Pre-Order = Beta Tester?

[dangerrrr]

hi guys,

was just wondering how many people would be interested in pre-oredering civIV at this early stage in order to guarantee themselves beta testing if Firaxis was to offer?

Galatic Civilization II has just done this and it appears to have been a success!

Any feedback welcome!

Dangerrrr

 

[Drakan]

Me !!

 

[Nobody]

i would to

 

[V. Soma]

me too, count me in...

 

[Synthshadow]

Save me a seat aswell....

 

[mastertyguy]

me too, sure, any time!!!

 

[ybbor]

who wouldn't?

 

[Commander Bello]

who wouldn't?

Me.

Where is the point in throwing the money down the drain right now just for getting a torso of a game?

Not to be misunderstood, I would like the idea to beta test the game. But only, if there would be at least a minimal chance to see the found errors being fixed.

The experience from C3C tells us, that exactly this is not going to happen. Don't you guys remember the Forbidden Palace catastrophe? And what was the explanation? "We changed some things after beta tests ended...."

You would pay money for this? May I announce my newest game? Come on, sign in for testing it - at only € 49.99!

 

[ybbor]

no, you would pre-order the final copy of civ4, and you would get beta-testing thrown in.

Assuming you would buy the game anyway (as anyone in this forum would) all it is is paying a little early to beta test

 

[Commander Bello]

no, you would pre-order the final copy of civ4, and you would get beta-testing thrown in.

Assuming you would buy the game anyway (as anyone in this forum would) all it is is paying a little early to beta test

But it would result in the same: I pay NOW € 49.99, I have to download 650 MB of data, the game doesn't work, I report the errors, they don't get fixed and 9 months later I get a CD with a game on it, which I stopped playing 5 months ago.

Sure, some will spend those € 49.99 anyway, but why offering them a loan without interest?
As beta testing is about ensuring the quality of the product (which is going to be sold, later on) beta testing is to be free of charge.
AND IF they did their job, I will spend my money. If they did not - no trade.

 

[North King]

who wouldn't?

Me. I don't have that kind of money... I'm waiting until it's a good $20 or as a gift.

 

[Synthshadow]

I thought the idea of beta-testing was it was free to the testers to report bugs, glitches, problems with gameplay, so when the PROPER game came out £40 or whatever there were as few problems and glitches as possible.

Was I wrong?

 

[dh_epic]

That IS the main purpose...

But sometimes companies use it as a means to generate hype before launch. Google has been beta-testing gmail for the past half year or more. Part of it is drawing in loyal customers, and part of it is having the hype of "we had x million users already signed up at launch!" Welcome to the age of marketing.

I don't claim to know what Firaxis/Take Two's goals for marketing and customer rewards are.

 

[Volstag]

I too wouldn't mind "beta testing" Civ IV -- and, unfortunately, I have this feeling that's exactly what the initial release is going to feel like. What I'm not looking forward to, however, is the amount of inevitable whines/complaints about "beta testing" the product. In a perfect world, consumers shouldn't have to "fix" products, but, alas, we don't live in a perfect world.

 

[dexters]

Seems like a gimmicky promotion to me.

Who would refuse such an offer, but there are better ways to get beta testers. I do however see the idea as being a bit more democratic in that the ability to test is just your willingness to buy a game, and not an opaque process.

 

[warpstorm]

Not me. While I would gladly test for free, I won't pay for the honor.

 

[dexters]

Not me. While I would gladly test for free, I won't pay for the honor.

If you bought Play The World, you did.

 

[warpstorm]

I knew you would say that (you are too predictable) (To be honest I was given a copy for free).

 

[garric]

Bad Idea Its Not Worth It

 

[Level]

It is not paying to beta test, it is preordering the game (which a lot of people will do anyway) and getting picked first for testing because you’re already on a list.