RE: How well is DW selling ? (Full Version)

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Wade1000 -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (4/16/2010 7:31:26 AM)

I looked at War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition. It's not my style of game. Also, I prefer non historical games. Also, some thing odd with its pricing of $80. I've never seen any computer game cost that much. I bet many will say it costs that much because it's some sort of superior game. heh.

I think Distant Worlds could appeal to a much wider customer base than War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition.

By the way, if you want a greater likelyhood of new players to undersand and bother looking up a game you might suggest then type the game's full name rather than abbreviate it.




Jim D Burns -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (4/16/2010 10:24:53 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: ypsylon
I'm fairly confident that no other game on Matix forums hit 1000+ threads during first month after release. (WITP:AE section is a bit misleading as it is combined with old WITP)


WitP AE had about 30k-35k posts on the release day. 1 month later it was well over 70k, that's about 1,000 posts a day. I had tracked it because I was finding it impossible to keep up with the forum discussions. Something that had never occurred before in the old WitP forum.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it sold more copies of the game than DW is selling. Just that it generated a lot of discussion. Far more than any new game release I have ever seen in my 20+ years of PC gaming.

Jim




Wade1000 -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (4/16/2010 10:52:57 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Jim D Burns


quote:

ORIGINAL: ypsylon
I'm fairly confident that no other game on Matix forums hit 1000+ threads during first month after release. (WITP:AE section is a bit misleading as it is combined with old WITP)


WitP AE had about 30k-35k posts on the release day. 1 month later it was well over 70k, that's about 1,000 posts a day. I had tracked it because I was finding it impossible to keep up with the forum discussions. Something that had never occurred before in the old WitP forum.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it sold more copies of the game than DW is selling. Just that it generated a lot of discussion. Far more than any new game release I have ever seen in my 20+ years of PC gaming.

Jim


ypsylon said 1000+ THREADS not POSTS.

If War in the Pacific Admiral's Edition generated the most discussion you've seen in 20+ years then you have seen little of other game threads. There are many popular "main stream" games with maybe more forum discussion on each forum of many each game may have. Perhaps you're not including certain types of games in your thoughts.

Heh, there are certain MMORPG with millions of players. Their forums' first pages in general discusion are constantly changing.
Galactic Civilizations 2 forum was very active after each release version.
A few Civilization 4 forums were also.
There are many other games of different types that apply also.

I would have agreed with you if you were refering to just Matrix Games forums but you said "any new game release".




Jim D Burns -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (4/16/2010 11:25:19 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Wade1000
"any new game release".


That I have ever seen. I have never spent time on mass appeal forums, so I can’t speak to those kinds of games. I’m sure they have huge forums, but my gaming tastes are pretty exclusive to strategy and war games, leaning towards the more complex the better, so most forums I hang out at focus on the more niche games with relatively small online communities.

I’ve played lots of mass appeal games in my day sure, but I’ve never been drawn to one to the extent I’d visited a forum for it. Generally I find them to be the kind of game you can kill an hour or two with, but they don’t get the thought process juices flowing at all for me, just mindless fun, so not a lot to discuss.

Jim





Col Zin -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (4/22/2010 12:09:41 AM)

Well, I registered expressly to post in this thread...as members of another rather popular forum suggested I put this out there.

I had not heard about Distant Worlds, let alone Matrix or Code Force, until ~1 week ago. A member posted a link to this game, and I bit. I grew up with Star Control, Imperium Galactica-type games, which I haven't played in ages, and I suppose DW has that nostalgic appeal that I miss from those type of game. Throw in the similarities to Civ, and you've got a VERY addictive game here that has some serious appeal beyond the niche market that others have suggested. I don't play too many games, honestly, but occasionally I'll stumble across something that I really, really dig.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this has been mentioned in these forums, but I was wondering why Matrix or Code Force does not use services like Steam, or D2D? Is it a marketing/cost decision? I've seen comments from those outside these forums where people would be much more willing to try it out if it were available through either of these rather popular services, and as a limited demo. I think as new as this is, and the relative Beta nature of the current release, the current price is a bit steep for many to jump on this type of game with such limited exposure.

Of course, I have no idea what is involved when distributing through these services, and feel free to banish me if the mere suggestion is offensive. Honestly, I have no idea! :D
I suppose it just makes sense to some of us that the nature of limited weekly deals and free trials, and ease of use offered through these services vastly increases exposure.




NavalNewZ -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (4/24/2010 12:27:39 PM)

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Hertston -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (4/25/2010 7:05:46 AM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Wade1000

I looked at War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition. It's not my style of game. Also, I prefer non historical games. Also, some thing odd with its pricing of $80. I've never seen any computer game cost that much. I bet many will say it costs that much because it's some sort of superior game. heh.


No, because there's nothing you could really claim WitP is 'superior' to, or indeed 'inferior' to. Once you get more specific than general labels such as 'strategy' or 'wargame' WitP quite simply delivers a style of game, and a gaming experience, that isn't available anywhere else. While it's overall appeal to gamers in general is certainly limited, it couldn't really be any other way and those who appreciate it become almost obsessive; there are guys who have 1000's of posts in the WitP forum, and never post anywhere else not least because they don't play anything else, and feel no need to.

quote:

I think Distant Worlds could appeal to a much wider customer base than War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition.


Certainly true, indeed it wouldn't surprise me in the least if it had already outsold it. How much wider, though, is an open question.. the space 4X is, too, a niche market these days albeit a rather larger niche.






Shark7 -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (4/25/2010 3:54:21 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Wade1000

I looked at War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition. It's not my style of game. Also, I prefer non historical games. Also, some thing odd with its pricing of $80. I've never seen any computer game cost that much. I bet many will say it costs that much because it's some sort of superior game. heh.

I think Distant Worlds could appeal to a much wider customer base than War in the Pacific, Admiral's Edition.

By the way, if you want a greater likelyhood of new players to undersand and bother looking up a game you might suggest then type the game's full name rather than abbreviate it.


No, its not superiour. Honestly, the longer I've played, the more I've come to the conclusion that its just more complicated. [&:] Lots and lots of micromanagement in WiTP AE...to the point that its too much for my tastes.




Simulation01 -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (5/18/2010 10:58:49 PM)

I found Distant Worlds when my gaming depression hit an all time low. I was lamenting the fact that Civ V was not yet out and my favorite mod for Sins of a Solar Empire was bogging down ( Babylon 5 mod ) when I reached out into the dark void of a random Google search and pulled out a link for Distant Worlds. I watched the video's, and despite being short on cash, decided to bend to my base desire for grand strategic warfare by purchasing it. I was hooked on Distant Worlds in the same way that a common street whore is hooked on crack.





lostsm -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (5/18/2010 11:20:21 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: Simulation01
I was hooked on Distant Worlds in the same way that a common street whore is hooked on crack.

are you saying all street whores are crack addicts? i seriously resent that comment [:-]




Bartje -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (5/19/2010 7:21:34 AM)

I think DW is selling very well and I also think that the market for space opera's is somewhat larger than many people realize.

Especially considering that DW is played in realtime and is not turnbased like the MoO, Armada, Civ, SoTS, Space Empires, or BotF.

In essence DW can cater to all players that like strategy and sci-fi not just the far more limited consumer base that likes turn based games in sci-fi settings.



Myself, I think I came to DW looking for a galactic simulator close to the realtime game Imperium Galactica 2: Alliances.

IG2 is one of those great games I've never had the luck of seeing since and it was woefully underappreciated.

DW, like IG2 has the concept of strategic play in a living galaxy as opposed to a "static" or artifially looking & feeling environment.



I remember quite well the missions IG2 offered that simulated a private presence in your empire such as banking heists, espionage plots, civil uproar, fraudulent traders etc...

Distant Worlds incorporates this concept as well and does it in a much more agreeable way. (the graphics may be somewhat dated but the depth is awesome)



Having said that; I think DW could learn from the concepts & ideas used in IG2.

(Take a look here it has an 8.4 on gamespot: http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/imperiumgalactica2alliances/index.html



After being introduced to the Space Opera setting through IG2 I never quite found a game like it again until DW.

I've played Sins, SotS, Space Empires series, Armada, MoO series, BoTF, etc..

DW just really fills a nice empty place for anyone wanting to run an empire in realtime and see it grow.

Ideally Distant Worlds is not only a war strategy game but also a construction game.

It simulates the birth and growth of Space Faring society, the troubles, intrigue, plotting, development and rewards.


Because of this it really plays into a major human "desire".

Distant Worlds is a game that "grows".

Growth and development is a concept that can be found in almost all games, from RPG's to SimCity to the Sims & even many action games these days.

People just like growing things; It's natural I suppose.



My opinion there for is that while DW may have the somewhat dated and old-fashioned graphics of a niche game it has the heart of a true best-seller.

I realize that I presume that many people like growth & managing growth though, perhaps it's less common than I though which in turn implicates that the market for Space Opera games is smaller than I imagine it to be.

It is also true that DW could emphasize this aspect better, but that's actively being worked on!


All in all I've got just one thing left to add:


Hurrah for DW!



By the way: I totally agree that DW would sell even better (perhaps muuuuuuuch better) if they also went with Steam & D2D services. I don't know why they don't do that, it seems like a very sound commercial decision to use them and it also may improve the player base of other matrix games because of the increased visibility those platforms offer.




Ocid -> RE: How well is DW selling ? (5/20/2010 1:26:05 PM)


quote:

ORIGINAL: Col Zin

I had not heard about Distant Worlds, let alone Matrix or Code Force, until ~1 week ago. A member posted a link to this game, and I bit. I grew up with Star Control, Imperium Galactica-type games, which I haven't played in ages, and I suppose DW has that nostalgic appeal that I miss from those type of game. Throw in the similarities to Civ, and you've got a VERY addictive game here that has some serious appeal beyond the niche market that others have suggested. I don't play too many games, honestly, but occasionally I'll stumble across something that I really, really dig.

Anyway, I'm not sure if this has been mentioned in these forums, but I was wondering why Matrix or Code Force does not use services like Steam, or D2D? Is it a marketing/cost decision? I've seen comments from those outside these forums where people would be much more willing to try it out if it were available through either of these rather popular services, and as a limited demo. I think as new as this is, and the relative Beta nature of the current release, the current price is a bit steep for many to jump on this type of game with such limited exposure.

Of course, I have no idea what is involved when distributing through these services, and feel free to banish me if the mere suggestion is offensive. Honestly, I have no idea! :D
I suppose it just makes sense to some of us that the nature of limited weekly deals and free trials, and ease of use offered through these services vastly increases exposure.



This.
It was just by pure chance that i stumbled across DW earlier in the year and it piqued my interest as soon as i saw the saw the trailers.

However i do agree that Matrix should release there games on Steam/Impulse/D2D. I won't buy from Digital River and the £40 it costs to get a boxed copy in the UK. Sure i get the fact that matrix is a niche company but they aren't exactly helping themselves by being so limited in the options of purchasing their games.

Still interested in DW though but until means are made availible its unlikely i'll buy it.




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