International consideration

[haradan]

I just wanted to say, if you haven't decided between CD or download, that
when it comes to international customers is very discouraging to buy a game at, say 20 bucks by internet and then you have to pay 12 extra bucks for the shipment  :O and 4 more for the taxes . Eventually, you stop buying things by internet, because you always pay twice the price.

Just for this reason, I would prefer a download (even if it takes hours!).
Cheers

[GameDevBrit]

I understand how frustrating that could be, Hadaran The game file is so huge, we had problems even accommodating a small group of beta testers who were trying to download it at the same time.  

I would be open to hearing suggestions though on offering the game as a download.  For instance, does anyone know a means of providing a huge file to a large number of people at the same time at an affordable price?

[Angelus3K]

Brit, the most cost effective way would be to distribute Al Emmo as a torrent file.

This site hosts a small file about 30kb which is the torrent file, then other people download the game from you and whilst they are downloading from you they are simultaneously uploading it to other people and so on.

Best part is that the bandwidth being used isnt the sites people use their own bandwidth to distribute.

I can help set this up with Sean if need be.

At the very least it can be an alternative to a direct download.

[Tom Lewandowski]

I don't care for the idea of relying on other users for distribution of our commercial product...or using up their bandwidth, for that matter.  If this were an AGDI product, something like BitTorrent might be practical.  But for a product that we're charging you money for, I feel we should offer a more definitive and stable means of obtaining it.

I know downloading the game might be less expensive for some, but it will also lack a lot of the niceties of the product -- like the game's beautifully printed box and manual, and other goodies included with the game.  Another question might be, 'do we really want to release only a portion and not the entire product?'  If it's available by download, I think the majority of sales would be done this way because most people don't want to wait for the game to be shipped.

That's only my two-cents.

[Angelus3K]

Good point Tom.

It could just be an alternative download option. Bandwith costs  

[Disco]

Is it even possible to offer paid for downloads via BitTorrent? I think that would only make piracy that much easier, which is something none of use want.

Mega corprorations can get away with charging ridiculous amounts for shiping, even domestically. However, I believe Himalaya's international price and shipping structer would be a lot more fair, since (from what I hear) it is shipping from a house and not a business space.

Would it be well worth it to have members of the team around the world handle fulfullment? That is to say North Americans can buy from Headquarters, Australians from Chris, Europeans from Stijn, etc.

[Angelus3K]

It is possible to allow a certain IP addresses to dowload the file, but I now think BitTorrent wouldnt be helpfull in this case.

[haradan]

OK, I see this is quite complicated. I agree with Tom, I love my original Sierra boxes and I still have them. Box and manual are integral parts of the complete product.

Now, I just would like to make it clear that this request is not just a money problem (which would be fair enough, anyway) but also there's the problem of relying post service. I know most of you don't have any problems, except perhaps for long waitings, but in Mexico and the rest of the third world the post service is awful.

In fact, I remember I ordered the QG Anthology some years ago and it never arrived. Sierra sent it to me twice more (3 in total) and it never arrived anyway. That was the reason I could only play QG4 until a relatively short time ago, I stopped buying things for years.

So all in all, there's always a big risk for us non-states, non-europe, non-commonwealth people (IOW third world) when buying things by post service, since you pay more and, every now and then, you get none.

But if shipping prices could be kept as low as possible, I guess I'll take my chances.

[GameDevChris]

One possible solution could be to send it via a reputable courier, such as FedEx or DHL to places where the postal services are unreliable. This may be a little more expensive, but at least delivery should be guaranteed.

[haradan]

Ah yes, Fedex and the such are always a sure way of receving post... if you can afford it. There lies the delicate balance between cost and warranty. But yes, it's probably a good thing that you could offer those services, in case some of us prefer it.

Now I feel cheap, arguing about shipping costs and all BEFORE I even know what the price of the game will be!  Its just that mexican wages are far below your average standards, I guess, so there's a lot of difference for me between 20 bucks and 40 bucks.

Anyway, I had no idea when I started this thread that the download would be about 1 GB, I wouldn't even ask if I knew that.

Guess this is the dull part of running a software company, eh? Sorry to bore you to death with these subjects guys, but is part of the job!