WyldKat wrote on Aug 5, 2012, 16:33:

Cutter wrote on Aug 5, 2012, 15:57:
I checked this out again a few months back and it's a good game in a lot of ways. Had they done this properly out of the gate this game would have been a major success. I still love their variety of races, mounts and classes. Love their bard.

The housing/decoration system, as well as the diplomacy system was pretty cool too. Oh and you could own and sail ships which hasn't been done since what, Ultima Online?

bhcompy wrote on Aug 4, 2012, 15:25:
5600U laptop.. that's a pretty big laptop..

RailWizard wrote on Aug 4, 2012, 01:31:
So the solution is to make a spectacle of themselves? I'm just trying to see the end game here, and right now, it's pretty fucking foggy. What exactly does full equality look like? Are the rich going to start partying with the poor? Sometimes you just have to live with what you have and try to be happy with it, or kill yourself.

I think the reality is they will never be fully accepted, and the sooner they learn to live with that, the better it will be for everyone. Or we can fight about it some more.

RailWizard wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 23:21:

NKD wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 22:13:
Telling a minority group to shut up and stop getting noticed so things will be easier on them probably isn't the right attitude to have.

..and yet, nothing could be more true. If you want to be part of the larger community, that means not having your own that separates you from it. Stop acting like victims, and maybe you'll stop being treated like one. There are so many examples of this in life I'm not even gonna bother giving examples. I do remember this lesson being drilled in many times in grade school though. No one gets special privilege. Anyone attempting to extort it was punished. Simple as that.

Burrito of Peace wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 18:34:
Going out of your way to self-label and segregate seems to be attention whoring and just invites the problems one would ostensibly assume they'd like to avoid.

Agent.X7 wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 19:05:

Null argument used by the media, analysts, and people who have an interest in the company making more money.

Games = Entertainment. No entertainment industry ever keeps up with inflation. They can't, or they'd go out of business. Entertainment is worth what you can get consumers to pay for it. Inflation works best for things people need, or at least think they need. Cars, food, homes, clothing, etc.

Look at home movies.

VHS was at the highest install base when decks were cheap and movies cost $20.

DVD - highest install base when players were cheap and movies cost $20.

Blu-Ray - new movies starting to come out at $20 and players prices continually falling.

Meanwhile the cost to make movies has continually risen and producers and studios have had to find creative ways to turn a profit.

Yes, movies release to theaters. Guess what? Ticket prices at theaters have also not kept up with inflation.

Concerts? They tried, but once ticket prices got really high, people stopped going. Not keeping up with inflation.

Developers can bitch about how much they lose to used sales, but if they simply dropped prices people would have more incentive to pay the developer and not stores like mine. I have dozens of customers who won't even touch a game until it comes in used so they can save a few bucks. They don't care about who gets the money, they just want to save their own money.

Hell, I have customers still playing PS2 and Xbox games because they aren't willing to invest in a new system until they can get every game for less than $20 and the system for less than a hundred. All of that money and the developers don't get any of it. Sometimes it makes a lot more sense to sell more for less.

kyleb wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 17:34:

NKD wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 16:44:
It doesn't really cost as much as you guys think to get a few lines out of someone.

According to Reuters:

Chapelsky recalls a demand by one top talent for $750,000 to do an hour's worth of voice work. He said it is common for star talent to receive in the high five figures for a single session. One star got more than $500,000 for a single session.

Given that, your "3% of the total budget" guesstimate seems at least a bit low.

Yakubs wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 17:20:

NKD wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 16:44:
I'd be surprised if it was more than 3% of the total budget for the game

But what's the total budget? Also, what kind of ROI do you think they're hoping for on this game and how much does that 3% cut into it?

Tumbler wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 16:14:
Lower prices. $40 should be the norm. $50-$60 for the biggest games. Don't and you're only signing your own pink slip. Enjoy!

fawker wrote on Aug 3, 2012, 12:53:
Far too little, far too late.

You still can't even sort stuff the way you want.

It's like looking through a bargain bin at Walmart.