question

[soran]

hello folks.

i'm just curious about this new trend that i'm seeing. Releasing beta versions of the game for pre-purchasers. Personally i'd love that to happen ith EU4 xD i'm getting so anxious that i'm playing eu3 instead of ck2 @_@

so basically what i'm asking here:

1- why're companies taking that route?

2- is there any chance of PI following suit? even if it wasn't for EU4 but in the near future

Now now before you start decapitating me, this is merely out of curiosity as i mentioned [plus the desire to play the game sooner rather than later] so kindly don't go on bashing me on the head. thank you~

 

[Gemberkoekje]

1- why're companies taking that route?

Mostly publicity: You can play this game RIGHT NOW instead of over a few weeks, making a pre-order this much more interesting. In addition, if there are any bugs or nasty stuff, they have a good disclaimer: Hey, you bought a BETA, it's bound not to be entirely bug-free.
In addition, the devs can get extra information from 1000s of open beta testers. (Things like: Does this game work with an ATI card and an AMD processor of thisandthat type)
I think it stems from indie games, which tend to be released whenever there's something vaguely interesting happening on the screen.

To finish this train of thought: If your game ends up being really buggy, it can be bad publicity instead of good publicity, and I can truly imagine the devs wanting to focus on finishing the game rather than 1000s of whining kids on their forums who don't understand the meaning of the word Beta.

2- is there any chance of PI following suit? even if it wasn't for EU4 but in the near future

It's possible, but I kinda doubt it. Paradox used to have a reputation for buggy games, and they fixed that by having better quality assurance, as well as more time for the devs to fix bugs. I don't think they're going to risk getting back to that reputation by releasing games earlier than necessary.

HOWEVER: I'm in no way affliated with Paradox, so I may be wrong.

 

[Slargos]

1.

To further encourage prepurchases which will sometimes be crucial to fund the process. It's not out of altruism.

2.

I doubt it. They're not as hard-on for cash anymore, and the risk of reducing interest in the game by leaking beta-builds is too high.