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evilducky
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What is this ??????

 

Let me get this new scam straight...

 

To access a BETA version, which usually is a FREE experience because helps the software house to collect data nad telemetry from "Volunteers" players, in order to SAVE MONEY on professional beta testers,

 

HERE YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR A NOT RELEASED YET PRODUCT FULL PRICE.

 

Are you out of your mind guys??? .. No, I mean, really, I dont mean to insult anyone, but dont you think this STINKS BIG TIME?

 

I am disgusted by such poor marketing manouvers.

 

I never saw such thing and let me put in serious discussion the credibility of this production.

 

Are they running out of funds and hsve to milk gamers "selling" a Beta?

 

What a shame :)

 

They aren't selling a Beta, they're giving Beta out to people who pre-purchase (which makes it a closed Beta, as opposed to an open Beta). This is nothing new, damn near every company does this nowadays. I mean, if you know you're going to buy the game anyway, what's the downside?

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The downside is paying $60 dollars for a digital download and not get their cool box art and all the other things that may come inside of the box with the disk. =P Its almost like a prize box sometimes cause different companies put more stuff in the box than others and you never know what you will get. :) I like their prize boxes, so even though I'm dieing for this came, I don't think I can bring myself to spend the $60 dollars on a digital download. I guess I shall have to play the waiting game =(

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@ MH6:

 

Well, let s put it like this:

 

I am definetely always keeping an eye the the game industry, like probably the most of us. Although you say this is a "common business pattern" for many companies out there, it is quite new to me. probably you can give me some example of it.

 

However, besides that, if this is bocoming a common kind of business or not, it just sounds weird to me.

 

What i saw in many occasions are:

 

1 - open betas, where players are freely invited to test a product and provide feedback - the software in general collect data during the process to help the software engineers

 

2 - closed betas, where the software house make a statement to the public saying the product is in "fial stage" and is tested by a closed crew of ppl - Do they pay to get into the closed beta, I don t know. being a Beta tester a form of job, I would assume they get paid to do their testing.

 

3 - hybrid betas, where they are open to the full public for free only for a limited amount of time (see MoH) and then they get closed, continuing the process only with internal beta testers.

 

This new (to me at least) model of business to pre-sell a full product at full price with the "carrot' to become part of a closed beta is different.

Usually when you pre-order a game, you assume that product already passed the quality review, establishing it as a Final product and you are just ensuring your privilege to get the "fisrt copy out' which is more a matter of proudness for many gamers.

Some other time, with the pre-order you get some incentive like limited special copies, unlocks and so on.

 

Again, here this model is different. Here a final user "pays" to become a beta tester instead to "be paid" for his time and most importantly pays a full retail price for a product that is not even done with the final Quality Control.

 

Alright, i do admit I am being quite anal with all of this, but i hope you understand why it sounds a bit weird to me.

 

Then the beautiful thing is that everyone is totally free to see this process in a private opinion, so if ppl in general is happy with this, good for them :)

 

I am happy as well :)

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@ MH6:

 

Well, let s put it like this:

 

I am definetely always keeping an eye the the game industry, like probably the most of us. Although you say this is a "common business pattern" for many companies out there, it is quite new to me. probably you can give me some example of it.

 

However, besides that, if this is bocoming a common kind of business or not, it just sounds weird to me.

 

What i saw in many occasions are:

 

1 - open betas, where players are freely invited to test a product and provide feedback - the software in general collect data during the process to help the software engineers

 

2 - closed betas, where the software house make a statement to the public saying the product is in "fial stage" and is tested by a closed crew of ppl - Do they pay to get into the closed beta, I don t know. being a Beta tester a form of job, I would assume they get paid to do their testing.

 

3 - hybrid betas, where they are open to the full public for free only for a limited amount of time (see MoH) and then they get closed, continuing the process only with internal beta testers.

 

This new (to me at least) model of business to pre-sell a full product at full price with the "carrot' to become part of a closed beta is different.

Usually when you pre-order a game, you assume that product already passed the quality review, establishing it as a Final product and you are just ensuring your privilege to get the "fisrt copy out' which is more a matter of proudness for many gamers.

Some other time, with the pre-order you get some incentive like limited special copies, unlocks and so on.

 

Again, here this model is different. Here a final user "pays" to become a beta tester instead to "be paid" for his time and most importantly pays a full retail price for a product that is not even done with the final Quality Control.

 

Alright, i do admit I am being quite anal with all of this, but i hope you understand why it sounds a bit weird to me.

 

Then the beautiful thing is that everyone is totally free to see this process in a private opinion, so if ppl in general is happy with this, good for them :)

 

I am happy as well :)

 

I believe you're thinking of Quality Assurance. No one gets paid to Beta test. Usually the public can only get into closed Betas if you've preordered, or won some kind of raffle (i.e. they give out 20 keys every day at noon or some such). QA (Quality Assurance) employees, however, get paid to test the game; but they test it continually as the game is developed, long before it ever reaches the Beta stage. In effect, they are forced to play games loooong before they're ever actually "fun", which is why developers bother to pay them at all (as it is they get paid very little). By the time a game gets to Beta stage, it should be (theoretically...) of sufficient quality for release, with the Beta being used as a stress test (in regards to online games).

 

Starcraft II and Medal of Honor are some recent examples of pre-orders getting access to closed Betas (though MoH also went with an open Beta as well)

 

Wikipedia on Beta:

Beta

"Beta" is the software development phase following alpha, named after the Greek letter beta. It generally begins when the software is feature complete. The focus of beta testing is reducing impacts to users, often incorporating usability testing. The process of delivering a beta version to the users is called beta release. Examples: Call of Duty Black Ops, the Halo franchise etc.

 

The users of a beta version are called beta testers. They are usually customers or prospective customers of the organization that develops the software, willing to test the software for free or for a reduced price.

 

Beta version software is likely to be useful for internal demonstrations and previews to select customers. Some developers refer to this stage as a preview, a prototype, a technical preview (TP) or as an early access.

 

 

[edit] Open and closed beta

Developers release either a closed beta or an open beta; closed beta versions are released to a select group of individuals for a user test, while open betas are to a larger community group, usually the general public. The testers report any bugs that they find, and sometimes suggest minor features they would like to see in the final version. Examples of a major public beta test were Microsoft's release of community technology previews (CTPs) for Windows Vista in January 2005. In September 2000, a boxed version of Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X Public Beta operating system was released.

 

Essentially, while you may disagree on this, I think most people see access to closed Betas with a pre-order as an incentive to buy now rather than later more than anything.

I definitely prefer the pre-order beta system over the 'friend of a friend who is a friend of dev. team member #28' system. Granted I'm sure they still get in the Beta regardless rolleyes.gif

 

Sorry to nitpick, I'm just bored at work. thumbsup_anim.gif

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Thanks a lot for your answer MH6, because it clarifies some obscure info i had about the beta testing process :)

 

True to say, agree or disagree on this topic is just a matter of personal opinion. I do respect your opinion and the one of all the others pre-ordering this product to get into a beta opportunity at earlier time.

 

And yes.. anyway.. I am quite bored at the office too !!! hehehhe

 

See ya soon mate :)

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