Dear TTG: Why must you continually slap me across the face? I've got a nice long post earlier in this thread explaining my disappointment over the move pulling the "free" episode until February, so I won't rehash it here; but I do feel the need to add my frustration over your new pop-up ad. Now every time I log in, I get a pop-up saying welcome back, that my "free" episode won't be available until February, and that I should just buy the whole thing now for 25 bucks. Not only have you pulled a crappy marketing move right before the game went live, but you feel the need to remind me of it everytime I log in.
As has been mentioned by others, this wouldn't be such a big deal if a demo were offered so that those of us who are not computer gamers could test to see if the game will run on what we have. But I refuse to pay for a game that I have no assurance will play on my system. (And that is not condoning pirating the game. If I can test it and the game plays, I will purchase it legally, but I will not do so until I either get to try a demo or the "free" episode.)
As has been mentioned by others, this wouldn't be such a big deal if a demo were offered so that those of us who are not computer gamers could test to see if the game will run on what we have. But I refuse to pay for a game that I have no assurance will play on my system. (And that is not condoning pirating the game. If I can test it and the game plays, I will purchase it legally, but I will not do so until I either get to try a demo or the "free" episode.)
Well...The Telltale I was familiar with was pretty good about refunding purchases if it turned out that the buyer was unable to run the game decently with their system.
I recall several instances back around the time of ToMI and especially before S&M season 3 where Jake suggested buying if you were unsure because individual episodes wouldn't be available immediately to test.
Don't know if they'd still be willing to issue a refund if it didn't run acceptably or not. As I'd mentioned, I haven't kept up with Telltale for probably 5-6 months, so...Given some of the changes I'm noticing, I'd be hesitant to say just try and hope you'll get your money back if it doesn't work out.
We're just 1 vote shy of 100, which makes a good round number to draw some conclusions. Anyone else care to express their opinion?
The poll doesn't have a decent "I had already bought the game well before the free episode was even mentioned" option. But I'll vote for the second option, I guess that's closest.
Seems a bit foolish but there's no reason for people to be angry. The game won't get any more expensive so just wait. Or if you're desperate to play it, buy it now? Telltale used to be pretty good with refunding games if they didn't run on people's computers, I expect they still are.
I brought the blu-ray trilogy, here in the UK, and haven't got a code for the free episode. Does it only come with the limited edition sets or something? Not that i'm too fussed as I brought the game anyway. But I would give the code to my 13 yr old nephew who loves BTTF.
You know, I bought the whole thing cause I couldn't wait for the PS3 version...and I figured that since my laptop met most of the minimum requirements, it would at least have a chance of running it. Why is there not an option for, say, "I bought it cause I'm a huge BTTF fan and didn't feel like waiting and don't feel forced at all!"?
Also, I am surprised that none of the TellTale guys have chimed in on this...at least some response might ease some tension here guys.
Why is there not an option for, say, "I bought it cause I'm a huge BTTF fan and didn't feel like waiting and don't feel forced at all!"?
Fact is, the goal of the poll is to establish how people feel about Telltale's move (delaying the availability of the free episode) and whether they bought the game or not as a consequence of that.
If you bought the game before Telltale's announcement or don't care, it's clear that this move had no influence on you, so I'm afraid the poll wouldn't apply to you.
However, some people who bought the game feel strongly about people complaining, hence the "You can wait" option.
Considering nearly half of the people who voted feel that waiting or paying are perfectly fine options, and better than a quarter of them will probably end up buying eventually anyway, I really feel it's the angry minority being the most vocal and stretching this quite ridiculously. People will always find something to complain about, but to complain about a free episode? Especially one given at the beginning of the series (it will most likely come out just before episode 2 keeping my question valid)? Do you people not realize that they've never offered anything like this before this early in a season, and all you're making them do is realize how ungrateful you are? Keep it up and you'll probably never see another free episode offered so early in the season.
How are we supposed to know that we want to purchase the full series if they arn't willing to even release the first episode we were supposed to get? How will we know if it's a game we like? Is there at least a demo somewhere?
How are we supposed to know that we want to purchase the full series if they arn't willing to even release the first episode we were supposed to get? How will we know if it's a game we like? Is there at least a demo somewhere?
You can still buy the series if you want after the episode is released. Telltale could have given you no clue, and just told you to buy it on blind faith, but they were instead generous enough to give away a full episode of their game for free.
Just figured that it would make sense to release the free episode when it became available for purchase. Seems logical enough.
Telltale seems to have a VERY wierd marketing ploy with this game.
First off is the free episode, but telltale has done that before(see sam and max 104), then there is this game being cheaper then all of the other games, yet again, most likely from the free episode, but then came the sales.
For those that preorderd the game, got a CRAP LOAD of sales.
Free Puzzle agent, 50% off Bone, 50% off sam and max stuff
80% off EVERYTHING!!! Someone place a $300 order for $20!!!!!
Yeah, telltale's BTTF ideas, and logic ISNT apparantly connected in any way.
Just figured that it would make sense to release the free episode when it became available for purchase. Seems logical enough.
Not really. If they released it for free when the episode first came out there would be no incentive to buy the season. People who brought the season would have one episode to play and people who didn't would have one episode to play. There would be no advantage to paying anything until the second episode arrived. Now when the second episode does arrive people who have brought the season will have two episodes to play and the people who didn't would have one. Sounds fair to me
We haven't announced a release date for Episode 2 yet.
My apologies, I read it on another website as listed as the 15th, and didn't realize that was not an official release date. I think my mistake was that I was thinking of the PS3 release date for episode 1 and got it confused
Well, we're at 156 votes now, and while these numbers are certainly not statistically significant, at least they can give us an idea about Telltale's move and its consequences.
The first thing to note is that the first figure, i.e. people who feel "Good" about Telltale's move (which may seem to have "won" this poll) is actually the least relevant in regard to Telltale's strategy, because those people haven't changed their plans and did as they would have done before. Delaying the free episode didn't change a thing for them, so in the end it's been an ineffective move. As I said above, the "You can wait" option was there also for people who had bought the game before Telltale's announcement - and judging by the posts in this thread it's been used quite a lot by them.
Indeed, the most important figure is the second one, i.e. people who bought the game as a result of the announcement. At a little more than 13 percent (even ignoring people who voted that just because they would have bought it anyway) it is hardly a good figure to begin with and it cannot be deemed a success.
Then we have people who have been disappointed, to various degrees; more than 45%. A very important thing to note is that some of them have been alienated and have decided they don't trust Telltale any more. I guess that most of these people were the ones who got their coupon from the BTTF Blu Ray box set, came here to download their free game and felt slapped in the face. It is quite possible that by now they will have all but forgotten their coupon and lost interest in the game, which would mean that at least a certain amount of Telltale's marketing investment (if there was any) with the Blu Ray set has been practically lost; but that's just speculation.
I'd say that the number of lost customers, which could potentially buy many games, when compared to the number of gained sales, which are just for this game, make this a losing move; and when we take into consideration that the rest were disappointed and either didn't buy or mean lost full-price sales, it's easy to see that in all probability this strategy backfired.
However, in the end, only Telltale knows how this thing worked out.
I have to add that I am Telltale fan (not a fanboy, though) and I have bought almost all of their games, but I felt utterly disappointed by this move and I'm still not sure I'll buy this game.
As for me after I get the free game I'm still not buying the game until all of them come out. Steam usually has great sales where they will go for 50-75% off. Hmm 5 episodes after they all have came out for sure for only $62.5 to $31.25 that's worth the risk for me to wait for a steam deal.
As for me after I get the free game I'm still not buying the game until all of them come out. Steam usually has great sales where they will go for 50-75% off. Hmm 5 episodes after they all have came out for sure for only $62.5 to $31.25 that's worth the risk for me to wait for a steam deal.
FYI: for $24.99 (the current price in Telltale's store), you get ALL FIVE episodes, not just one.
FYI: for $24.99 (the current price in Telltale's store), you get ALL FIVE episodes, not just one.
Very true, but at $31 bucks that would be all 5 and you know for a FACT it's not going to cancel before it's done. There are many games that are out to make more parts to a series. Penny Arcade's "On the Rain-Slick" comes to mind. They planned on a 4 part of the game and only made 2 and the 3rd was made into a comic and the 4th was just dropped.
I hope they do make all 5 but until they do I'd rather wait and ensure they will all come out before I spend the money. Again 61.5 to 31 bucks is more but at least you KNOW they have been released.
Very true, but at $31 bucks that would be all 5 and you know for a FACT it's not going to cancel before it's done. There are many games that are out to make more parts to a series. Penny Arcade's "On the Rain-Slick" comes to mind. They planned on a 4 part of the game and only made 2 and the 3rd was made into a comic and the 4th was just dropped.
I hope they do make all 5 but until they do I'd rather wait and ensure they will all come out before I spend the money. Again 61.5 to 31 bucks is more but at least you KNOW they have been released.
Telltale's released three seasons of Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island, Strong Bad, and Wallace & Gromit episodically and completed them. I think it's safe to say that they're not gonna cut it off midseason.
Very true, but at $31 bucks that would be all 5 and you know for a FACT it's not going to cancel before it's done. There are many games that are out to make more parts to a series. Penny Arcade's "On the Rain-Slick" comes to mind. They planned on a 4 part of the game and only made 2 and the 3rd was made into a comic and the 4th was just dropped.
I hope they do make all 5 but until they do I'd rather wait and ensure they will all come out before I spend the money. Again 61.5 to 31 bucks is more but at least you KNOW they have been released.
I love it when people come here without even knowing what telltale does.
Telltale ONLY does episodic gaming(with the exception of pilots, and CSI) and have never failed once to complete the seasons.
Of course what you didnt know was very new and better than what other people have thought of.
Mainly the I payed for BTTF for $25 and I know that people have already said this 7,000 times, and even on the store page in big bold letters, it says that all 5 episodes are for the price of $25, but am I paying for the whole season? Or just episode 1 which has already stated to be free many times and this season so far isnt even at the point where we can buy one episode at the time.
Very true, but at $31 bucks that would be all 5 and you know for a FACT it's not going to cancel before it's done. There are many games that are out to make more parts to a series. Penny Arcade's "On the Rain-Slick" comes to mind. They planned on a 4 part of the game and only made 2 and the 3rd was made into a comic and the 4th was just dropped.
I hope they do make all 5 but until they do I'd rather wait and ensure they will all come out before I spend the money. Again 61.5 to 31 bucks is more but at least you KNOW they have been released.
Sigh......So I have to add it as a non-steam game.
You are way off, where are you getting 61.5 and 31? It's 24.99 for ALL 5 EPISODES, not just the first! You don't pay anywhere near what you are inferring. Also, Telltale is a company with a proven track record and a monthly release schedule that they actually have kept in the past. You have nothing to fear, trust me.
You are way off, where are you getting 61.5 and 31? It's 24.99 for ALL 5 EPISODES, not just the first! You don't pay anywhere near what you are inferring. Also, Telltale is a company with a proven track record and a monthly release schedule that they actually have kept in the past. You have nothing to fear, trust me.
That too.
No one seems to get that. Even when telltale flat out says it their store page.
While "Eyes of the Storm" (the third book in the Bone saga) was announced as "coming soon" for a while, your comparison does not exactly work as the Bone games were never an episodic series and Telltale did not ask people to pay for all three games, only to give up on Bone after "The Great Cow Race".
To (try to) dispel mike11's fears, I'll just point out that Telltale has never stopped partway through the release of any season which they were selling as a season from the get go (so, comparisons to Telltale's truncated iPad season releases would also be fallacious as those games were sold as single episodes).
Now now...they can't help it if someone yanked the licensing out from under them. Especially since the rights for Bone were purchased by Warner Bros. which is a much bigger company than Telltale. That's not to say that I wouldn't have enjoyed more than two Bone games.
Now now...they can't help it if someone yanked the licensing out from under them. Especially since the rights for Bone were purchased by Warner Bros. which is a much bigger company than Telltale. That's not to say that I wouldn't have enjoyed more than two Bone games.
Kinda makes you wish Universal had purchased the rights for Bone.
Comments
As has been mentioned by others, this wouldn't be such a big deal if a demo were offered so that those of us who are not computer gamers could test to see if the game will run on what we have. But I refuse to pay for a game that I have no assurance will play on my system. (And that is not condoning pirating the game. If I can test it and the game plays, I will purchase it legally, but I will not do so until I either get to try a demo or the "free" episode.)
Well...The Telltale I was familiar with was pretty good about refunding purchases if it turned out that the buyer was unable to run the game decently with their system.
I recall several instances back around the time of ToMI and especially before S&M season 3 where Jake suggested buying if you were unsure because individual episodes wouldn't be available immediately to test.
Don't know if they'd still be willing to issue a refund if it didn't run acceptably or not. As I'd mentioned, I haven't kept up with Telltale for probably 5-6 months, so...Given some of the changes I'm noticing, I'd be hesitant to say just try and hope you'll get your money back if it doesn't work out.
The poll doesn't have a decent "I had already bought the game well before the free episode was even mentioned" option. But I'll vote for the second option, I guess that's closest.
Would if I could, but it's not on PSN. I'd gladly pre-order the season a la Sam and Max season 3, but I don't see the option to do so.
Just curious like...
Also, I am surprised that none of the TellTale guys have chimed in on this...at least some response might ease some tension here guys.
Fact is, the goal of the poll is to establish how people feel about Telltale's move (delaying the availability of the free episode) and whether they bought the game or not as a consequence of that.
If you bought the game before Telltale's announcement or don't care, it's clear that this move had no influence on you, so I'm afraid the poll wouldn't apply to you.
However, some people who bought the game feel strongly about people complaining, hence the "You can wait" option.
You can still buy the series if you want after the episode is released. Telltale could have given you no clue, and just told you to buy it on blind faith, but they were instead generous enough to give away a full episode of their game for free.
Telltale seems to have a VERY wierd marketing ploy with this game.
First off is the free episode, but telltale has done that before(see sam and max 104), then there is this game being cheaper then all of the other games, yet again, most likely from the free episode, but then came the sales.
For those that preorderd the game, got a CRAP LOAD of sales.
Free Puzzle agent, 50% off Bone, 50% off sam and max stuff
80% off EVERYTHING!!! Someone place a $300 order for $20!!!!!
Yeah, telltale's BTTF ideas, and logic ISNT apparantly connected in any way.
Check yer math there, buddo.
It comes out when the second episode comes out.
We haven't announced a release date for Episode 2 yet.
My apologies, I read it on another website as listed as the 15th, and didn't realize that was not an official release date. I think my mistake was that I was thinking of the PS3 release date for episode 1 and got it confused
The first thing to note is that the first figure, i.e. people who feel "Good" about Telltale's move (which may seem to have "won" this poll) is actually the least relevant in regard to Telltale's strategy, because those people haven't changed their plans and did as they would have done before. Delaying the free episode didn't change a thing for them, so in the end it's been an ineffective move. As I said above, the "You can wait" option was there also for people who had bought the game before Telltale's announcement - and judging by the posts in this thread it's been used quite a lot by them.
Indeed, the most important figure is the second one, i.e. people who bought the game as a result of the announcement. At a little more than 13 percent (even ignoring people who voted that just because they would have bought it anyway) it is hardly a good figure to begin with and it cannot be deemed a success.
Then we have people who have been disappointed, to various degrees; more than 45%. A very important thing to note is that some of them have been alienated and have decided they don't trust Telltale any more. I guess that most of these people were the ones who got their coupon from the BTTF Blu Ray box set, came here to download their free game and felt slapped in the face. It is quite possible that by now they will have all but forgotten their coupon and lost interest in the game, which would mean that at least a certain amount of Telltale's marketing investment (if there was any) with the Blu Ray set has been practically lost; but that's just speculation.
I'd say that the number of lost customers, which could potentially buy many games, when compared to the number of gained sales, which are just for this game, make this a losing move; and when we take into consideration that the rest were disappointed and either didn't buy or mean lost full-price sales, it's easy to see that in all probability this strategy backfired.
However, in the end, only Telltale knows how this thing worked out.
I have to add that I am Telltale fan (not a fanboy, though) and I have bought almost all of their games, but I felt utterly disappointed by this move and I'm still not sure I'll buy this game.
I really don't care when I get the download since after all it's free what right do I have to get mad. I just want to take to game over to steam
Not if you buy it from Telltale's store (but it's available on Steam for the same price).
Very true, but at $31 bucks that would be all 5 and you know for a FACT it's not going to cancel before it's done. There are many games that are out to make more parts to a series. Penny Arcade's "On the Rain-Slick" comes to mind. They planned on a 4 part of the game and only made 2 and the 3rd was made into a comic and the 4th was just dropped.
I hope they do make all 5 but until they do I'd rather wait and ensure they will all come out before I spend the money. Again 61.5 to 31 bucks is more but at least you KNOW they have been released.
Sigh......So I have to add it as a non-steam game.
Telltale's released three seasons of Sam & Max, Tales of Monkey Island, Strong Bad, and Wallace & Gromit episodically and completed them. I think it's safe to say that they're not gonna cut it off midseason.
I love it when people come here without even knowing what telltale does.
Telltale ONLY does episodic gaming(with the exception of pilots, and CSI) and have never failed once to complete the seasons.
Of course what you didnt know was very new and better than what other people have thought of.
Mainly the I payed for BTTF for $25 and I know that people have already said this 7,000 times, and even on the store page in big bold letters, it says that all 5 episodes are for the price of $25, but am I paying for the whole season? Or just episode 1 which has already stated to be free many times and this season so far isnt even at the point where we can buy one episode at the time.
You are way off, where are you getting 61.5 and 31? It's 24.99 for ALL 5 EPISODES, not just the first! You don't pay anywhere near what you are inferring. Also, Telltale is a company with a proven track record and a monthly release schedule that they actually have kept in the past. You have nothing to fear, trust me.
That too.
No one seems to get that. Even when telltale flat out says it their store page.
*coughBonecough*
While "Eyes of the Storm" (the third book in the Bone saga) was announced as "coming soon" for a while, your comparison does not exactly work as the Bone games were never an episodic series and Telltale did not ask people to pay for all three games, only to give up on Bone after "The Great Cow Race".
To (try to) dispel mike11's fears, I'll just point out that Telltale has never stopped partway through the release of any season which they were selling as a season from the get go (so, comparisons to Telltale's truncated iPad season releases would also be fallacious as those games were sold as single episodes).
Now now...they can't help it if someone yanked the licensing out from under them. Especially since the rights for Bone were purchased by Warner Bros. which is a much bigger company than Telltale. That's not to say that I wouldn't have enjoyed more than two Bone games.