Retail, pre-order, download and launch

I see some questions about these topics, and would like to give you some feedback on them.

Retail and pre-order
Many retail stores, especially in Europe, do not have the Notum Wars on the shelves yet. This is very unfortunate, but nothing we can do anything about. We have shipped the boxes off to our distributors (both retail and pre-order), and have no control of international distribution, customs, transport routes, or local distribution.

Download

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From an interview at AO Basher:
We will probably add a download option later on, but the retail chains are very important to the overall life span of the product. That means that we just have to wait a little while for a downloadable version.

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Basically, a download offer would undermine our retail partners' sales, and we're not going to do that.

Launch day
Today we launched. We postponed it one day, due to Thanksgivings, and the fact that close to nobody would have the product yet. Today, a lot of players have recieved their box, or can obtain the box from a retail store, and we see people registering and using the new features.

Some have suggested that we remove the ability to place towers until more players have the box. This is basically telling the customers who have bought the product that they can't use it (or at least the main feature in it), and not something we see as a valid option.

{Added:
We will of course make sure to take this whole situation into account in future releases, and plan for avoiding such difficulties.}

As I posted elsewhere Cz, I fail to see how Digital River are reporting that they will not even have the product until the 6th if it has already been shipped. Since there are numerous reports of people being told the release has been delayed, and the curious revalation that AC2 will be released on the same date this simply looks like a marketing move (couple by your earlier statement that you needed to speak to the Marketing and the Dev teams). Sure delay a _retail_ release so you get on the shelf next to AC2, but to delay a release through a supplier that can only be reached via your web site is just plain daft.

Currently there is very little retail chain to undermine - Nor would this problem exist if you had delayed the launch date until at least a week later. You are currently more likely to alienate the people trying to get the booster so they dont purchase it at all - hurting all channels

Yes it is unfair to the few who have the booster to suddenly deny them the features, but it is also unfair to the people who are unable to use these features at all - and wont be able to for at least another week.

Bottom line is pre-orders through your 'preferred' supplier should have had the product well in advance of activation. Since the most avid players will have pre-ordered and done so through Digital River this move has actually hurt probably the most dedicated people - not a very smart move.

I'll claim my Pioneer backpack consolation prize now :-)

-edited for clarity-

How do I cancel my NW pre-order with digital river?

Warlock, my statements about talking to the devs and Marketing was about turning off the ability to place towers, not about retail.

And no, the delay in Europe has absolutely nothing to do with the release of AC2. I understand people feel like jumping the speculations, but we would never delay our own launch due to that. (I believe launching before AC2 would actually be a lot better.)

Sorry to say, but that is bull**** and Funcom running from the responsibility.

You have the responsibility to your customers. You say its out, but not even the official pre-order place has it.

If you in fact send them the boxes in time you picked the wrong company = your fault.
If you didn't send them the boxes in time = your fault.

Fact lies as simple as the customers that pre-ordered the game to have it at launch at the OFFICIAL place didn't get it. Pull down the land control already.

You said in top post that you can't delay opening because people can't use their product. Now those who were so lucky to get it can start building towers and take all the land control spots (which are very hard to fight) and get a big advantage over the other people who want to buy it but can't. Please explain how this is fair and why you had to rush the opening like this.

It all sounds reasonable to me. :-p

It sounds like one shipment from a distributor was delayed for one reason or another, and being Friday, the stores didn't have it in stock, so their computers automatically marked it backordered and adjusted the estimated ship date a week. The fact that most clerks at these stores don't have a farking clue what Notum Wars is, they are hardly in a position to argue with the computer.

I do think that something should be done to maintain the balance here... a larger %age of the tower locations being disabled would help a lot, but that creates about as many problems as it solves. FC isn't gonna budge on that point, I think. Unfortunately.

Just remember that it is only a game. :-p

grrrr

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Originally posted by Noer
If you in fact send them the boxes in time you picked the wrong company = your fault.
If you didn't send them the boxes in time = your fault.

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If the post was delayed = FC's fault?

nvm...

Checked the help and found this...

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From the Funcom online store
Once the submit button has been clicked and the order is complete it can not be cancelled.

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guess I should read the small print next time, so now I have to pay $20 for a expansion for a game I can no longer play since you broke the game in 14.6, made me ld every 3 minutes and won't even give any feedback on the problem...

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Originally posted by Razishlyat
It all sounds reasonable to me. :-p

It sounds like one shipment from a distributor was delayed for one reason or another, and being Friday, the stores didn't have it in stock, so their computers automatically marked it backordered and adjusted the estimated ship date a week.

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If it were 1 distributor I could sort of understand, but not a single outfit in the UK has it, nor are they expecting it until the 6th

Something has gone VERY wrong here if it _wasnt_ a deliberate move to tie in with AC2 (which I'm still skeptical about)

Why was it not shipped while the beta was running?
Then patch it (which we know would happen anyway) when the registration became available.
= Everyone gets it in plenty of time, and all is fair.

Or is this just too bloody obvious?

And do not deal with Digital River ever again -- they were FC's choice = FC's fault.

Are Digitial River refunding everyone that paid extra for "Next Day" shipping?

Are you planning to do a tower-reset once everyone gets the CD?

Well, here's how Cz (or Fadinaway... er, someone from FC) explained it...

FunCom sends the gold CD to the printer. The CDs are printed and shipped out REGIONALLY, one in the US and one in Ireland. This was one early last week, it seems. From there, they go to national distributors (imports, exports, taxes, etc etc) and from there to shops.

A slight shipping interruption between the printer and the regional distributor and the national distributors can screw up a lot.

Funcom have 2 huge problems:

1) Bad customer service (don't mean you Cz), they totally ignore this huge problem that is created when not all get the same chance to place towers at same time

2) The inability to see a problem and solve it before the problem hit the customers, I can understand that it's hard to turn off tower placement now, but they should never have turned it on when not even all those that have pre ordered the game have gotten it.


Take your responsibility Funcom!

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Originally posted by Razishlyat
A slight shipping interruption between the printer and the regional distributor and the national distributors can screw up a lot.

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At which point the 'activation' is put back until the issue has been resolved

Or did I miss something?

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Originally posted by Razishlyat
Well, here's how Cz (or Fadinaway... er, someone from FC) explained it...

FunCom sends the gold CD to the printer. The CDs are printed and shipped out REGIONALLY, one in the US and one in Ireland. This was one early last week, it seems. From there, they go to national distributors (imports, exports, taxes, etc etc) and from there to shops.

A slight shipping interruption between the printer and the regional distributor and the national distributors can screw up a lot.

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which was too late obviously. What ever way you turn it, its Funcom's responsibility to get out the boxes to the distributors in time. Its not like it force majure or however you spell that thing. Like a plane with all the boxes crashed. Its plain and simple too late shipment.

Seems to me your retailers and Offical Pre-Order store have undermined FC's sales of the game. I do not see how offering current customers the option of downloading the "Booster Pack" would undermine anything, everything seems to be in place, sounds to me like all we end up buying is a serial number anyway.

Warlock, you honestly think that most of these same people wouldn't be flaming FC to hell and back if they did that? Different reasons, to be sure, but delaying like that is kinda silly. People got screwed today. *I* got screwed today, and so did my entire guild. But holding it would hurt FC a lot.

The net result is that most of the towers will probably be owned before they get going... it isn't such a huge advantage, if the people without it press onwards.

Like I said, though, I think there should be more tower locations disabled.

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Originally posted by Cz
Download
Basically, a download offer would undermine our retail partners' sales, and we're not going to do that.

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To be honest, I don't think they deserve a single penny -- if they're the ones responsible.