preorder prices, cancels and others

[erisco]

I really wish that I could know the prices at least a week in advance... I need to transfer money to my paypal account if I want to buy this game but an echeck takes a long time to clear. Also, I am wary of paying any more than 20 euros plus the month subscription fee. I have a hard time justifying that initial expense when I have not tried the game prior or have any idea on what it offers.

[Regicide]

Originally Posted by Placebo

In other words, you just gamble with your 50-60 bucks and hope the game is everything they said it would be. If it's not your out of luck.

Doesnt that describe almost everysingle game out there?
They gave us some videos, pics, and info on the game already.
Do you get to watch 30 min of a movie before they make you pay for it?
Do you get to play Call of Duty 5 (Random example) before you buy (besides playing it at a friends or something). For the most part you buy things without knowing the full 100%. If you dont feel comfortable doing that then dont buy the game. Its not Darkfalls fault you bought theyre game, its yours. Make a decision. From what ive read and seen i feel like its worth the risk. Besides 50-60 bucks isnt all that much. Its like 1 day at work.

[melanko]

Awesome info Mats. Greatly appreciated.

[Genghis Khan]

50.00 Euros = 69.31 U.S. Dollars

id really love to pre-order, but im afraid i am not able to invest 70$ on a game i am not yet entirely sure will even run on my computer, ill be spending more than that on a new graphics card if the game is not compatable.

im not saying that's not worth the price, but ill have to wait for the official release or until im magically invited into the beta

i envy you all >_<

[Melkorus]

Originally Posted by Laserus

Um isn't 50 euro is like 70 us, and wasn't Darkfall only 42 euro? someone please tell me I misunderstood the price.

What he said. Something is not right here. If you are aiming for cheaper than Darkfall, then it should be 40 euros, not 50.

[Bokan]

I really appreciate how open the devs are being about the nature of the beta and the business side of things. With DF people had to guess this stuff.

[Jalisar]

Originally Posted by Placebo

Exactly, I am willing to accept a no-trial period at first but what needs to be done is show us EVERYTHING there is to know about the game, the good and the bad, in either another powerpoint or in a very honest review. We didn't get either from darkfall and it was a major upset. Information is Key, and I do mean honest information before release not any of that "well in the future we will have this, so we say we have it now" issue.

Don't get me wrong I really want this game to succeed, I have just had my heart broken so many times and it has left a deep hole in my wallet.

Darkfall didnt do pre orders.. they claimed the game was ready and released it. We are talking pre-orders to get into early beta stages and HELP develope the game. If you just want to play the game I suggest you wait until the game is released. This will solve all of your issues.

[thanaras2]

hey guys i wana ask if the game wil have pre paid game cards at stores like other mmo in the oficial relase for the people who dont wana make credit card or they cant?

[Genghis Khan]

they might in the future.... but not anytime soon.

[thanaras2]

ok thnx

[Kamisama]

Originally Posted by Melkorus

What he said. Something is not right here. If you are aiming for cheaper than Darkfall, then it should be 40 euros, not 50.

darkfall is 50€ because of the VAT

[89ShadowUK]

Thanks for the post, Mats, made me feel more comfortable about the whole thing.

Still wonder about the rough time it'll be going up, and the time-zone, I assume it'll be around the office times of StarVault?

[makarena]

I think that pre-order system is worthless for us - players. We always must wait longer for the product than producer promises , sometimes a few months.

[forcem]

i think that cost: 50.00$ 36.00€.........

[Talime]

Originally Posted by makarena

I think that pre-order system is worthless for us - players. We always must wait longer for the product than producer promises , sometimes a few months.

huh? since there will be only an EU beta server and you can download the game right after purchasing a box OR a digital download and the boxes (with the cd keys are shipped at september early before release) i don´t see why US customers have to wait longer than european customers.

[Mats Persson]

Originally Posted by Laserus

Um isn't 50 euro is like 70 us, and wasn't Darkfall only 42 euro? someone please tell me I misunderstood the price.

Originally Posted by Melkorus

What he said. Something is not right here. If you are aiming for cheaper than Darkfall, then it should be 40 euros, not 50.

Having Darkfall as an example perhaps wasn't the best thing to do. Anyway, the price of Darkfall, taken today from their shop, is 49.98€.

[Placebo]

I paid $55 US for Darkfall and that is the absolute Maximum I will pay for a box. If you really want 50 Euros then that is $70 US and is entirely unreasonable and you can count me, and many others, out for sure. That would put it at roughly $20-25 per month as well. Completely ridiculous. I hope I am wrong.

Originally Posted by Mats Persson

Having Darkfall as an example perhaps wasn't the best thing to do. Anyway, the price of Darkfall, taken today from their shop, is 49.98€.

This was not the case for Americans because they didn't have to pay VAT so the factored price was about $55 US or around 42 Euros.

[Fanatik]

Originally Posted by Placebo

I paid $55 US for Darkfall and that is the absolute Maximum I will pay for a box. If you really want 50 Euros then that is $70 US and is entirely unreasonable and you can count me, and many others, out for sure. That would put it at roughly $20-25 per month as well. Completely ridiculous. I hope I am wrong.



This was not the case for Americans because they didn't have to pay VAT so the factored price was about $55 US or around 42 Euros.

Don't get me wrong... but 50Euro for a game ist standard. Even for MMOs. Sometimes you'll get a new game for 45Euro, but that won't happen often. Only exceptions i know in the last years were Left4Dead (more a mod then a game) and maybe importing from the UK since their native currency dropped 40% in 6 months and their prices didnt got adjusted yet.

Anyway... the 10.000 boxes will be sold easily i bet and if i had to choose between 50euro per box and 55USD (which equals around 40Euro), i'd go for 50Euro... calculated up to 10k boxes, we're talking about close to 100.000 Euro difference

With less then 20 people working on the project. This should be a month, or maybe onehalf of peoples wages and parts of the rent.

It would be stupid to sell for 40Euros, especially since most ppl are used to the 50Euro price and even if some persons are not.... 10k copies will easily sell for that price.

[Mats Persson]

Originally Posted by Placebo

I paid $55 US for Darkfall and that is the absolute Maximum I will pay for a box.

You got a boxed Darkfall?

[Ranger16]

Originally Posted by Mats Persson

We can guarantee 10000 active player accounts in Beta. If this turns out to be straight out impossible on one server, we have the option to start another one. But we can't start more unless we have the money to do it (and we won't start additional servers if there's no player base). And therefore we need the money from the pre-orders.

If all 10000 units are sold, it will be a very important confirmation for us. We will then have the funds (and financial motivation) to start more servers, to let more people in. But there will of course be a delay before those servers are up and running and accepting more players.

This means we can hopefully allow more than 10000 players before release, but we really do need those first 10000 to be able to take that step.

Does this mean that if less than 10000 pre-order, there won't be sufficient funds to start another server on release (if one is even necessary)? Also, I'll probably drop the 50 euro to pre-order, $70 U.S., but I'm a little worried about the staying power of the game. So far it looks ridiculously good, but this pre-order plan is sounding alarms about the financial condition of the company. Are you able to tell us the minimum subscription base the company would need to maintain at least one server running for those who buy the game, and your predictions for hitting that? I suppose I'm looking for some reassurance that if I spend this much money on the pre-order, I'll get some actual playing time outside of the beta.

[Mats Persson]

Originally Posted by Ranger16

Does this mean that if less than 10000 pre-order, there won't be sufficient funds to start another server on release (if one is even necessary)?

Sorry, I realize my post may have a bit unclear on that point. What I meant to say is:

We have one (1) server, and the funds to start another if one (1) can't hold 10000 players. That includes maintenance and traffic. And we do of course have a buffer to run these for a long time.

However, we don't want to buy and start more servers than that (a third or fourth one) until we know about the interest in the game, or until we know more about the actual server capacity. We have run test after test, but that doesn't mean we can be sure that we can accurately simulate 10000 actual people on a server. Also, some features yet to be expanded will have a substantial impact on this number, such as AI.

[thanaras2]

hey mats meybe u can answer if theres gona be pre paids cards at official relase i need to know for sure?

[UK2MO]

Guys... some of you need to realize we are paying for the game that we dream about. Saying I won't pay more than $55 dollars (which is stupidly low) is a joke. They probably make next to nothing on boxes as they don't have everything sorted out for them, they don't have rock bottom prices so they would make a very tiny margin. They are probably only doing a boxed and limited version to please us, the fans.

These guys have spent years working and doing an outstanding job to provide us with a decent game. The more money they get the better the game gets through improvements. These guys deserve the money for their hard work and require it to add additional features to further enhance our gameplay experience. If we fail to support indy companies then we will be stuck with the same old boring gameplay.

They can charge £60 for a standard box for all I care... If this game brings back the feelings of UO or an amazing new feeling then it will be worth every pound spent. I want these guys to succeed.

[Talime]

i think its fair, mat said clear they need the money to start up the servers and send the boxes and so on, i think its a honest statement and not like other gaming companies which are talking around everything and are lieing to their customers.

i deffinatly will pay the preorder price to help getting the game start, if i am able to get a copy of course

[Grimwolf]

If you compare an MMO to other form of entertainment like TV, the initial price and monthly price are nothing. Unless you buy and subscribe to everything that comes out of course. But otherwise if you buy and play a game for a year+ it is very very cheap.

So, what ever the cost it will be worth it imo. That LE box is mine too! I don't care if it's 200+ $ as long as it have some goodies in it I'm buying it!

Oh and for the people with no money; get out of mom's basement and get a job you slobs!

[Kebab]

Is Mortal Online shop verfied by visa?
(aka do I have to call my bank to tell them that I haven't been robbed and yes MO is purchase I made)

[Kuroi]

mmh i hope DD will cost less than 50€ at least :/

visa electron yay

[LockBlade]

What happens if I don't preorder because I'm a poor white boy? D=

[Kuroi]

Originally Posted by LockBlade

What happens if I don't preorder because I'm a poor white boy? D=

you have to wait until release hoping that the actual server can get you or another is opened

[LockBlade]

Originally Posted by Kuroi

you have to wait until release hoping that the actual server can get you or another is opened

/wrist
/wrist
/wrist
/wrist
/wrist
/wrist
Nuff said.. ;-;

[fullmetalky]

Originally Posted by UK2MO

They can charge £60 for a standard box for all I care... If this game brings back the feelings of UO or an amazing new feeling then it will be worth every pound spent. I want these guys to succeed.

I'd pay it for a game that would bring back the feelings of UO.

I'd pay it several times over

[dbmk]

Originally Posted by LockBlade

What happens if I don't preorder because I'm a poor white boy? D=

What would make you a rich white boy at the time of release?

[nuikka]

Originally Posted by Mats Persson

You got a boxed Darkfall?

I dont know why this made me laugh

[julc]

how long will you examinate players response before selling more accounts and opening more servers?

[LockBlade]

When, and how much will the pre-orders be?

[Regicide]

Originally Posted by julc

how long will you examinate players response before selling more accounts and opening more servers?

however long it takes to notice a visible affect.
If they see that servers are full and people cant log in theyll open another.
If not then theyle keep only one. They will be examining everyday and depending on the situation they will make an appropriate action. An actual date/time wouldnt be possible without further evidence.

[Talime]

Originally Posted by LockBlade

When, and how much will the pre-orders be?

about 50€ they try to be a bit cheaper than darkfall but nothing promised so far

[Jalisar]

I doubt you will find many US customers willing to pay 70.00 since that is at least 20 higher than any game on the market. My company sells software and the highest item on my shelf for a PC right this moment is 54.99. It stands alone with the next price of 49.99 being the common selling price for my new software.
I love the concept of the game but, with that being said, you still have to remain competitive on price...Especially with a game that already has a small audience. I understand the inability to afford this move, but in the same sense, you cant afford not to.
Bear in mind this only applies to your US followers, because if you can get your euro followers to shell out more cash and not need the greater portion of your audience to buy at all then I'd say go for it. You will of course have some from the US willing to toss the money away but, according to both polls on the forums there are more NA followers of the game than anyplace else. You may in fact sell all 10k copies for 50 euro or 70 us, but will you thrive once that initial sale is complete. Will more people from the US/NA spend that kind of cash.
Bottom line here is still "you have got to do what's right for you". If you feel that you cant offer a competitive price then you will have to take the chance that more than just the first 10k people will support it.
I've been in retail management for 28 years and from experience people in the US will toss out fifty bucks without a thought but, when you start pushing toward 100 they turn and walk away.

[Laserus]

So is that 50 euro after the vat is applied, so not 70 us?

The thing is $70 will probably turn off a lot of US players, especially since there is a good chance that we may have pings of like 300+.

[gamon hogger]

Originally Posted by Laserus

So is that 50 euro after the vat is applied, so not 70 us?

The thing is $70 will probably turn off a lot of US players, especially since there is a good chance that we may have pings of like 300+.

be glad you dont live in europe, we got shit like that all the time.

in the US a game is useally 50 dollar
in europe a game is useally 50 euros (atleast in all the stores i bought my games