Collector's Edition question
Kelvryn
Member Posts: 44
Can anyone say with any certainty that the CE will arrive or not arrive in the month of April? As much as I want it sooner it would be best for me if it was later...lol I'm in Canada so I'll have to pay duty when it arrives. I'd like advanced notice if possible so as not to mistakenly max out my credit card. I'm on Disability (ODSP) so I only get money on the last day of every month.
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Comments
IF Beamdog lost a (long and hugely expensive) court case over this they would almost certainly be ordered to pay costs. Then their most expedient financial option would be to declare themselves insolvent - so nobody gets a CE box, or any more games from Beamdog.
I suppose the teeming dozens awaiting their boxes could go class action, but that wouldn't be worth a lawyer's time, either.
The fallout for Beamdog in all of this is that collector's editions of future products probably won't be realistic. Of course, SoD is far enough off the radar that this may hardly be remembered if they hit big with a different title.
I'm sure Beamdog will either ship something or issue refunds.
On the other hand, these are the lessons that could be learned from this, to my mind:
1) Don't offer a collector's edition unless you have everything sorted out already. Have your demos done before you start talking about it, know who you're working with. (In fairness, I think they did have this done ahead of time for the most part, the manufacturers just didn't get in gear fast enough.)
2) Don't offer a collector's edition that's shipped months after the game's release. At that point, the motivating factor is not capitalizing on hype, it's trying to appease an already invested and annoyed fanbase. There's no winning at that point and it's just a question of how to lose least. It's easy to let schedules slip when "on time" is that late in the game, and it only gets worse.
3) Don't base collector's editions on how many will order it. Have a number you feel you can reasonably sell and let it sell out. Sucks to be late comers, but this lets you tighten up the numbers early and ensure you get your buyers what they paid for in a timely and professional manner.
4) Don't charge $130 for a speculative product. There's nothing in the collectors edition that's worth the price point. Speaking for myself, I bought it only to support the project, but getting something for your money is still important. Good will can get people to pay that kind of scratch, and be happy for doing it, but failing to deliver can cause that good will to whither quite quickly indeed. It's a lot easier to tolerate being given the run-around over an extra twenty bucks than over an extra hundred.
5) Caveat Emptor. I wouldn't be in this boat if I'd read up enough to know that the collector's edition wasn't going to be shipped on or around release date. That was a deal breaker. Just because a detail like that seems like a no-brainer, however, doesn't justify making the assumption. In no small part, it's my own darn fault I'm sitting here six months later with a hundred bucks of nothing but third party posts repeating tweets. I mean, I've got the game, so $30 of my coin was well spent at least. The remaining one hundred? Looking more and more like an idiot tax for trusting without verifying what I was getting.
6) COMMUNICATE. Twitter is not enough, because not everyone uses it. You RUN a forum full of inquisitive souls, begging for the least bit of update. Use it. Tell US what's going on, where we stand on this stuff - we, the people who are actively asking for news. If this forum has all the warm welcome of a piranha pool, it's because you don't feed us. A lot of the problems revolving around this game wouldn't have gotten to the levels they did if there had been communication.
All updates that could be given in the CE have been given, you can see Trent's posts on the matter. As soon as something important happens in that regard, it will be posted about.
As for news regarding future plans, this thread has answers from the devs.
- SWTOR CE
- Final Fantasy XIV CE+ Heavensward CE
- Civilization V SE
- Civilization VI Anniversary Edition
- Diablo III CE + Reaper of Souls CE
- World of Warcraft, Cataclysm-Legion CE's (4)
- Star Trek Online SE
- StarCraft: Legacy of the void CE
- EVE: The Second Decade
- Civilization Chronicles
- BG:SOD CE
- Final Fantasy XV Deluxe Edition
(how dare they release the CE for preorder when I'm sleeping!!)
So 17 in all currently. The stars aligned and I was one of the ones that was able to preorder Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild Special Edition. Had no idea they were coming out with the CE so I missed it. I missed out on a Master Sword Statue.My Pet Peve: Game Companies that purposely limit the amount of CE's they make. I'm not a normal collector. I like to open them and play with the doodads and read the books and watch and listen to the dvds/blurays and soundtracks. So it greatly PISSES ME OFF when companies limit them and sell out within 5 minutes.
/end ramble, sorry