GameFly is selling BG:EE now

diggerb

I don't remember GameFly being a distributor for BG:EE, but here it is.

http://www.gamefly.com/Download-Baldur's-Gate-Enhanced-Edition/5005305/

So everybody and their dog, except for Beamdog, can sell BGEE now or... ?

Dee

Atari has total control over distribution of the game, so it's likely they made a deal with GameFly on their own (much like they did with Steam).

raxtoren

Did you guys get less profit when they sold it over steam?
I paid for 4 copies during the summer sale. Hopefully it (... the money) didnt end up at Atari, who is bankrupt.

RedGuard

That's a pretty strange situation that the people who put the work into that edition of the game are seemingly the only ones not currently allowed to sell it.

Fredjo

I'm sorry in advance for my language but I fucking hate Atari, they're a bunch of losers with no morals whatsoever. As if Overhaul didn't have enough problems with the original artworks gone and the whole code messed up. Now even their distributor is totally disfunctional and deceitful.

I wish Overhaul all the strength and hope for the best.

P.S.: I also apologize to @diggerb for ranting in his thread but the fact that Atari sells the game anywhere they want and Beamdog gets nothing is just totally Lawful Evil of them and I kill LE on sight.

raxtoren

It's not about being losers, they are under law forced to do whatever they can to pay of their debt collectors.
Its not some evil greedy capitalist fat man laughing at Atari holding BGEE2 rights because he wanna screw you guys.

It's sad though that Atari is fucking over the BGEE though, and hopefully it will end soon.

ajwz

This is pretty sad, TBH

It seems like Atari is cutting off it's nose, safe in the knowledge that it will no longer have a face to spite.

Cerevant

Gamefly just resells stuff on Steam.
"This title installs and requires the Steam Client to play."

reedmilfam

Dee said:

Atari has total control over distribution of the game, so it's likely they made a deal with GameFly on their own (much like they did with Steam).

@Dee (and I realize you can't really say a lot due to NDA) This seems odd to me - not that they did it, but that they don't see the mutual self-interest of having the game improve at little cost or risk to themselves.

ajwz said:

This is pretty sad, TBH

It seems like Atari is cutting off it's nose, safe in the knowledge that it will no longer have a face to spite.

What @ajwz said, OCD temptation to rage over use of it's/its notwithstanding! Seriously, though, the long-term interests are best served by continued refinement/development and release of BG2:EE. However, I think Atari's problems are with the short term, and they're doing the best cash grab that they can, long term consequences be damned.

Dee

It looks like the game's been on GameFly for a while, probably before this whole business started. So I wouldn't look at it necessarily as them throwing the game up everywhere in a last-ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy, and more just them doing their normal business.

There's nothing strictly wrong with selling a game on multiple stores--more exposure can only ever be a good thing, after all. The whole situation's just...very unfortunate.

alnair

@Dee - if you can comment on this, of course

Are you guys at least getting your fair share of income from those sales, then?

Dee

Trent pointed out some months ago that the cut we see from Steam sales is actually smaller than the cut Steam sees; but I don't know that that's unusual for publishers distributing on Steam.

So depending on various factors (and with the obvious disclaimer that I'm in no way speaking on behalf of Beamdog or its subsidiaries), it could be "fair within the system that is arguably not fair itself" or it could be "not fair within the system that is arguably not fair itself".

On the other hand, in most cases releasing on Steam gives a significant boost to sales, which is good for all parties involved (including the developer). So to answer your question with an answer that doesn't actually give you any information at all, are we getting our fair share?

It depends.

alnair

I actually laughed out loud, good thing I'm the last one left in the office!

raxtoren

Fuck, I and friends bought the steam-version - I feel bad now.

prem0nition

@alnair I think the best answer is to point you toward Trent Oster's reply to a similar question on twitter...

"I'm not sure to be honest. We're still talking with Atari, but progress isn't very quick."

https://mobile.twitter.com/TrentOster/status/358391600889597952

Though my gut reaction is "No". Due to the bankruptcy, all the money they're earning from the commercial sale of any game (including BG:EE through steam and gamefly) is likely going into a big pot to be used to pay off Atari's debts. Beamdog will see none of it, unless of course there are any crumbs left after the "bigger" and "more important" companies have taken their slices of it. Though with Atari France sticking a massive $260m claim in, I highly doubt anything will be left for the little guys like Beamdog/Overhaul

Dee

raxtoren said:

Fuck, I and friends bought the steam-version - I feel bad now.

Don't feel bad, you need to do what makes the most sense for you and your friends. It's always better to buy directly from the developer/publisher, because when you buy from a retailer (which Steam is) the retailer takes a cut of the profit; that's just how business works (you face the same situation when you shop at Target, GameStop, Amazon, or any other store).

Steam does a lot of things really well (I use their voice chat almost exclusively when gaming, even when the game includes a voice chat option), so I wouldn't begrudge them their cut. Target donates a percentage of their weekly sales to local businesses and charities, so I wouldn't begrudge them theirs either; and GameStop does really well selling used games at more affordable prices, so the model works well for them too.

So don't feel guilty about where you bought the game; enjoy the game, and play it a lot. That's what makes our job worth doing, in the long run; and if later on you're in a position to buy directly from the developer (small shout-out to the folks at Supergiant Games, Ludosity, and Amanita Design), and it makes sense to do so, they'll really appreciate the support.

Illydth

An excellent question and an excellent thread.

There are a few other threads where this is being discussed also (and stuff related to it).

The bankruptcy does throw a huge monkey-wrench into all of this. It's unclear in a bankruptcy situation like this whether BeamDog is seeing ANYTHING from any distribution channel at all. The money would end up going through the retailer (steam, gamefly, etc.) then to Atari (because it's not going through BeamDog's distribution channel) and then a cut would be owed from Atari to BeamDog as the producer.

The problem is with Atari being in bankruptcy, it's unclear to me whether that cut from Atari to BeamDog could even happen till after the bankruptcy is over. One argument says that cut is not Atari's money, it's BeamDog's, so it isn't under the control of the Bankruptcy Administrators. The other side is that the money owed to BeamDog is controlled by an agreement between Atari and BeamDog and in a bankruptcy generally all contracts are null and void. This is also **an** answer (certainly not the ONLY answer) as to why BeamDog can no longer sell the game while retailers for Atari directly can.

Whether this is a Lawful Evil act on Atari's part is also a bit up in the air. An argument could be made that they're just screwing BeamDog left, right and sideways at this point. Another argument could be made that there's a possibility that Atari WANTS to allow BeamDog sales and financial support and such but CANNOT because of the bankruptcy.

And honestly, while I appreciate what @Dee is saying, my money is being held for BeamDog when the game comes back on sale through them. As it's unknown right now whether BeamDog is or isn't making anything off a sale, I refuse to line someone else's pockets.

Too, if this is an underhanded play by Atari and/or it's stake holders, then the only way to get their attention is to withhold money from them...to make it more financially viable for Atari to have BeamDog selling than not to. I'd LOVE to hear otherwise, I've got several friends I'd love to push a sale at, but till then, I've been encouraging all of them to play their already purchased copies of the original BG from GoG and wait till BG:EE is capable of being sold through BeamDog.

raxtoren

so if BGEE2 gets released we should buy it from beamdog?

IchigoRXC

@raxtoren The simple answer is, yes.

Dee

raxtoren said:

so if BGEE2 gets released we should buy it from beamdog?

If what you're most concerned about is supporting the developer, then yes, you should buy it from Beamdog because that's us. There are a lot of people who are more concerned about the game being available in their Steam libraries, so that makes more sense for them.

the_spyder

Dee said:

Trent pointed out some months ago that the cut we see from Steam sales is actually smaller than the cut Steam sees; but I don't know that that's unusual for publishers distributing on Steam.

So depending on various factors (and with the obvious disclaimer that I'm in no way speaking on behalf of Beamdog or its subsidiaries), it could be "fair within the system that is arguably not fair itself" or it could be "not fair within the system that is arguably not fair itself".

On the other hand, in most cases releasing on Steam gives a significant boost to sales, which is good for all parties involved (including the developer). So to answer your question with an answer that doesn't actually give you any information at all, are we getting our fair share?

It depends.

"Go not to the Elves for advice for they will say both no and yes." JRR Tolkien

Dee

There's a street in Evanston called Noyes. Named for the elves who settled there, no doubt.

raxtoren

Dee said:

There's a street in Evanston called Noyes. Named for the elves who settled there, no doubt.

I think you're wrong.

Cerevant

raxtoren said:

Dee said:

There's a street in Evanston called Noyes. Named for the elves who settled there, no doubt.

I think you're wrong.

Noyes

elminster

Anyone else totally lost on why this topic has gone where its gone?

raxtoren said:

Fuck, I and friends bought the steam-version - I feel bad now.

As others have stated don't worry about it. Especially if you picked it up for the $5. It was a sweet deal.

IchigoRXC

I will probably go for both, I want it in my steam sale, but Beamdog as a whole have been pretty sweet too me, Trent has replied to tweets and what not, taken time to talk to the fans and they really have achieved a lot (even though some people seem to think not, which is incorrect) so yeah, I will get a steam copy but not before Beamdog get my money

Faydark

I decided to go with Win-Win. I bought it full price on Steam, so I can have it as part of my Steam library (but to be sure Atari did a woeful job of the Steam version.. it has no steam features, not even a banner icon). I also bought it and the in app purchases for my iPad 1.. which to be honest is unplayable. But I kinda expected that, my iPad 1 is downright chuggy just running the iOS heh.

I was also checking every day for the Android version, since I picked up a very nice Android tablet a couple months back.

So I get what I want, and Beamdog gets 2/3 full price sales and partial revenue from a third.. Hamsters for everyone!