Interview Bard's Tale IV Kickstarter campaign launching on June 2nd

[ROARRR]

The game sold 400k, more than Fallout 1 (and probably 2), and was profitable.

Roguey would have the link to the forum post about it.

Yes now I see why there was a Planescape torment 1,2, 3 and possible 4...oh wait that is fallout

 

[Infinitron]

The game sold 400k, more than Fallout 1 (and probably 2), and was profitable.

Roguey would have the link to the forum post about it.

Yes now I see why there was a Planescape torment 1,2, 3 and possible 4...oh wait that is fallout

To understand why Interplay was upset about PS:T's sales, you have to look at the context. They'd invested in this Planescape license from TSR, which was supposed to be a big deal in those days. They'd spent money developing a whole line of products based on it, all of which were eventually cancelled except PS:T. After a fairly long development cycle, they finally release the game right on the heels of the ultra-successful Baldur's Gate, using the same engine. And it sells only a fraction as much.

So of course they'd dump that license and not make a Torment 2. With Fallout, at least they could slam-dunk a cheap sequel and get all the money without having to pay TSR a percentage.

P.S. Gonna pull a Jaesun here: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?members/dragonul09.19138/ignore

 

[likaq]

So you just confirmed that Wasteland 2 was a major flop

Nope, I confirmed that dragonul09 is retarded. That's all.

PS: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?members/dragonul09.19138/ignore
PS 2 : joined Dec 19, 2014

 

[Ismaul]

salesquels


One does not simply churn a sequel to Torment.
Fallout, on the other hand, we know how it goes: just reskin some orks, add slomo, some cryptic reference to earlier games ("Steel be with you") and you're set for the incoming mulah and 10/10 goty.

 

[Ulrox]

One does not simply churn a sequel to Torment.
Fallout, on the other hand, we know how it goes: just reskin some orks, add slomo, some cryptic reference to earlier games ("Steel be with you") and you're set for the incoming mulah and 10/10 goty.

Which is a testament to how powerful a franchise - how interesting the worldbuilding of that setting is. Interplay could have been revived by the money they got from selling it, but the truth is that they should probably have tried to make a fallout 3 using investor money and gotten revived that way. Herve Caen choose the easy path, and that is why he is a bad businessman.

 

[Pirata Alma Negra]

He just followed up the tradition.

 

[tuluse]

To understand why Interplay was upset about PS:T's sales, you have to look at the context. They'd invested in this Planescape license from TSR, which was supposed to be a big deal in those days. They'd spent money developing a whole line of products based on it, all of which were eventually cancelled except PS:T. After a fairly long development cycle, they finally release the game right on the heels of the ultra-successful Baldur's Gate, using the same engine. And it sells only a fraction as much.

So of course they'd dump that license and not make a Torment 2. With Fallout, at least they could slam-dunk a cheap sequel and get all the money without having to pay TSR a percentage.

P.S. Gonna pull a Jaesun here: http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?members/dragonul09.19138/ignore

There's no evidence that Interplay was unhappy with PST sales. Look at what was happening with the company at the time. After PST was released, they went for easy to make slamdunks. There was no money left to take any chances.

 

[tuluse]

The question is also, how much does an rpg need to sell to be called a :"significant commercial success"? If we're talking skyrim numbers then D:OS, POE, And Wasteland 2 doesn't cut it.

Well yeah, WL2 isn't a "significant commercial success" compared to the video game market as a whole. That was the whole point behind kickstarter and etc. That doesn't mean these games can't be produced at a profit (and it doesn't mean PST wasn't profitable when it was released).

 

[Roguey]

After a fairly long development cycle,

Not quite accurate. Thanks, whoever saved https://archive.is/vrhX2

SW: [laughs] Baldur's Gate was being developed concurrently at the same time Planescape was. So as they would release updates to the Baldur's Gate engine, we'd incorporate them and, shortly thereafter we started making some large changes to their engine as they were developing it. But, I think Planescape originally went into production in late 97, early 98, as it is now, and then got put on hold for 10 months while Fallout 2 was wrapped up. There were around 3 programmers on the team working on modifications for the Planescape engine during that time, but the real development started happening in late 98. We busted through the content of the game in 11 months.

 

[Morality Games]

One does not simply churn a sequel to Torment.
Fallout, on the other hand, we know how it goes: just reskin some orks, add slomo, some cryptic reference to earlier games ("Steel be with you") and you're set for the incoming mulah and 10/10 goty.

Which is a testament to how powerful a franchise - how interesting the worldbuilding of that setting is. Interplay could have been revived by the money they got from selling it, but the truth is that they should probably have tried to make a fallout 3 using investor money and gotten revived that way. Herve Caen choose the easy path, and that is why he is a bad businessman.

Interplay is the corporate equivalent of the Westboro Baptist Church. Its owners are using it (and Titus Interactive's) old backlog for rich dude pocket change.

 

[tyrannosaurus rex]

Jaesun for fuck's sake come back bro! There's newfag edgelords to be kept in check here!!! This place is really going to the dogs, where is the authority when you need it?!!!

Yes we need more moderation so that this place becomes more respectable like Bethesda's forums and developers remove the codex from the blacklist.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Not quite accurate. Thanks, whoever saved https://archive.is/vrhX2

There wasn't a lot of consumer awareness of Planescape prior to its release, and we never really liked the box cover for it.

Poor Guido Henkel.

 

[Zeriel]

Not quite accurate. Thanks, whoever saved https://archive.is/vrhX2

There wasn't a lot of consumer awareness of Planescape prior to its release, and we never really liked the box cover for it.

Poor Guido Henkel.

As I recall, it's not like he liked it either. They just needed something to put on the box and scraped it together.

 

[theSavant]

*impatiently waiting*

 

[mindx2]

Just received word that anyone who pledges in the first 24 hours will get a free game. Chose from Witcher 1 or 2 or Wasteland 2. $20 or above and W2 is Steam or GOG and the Witchers only GOG.

 

[t]

Just received word that anyone who pledges in the first 24 hours will get a free game. Chose from Witcher 1 or 2 or Wasteland 2. $20 or above and W2 is Steam or GOG and the Witchers only GOG.

Sounds silly IMO. Firstly, W1 has been free on gog if I recall correctly, W2 costs usually something around $2. W2 is an obvious choice and will cannibalize the sales really hard.

 

[Infinitron]

Just received word that anyone who pledges in the first 24 hours will get a free game. Chose from Witcher 1 or 2 or Wasteland 2. $20 or above and W2 is Steam or GOG and the Witchers only GOG.

Sounds silly IMO. Firstly, W1 has been free on gog if I recall correctly, W2 costs usually something around $2. W2 is an obvious choice and will cannibalize the sales really hard.

It would be an obvious choice...if 80% or more of first day backers didn't probably own Wasteland 2 already. Even if not, how many sales could it possibly cannibalize? 20,000, 30,000, tops? Maybe a lot less. We don't even know how successful this KS is going to be.

(also, mind your "W2"s )

 

[t]

It would be an obvious choice...if 80% or more of first day backers didn't probably own Wasteland 2 already. Even if not, how many sales could it possibly cannibalize? 20,000, 30,000, tops? Maybe a lot less. We don't even know how successful this KS is going to be.

(also, mind your "W2"s )

Yes, that's correct. I still think that some key resellers might have even lower prices for Wasteland 2 for quite some time (yes, I see now how silly my W2's looked).

Edit: btw. mindx2 proven correct at http://t.co/nwrG2PWl9V

 

[Infinitron]

It would be an obvious choice...if 80% or more of first day backers didn't probably own Wasteland 2 already. Even if not, how many sales could it possibly cannibalize? 20,000, 30,000, tops? Maybe a lot less. We don't even know how successful this KS is going to be.

(also, mind your "W2"s )

Yes, that's correct. I still think that some key resellers might have even lower prices for Wasteland 2 for quite some time (yes, I see now how silly my W2's looked).

Edit: btw. mindx2 proven correct at http://t.co/nwrG2PWl9V

Yeah, I know http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/inde...kstarter-on-june-2.95694/page-35#post-3944335

 

[Zetor]

It may end up working in their favor if the backers give the free W1/2 and WL2 keys to their friends who wouldn't have bought the games otherwise, giving them additional exposure? I'm not a marketing expert, though.

 

[grimace]

What are The Bard's Tale I-III Novellas 3-Pack? Have these been released before? Are they Tracy Hickman-like stories?

The earliest to alpha test is $105 and The Bard's Tale IV Beta Test Access will be at $75. Does anyone want to play the alpha build?

Keep in mind we can continue to pledge to Dungeons of Aledorn. Team21 has a working demo available to download. How similar will Bards Tale be to Aledorn?

 

[Zeriel]

Looks like I'm probably going to pony up for the alpha tier. Lord knows I contribute to so few KS I might as well enjoy myself when I do.

 

[SniperHF]

WL2 keys to their friends who wouldn't have bought the games otherwise, giving them additional exposure? I'm not a marketing expert, though.

InXile already gave out a bazillion WL2 keys from the campaign, so what's another 10k to them
Just a good way to get an extra article or two. Build that hype machine.

The earliest to alpha test is $105 and The Bard's Tale IV Beta Test Access will be at $75. Does anyone want to play the alpha build?

They usually have add-ons for alpha/beta which can end up being cheaper than a full on tier. Assuming you don't care about the digital extras anyway.

I also asked them on the InXile forum if the alpha was going to be a Torment style "systems test" or a normal alpha but didn't get an answer.

 

[Zeriel]

WL2 keys to their friends who wouldn't have bought the games otherwise, giving them additional exposure? I'm not a marketing expert, though.

InXile already gave out a bazillion WL2 keys from the campaign, so what's another 10k to them
Just a good way to get an extra article or two. Build that hype machine.

The earliest to alpha test is $105 and The Bard's Tale IV Beta Test Access will be at $75. Does anyone want to play the alpha build?

They usually have add-ons for alpha/beta which can end up being cheaper than a full on tier. Assuming you don't care about the digital extras anyway.

I also asked them on the InXile forum if the alpha was going to be a Torment style "systems test" or a normal alpha but didn't get an answer.

These Kickstarter fags usually do pretty anemic alphas that hold back most of the content rather than real developer alphas where you're actually testing the game. Same for "betas".

Guess they don't trust their backers to understand what alphas really are. Guess I don't disagree with them for not trusting their backers to be rational, either.

 

[Metro]

Just backed for $25,000.