It's been a week since the Epic Games Store announcement at E3. I'm just going to post this set of questions again in the hopes that some of them get answered. I believe giving honest answers to them will help restore a lot of goodwill for those who feel their contributions and patience have been taken advantage of.
Respectfully, please address the following questions in the next update:
* Steam keys - we were led to believe we would be getting them for quite a long time, and being that theEpic Game Store didn't exist when we gave our money none of us paid for EGS keys, so will we get Steam keys at any point?
* Physical discs for the PC version - Deep Silver have all but confirmed it's just a code now but that's not what was advertised during the campaign, in fact one update specified all data necessary to play the game would be on a disc, will this be rectified? Epic Game Store has released no physical PC games with actual game data on discs to date, was this not a concern when negotiating a deal with them, considering so many backers paid for physical PC copies?
* Refunds - a lot of backers are being denied refunds, some have a strong case for legal recourse, particularly Slacker Backers who were told they'd get Steam copies ahead of purchase, people who purchased the physical PC version and people who purchased the trial version. In some countries you are legally obligated to accept their requests for refunds, will you?
* Platform changes - the update posted on 2018/11/22 states the surveys were closed, this was before the game was delayed to 2019/11/19 and long before the switch to using the Epic Game Store. A lot of people have changed their platform from PC to PS4 in the last week because of the Epic Game Store announcement, despite surveys being considered closed so long ago will these changes be accepted? And if Steam is brought back as an option, will we be given time to adjust our survey answers accordingly?
* Epic Games Store - we were told: "The Epic Games Store would be the best distribution platform option." If this was indeed a genuine opinion, why was releasing on a feature-barren, unpopular storefront with a small userbase, inferior security and inferior support (comparative to Steam) considered the best option? Considering Deep Silver similarly made Metro: Exodus an Epic Game Store exclusive after a period of selling pre-orders for it on Steam, it seems fair to ask did you do your due diligence regarding the Epic Game Store and research the Metro: Exodus and Phoenix Point controversies, or did leave Deep Silver to make this decision and believe what they were doing was for the best?
* $39+ wallpaper rewards - we paid four years in advance for these and we still don't have them, but right now people can pre-order the game on PSN and get a PS4 theme (wallpapers and music) that we aren't getting, why are non-backers getting these kinds of rewards before us?
* Backer-exclusive $80+ "international phone card (in-game item)" DLC - on PC will us backers ever get our DLC on our preferred platform (Steam)? Same goes for the backer-only $160+ and $250+ DLCs. Many paid extra specifically for this content and it's said to be truly exclusive to this campaign, it would be a shame for PC backers if it were only available on the Epic Game Store, even though the main game may eventually come to Steam.
* Retail version pre-orders possibly get $250+ "backer-only" DLC as part of the $74.99 PSN/Epic Game Store Digital Deluxe Edition - the pre-order bonus items that come with the retail release available to non-backers now sound very suspiciously like the $160+ and $250+ "backer-only" DLCs, if that's the case why are cheaper PSN pre-orders getting DLC that was not only supposed to be backer-exclusive, but that we had to pay a minimum of $175 more for? (For comparison, PSN/Epic Game Store Digital Deluxe pre-orders get two Technique Scrolls and the legendary Ryo's Flight Jacket, while the $160+ and $250+ pledge tier DLCs are described as two Backer-only Technique Scrolls and a Skin-change feature for Ryo's Jacket.)
* Retail version pre-order content - we backers pre-purchased four years ago, will we get all of the pre-order content that people pre-ordering much more cheaply on PSN/Epic Game Store today receive (like the Kenpogi Training outfit and Peking Power Starter Pack)?
* Season Pass - are we backers not getting the full game no matter how much we paid? Many of us paid a lot of money four years ago, why should we backers get less of the game's content than people who pay just $74.99 today? Will Season Pass content come on backers' discs or will our physical copies be incomplete? Will the Season Pass DLC contain story content? When will this content be released? Why has it been launched it so quietly as part of the retail Deluxe Edition, without any kind of announcement of its own?
* Backer-exclusive $100+ trial version - are we getting this at all? Many people paid extra specifically for it. Also, how come non-backers get to try the E3 demo for free, five months in advance of the game's current release date, yet those of us who paid for the privilege and waited four years have received nothing? The description for the $100+ trial version is: "Be the first anywhere to play Shenmue 3."