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Limited Run Games - Putting digital games into your hands

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Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
This is such bullshit!

Oh jeez, that sucks. I missed not one, not two, but three separate LRG releases for this exact reason (at the time I was paying with my PayPal balance). It was major suckage as they were all Vita games I had no other way to play on my main PSN account period, so it taught me a lesson: Make double then triple sure your transaction is going to go through immediately when it comes to LRG! (And in my case, always give yourself a second chance with the afternoon batch by setting an alarm to wake up in the morning.)
 

Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
Wow, sold out in under 3 minutes. So much for the Steam/GOG freebies affecting sales, lol. This makes me not regret my purchase anymore - there has to be something to the game if it sells out this quickly.

I won't mince words -- LRG has released some games that aren't top-flight gaming experiences. I still believe even those should be preserved on physical media, but rest assured that quality-wise Jotun is one of the finest titles LRG has yet released. I own it -- dang, four times over now between the PC and PS4 digital, then the IndieBox and LRG physicals. Based on how amazeballs Sundered looks, I'm super glad to support Thunder Lotus all the way.

You'll love Jotun :3
 

Finnroth

Member
Well that is unfortunate, this is the first LRG release I wanted to have, that I actually missed. If anyone got a spare copy, I would be interested, otherwise I'll have to pay some scalper a premium :/

I have to admit, after the last couple releases I didn't expect it to sell out *that* fast.
 

hawk2025

Member
Well that is unfortunate, this is the first LRG release I wanted to have, that I actually missed. If anyone got a spare copy, I would be interested, otherwise I'll have to pay some scalper a premium :/

I have to admit, after the last couple releases I didn't expect it to sell out *that* fast.


I think everyone is a little surprised. I woke up at 7:10AM thinking it would be another weekend-long affair and instead had to rush to get it on the afternoon batch.

4,800 is a pretty damn high number to go this fast.
 

Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
Well that is unfortunate, this is the first LRG release I wanted to have, that I actually missed. If anyone got a spare copy, I would be interested, otherwise I'll have to pay some scalper a premium :/

I have to admit, after the last couple releases I didn't expect it to sell out *that* fast.

Please reconsider buying from a scalper. I've missed some LRG releases I really wanted but absolutely straight-up refuse to support scalpers, ever. (Doug actually gave me one of them at AnimeExpo, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, and I was so super chuffed -- thanks again, Doug!)

For reasons of preservation and developer support, I believe IndieBox still has stock of their PC SE available to subscribers, so go grab that :)
 

Shizuka

Member
Please reconsider buying from a scalper. I've missed some LRG releases I really wanted but absolutely straight-up refuse to support scalpers, ever. (Doug actually gave me one of them at AnimeExpo, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse, and I was so super chuffed -- thanks again, Doug!)

For reasons of preservation and developer support, I believe IndieBox still has stock of their PC SE available to subscribers, so go grab that :)

Does it matter? I mean, if he or she missed it and wants the game, why would they refrain from buying it? Scalpers will always exist and LRG is doing their job with keeping it to a minimum, I don't see why anyone would refrain from buying something that'd bring them joy just to "not support scalpers".
 

Clive

Member
Resellers are necessary unless we don't want there to be an aftermarket for LRG titles at all. If there are no resellers then you cannot get these games physically in any way after they sell out from LRG. They would be available on one day and after that they will only exist in the homes of the collectors that bought them.

Nothing wrong with resellers, it only sucks when there is limited supply and not even everyone who was there can get a copy. Feels like that is a rare happening these days at least thankfully.

Yes, it sucks that sometimes prices are driven up very high but it's better than there being no aftermarket at all.

I've resold a couple of games after regretting buying both the Vita and PS4 version of the games and I charged market prices and won't feel bad about it. That's just how it works. It wasn't very profitable though to be completely honest but I got my money back and some change.
 

Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
Does it matter? I mean, if he or she missed it and wants the game, why would they refrain from buying it? Scalpers will always exist and LRG is doing their job with keeping it to a minimum, I don't see why anyone would refrain from buying something that'd bring them joy just to "not support scalpers".

In my view, the reason to not buy from scalpers is more than moral. It encourages them, and the more money scalpers make the more potential scalpers might emerge.

In re-reading my post, "please don't buy from scalpers" is pretty heavy-handed. I should have just related my feelings on the subject. My opinion of a person seeking something out something that would bring them joy by any means necessary wouldn't lower my opinion of them. It's just something I, personally, can't bring myself to do, especially when LRG more or less pricematches to the digital versions and thus has extremely thin profit margins.

Resellers are necessary unless we don't want there to be an aftermarket for LRG titles at all. If there are no resellers then you cannot get these games physically in any way after they sell out from LRG. They would be available on one day and after that they will only exist in the homes of the collectors that bought them.

Nothing wrong with resellers, it only sucks when there is limited supply and not even everyone who was there can get a copy. Feels like that is a rare happening these days at least thankfully.

Yes, it sucks that sometimes prices are driven up very high but it's better than there being no aftermarket at all.

I've resold a couple of games after regretting buying both the Vita and PS4 version of the games and I charged market prices and won't feel bad about it. That's just how it works. It wasn't very profitable though to be completely honest but I got my money back and some change.

Reselling an LRG game you've bought and opened and enjoyed doesn't bother me at all. That's totally okay, and the availability of used games is a factor in why I support physical media so strongly.

All that bothers me is people who buy them solely with the intention to flip and keep them sealed.
 

Finnroth

Member
No need to worry, I am pretty sure I got your point. My personal feelings regarding those, which I collect under the umbrella term "scalpers", are not so much different from your own, but as Shizuka said, and my presence on this board affirms, I will ultimately pursue the games for my own enjoyment - that being my physical collection (and of course playing said games).

That this will somewhat encourage more people in the trade might or might not be unfortunate (as a certain amount will be necessary), but in the end I won't pay obscence amounts - lets see where the price will settle.

That being said, I am still open to buy from fellow GAF members, should anyone step forward :D
 

Jimrpg

Member
Why don't they just take orders (with money down) on how many copies? That way they might sell more and won't over print. There's still a reseller market afterwards.
 

Ventara

Member
Apparently Jotun went free on Steam today too? Kind of umm interesting timing...

Yeah, it was brought up a little earlier. It's to help promote their new game, Sundered. Was on the fence about picking this up, but decided a free Steam copy is better. Not that my sale was needed at all. Jotun sold out quite quickly.
 

Semoreh

Member
Does it matter? I mean, if he or she missed it and wants the game, why would they refrain from buying it? Scalpers will always exist and LRG is doing their job with keeping it to a minimum, I don't see why anyone would refrain from buying something that'd bring them joy just to "not support scalpers".

Plus you can find games from time to time in the 35-40$ range. All resellers are not tripling the price.

Yeah it sucks missing games but I wouldn't have such an inflexible stance regarding scalpers.

Also, the fact that Jotun flied off the shelved when the previous week Rive didn't, seems to indicate the bulk of the sales aren't from a stable mass of resellers. Maybe Jotun simply has a bigger fanbase / following ?
(You could argue Rive was a $30 game but I don't think it's enough to deter a scalper)
 

Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
Plus you can find games from time to time in the 35-40$ range. All resellers are not tripling the price.

Yeah it sucks missing games but I wouldn't have such an inflexible stance regarding scalpers.

Also, the fact that Jotun flied off the shelved when the previous week Rive didn't, seems to indicate the bulk of the sales aren't from a stable mass of resellers. Maybe Jotun simply has a bigger fanbase / following ?
(You could argue Rive was a $30 game but I don't think it's enough to deter a scalper)

You can, but just like any boutique physical edition, it depends on the popularity/quality of the game. Some LRG and IndieBox titles go for $150 or more, and that's only going to accrue for savvy longtailers who wait a year from release.

I do, of course, realize there's no way to curb flippers in a free market economy, so I should probably just stop fretting over it (๑╹ω╹๑ )

Andddddd tweet deleted. 38 meta...woof lol

Heh, deleted outright? If anything that makes me respect LRG; even with a completionist fanbase large enough to sell out with any release they won't publish junk.
 

Semoreh

Member
You can, but just like any boutique physical edition, it depends on the popularity/quality of the game. Some LRG and IndieBox titles go for $150 or more, and that's only going to accrue for savvy longtailers who wait a year from release


(Not emitting a value judgment, just describing how the system works. Reminds me of my studies in economics ^^)

Also you can easily "trade" for games you missed on the secondary market. Let's say you missed Jotun. Just buy a pair of games next time instead of one, flip it at market price, buy Jotun at market price : you basically bought Jotun at a normal price.

The only people who'll "suffer" from this ecosystem are the ones who were "late" and are unwilling to put the extra effort in. These people are basically paying for extra services :
- storage
- availability (no fear of missing a game)
- no-rush (you can pull the trigger whenever)
This extra-cost is then determined by the law of offer and demand so that flippers-traders-buyers all can coexist.
 

test_account

XP-39C²
Oh jeez, that sucks. I missed not one, not two, but three separate LRG releases for this exact reason (at the time I was paying with my PayPal balance). It was major suckage as they were all Vita games I had no other way to play on my main PSN account period, so it taught me a lesson: Make double then triple sure your transaction is going to go through immediately when it comes to LRG! (And in my case, always give yourself a second chance with the afternoon batch by setting an alarm to wake up in the morning.)
Yeah, i'll make sure to check more closely next time regarding account balance :) I've actually forgotten it before too with LRG if i remember correctly, but then i was fast enough to add more money and still get the order through.

I'm glad that it wasnt a Vita game at least, because i've gotten every LRG Vita game so far, so that chain/streak isnt broken yet :)
 
So apparently the Vita version of Dariusburst doesn't have all the patches on the cart?

I thought they always did this kinda thing? I mean, I understand why the DLC couldn't be on this particular cart, but not the patches...?
 

oldmario

Member
what was the voting for on the tweet?

So apparently the Vita version of Dariusburst doesn't have all the patches on the cart?

I thought they always did this kinda thing? I mean, I understand why the DLC couldn't be on this particular cart, but not the patches...?

i was surprised by this too since i thought the whole point of LRG was to preserve games not to have to have the possibility of having a faulty game in the future once the servers go down
 
So apparently the Vita version of Dariusburst doesn't have all the patches on the cart?

I thought they always did this kinda thing? I mean, I understand why the DLC couldn't be on this particular cart, but not the patches...?

Well, that's disappointing. If they make a new SKU for the physical release, why not include the patches or am I missing something? How big are the patches?
 

Weevilone

Member
Well, that's disappointing. If they make a new SKU for the physical release, why not include the patches or am I missing something? How big are the patches?

I thought that was the main/original point of waiting so long. Are we at the point of just slinging anything on disk and cart now?

This one was already messed up because of the missing DLC. Now it's even more pointless from a preservation standpoint.
 
Yeah, this strange for Darius Burst Vita. The patch is 515 mb on the NA servers.

Jesus. So they just sold an incomplete game. Basically against the whole idea of preservation. I was already on the fence about getting this one, because of the price tag and no DLCs included and I got why it is so expensive and the DLCs are missing. It annoys me, but ok. But this is just too much. I think I will sell my copy. It's not worth it - atleast for me!

Baffling that this wasn't mentioned before.
 

erlim

yes, that talented of a member
Resellers are necessary unless we don't want there to be an aftermarket for LRG titles at all. If there are no resellers then you cannot get these games physically in any way after they sell out from LRG. They would be available on one day and after that they will only exist in the homes of the collectors that bought them.

Nothing wrong with resellers, it only sucks when there is limited supply and not even everyone who was there can get a copy. Feels like that is a rare happening these days at least thankfully.

Yes, it sucks that sometimes prices are driven up very high but it's better than there being no aftermarket at all.

I've resold a couple of games after regretting buying both the Vita and PS4 version of the games and I charged market prices and won't feel bad about it. That's just how it works. It wasn't very profitable though to be completely honest but I got my money back and some change.

Seconded. I missed Furi because I was flying to Johanessberg. There was no way for me to get in on either batch even though I wanted to.
 
LRG replied to my question about the DB patch:

FF137D77-E2B5-483B-AFDC-5F6DD2FF8155_zpshesceoil.png

TL;DR: creating a new build for the cartridge with the 1.11 patch would have made the DLC incompatible.
 
I still havent gotten any shipping for Dariusburst CS Vita.
According to their Twitter account, all orders for Furi and Darius Vita have been completely shipped. Tracking details might take a moment to update, but I know my order went from "info received by UPS" to "data not yet available / try again later" over the past week. Guessing this run could be an instance of where it'll just show up unexpectedly? Initial e-mails through USPS had a glitch which claimed delivery attempts were made despite the packages having never left the facility so I have no idea whether to trust my tracking number.

So apparently the Vita version of Dariusburst doesn't have all the patches on the cart?

I thought they always did this kinda thing? I mean, I understand why the DLC couldn't be on this particular cart, but not the patches...?

i was surprised by this too since i thought the whole point of LRG was to preserve games not to have to have the possibility of having a faulty game in the future once the servers go down

I thought that was the main/original point of waiting so long. Are we at the point of just slinging anything on disk and cart now?

Jesus. So they just sold an incomplete game. Basically against the whole idea of preservation. I was already on the fence about getting this one, because of the price tag and no DLCs included and I got why it is so expensive and the DLCs are missing. It annoys me, but ok. But this is just too much. I think I will sell my copy. It's not worth it - atleast for me!

Baffling that this wasn't mentioned before.
Devil's advocate would argue the patch might just fix something that would've impacted an insignificant amount of users. Last summer, Shadow Complex: Remastered got one to address a problem that involved the main menu becoming inoperable if the controller was dis-and-reconnected. On the other hand, I think Mighty Rabbit's own release of Breach & Clear: Deadline had a problem that impacted trophy acquirement that was overlooked despite the publisher being notified of the issue prior to the physical pressing. In the end, I'd much rather have a delayed release with a solid sheet of fixes already built into the game over something that's rushed to appease release date hype with plenty of holes forever existing on some retail format. I really respect the developers of Cosmic Star Heroine for opting for the same philosophy.
 
According to their Twitter account, all orders for Furi and Darius Vita have been completely shipped. Tracking details might take a moment to update, but I know my order went from "info received by UPS" to "data not yet available / try again later" over the past week. Guessing this run could be an instance of where it'll just show up unexpectedly? Initial e-mails through USPS had a glitch which claimed delivery attempts were made despite the packages having never left the facility so I have no idea whether to trust my tracking number.

Yea mine shipped a few days ago and the tracking still says status not available.
 

Weevilone

Member
LRG replied to my question about the DB patch:



TL;DR: creating a new build for the cartridge with the 1.11 patch would have made the DLC incompatible.

So basically people paid an extraordinary Vita price for a game that LRG knew was going to fall short on their philosophy of preserving games.

I personally think it's pretty shitty and I think people should complain. If the approach they took in the "promise" text above about that release isn't their intended purpose with all releases then I think they should let people know before they go on sale. To be fair, that is what I expect for most publishers. I just thought the primary reason people pay LRG prices for games that are free or nearly free digitally (in general, obv not for DBCS) was to have them complete on physical format.

Obviously if a game breaking bug is discovered well after release and the dev wants to fix it, shit happens. But in this case the Twitter exchange makes it pretty clear that they were aware but it would have been hard, so nope.
 

dallow_bg

nods at old men
I think it'd be nice for build numbers to be included in the product description. Heck maybe even on the back of the box for posterity.
 

LQX

Member
Anyone else not get a card with Dariusburst CS Vita?

Either-way, selling it at cost plus shipping. PM if anyone in the US is interested.
 

Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
This notion of Dariusburst being an "incomplete game" is silly. The latest patch contains the data for the myriad licensed DLC ships of shooting yore and would have required the developers, who have long since moved on to other projects, to assemble a new build which would break compatibility with saves for anyone who had previously bought the digital version.

It would have required a bump up from a 1GB card to a 2GB card.

It would have required $75 of optional DLC ships to be included "for free" in a game that launched at its original (admittedly very high, but not LRG's problem) digital price point.

What you get on the card is what you get if you download the game from the PS Store, right now.

It's not as if there is no precedent for this. Deemo didn't get a bump up to a version with all $140 of DLC with its card size increased from 1GB to 4GB, and nobody flipped out over that.

These issues are non-negotiable with the developer and/or digital publisher. Would you rather have the base game as initially downloaded from the PS Store physically, or no physical version at all?

Edit: tl;dr: Unless LRG states upfront the release is complete and will never require a patch, as they did with Skullgirls which turned into a quagmire of developmental, licensing and approval hell, it is going to be the version as purchasable from the PS Store.

And by the way, it's damn honorable LRG and Lab Zero are actually honoring that original statement considering the nightmares of approval, licensing, redev, splitting servers, and paying off Arc System Works the endeavor required.
 
Aokage is the new official Sean Spicer of LRG now on here?

Jokes aside: why would it have required $75 of optional DLC ships to be included "for free"?

Also: the whole point of "preservation" (LRG's major marketing ploy from the start, and a line they happily repeat in every single interview ever) is that you can still play your games in 25 years. The need for patches sort of negates that, doesn't it? The real problem is that those digital releases are unfinished products to begin with. It's not "honorable" to fix that. It's simply the right thing to do.
 

Shizuka

Member
This notion of Dariusburst being an "incomplete game" is silly.

I'm sorry, but not only it's not silly, it's going against what LRG was set out to do. From day one, they've been advertising and advocating for complete games that won't need patches and will come as complete as it can.

Now we're getting base games, no DLC included despite the game having DLC, and now even requiring patches?

It's literally impossible to be more incomplete than that, bar selling a download license on a disc/cart.

Limited Run Games was created and advertised with one purpose and almost two years later, going entirely against that purpose. Specially the whole "selling games otherwise unavailable physically", but Ys Origin, Wonder Boy, Deemo, Chaos Blade HD, etc. Even Josh said as much that he didn't see an issue being a NA distributor for games available physically in every other region.
 

Aokage

Pretty nice guy (apart from the blue shadows thing...)
EDIT: On second though, nah.

The last thing I want to do is incite strife amongst a small and dedicated community that is stronger together.

We can all admit LRG has made some mistakes--there has never really been a business model like theirs before, naturally there are going to be some growing pains.

We can agree to disagree; I respect those who want only truly finished and complete physical versions, as that interpretation hews most closely to LRG's original stated mission. My own view is perhaps more lenient: a Dariusburst or Deemo still has value preserved in physical form even though it may not contain all its optional content, especially since physical versions that did would be impossible to develop and manufacture. I know Doug had once thought aloud about the idea of a separate label, with LRG remaining prestige and truly "complete", and perhaps that's the answer. It's not for me to say.

I present my original, sleep-deprived and overworked post here, but only in the interest of transparency. I'd prefer to not derail the thread. I'll probably stay away from the thread for a while, I may have overstayed my welcome. Carry on, good soldiers of physical media.
 
Limited Run was created with two original purposes.

1. To preserve our own games (as Mighty Rabbit was going broke)

2. Should we be successful, to help other developers preserve their games.

We never promised that every game would have all patches and DLC, only that we would like to see it happen. This is 100% up to the developer/publisher. In the case of DBCS Vita, it would have been more work than feasible for the developer. Integrating patches and DLC in a new build would have made it incompatible with the digital release and the inclusion of all DLC would have resulted in the most expensive Vita card ever released. Ultimately, we decided that the lack of a physical release in the NA region was unfortunate for such a wonderful game, and our release is identical to the Japanese retail, albeit compatible with NA DLC.

At the end of the day, we are an NA publisher. If another company does an Asian release, there’s no reason we shouldn’t as well, especially if the game is well regarded and/or popular. And when possible, as with Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap, we try to offer the most appealing physical version available. Finally, not every NA collector wants to import. Many pride themselves on an exclusively NA region collection.

We have always had transparency about the fact we pursue games we like and would want to own ourselves, even if a release has already occurred elsewhere.

SkullGirls Vita is taking the longest because Lab Zero is actually rebuilding the game as promised. This is truly no small feat.

And… Sean Spicer? Nobody really knows yet how much Aokage has done for us, and ultimately everyone here. Not to mention he isn’t even an LRG employee and has voiced active criticism about what we do several times.

We hope that clears some things up.
 

NDPsycho

Member
Nicely put. You do more right than not. This is a non-issue to me and I doubt I'm alone. I only care about patches if a game is broken without them. That isn't the case here. Of all the things to bitch about, this seems pretty petty.
 
Nicely put. You do more right than not. This is a non-issue to me and I doubt I'm alone. I only care about patches if a game is broken without them. That isn't the case here. Of all the things to bitch about, this seems pretty petty.

It's supposedly a 500Mb patch for a game that fits on a 1Gb cartridge. Unless that patch isn't really a patch, but basically only contains DLC, you would think something isn't right with the original digital release.
 

NDPsycho

Member
It's supposedly a 500Mb patch for a game that fits on a 1Gb cartridge. Unless that patch isn't really a patch, but basically only contains DLC, you would think something isn't right with the digital release.

Can you play the game without it? Then it isn't necessary. I get that you like to argue semantics, but there's not much to be gained here. If you don't have the room for the patch, skip it. The game still plays fine.
 
Can you play the game without it? Then it isn't necessary. I get that you like to argue semantics, but there's not much to be gained here. If you don't have the room for the patch, skip it. The game still plays fine.

Well, if it was actually clear what is exactly in that 500Mb "patch", it would not lead to reactions such as Nachtfalke's. There is obviously confusion now.

Apparently you know more about what that patch does exactly? If it's just DLC, then sure: not a big thing. If what's in there is actually needed when you want to still play your game in the best possible condition in 25 years, that's a different story. I already have enough last and current gen discs in my collection that will be relatively useless whenever their designated digital services are shut down. Those games are "preserved" on physical media too.
 
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