STEAM everything early access??? :-/

Ace Modder said:
Am I being a noob? Where is the coming soon section?
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On the main steam 'Store' page - about the 4th box down there is a tab to select 'New Releases/Top Sellers/Coming Soon/Specials' ;)


I too have noticed that more and more games are going down this 'Early Access' route.

However, realistically it's not really any different to a Beta - which is what most games are currently using it for I believe!
 
I seem to recall that TB made a video about this subject recently, though I haven't watched it yet. There does seem to be an influx of these titles atm, but I'm not sure where I stand on this at the present.
 
It works out a bit of a con as you can consider it being charged for Beta access. Not really as a pre-order in the traditional sense though as you'll be charged immediately!

Arma 3 was on Steam for Early Access for a good couple of months last year.

Like hell was I going to pay £30 for what was acess to a Beta at the time :P

Rubbish one at that...
 
Geekazoid said:
don't like the way this is going for gaming...
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Whilst I am really not keen on it, it isn't really a big deal, as it will not really affect the way you will buy and play games if you are not interested in it.

I don't particularly care if anyone else wants to play a game in Early Access, but there is no way I am going to ever play one!
 
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CougarUK said:
Arma 3 was on Steam for Early Access for a good couple of months last year.

Like hell was I going to pay £30 for what was acess to a Beta at the time :P

Rubbish one at that...
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Except it was £19.99 when first launched and I got over 100 hours out of it before it went "gold" and has been updated MANY times since release.

Do we really want to see the days of publishers dominating the industry and dictating what we play.

How does early access offend anyone, it is ENTIRELY optional if you purchase or not. PERSONAL CHOICE, why would anyone want that taken away?
 
While I don't play many early access games myself (I prefer playing finished games, or at least games that aren't buggy as hell) I don't think it negatively impacts PC gaming really. After all, you don't have to play them if you don't want to (speak with your wallet); and if it wasn't for early access those games simply wouldn't exist out in the wild yet. Some people clearly like playing unfinished alpha/beta builds of games, let them have their fun! :)
 
CougarUK said:
It works out a bit of a con as you can consider it being charged for Beta access. Not really as a pre-order in the traditional sense though as you'll be charged immediately!

Arma 3 was on Steam for Early Access for a good couple of months last year.

Like hell was I going to pay £30 for what was acess to a Beta at the time :P

Rubbish one at that...
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For digital games, pretty much errwhere charges you up front for preorders, whether they come with the preorder bonus of early/beta access or not.

All these games that are doing early access are still preorder, just that the reward is a hefty discount and prerelease access.

Also, how is that a con? You're paying less (£20, not £30) and you get to watch the game progress if you're interested in that. It's like the antithesis of a con.

What a bizarre thing to say. :confused:
 
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The con is the industry rewording it to make it sound like something else, not charging for it.

The emphasis should be on that it is an Alpha/Beta/Work-in-progress or whatever else you want to call it.

Instead they are going to call it 'Early Access' as some people will be brought in by that simple change in title, a simple marketing ploy.
 
If they offer it cheaper than it will be on full release, then you're effectively being paid (an admittedly minute) fee for beta testing the game. If you don't want to, buy it when it's released. Win-win.
 
spoffle said:
For digital games, pretty much errwhere charges you up front for preorders, whether they come with the preorder bonus of early/beta access or not.

All these games that are doing early access are still preorder, just that the reward is a hefty discount and prerelease access.

Also, how is that a con? You're paying less (£20, not £30) and you get to watch the game progress if you're interested in that. It's like the antithesis of a con.

What a bizarre thing to say. :confused:
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It isn't a bizarre thing at all, the con comes when you shell out for a product that gets poorly developed, supported and then ceases. You've paid out the money under the pretence that it will get finished which never gets anywhere near and leaves you out of pocket.

Pre-orders exist to buy what should be a finished product, early access is you being charged for a product that is not finished and may never be.

I've bought 2 early access games and been stung twice with lack of support, I simply wont again. If this is the way PC gaming is heading then its going to alienate a fair few gamers including myself leaving us with a simple choice....continue or not?
 
Sick of it, ill browse games see something interesting and take a look to find its early access and still has "two years" which probably means 4 years in the end if they get that far. I want to see finished products! and not finished products like Rome 2 on release -.-.
 
I personally don't mind it, particularly if it encourages more innovative and original games to market. The fact classics like Minecraft came to market like this just helps support this method.

The rush to get games out this way reminds me of when Kickstarter first hit and you had a glut of game developers try this route. The bonus here is the huge and very active market of gamers on Steam who will buy your game and therefore it's an easier funding route.

Rust and War of the Overworld are the two I'm keeping an eye on.
 
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Im going to be honest, i like this early access feature, but you have to be careful.

There are some games which are truely worth the purchase, like Don't strave and Kerbal Space Program (there the ones i've played anyway)...

But there are also some absolute Wrecks that you need to avoid.. Just do you're research..
 
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