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Shenmue III is timed exclusive to Epic Games Store, backers PC code redeemed on EGS & no refund (See Threadmark) [READ STAFF POSTS BEFORE POSTING]
- Thread starter vestan
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And there was me thinking that the reaction to Bloodstained's "backer-only" DLC becoming generally available was bad!
I'm not a backer, but this is definitely not a good look. This being Kickstarter, clearly and refund demands aren't going to go anywhere anyway, but looking over the campaign page now, it seems that they've quite studiously avoided any reference to any particular PC distribution platform. I see that they did indeed reference Steam in the backer survey choices, but I'd imagine that that would be viewed as less of a true commitment than if it were in the campaign.
I'm not a backer, but this is definitely not a good look. This being Kickstarter, clearly and refund demands aren't going to go anywhere anyway, but looking over the campaign page now, it seems that they've quite studiously avoided any reference to any particular PC distribution platform. I see that they did indeed reference Steam in the backer survey choices, but I'd imagine that that would be viewed as less of a true commitment than if it were in the campaign.
I apologize, I read regional and thought of pricing right away. You're right, games not actually being available in certain regions is a big problem and one of the major ones with the EGS.
I don't have an exact number, obviously, but the Linux argument is very often exaggerated. Gaming on Linux has it's own slew of issues, and again this is assuming EGS doesn't support it in the future. Hell, according to this link, the Linux market share is only around 2%, not a negligible number, but also not high enough overtake other more pressing matters, like games locked out of regions, or lack of cloud saves.
I agree that refunds should be happening for those that want it. It's ridiculous that it isn't.
I just did a search through my emails. They began mentioning Steam WHILE the campaign was still running on kickstarter. They mention steam for the very first time on June 28th:
That was taken from my email sent by them while the campaign was still going on. The campaign ended July 17th. So, WHILE the kickstarter campaign was still running, WHILE they were still taking orders on Kickstarter, they had already begun advertising the Steam copy.
This is obviously horseshit.
Also worth pointing out, since that email, literally every single other backer update email they have sent out has mentioned Steam in it. Every. Single. One.
Got a response from my Kickstarter message, skimmed the last few pages and didn't see it:
Wowza, that's just bonkers. What an evil way to destroy fan faith in a product, especially after the passionate backers were responsible for the game making it this far at all.
Damn. Just ..... damn.
I don't see an article on PC Gamer about this massive announcement that occurred during the E3 conference they host.
Tim "Delboy" Sweeney has a erm "complicated" relationship with the truth
I mean Tim Sweeney is competing against Todd for the slimiest oil salesmen, anything he says shouldn't be trusted.
Ah, I see - that does change things a bit, though I bet that they could point to that "system requirements may change without notice" note is they wanted to.
(Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not looking to defend the decision or the motivations behind it)
If Nvidia got in trouble for advertising 4GB of memory, and they did deliver 4GB of memory, just not as expected.
In that email they are clearly admitting they intentionally changed the platform the game will be delivered on and it's not the one they promised when they took the money. That seems bad.
In that email they are clearly admitting they intentionally changed the platform the game will be delivered on and it's not the one they promised when they took the money. That seems bad.
The market for video game crowdfunding was already trending significantly downward. This probably puts the nail in its coffin.
Absolutely disgraceful. Really feel for those that backed this expecting a steam key and got landed with this and the response to this is terrible.
This type of behavior further highlights the issues with Kickstarters and the fact that this Kickstarter got so much publicity being on the Sony E3 stage all those years ago meant that people who likely never kickstarted before, bought into the kickstarter for the first time and quite a few of those people will likely not back again. This type of behaviour of going against the fans who backed you initially, only to get greedy down the track and take money from other publishers/distributors on the provision of breaking some of the promises made during the kickstarter process is terrible.
This type of behavior further highlights the issues with Kickstarters and the fact that this Kickstarter got so much publicity being on the Sony E3 stage all those years ago meant that people who likely never kickstarted before, bought into the kickstarter for the first time and quite a few of those people will likely not back again. This type of behaviour of going against the fans who backed you initially, only to get greedy down the track and take money from other publishers/distributors on the provision of breaking some of the promises made during the kickstarter process is terrible.
I went to bed last night expecting Shenmue III to be announced for the Xbox One today, feeling happy that I could tell one of my friends who played Shenmue I on the DC and Shenmue II on the xbox way back in the day who only has an Xbox One that he could pick up shenmue III now, being generally happy that it was coming to more platforms.
Instead, when I logged on today, I get the news that I have to tell another one of my friends, who actually backed the fucking game, that it's no longer coming to any platform he currently has access to. What a complete fuck up.
Instead, when I logged on today, I get the news that I have to tell another one of my friends, who actually backed the fucking game, that it's no longer coming to any platform he currently has access to. What a complete fuck up.
Bingo. So all the backers supported the development of this game, only to have them sign a deal with Epic and renege on their promise for holla holla them dollars and limiting where you can buy it. Fuck that.
um it's called competition tm maybe you've heard of it
it's for the betterment of the devs and the pc gaming sphere
Feeling pretty good that I backed Bloodstained instead of this.
I don't really mind if Kickstarted games go after additional funding, but screwing over backers sucks and it's a bit hard to believe they need it when they already have support from some pretty major companies and the game is pretty close to release anyway.
Sony and Deep Silver provided funding beyond the Kickstarter campaign too, so it's a quadruple dip.
I don't really mind if Kickstarted games go after additional funding, but screwing over backers sucks and it's a bit hard to believe they need it when they already have support from some pretty major companies and the game is pretty close to release anyway.
Technically he didn't since the release is months away unlike Metro Exodus which was a few weeks(?) away. But still, a horrible move nevertheless.
Man, PC Gamer Tweeted that they didn't even know whether the game would be a full EGS exclusive or just on EGS. The show may have had their name on it but they clearly weren't calling shots for what gets announced at their event.
Looking at the KS page, this announcement has more posts than any other update in the last 4 years. And it's ratio'd to hell, 1000+ posts to just 70 likes.
This thread is getting a bit long, so I'm not sure this has been corrected, but you should check the year on those emails. The Steam information didn't actually appear until June 28th... 2018.
I'm not really pleased by today's events either, but they didn't advertise it as a Steam activated game while the Kickstarter was still actually running. You know me, and we've never argued to my knowledge, but I'm just setting the record straight here.
They did however advertise it as a Steam activated game while the Slacker Backer was in its final few months though.
This is extremely disappointing news.
I backed the game expecting to be given a Steam version of the game, so I expect my order to not be changed without my agreement.
If the order is change I expect them to offer a full refund.
The fact that they're seemingly refusing to give refunds is absolutely despicable.
I backed the game expecting to be given a Steam version of the game, so I expect my order to not be changed without my agreement.
If the order is change I expect them to offer a full refund.
The fact that they're seemingly refusing to give refunds is absolutely despicable.
I just got a reply from them from early. This is what it says.
Hello Patrick,
Thank you very much for contacting us.
The launch was previously planned for distribution on Steam, however it was decided together with Deep Silver after much discussion that the Epic Games Store would be the best distribution platform option.
Shenmue III will be distributed through the Epic Games Store and will require the Epic Games Store Client to activate.
Even though the surveys stated that the PC version rewards will be through Steam, those rewards will now be be delivered through the Epic Games Store.
We apologize for the sudden change in platform, however, refunds will not be granted for this change.
We thank you for your support and look forward to delivering the Shenmue experience fans everywhere have been waiting so long for.
Best Regards,
The Shenmue III Team
Hello Patrick,
Thank you very much for contacting us.
The launch was previously planned for distribution on Steam, however it was decided together with Deep Silver after much discussion that the Epic Games Store would be the best distribution platform option.
Shenmue III will be distributed through the Epic Games Store and will require the Epic Games Store Client to activate.
Even though the surveys stated that the PC version rewards will be through Steam, those rewards will now be be delivered through the Epic Games Store.
We apologize for the sudden change in platform, however, refunds will not be granted for this change.
We thank you for your support and look forward to delivering the Shenmue experience fans everywhere have been waiting so long for.
Best Regards,
The Shenmue III Team
No they're not.
They've been waiting for long ass time for the sequel, and they're the reason why it exist in the first place.
This industry already has a bad rap for anti consumer policies. There's zero reason why anyone should put up with it, and should take it personally, cause it's their hard earned dollars.
Yeah when I backed this it literally said Steam. The Survey says steam. If I try to change the survey answer, I can choose Steam or PS4. The system requirements say steam.
I'm fucking PISSED.
I'm fucking PISSED.
User banned (3 days): Inflammatory generalization.
What Yu Suzuki and Deep Silver did for Shenmu III is one of the most galling, outrageous and greedy move the gaming industry has ever seen. Do check the history :
"No, you don't get refunds. This is how it is. Fuck you."
I don't know if it's a Japanese idea to sound so unapologetic and authoritarian when you are so much in the wrong but it's not going to do wonders for them.
Has the press said anything yet about this or the impact Epic has on kickstarter which is, you know, the seedbed of most indies, gaming innovation and triumphs since 2012?
- They rode Sony's E3, gaining a publicity most kickstarter and indies can only dream about
- They had a massive Kickstarter success and secured a publisher
- They promised Steam keys and even sent a poll to that effect a while ago
"No, you don't get refunds. This is how it is. Fuck you."
I don't know if it's a Japanese idea to sound so unapologetic and authoritarian when you are so much in the wrong but it's not going to do wonders for them.
Has the press said anything yet about this or the impact Epic has on kickstarter which is, you know, the seedbed of most indies, gaming innovation and triumphs since 2012?
I'm not a backer of this campaign nor a Shenmue fan, so I wasn't planning on getting this game anyway.
But those of you going "It's just a launcher" or "It's playable on PC anyways" are overlooking the fact that a good many of us find the EGS policies on buying up exclusives detestable.
I would not want to give any company who did things I didn't agree with money, nor would I want to install that launcher. I've installed plenty of other launchers, GoG, Origin, UPlay, Battle.net. I have no problems with extra icons or my library being in different places. What I have a problem with is Epic's bullshit buying of exclusives and would not want to support them in any way whatsoever.
But those of you going "It's just a launcher" or "It's playable on PC anyways" are overlooking the fact that a good many of us find the EGS policies on buying up exclusives detestable.
I would not want to give any company who did things I didn't agree with money, nor would I want to install that launcher. I've installed plenty of other launchers, GoG, Origin, UPlay, Battle.net. I have no problems with extra icons or my library being in different places. What I have a problem with is Epic's bullshit buying of exclusives and would not want to support them in any way whatsoever.
Speaking as someone that backed this (and Phoenix Point) pretty hard, I feel like an idiot. Fuck Deep Silver, fuck Epic, and fuck Ys Net.
I wonder in what way the EGS is a better distribution platform? Better download speeds? Better matchmaking? Better customer support? Better $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$?
I kickstarted a game last week, I'm confident that they'll never do EGS, but I can never trust anyone again. I don't think I'll ever use a kickstarter for a game again after this.
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