Why can't the PC release be the same for all countries?

Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 11:43 pm

I'm anxious to play this game, but since i live in South America (Chile specifically) i'm getting the game the 12th just like the European countries and not the 9th like the North americans.

the thing is however that i'm playing on PC (like i figure most will be) and i gotta wonder...if we have digital distribution on the PC (steam and all that jazz) why not release it the same day for all countries? would be less painfull for the players and the company i guess to release it like that maybe?
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Megan Stabler
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:54 pm

I'm anxious to play this game, but since i live in South America (Chile specifically) i'm getting the game the 12th just like the European countries and not the 9th like the North americans.

the thing is however that i'm playing on PC (like i figure most will be) and i gotta wonder...if we have digital distribution on the PC (steam and all that jazz) why not release it the same day for all countries? would be less painfull for the players and the company i guess to release it like that maybe?


More politics than the public is able to understand mostly. I'd imagine that South America, as a country, has it's own merits about what they allow in video game's in their country, and they took longer to green light the game? That's the only thing I can think of.
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Fanny Rouyé
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 2:56 pm

not really, they're pretty mellow with games down here in south america most of the time, maybe a couple of disgruntled mothers here and there but that's it :laugh:

If anyone from the dev team is reading this, please release the game at the same time on steam for everyone, it would be much appreciated by the community in general i bet :P
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abi
 
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Post » Thu Aug 19, 2010 3:14 am

If Steam had a worldwide release date, retailers would be furious because they'd lose a [censored]load of customers.

Retailers don't (often) have worldwide releasedates because printing games at a steady pace is cheaper than printing them all in one go (which would require the use of more, expensive hardware). technically you could stockpile games while steadily printing them and then ship'm all in one go, but then you'd have to pay for a place to stockpile them.
Similar for shipping costs. getting several tons of games out in one go to arrive everywhere at the same time is more expensive than sending them out in batches. You could of course send them in batches to stores and hold the stores themselves responsible for stocking them and only releasing them at the allowed date. But stores break those agreements all the time even now.

Basically it's due to a mess of cost-cutting measures and (un)fair competition.

(and I haven't even touched localisation yet, which is often a rather 'at the last minute' business)
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Tasha Clifford
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 10:11 pm

Well the more you know.(shooting star turns into a rainbow.)I thought it had to do more with ratings and sales tallies or when stuff gets shipped out. Tuesday is the big release day in the US, and I think its friday in the U.K,correct me if I am wrong u.k people.
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Ella Loapaga
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 1:50 pm

If Steam had a worldwide release date, retailers would be furious because they'd lose a [censored]load of customers.

Retailers don't (often) have worldwide releasedates because printing games at a steady pace is cheaper than printing them all in one go (which would require the use of more, expensive hardware). technically you could stockpile games while steadily printing them and then ship'm all in one go, but then you'd have to pay for a place to stockpile them.
Similar for shipping costs. getting several tons of games out in one go to arrive everywhere at the same time is more expensive than sending them out in batches. You could of course send them in batches to stores and hold the stores themselves responsible for stocking them and only releasing them at the allowed date. But stores break those agreements all the time even now.

Basically it's due to a mess of cost-cutting measures and (un)fair competition.

(and I haven't even touched localisation yet, which is often a rather 'at the last minute' business)


In a word : Capitalism then.

Hm,i didn't knew that,thanks.
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Philip Rua
 
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Post » Thu Aug 19, 2010 12:36 am

Yeah that svcks huge balls.


I wanna have it tomorrow too. :(
It's not fair.

But i think we just have to deal with it. -.-
I hate different release dates. :banghead:
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Trista Jim
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:32 pm

wouldn't a VPN or proxy technically work :angel:

trick steam into thinking you're somewhere else.
it's a steamworks game anyway so why not release it on the same day.
(related: who seriously buys retail for a steamworks game unless he can't get it otherwise?
either way you'd need an internet connection for steam to work)
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JESSE
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 6:02 pm

it has nothing to do with shipping, games go gold weeks in advance to release. it's mostly sales charts for various regions. your kidding yourself if you think a bunch of disks printed in singapore and malaysia take less time to ship to the contigous USA than to canada and south america. and i'm sure australia is a much shorter trip. if you saw what DNF's fans did when the international release was announced to be earlier than the us release. talk about racism

i agree wholeheartedly with steam launching globally. it will FORCE international retaillers to follow suit or be left in the dust. let them complain the internet model has changed everything and business's who refuse to adapt will be crushed eventually. why prolong the drama.
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Bambi
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:30 pm

wouldn't a VPN or proxy technically work :angel:

trick steam into thinking you're somewhere else.
it's a steamworks game anyway so why not release it on the same day.
(related: who seriously buys retail for a steamworks game unless he can't get it otherwise?
either way you'd need an internet connection for steam to work)

My retail copy was 2/3 the price of the steam version and has more stuff in it, that's why I don't buy almost any game through steam ;)
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Honey Suckle
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 2:59 pm

I would REALLY REALLY REALLY want 10th release in EU. I can't play at all on friday or during the whole weekend... So I'm afraid my release date will be May 16th :cry:
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Rik Douglas
 
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Post » Wed Aug 18, 2010 3:34 pm

My retail copy was 2/3 the price of the steam version and has more stuff in it, that's why I don't buy almost any game through steam ;)

Oh... right
wait, why is it like that? I'm guessing steam is bound to a certain price or something because of retail or the publisher
and they discriminate against the euro.
so yeah to a certain extent retail is better because of price shenanigans
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Scared humanity
 
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