Have FD missed a trick here?

Lindonius

Lindonius
Premium beta backer here and can't wait to play the game. Now, I chose to come in at PB level after seeing the footage of Alpha 1. When Alpha 2 came out I was twitching on upgrading to Alpha. I got as close as logging in to paypal but felt I couldn't quite justify an extra 100 quid (the Missus would have killed me).

Now having seen that Alpha is finishing on the 25th of this month and that FD are clearly hoping to sell/upgrade a few more alphas I was wondering why at no point did they decide to lower the price for Alpha access? For example:

200 for phase 1
180 for 2
150 for 3
120 for 4

Something like this, given the delays, would probably have hooked me round about the 150 for for stage 3 mark. I don't think I could have resisted paying an extra 50 to be able to fly that new Cobra. I also think I would be happy to shell out an extra 20 sterling right now for a month of alpha access.

Is anyone else thinking FD may have missed a chance to squeeze a bit more cash out of us impatient (but slightly poorer) fanboys?
 

Cosmos

C
To be honest I think that Alpha access was set a little too high from the kickstarter. I'm sure Frontier realise that but its not something they can change now.

I laid down a huge sum to be in the DDF... Many questions asked afterwards but when it comes to Alpha I have no regrets.

The game is freaking amazing.. I've met so many cool people here and we are having a ball. I don't need to sell it to you, get into the Alpha bro..

I for example have a working £10 DIY headtracker as a result - which would have cost £140 if I bought a TrackIR. You'll make a name amongst the key backers and form some excellent friends.. Its much more in my mind than just paying for Alpha.

When you Alpha up, PM me.. I'll be your wingman. You know it makes sense.;)

btw.. you Japanese? I love Asia.. used to work there.
 
Last edited:

Kettle

K
Of course the English are the best!.

There no rush!.

Woo Hoo!.
 

Cmdr Andy B

Cmdr Andy B
considering the uproar it caused when FD rewarded Alpha backers with a 50% discount on ship insurance i'm kind of glad they did miss that trick, cutting the price of alpha at this late stage would of caused yet another firestorm that frankly we could do without.
 

Lindonius

Lindonius
Cosmos said:
I don't need to sell it to you, get into the Alpha bro..
Click to expand...

I want to but I'm not (can't) gonna spend an extra hundred just to get in 1 month earlier!

Cosmos said:
btw.. you Japanese? I love Asia.. used to work there.
Click to expand...

No expat Brit living in Japan. The reason why I haven't upgraded to Alpha is that I have a shared bank account with my Japanese wifey and she'd kill me if she knew I'd spent 200 sterling on a game. 100, ok that just about slipped under the radar and she hasn't noticed but 200? No way.

I think I could sneak out an extra 20 through paypal and get away with it and that's what prompted my OP. Still, my situation is better than most Japanese husbands whose wages get paid straight into their wives' bank account!

So she gets to monitor my spending, and make sure I don't spend too much money on games, while I get to make sure that she doesn't shell out 200 quid on a pair of shoes.

Quid pro quo. ;)
 

Amorelia

A
"The Alphas wouldn't like it" is the only rationale I've seen for not reducing the price, although nobody at FD has commented at all.
 

JeffRyan

JeffRyan
Amorelia said:
"The Alphas wouldn't like it" is the only rationale I've seen for not reducing the price, although nobody at FD has commented at all.
Click to expand...

I don't think it's a case of 'The Alphas wouldn't like it' (I think most of us wouldn't mind at this point) so much as it isn't considered fair. This is the reasoning behind it. Same thing would be said if Beta was lowered. Also FD don't want too many people in the Alpha so having the price cap is actually a help. Michael Brookes said at least once Frontier wanted a hard cut-off for the Alpha in December but left the option opened because it was ASKED for, with many who weren't in the Alpha already stating that it was fair the price was kept at the KS level.
 

Amorelia

A
JeffRyan said:
I don't think it's a case of 'The Alphas wouldn't like it' (I think most of us wouldn't mind at this point) so much as it isn't considered fair. This is the reasoning behind it. Same thing would be said if Beta was lowered. Also FD don't want too many people in the Alpha so having the price cap is actually a help. Michael Brookes said at least once Frontier wanted a hard cut-off for the Alpha in December but left the option opened because it was ASKED for, with many who weren't in the Alpha already stating that it was fair the price was kept at the KS level.
Click to expand...
Who would it be unfair to, if not the Alphas? Yes, I'm sure if FD really wanted more, they'd adjust the price to bring more in - whether or not some felt it unfair. But it seems they do still want some, from the latest newsletter.
 

Adept

Adept
There is a certain sense in the suggestion that something like the Alpha 1.0 could eventually be re-packaged into a free download demo for the game, but that only makes sense once the game is out and there is a chance to buy and play after you try.

Frontier only need so many alpha and beta testers. For their strategy luring in many more isn't actually a good thong.
 

Yaffle

Volunteer Moderator
Yaffle
I think it would be a road to nowhere, with the alpha closing few people would upgrade anyway ("if I wait a couple more weeks I'll get the beta") who haven't already. It would annoy some of the alpha backers, so probably best just to avoid the bullet at this stage. There is little upside to FD in that.

What maybe worthwhile thinking about is the release to the premium beta (and beta?) people of the single player missions on or after 25 April. By all accounts those are stable and act as a good introduction/tutorial. It would give the betas something to see and do, it may encourage people to move to the beta, and it would help those in the beta start to get their eye in ready for the beta itself dropping to them.
 

JeffRyan

JeffRyan
Amorelia said:
Who would it be unfair to, if not the Alphas? Yes, I'm sure if FD really wanted more, they'd adjust the price to bring more in - whether or not some felt it unfair. But it seems they do still want some, from the latest newsletter.
Click to expand...

See the mess 22Cans caused when the started selling Godus Alpha on Steam...
 

Zieman

Zieman
Yaffle said:
What maybe worthwhile thinking about is the release to the premium beta (and beta?) people of the single player missions on or after 25 April. By all accounts those are stable and act as a good introduction/tutorial. It would give the betas something to see and do, it may encourage people to move to the beta, and it would help those in the beta start to get their eye in ready for the beta itself dropping to them.
Click to expand...
This would get my vote, if there was a vote ongoing. :)
 

SAB380

SAB380
Lindonius said:
Now having seen that Alpha is finishing on the 25th of this month and that FD are clearly hoping to sell/upgrade a few more alphas I was wondering why at no point did they decide to lower the price for Alpha access? For example:
Click to expand...

Alpha isn't finishing on the 25th.
The ability to buy/upgrade to alpha is finishing at that time.
 

kilvenny

kilvenny
One thing we do not know yet is whether the Alpha/Beta piece will kick in again when we hit the expansions that are planned. Personally I think the price was deliberately high to avoid having lots of people. Given what has been announced about Alphas testing beta's first then bringing in a price reduction makes no sense because likely you would have a huge take up. After all for a PB backer 20 quid to suddenly get every release first is a no brainer.
 

Lindonius

Lindonius
I think it would only be unfair to the people who have RECENTLY bought/upgraded to Alpha. If you paid 200 last week and they reduced it to 120 for the last month then I can see how you might be a bit miffed. But the reason why I say "missed a trick" here is that if they had priced it like in my OP from the start, then it would have been fair. You pay more to get in at an earlier stage and that price drops incrementally the nearer you get to beta. So the 200 boys got in at Alpha 1 and got a month or so more than the 180 boys who got in at Alpha 2 and so on....

It would have been fair and they would have made more money.

They technically have already done it for Beta, introducing "premium beta" and "regular beta" tiers.
 

Qpid Stunt

Qpid Stunt
Toumal said:
*shrugs* I am an alpha backer and i would not mind an alpha price drop. But that's just me.
Click to expand...

Same here, I wouldnt mind people joining Alpha and having a price drop if it was a fair drop. I personally wouldn't back to Alpha now for £200 with over half the testing already done and no guarentees on how long is left, ok, the 50% insurance is a nice bonus but, once you've actually played E: D (in the current environment), thats not as big a deal as its been blown up to be.

Changing it now however would raise more issues and threads as people who paid £200 last week would feel it was unfair. I think it would be a PR nightmare to change things now instead of at the onset of testing, which is a shame.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom