Is early access starting to go a bit too far?

[The_Imp_ZA]

I saw this on reddit yesterday. It's a rather distasteful move. What if the buyer doesn't have internet connectivity, how can they download any updates?

Early Access was already pushing it, this is just plain ludicrous. Selling an unfinished game at retail, where there is a greater chance of an uninformed person buying it that doesn't know what Early Access entails, just so that you can make a quick buck to finish the game (apparently). There's nothing stopping them from not finishing it and screwing over everyone.

I've only ever bought 1 Early Access game, and that was Divinity: Original Sin. Considering it was releasing the following week, and was basically finished, it was worth the gamble. I usually recommend people stay away from Early Access, there are more than enough complete games on Steam to keep you busy, without having to buy incomplete ones. This type of business practice, coupled with excessive dlc's and retailer/platform specific content is what is going to cause a crash in the video game market. Publishers and developers are being horribly shortsighted, and the majority of consumers are eating it up, even after getting burned several times.

Unfortunately, the only way to get this kind of behavior to stop is to vote with your wallet, which many people don't seem willing to do. You'd think with Steam basically opening the flood gates to the piles of utterly garbage software, people would be more careful with their money.

This image sums it up rather nicely:



Although, in the case of Early Access, you're only getting a quarter of the game, and expected to throw down money in hopes that you'll get the rest.

[Wyzak]

I saw this on reddit yesterday. It's a rather distasteful move. What if the buyer doesn't have internet connectivity, how can they download any updates?

Why buy it then?

[The_Imp_ZA]

Why buy it then?

Unless the box states that it requires internet connectivity, in a clear and easy to understand way, how will the customers know? The majority of people interested in games don't read forums or articles. We are the minority in that regard. They see and cool looking game, and assume it's finished because it's being sold at retail.

We can only see the front of the box, but it's almost misleading advertising.

"Early Access Version: Includes free update to full game"

Game Company: Hey, buy our unfinished Early Access game and we'll give you the full version for free! Aren't we so nice, we're doing you a favor pal

Uniformed Customoer: Wow thanks man! What cool guys

Then when said customer gets home, and the game doesn't work or is in a broken state, what do they do then? How do returns work with retail Early Access games? It sounds like a nightmare. To me, this seems like they are seeing are far over they can screw consumers.

When you back a game on Kickstarter, there are no legal obligations for the developers to deliver on what they have promised. When you sell a game on Steam or at retail, you are under legal obligation, in most countries, to provide the features you have outlined in your product description, otherwise it is false advertising and you can get hammered for it. That's my understanding of it anyway.

In fact its kind of cool since some people might not have a great internet connections to download the full game.

This is exactly the problem. Does the box state how big the updates will be? Early Access games usually get updated a lot. Even if the buyer doesn't have good internet and thinks it's a good idea, when the updates hit, he's going to be out of luck.

Not to mention that after a couple of updates, the stores will be selling outdated copies of the game. Seeing how massively some Early Access games change during development, it could even lead to a game being falsely advertised. For example, say a game promised co-op support, then during development, cuts had to be made. The box states there will be co-op support, but the game will never have it. What happens now?

Early Access games already have too many 'what if's'. Selling them at retail is insane.

[Graal]

I don't think update size is necessarily such a big problem for most people. What is problematic is that a simple box cannot provide all the information necessary to convey exactly what Early Access is and how it works. You're telling people your game is Early Access, but they need to actually go to Steam to see what exactly Early Access entails.

This again takes us back to the uninformed majority/informed minority thing we were discussing in the Watchdogs thread. This is simply taking advantage of gullible people, who are a lot more numerous in the physical retail sector.

Early Access is a blank slate. Steam's terms state that the game can change entirely throughout its development and even that the developers are under no obligation to finish the game. You buy it as-is and that's the end of it. The developers are under no obligation to add anything past your purchase date. Steam won't do anything if these people decide to stop development tomorrow. Are retail customers going to be made fully aware of this when they purchase it?

The box states there will be co-op support, but the game will never have it. What happens now?

Nail on the head.

This is a crummy move by a developer who has already made a series of crummy moves.

[The_Imp_ZA]

Are retail customers going to be made fully aware of this when they purchase it?

According to a post on Rock Paper Shotgun, there is no explanation of Early Access of the back of the box.

"There is no explanation on the back of the box when I checked them in GAME today."

So yeah, these guys are trying to trick gullible consumers into buying their half finished game. If I was a kickstarter backer I would feel pretty crap right now.

[oltman]

Uniformed Customoer:

That is what I would feel like if they try to sell me an Early Access game in a box. A dressed up, uniformed custo-vlieg-in-jou-moer... Well said!

(I know spelling mistakes creep in when we type in rage, but this is the most fitting one yet!)

[The_Imp_ZA]

That is what I would feel like if they try to sell me an Early Access game in a box. A dressed up, uniformed custo-vlieg-in-jou-moer... Well said!

(I know spelling mistakes creep in when we type in rage, but this is the most fitting one yet!)

I did that on purpose.