Is it right for Steam to sell Early Access games?

[endtherapture]

I've noticed Steam increasingly selling games in "early access". What do you think of this practise?

I personally would not buy one, I'd rather just have the finished product and I don't agree with selling something unfinished for so highly priced.

 

[tippy2k2]

If people are willing to buy it, they should be able to sell whatever they want. As long as they are not lying to you about what you are getting, they can sell whatever they feel like.

 

[Fat Hippo]

If people are willing to buy it, they should be able to sell whatever they want. As long as they are not lying to you about what you are getting, they can sell whatever they feel like.

This.

And people should then definitely not go complaining about bugs and the like. You paid to play an alpha/beta, you knew what you were getting into, and if you didn't, you should've informed yourself first.

Personally, I don't see myself paying for early access any time soon either. But if someone else wants too, that's their business.

 

[GiantRaven]

I guess it's ok, seeing as people are willing to buy them. Personally, I feel extremely hesitant on the idea since a couple of Early Access games I bought (DayZ and Starbound) just plain won't work for me at all. I've ended up feeling I've wasted quite a bit of money there.

 

[synobal]

I don't buy early access games, even for games I really want to play. Wasteland 2 for example I really want to play. So I don't have a problem with them doing it.

 

[Aeshi]

Well last time I checked they weren't getting a lawsuit or a cease-and-desist or anything like that over it. So yes.

 

[Smooth Operator]

The thing is devs did it anyway and then massive warnings had to come from reviews who even bother to tell you what gaping fucking holes come with the games. So essentially it's only gotten better by informing you their shit ain't done.

Buy or not? Well that will be up to you, with alphas/betas I always find myself being greatly annoyed while still trying to play around the issues and I usually take it to my breaking point after which I never want to see the damn thing again.
So now I either get into the finished product or not at all.

 

[senordesol]

It's fine for Steam to sell them; so long as the devs make it perfectly clear what it is you're getting, I see no reason to bar you from dropping your hard-earned ducketts on it.

Whether DEVELOPERS should sell early access passes for Full Price+...that's another story. There's nothing wrong with crowd sourcing Beta testing, in my opinion, but your definitely shouldn't be selling the product at or above retail. The people participating are helping you make a better game...and you're charging them *more*? WTF?

But, even then, my opinion is that it's nothing more than sketchy... not necessarily that it should be illegal.

 

[Gethsemani_v1legacy]

I can't see anything particularly wrong with it from a business standpoint or a moral standpoint. If people want to pay to get into the beta or alpha and the developers acquiesce, that's fine. What bothers me about it is how many early access games are constantly brought to my attention by Steam. Some of them show great potential, but I'd rather there be an option for Steam Store to only show me games that are actually, you know, out of development. Overall it is a small annoyance though.

 

[Elijin]

Other than re-iterating senordesol's point about the pricing being funny sometimes (Im looking at you Planetary Annihilation), its not a bad system. Its worth considering that a lot of these games are fairly solid, or moving along very quickly. Games which otherwise might not see a release for months or years due to funding issues. The magic of early access means they can take an idea, show it to you, let you play it, and afford to keep building on it.

All that said, its not exactly a uniform system. Some are better/faster updating than others, and Im sure there are bad eggs out there too, taking advantage.

The main problem I see with early access is people talking about or reviewing the game that seem to display a total lack of understanding that they're playing a beta, not a finished polished product.

 

[Lucem712]

I don't see why not. Some people don't want to buy into a "beta" or alpha even, I can understand that.

Personally, I've purchased 'Prison Architect' which is in Alpha still but is perfectly playable (Still issues of course and new features rolling along with other features being broken at times. Though, hardly major) and I've put over 100 hours into it. So, well worth the price of admission to me; even if I never play the actual game once it's released.

 

[spartandude]

As long as the game is marked as early access and the purchase of an early access games is treated as a preorder (so people being able to cancel it) until it is officially released as a finished game i am fine with it.

 

[Comocat]

Every early access I've looked at comes with lots of warnings about what you are buying. If Steam was passing off these games as finished product that would be one thing.

On the other hand, I feel like a game released too early might end up hurting the company in the end. I tried the "Project Zomboid" demo this weekend and the game was just awful. Maybe had I tried it in a couple months it would be okay, but I'm unlikely to ever buy it now, too many other games and demands competing for my attention.

 

[WeepingAngels]

If people are willing to buy it, they should be able to sell whatever they want. As long as they are not lying to you about what you are getting, they can sell whatever they feel like.

This.

And people should then definitely not go complaining about bugs and the like. You paid to play an alpha/beta, you knew what you were getting into, and if you didn't, you should've informed yourself first.

Personally, I don't see myself paying for early access any time soon either. But if someone else wants too, that's their business.

You are supposed to complain about bugs.

Personally, I think the idea of paying for unfinished games is a bad idea. Paying to be a beta tester sets a bad precedent.

 

[Raikas]

Personally, I don't see the point of paying for an unfinished product and I tend to think that beta periods ought to involve paying someone to do work rather than having them pay you to do the same.

That said, plenty of people are willing to pay for them, so from a business perspective it makes total sense. Why turn down cash, right?

 

[Laughing Man]

I've noticed Steam increasingly selling games in "early access". What do you think of this practise?

I personally would not buy one, I'd rather just have the finished product and I don't agree with selling something unfinished for so highly priced.

As long as they inform you of the status of the game prior to purchase I have no issue with them selling Alpha games. In fact I currently take part in 4 Alpha release games that are available on Steam

KSP Kerbel Space Program
Prison Architect
Space Engineers
Sir you are being hunted

All of them priced well below that of full on triple AAA release titles (some for less than a £10) and apart from Sir you are being hunted all of them have given me more gameplay time than ANY of the current triple AAA full games releases save for GTA5.

Alpha games are no different from full release games, the info about them what is going on how playable they are and how involved the developers are is all out there and it is up to you to do the research before buying the game.

 

[Fat Hippo]

If people are willing to buy it, they should be able to sell whatever they want. As long as they are not lying to you about what you are getting, they can sell whatever they feel like.

This.

And people should then definitely not go complaining about bugs and the like. You paid to play an alpha/beta, you knew what you were getting into, and if you didn't, you should've informed yourself first.

Personally, I don't see myself paying for early access any time soon either. But if someone else wants too, that's their business.

You are supposed to complain about bugs.

Well, you are supposed to report bugs, most definitely. What I meant is, it's silly to complain about the fact that they are present, when their very presence is inherent to the concept of early access, because if the game was done and there were no more bugs, the game would simply be released and not be considered early access.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Only game I did this with was for Metal Gear Rising, because it was very cheap compared to the original price. Otherwise, I'd probably avoid this sort of thing

 

[Elfgore]

Yeah, it's just fine and dandy. The first thing on the page after the pictures is a giant warning that says "This game is early access. Bugs are to be expected." They give you plenty of fair warning.

Now if a developer refuses to finish a game on early access, I do believe those who bought it should be able to receive a refund.