MysterD
07-06-2005, 10:14 PM
Link:
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=c...id=324&Itemid=2 (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=324&Item id=2)
Steam Powered
by Christian Svensson
Print E-mail
Tuesday, 05 July 2005
Ritual is planning to launch Sin Episodes through Valve's Steam e-distribution system, marking the first time a third-party has used the service. CEO Steve Nix spoke to Next Generation about the bold plan.
Ritual becomes the first developer to sign on to distribute content through Valve's e-distribution system. At least two additional developers are expected to announce similar plans in the coming weeks.
I wonder who the other 2 are...
Independent developers and publishers alike will closely watch the success or failure of Sin Episodes as one of the first examples of game software to go this route via Steam.
The first episode is tentatively scheduled to be released on Steam late in Q3. The company says each episode will constitute up to six hours of gameplay, with a sub-$20 price tag.
Up to six? First I heard it was around six, now it's up to six??!?!!?
Ritual CEO Steve Nix told Next Generation, "There is strong evidence that customers are getting more comfortable with content in non-traditional chunks. It's now common to purchase one song from the internet as opposed to buying the whole CD at the store. The same should hold true for our market and digital episodic content delivery."
Makes sense.
He added, "When you think about the purchase decision, it's a fairly major time and dollar commitment to plunk down $49.99 at the store for a 20 to 30 hour game."
But at least w/ $50, you are getting that 20-30 hours you speak of -- depending on what you buy, of course. A respectable mark for $50, if you ask me.
W/ $20, you're only getting up to 6 hours.
"A product that is easily downloadable from a Steam account and is longer than a DVD in length but at a similar price should be an easier thing to commit to. The team was involved in the decision to be a leader in this space from day one with Sin Episodes and the enthusiasm level is extremely high."
Pricing model
On pricing, Nix says that Ritual will be closely following the models set by other forms of entertainment. "We really want to look at other competing forms of entertainment and have pricing that provides a great value to our customers comparatively. If you consider the cost of going to a movie or purchasing a DVD, that's what we want to compete with. Looking at those things, we are targeting a sub $20 price for three to six hours of gameplay per episode. There will be multiple episodes in a calendar year but we are not on a set schedule and will release each one 'when it's done'."
Not a good analogy.
A movie DVD you plunk $15-20 down is actually in your hands and yours to own on disc. I have not seen a business model yet for buying movies digitally online -- mainly b/c I don't think anyone even w/ Cable or DSL in their right mind would take the time to do a download of a 6GB movie when you can buy it at the store.
By doing STEAM, SiN Episodes is NOT on disc and is NOT in your hands.
"We haven't really forecast a specific level of sales for the first Sin episode, but given our substantial margins on Steam, we become profitable very quickly. If an episode does anywhere near the volume of a merely average game title, it will be extremely successful on the financial side. The math is very much in our favor and this is a great business model."
Ritual believes retail will not lose out from a system which largely bypasses them. "We are going to reach one audience by delivering episodes through the internet and we will expand to another consumer group when the retail collection of episodes hits store shelves," explains Nix. "Our early discussions with retailers indicate that they want to sell great games to their customers regardless of the initial distribution channel. We still need to reach customers looking for a more traditional content offering at a standard price point and the retailers understand that. A great product can thrive in both channels even if one happens before the other."
When SiN hits the retail stores to the point that I can physically own a game on CD/DVD, maybe you can count me in.
Self funding
As other developers consider the e-distribution route, Nix has some encouraging words for the future: "We are self funding all development for the title and that is not an option for all independents yet. Once we have proven the model, we will see VCs and other investors working with independents to solve the initial funding problem. Professional investors will be more attracted to this model with smaller incremental investments than the current hit driven model with $10MM development bets.
For the moment, Ritual will be handling its own marketing, though it intends to use more grassroots efforts for promotion. "Like most independents, we do not have a marketing department or a large marketing budget so we have to be more resourceful in that area," says Nix. "We launched a very successful viral marketing campaign with www.legionpharma.com (http://www.legionpharma.com) and we will be working with other hardware and software partners that are interested in seeing successful PC products happen on co-marketing opportunities."
But even with e-distribution's increasing importance, Nix believes publishers will always have a role to play in the chain. "We will work with [publishers] to distribute retail packages of future products that we will also distribute online," he said. "We also will keep working with publishers on the larger more traditional products especially on the console focused titles. The new model is a way to bring new types of content to a new set of customers with a new distribution channel. This is a way to grow the industry, not replace the publishers or the retailers."
Now, I do like the idea of selling the game BOTH online and as retail stores.
I would've never bought HL2, if it didn't come on CD/DVD at retailer stores.
As for the game itself Nix says, "Characters have always been important to the Sin universe and the episodes will continue that tradition with strong characters including a new teammate in the form of Jessica Cannon, an infiltration expert. We also have new weapons to go along with Blade's signature Magnum. We are using a modified version of Valve's extremely powerful Source engine as the base for development and we are able to do incredible things with the AI and vehicles that we never would have dreamed of in 1998 when the first Sin title launched."
Sounds cool to me.
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=c...id=324&Itemid=2 (http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=324&Item id=2)
Steam Powered
by Christian Svensson
Print E-mail
Tuesday, 05 July 2005
Ritual is planning to launch Sin Episodes through Valve's Steam e-distribution system, marking the first time a third-party has used the service. CEO Steve Nix spoke to Next Generation about the bold plan.
Ritual becomes the first developer to sign on to distribute content through Valve's e-distribution system. At least two additional developers are expected to announce similar plans in the coming weeks.
I wonder who the other 2 are...
Independent developers and publishers alike will closely watch the success or failure of Sin Episodes as one of the first examples of game software to go this route via Steam.
The first episode is tentatively scheduled to be released on Steam late in Q3. The company says each episode will constitute up to six hours of gameplay, with a sub-$20 price tag.
Up to six? First I heard it was around six, now it's up to six??!?!!?
Ritual CEO Steve Nix told Next Generation, "There is strong evidence that customers are getting more comfortable with content in non-traditional chunks. It's now common to purchase one song from the internet as opposed to buying the whole CD at the store. The same should hold true for our market and digital episodic content delivery."
Makes sense.
He added, "When you think about the purchase decision, it's a fairly major time and dollar commitment to plunk down $49.99 at the store for a 20 to 30 hour game."
But at least w/ $50, you are getting that 20-30 hours you speak of -- depending on what you buy, of course. A respectable mark for $50, if you ask me.
W/ $20, you're only getting up to 6 hours.
"A product that is easily downloadable from a Steam account and is longer than a DVD in length but at a similar price should be an easier thing to commit to. The team was involved in the decision to be a leader in this space from day one with Sin Episodes and the enthusiasm level is extremely high."
Pricing model
On pricing, Nix says that Ritual will be closely following the models set by other forms of entertainment. "We really want to look at other competing forms of entertainment and have pricing that provides a great value to our customers comparatively. If you consider the cost of going to a movie or purchasing a DVD, that's what we want to compete with. Looking at those things, we are targeting a sub $20 price for three to six hours of gameplay per episode. There will be multiple episodes in a calendar year but we are not on a set schedule and will release each one 'when it's done'."
Not a good analogy.
A movie DVD you plunk $15-20 down is actually in your hands and yours to own on disc. I have not seen a business model yet for buying movies digitally online -- mainly b/c I don't think anyone even w/ Cable or DSL in their right mind would take the time to do a download of a 6GB movie when you can buy it at the store.
By doing STEAM, SiN Episodes is NOT on disc and is NOT in your hands.
"We haven't really forecast a specific level of sales for the first Sin episode, but given our substantial margins on Steam, we become profitable very quickly. If an episode does anywhere near the volume of a merely average game title, it will be extremely successful on the financial side. The math is very much in our favor and this is a great business model."
Ritual believes retail will not lose out from a system which largely bypasses them. "We are going to reach one audience by delivering episodes through the internet and we will expand to another consumer group when the retail collection of episodes hits store shelves," explains Nix. "Our early discussions with retailers indicate that they want to sell great games to their customers regardless of the initial distribution channel. We still need to reach customers looking for a more traditional content offering at a standard price point and the retailers understand that. A great product can thrive in both channels even if one happens before the other."
When SiN hits the retail stores to the point that I can physically own a game on CD/DVD, maybe you can count me in.
Self funding
As other developers consider the e-distribution route, Nix has some encouraging words for the future: "We are self funding all development for the title and that is not an option for all independents yet. Once we have proven the model, we will see VCs and other investors working with independents to solve the initial funding problem. Professional investors will be more attracted to this model with smaller incremental investments than the current hit driven model with $10MM development bets.
For the moment, Ritual will be handling its own marketing, though it intends to use more grassroots efforts for promotion. "Like most independents, we do not have a marketing department or a large marketing budget so we have to be more resourceful in that area," says Nix. "We launched a very successful viral marketing campaign with www.legionpharma.com (http://www.legionpharma.com) and we will be working with other hardware and software partners that are interested in seeing successful PC products happen on co-marketing opportunities."
But even with e-distribution's increasing importance, Nix believes publishers will always have a role to play in the chain. "We will work with [publishers] to distribute retail packages of future products that we will also distribute online," he said. "We also will keep working with publishers on the larger more traditional products especially on the console focused titles. The new model is a way to bring new types of content to a new set of customers with a new distribution channel. This is a way to grow the industry, not replace the publishers or the retailers."
Now, I do like the idea of selling the game BOTH online and as retail stores.
I would've never bought HL2, if it didn't come on CD/DVD at retailer stores.
As for the game itself Nix says, "Characters have always been important to the Sin universe and the episodes will continue that tradition with strong characters including a new teammate in the form of Jessica Cannon, an infiltration expert. We also have new weapons to go along with Blade's signature Magnum. We are using a modified version of Valve's extremely powerful Source engine as the base for development and we are able to do incredible things with the AI and vehicles that we never would have dreamed of in 1998 when the first Sin title launched."
Sounds cool to me.