it was frustrating in my dealings, felt like I was dealing w/a big corporation, not a fan developer.

The game itself is rather good.

[elmagicochrisg]

Additionally, customer service, when I did get replies (to multiple emails initiated by me), was curt at best. Not a great experience - I wouldn't suggest anyone blindly support them because they are independent. Independents we expect super customer service from - they are fans like we are, it was frustrating in my dealings, felt like I was dealing w/a big corporation, not a fan developer.

This...

[MrPopo]

Additionally, customer service, when I did get replies (to multiple emails initiated by me), was curt at best. Not a great experience - I wouldn't suggest anyone blindly support them because they are independent. Independents we expect super customer service from - they are fans like we are, it was frustrating in my dealings, felt like I was dealing w/a big corporation, not a fan developer.

This...

I'd actually expect worse customer experience from an independent, as they don't have the resources to devote to it.

[mjmjr25]

Why don't they?

I have no idea what it costs to develop a game, none. But I know what I have in my hands - physical cost wise, about $8-10 in physical materials (3 discs, 3 cases, 3 thin manuals), on a $90 purchase.

The AES/MVS carts are $500 a pop.

I always receive greater customer service at the small mom 'n pop shops vs. Wal-mart. The local mechanic vs. Tires plus, etc. That is why i'll pay more and travel farther - literally that, better customer experience. Conversely, that is why I do not go to wal-mart / Best Buy, etc, when it can be avoided.

[MrPopo]

It's not just a matter of how much it costs to develop a game, but also a case of all the money needing to be floated up front. With a business like a retail store you have a constant inflow of cash that you use to cover the cost of doing business (including personal salary). With a game you get no money until the thing ships. So spending money to have someone answer emails from customers is an extravagence most independent developers can't afford.

And Dsh's point wasn't "buy from them because they're independent." It was "if you think a game is great then you should make sure the people who made it get compenstated so they can make more".

[mjmjr25]

I was referencing the second part of dsh's comment, not the first.

"Things like this..." - I interpreted that to mean "games from independent developers" Maybe I misread it, but that was my perception.

They (neg.dev) did very well on the Fast Striker home carts - and pretty well on Last Hope/Fast Striker disc releases. My understanding is those proceeds financed much of the Gunlord developement.

Additionally, they did the MVS/AES (as well as some DC) on pre-order, months, in some cases years before shipping / pressing / finishing developement of the game, so it doesn't fly that they put up all of the company money in that regard either. If the money from previous sales didn't develope Gunlord, i'd believe they used mine (and thousands of others) pre-order dollars, before they used their own. Again, this money was paid before the game was finished or pressed, to pay costs.

And none of that matters. Resources or not, secretaries or not, the reality is they had an email contact (if you were willing to navigate the "dead" email accounts) and someone did reply. So that persons job was to respond to customer inquiries. That person, twice in email responses to me, was curt / unhelpful, though I wont go so far as to say outright rude. That was a poor customer service experience. That shouldn't matter if they have 5 employees or 500,000.

[MrPopo]

If the primary job isn't doing customer support then you shouldn't expect the person to give you good customer support.

[elmagicochrisg]

If the primary job isn't doing customer support then you shouldn't expect the person to give you good customer support.

I can understand replying to all emails might be difficult.

Who knows how many mails they received the last few days / weeks / months...

But they could update their site every now and then. Not like once or twice a year...

[mjmjr25]

If the primary job isn't doing customer support then you shouldn't expect the person to give you good customer support.

Boy, I just disagree completely.

I expect every person to be able to smile, say please and thank you, and just in general understand they have a vested interest in being polite to customers - their good customer support affects my perception of the company, thus it affects the company's bottom line, and thus, their own as well.

It is one of the first things I look for when hiring people. You can have all the other skills in the world, but if your inability to function politely affects your peers, or our customers, then you can't work for me - and as a consumer, I won't bring my business to you.

This goes from the door greeter, to the bus boy, to the midnight delivery guy, whatever. It takes one negative experience to salt one's entire impression of a company or service provider.