classicgaming.com's Mis-read on Homebrew Games

[digitalpress]

I started a thread on the classicgaming.com site in response to a poor bit of journalism (the bit is linked in my response). Please have a look, especially if you care about the future of home brew games.

 

Remember to read the article I linked first so you'll know what I'm responding to!

http://www.forumplanet.com/classicgaming/t...1441&tid=297047

[Alex]

I agree with you Joe. I think the original article is well intentioned but is very flawed. Anyway, I'll post my thoughts over there.

[mos6507]

Can anybody think of a way to stop scalping?

 

I can't. You can regulate how many carts people buy but you can't legally force them not to sell them or not to sell them beyond a certain pricepoint.

 

You can shame them if you know they did, but beyond that, it's up to the BUYERS to stop buying at the high prices.

[atari70s]

Thats so true no matter what happens there will always be one left out the best you can do is do like what Brian Prescott did ( and Kudos to him i totally respect him in ) did limited to 99 sold out very fast and then went and made un numbered copies for everyone who wanted one. which was the best thing anyone could have hoped for. but that was his choice if you take that away from programmers and creaters then you take everything away that this country (USA) built on . i think its damn near impossible to keep ebay profiteers away from getting them and selling them for money there should be a set up where people who are in atari clubs liek this one and Digital Press. Gets a special Pass or web adress Pre Orders a copy and has some type of password (IE 32/100 Password: Password. Atari70s@www.atariage.com#298 ) and use that for any protection from out side profiteers from making a killing off of games true collectors will like but will that help the out side atari collector not in teh group , no but we can only do so much. some collectors have to get up look for a site like this sign up be a memeber then thats teh fix to the problem. ) this also will fix any problems with not being about to go to a show. cause after the show you can go to the site (specially given to members order online after the show send in the 25.00 or 30.00 and have it send direct to you . Which might eb the fairest way of keep out people selling for profit. other creaters should look at it this way . i dont know or think they ever will

 

atari70s

[Mindfield]

There really is no way of preventing profiteering on E-Bay. Take, for example, the now rather antiquated card swapping game Magic: The Gathering. Wizards of the Coast had at one time produced relatively few of a few types of cards -- powerful cards, such as Moxes, Time Twisters, etc. To add fuel to the fire, they were limited runs, existing only in the Second Edition series of cards. These cards virtually became currency among hardcore Magic players, with Moxes at one time selling for in excess of $1,000, which "pro" Magic competitors gladly shelled out for. For a piece of cardboard. WOTC didn't like this, and the only way they were ever able to stop it was to devalue the cards by producing more of them.

 

Of course, printing more bits of cardboard is cheap. Producing more cartriges most definitely is not -- especially not in the sort of quantity you'd have to produce to move them off the "Rare+" rating.

 

So, there will always be vintage gaming profiteers who can potentially end up selling a rare homebrew cart on eBay for more than its author made in the whole production run. That, unfortunately, is life, and a generous slice of the sleazier portion of humanity.

[StanJr]

Generally, I feel there is a sort of honor among most people to not be a weasel. Unfortunately, there is one guy who goes into the 7-11 without shirt and shoes and ruins it for the rest of us. Best way to put those meanies out of business is just to steer clear or wait them out. The Magic analogy is a good one, after a while, even some of the most valuable cards flatlined (trust me, I have a box I cannot unload for anything). After a while, those guys will get tired of waiting for a bite or they will get the message and play fair. If not, just keep looking elsewhere, those kind of people are not worth anybody's time.

[rolenta]

This seems like a perfect place to pitch my Gamespot article.

 

For a look at the history of homebrew games (at least through 2000, before this current controversy began), check out

http://videogames.gamespot.com/features/un...rsal/new_blood/

 

 

Leonard Herman

Phoenix: The Fall & Rise of Videogames

[someguy]

I think the writer of the editorial is really out to lunch. The developers of new homebrews really have very little say in pricing, scalping etc.

 

I'm amazed that the writer would try to lay any of the 'fault' with the homebrewers. I'd sure like to see this guy put his money where his mouth is and try manufacturing carts out of his garage. Maybe if he were willing to follow his own advice I might be willing give him some credit...

[blyind]

heh...

is it possible to make them sign a contract b4 they buy the game, saying they will never sell the game for more then they payed for it..atleast not over the internet...

 

i dunno, just an idea.

 

i plan to learn more assembly and eventually make an atari game or 2...

i dont know what it cost to get a booth at next years cge though...anyone know?

i have a decent idea of what it would cost to make the games them selves, from looking at the hoozer web page and stuff though.

[someguy]

>is it possible to make them sign a contract

>b4 they buy the game, saying they will

>never sell the game for more then they

>payed for it..atleast not over the

>internet...

 

I could see asking people to sign a promise not to resell the cart for a short period of time, say 4 or 6 months.

 

The problem is that it's an unenforcable idea. How do you get someone to honour such a promise? Unfortunately, there are folks who would look at such a promise, say "Yeah whatever", and resell the cart regardless.

[+cvga]

Rolenta,

 

Nice article. I don't know when you wrote it but Paul appeared out of nowhere a couple of months ago and actually refunded the money that I had sent him for 'the Core'. I think he did that for everyone he was able to contact.

[Jess Ragan]

I'm not Santulli's biggest fan but even I have to agree with him about this... the article about homebrews on Classicgaming.com was moronic. If the designers of homebrews release the game ROMs on the Internet, and they usually do, everyone can play the games and there's absolutely no reason to get upset about not being able to buy the cartridge.

It does bother me when some game designers won't release their ROMs on the net (Ebivision, for instance), but it is their code and it's their right to do whatever they want with it.

 

JR

[rolenta]

quote:

---

Originally posted by cvga:

Nice article. I don't know when you wrote it but Paul appeared out of nowhere a couple of months ago and actually refunded the money that I had sent him for 'the Core'. I think he did that for everyone he was able to contact.

---

 

The article was published in March 2000. I have since received my refund from Paul also and I told him that if he does actually produce the game, I will gladly pay for it again.

 

[ 09-04-2001: Message edited by: rolenta ]