+Philsan Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Markus, the market appreciates original boxed software but not every software. For example, Yoomp! (it's the only photo of box I found), Bomb Jake, Hobgoblin are sold out. Those games have a lot in common: free to download, state of the art packages, awesome games on cart (Bomb Jake saves high score), nice prices. I bought first version of Venture but I discovered that software was unfinished and I had to return it. I didn't buy the final version of Venture so far because the publisher makes poor packages. As written other times, it's a shame because Peter's games quality (Tempest Xtreem) deserves a good package. Roll Tris/Thetris package demonstrates that it is possible to make a good package (in my opinion too big...) with a very nice price. Line Runner tiny package is another option. Freelancer Games makes nice boxes too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 Sorry for step into this discussion here... But I am not sure if it is up the price... I just released (to support my printed Atari-Magazine PRO ( C ) ATARI to cover the costs which are not fit by sales) THETRIS / ROLLTRIS and CAVEBLASTER+ on DeLuxe Disk-Editions... For 15/18 Euro There are also included royalities to the coders of the software, to support them also. You can find the post here in the forum and here I will include again the photo of the items! But even with this small price, the feedback is not really well... On ABBUC JHV I sold one (!!!) and by orders some, but not really enough! So I think the market won't have any original-stuff liked Software anymore... It doesn't depend on the price, even the cartridges are at US$30 I would say there will be no sale more. Sure, everyone have to take care of the money... But if you know also the coders behind will be supported. This should be reason enough to buy some new software at least. Just my two cents... Cheers Markus Some questions would be how many of these games on floppy actually got sold. Did a lot of people just download it free. We sold 30 Ventures on cartridge so far and about 60 Tempest Extreems over the past 5 years. Been working on knocking the pricing down on cartridges, or possibly Video 61 manufacture is own board cartridge with shell. One issue about using flash cartridges is that you are already spending upwards $25 per cartridge before you can mark it up for your own profit. KJMANN12 and Video 61 also expressed concerns about the SIC! cartridge being low quality to be used many times. Something must be durable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+S.D.W. Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 (edited) Maybe you should try releasing one of your games as an ATR download at $9.99 and see what kind of actual money you end up making? Might be worth a shot just to see where it goes. I'd spend $10 on pretty much anything. I paid $12 for some gloves that look like underpants. Why? I don't know. Anyhow, at $10 I'd buy it and I'm sure other people would too. It's obviously a risk though. I'd like to support you but $40-$50 for Venture? Not a chance. I doubt I would pay much more than that for a real Venture arcade machine. Truth is, I doubt I would play it for more than 30-60 minutes so I could never justify paying that much money. Just my point of view. Best of luck to you. Edited November 3, 2014 by 917k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 I know a few were concerned that $50 was too much to pay a game that they will play hours now and then. That is why I decided to make the 16K version using compression and Atari Sales can put it up for $40. Several other games are in the works that use compression and fit onto a 16K cartridge that will sell for $40. The games we are working on that require larger EPROMS are like action adventure games. The 16K Venture plays the same as the 32K version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Has anyone sold any substantial quantity of product using video 61??? I just seems to be a theme poor sales, yet others make their own as mentioned peppered amongst the threads and they sell out... and make further sales minus the collectors edition first runs and then get another swell of sales and follow it with a free to download disk and flash images.... so it seems the collector buy it and leave it sealed and play the downloaded versions.. three tiers and everyone made money and was happy. So where does it all go wrong with V61 and why do we think SIC! or The!Cart would be inferior somehow? Last I checked they weren't held together with scotch tape or have orange potato chip residue running things, what exactly is the quality issue if you burn it to any cart.. I never had any cartridge fail me in 32 years, except a double sided sticky tape shell falling apart and I don't want to go there again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 (edited) Now that I think about it there should an e-mail address in the game screen credits and on the box/cart so the buyer can contact/register with the coders to crosscheck against distributor's claimed sales.... maybe that would help sales! Edited November 4, 2014 by _The Doctor__ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 With my sio2sd and AtariMax flash carts, I have no desire to spend $50 on a cart. Put each game up for $5 download and then I'd be buying. I guess releasing on floppy would be cool if it came with a box and instructions, but then it would need to be priced at $15 or less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FifthPlayer Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 With my sio2sd and AtariMax flash carts, I have no desire to spend $50 on a cart. Put each game up for $5 download and then I'd be buying. I guess releasing on floppy would be cool if it came with a box and instructions, but then it would need to be priced at $15 or less. What he said. Actually, I'd be willing to pay up to $15 for a game of the caliber of Venture or Tempest Xtreme that I could download and flash to my AtariMax cartridge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Being based here in the United States, it is better to stick with XEGS, Williams, and Atarimax formats. THE!CART is too expensive to be used for just one game. SIC!CART 128 kilobyte is about the same as getting an 128k Atarimax cart after factoring in shipping. Video 61 switched Venture to use the 16k brown cartridge shells instead on the Williams, and it is selling for $39.95 with free shipping, $10 cheaper now. Atari Sales has a deal it is free shipping for orders around $40 and over. I think me figuring out how to use the inflate compression routine does help me get around using bigger bank switching cartridges that are more expensive. I have some games in development that go onto 16k cartridges with the help of inflate. The Williams cartridges, IC socket with chip has an issue being a tight fit when trying to put it together. I am working on an Adventure type game that fits into 64k ROM space, can be assembled to use Williams, XEGS, or Atarimax bank switching formats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 But true to the V61 B.S. free shipping it over $40.00 so let us price the game at 39.95... when it's all said and done you pay about the same price now for the cheaper version.... facepalm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 (edited) But true to the V61 B.S. free shipping it over $40.00 so let us price the game at 39.95... when it's all said and done you pay about the same price now for the cheaper version.... facepalm V61 ships Venture for free at $39.95. Ignoring the 5 cents. If he went any lower, you will end up paying more for the cost of the cartridge + shipping. I am not sure too many people read it here, I have released a free game called "Secretum Labyrinth : Kings Gold". Secretum Labyrinth is an adventure game series I have in development. The other games in the series will have larger maps and require the larger ROM space of a cartridge so they can be played on the majority of Atari computers (64K XL /XE). Undecided about 48K 800 compatibility at this time. I know someone on here is making boards for the 800 that make them compatible with the 800XL. Edited November 6, 2014 by peteym5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 A service like Gumroad would let you put the digital version up and sell with a fee of 5%+$.25 of the price ($15 would have a fee of $1). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kjmann Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 There will be No Digital Downloads of Venture or Tempest Xtreem. Period. If peter wants to sell his games in that fashion (Secretum Labyrinth, Delta Space Arena, etc) that is up to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 (edited) I have decided no digital downloads or floppy disk versions of my games I am putting up on cartridges. That is unless I can charge $5000 USD per download. That should be enough to compensate for damages to myself, Video 61, and KJMANN for all the copies you plan to give to your friends. I have to agree with KJMANN12 that there will not be any other versions than cartridges, and I am taking the position not replying to requests about digital downloads or floppy disk versions. I made an effort to put the game on a 16K cartridge that has a better shell for $40 because of some negative feed back when the cartridge was first released. You want to play Venture on Atari? It is $40 now at atarisales.com in a better cartridge. Not good enough? NO GAME FOR YOU! I am putting up downloadable beta / demos of a few games with limited abilities compared to what I plan to put on cartridges so we can debug the programming before it is burned onto a cartridge. I am doing all the programming for my games and want to make sure I am putting out a quality and bug free product. It lets people debug, provide us with feedback, and give people a preview of what we are doing. Edited November 6, 2014 by peteym5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 LOL 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CyranoJ Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 (edited) Gorf, is that you? "That is unless I can charge $5000 USD per download. That should be enough to compensate for damages ....... I am putting up downloadable beta / demos of a few games with limited abilities compared to what I plan to put on cartridges so we can debug the programming before it is burned onto a cartridge." +-+-TRANSLATING+-+- "Hey, I don't trust you. You're a scumbag. Now help me debug this, will you?" So you don't trust people... but you trust them enough to help you debug something.... Edited November 6, 2014 by CyranoJ 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+remowilliams Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I have decided no digital downloads or floppy disk versions of my games I am putting up on cartridges. That is unless I can charge $5000 USD per download. That should be enough to compensate for damages to myself, Video 61, and KJMANN for all the copies you plan to give to your friends. I have to agree with KJMANN12 that there will not be any other versions than cartridges, and I am taking the position not replying to requests about digital downloads or floppy disk versions. You want to play Venture on Atari? $40 now at atarisales.com. Not good enough? NO GAME FOR YOU! I am putting up downloadable beta / demos of a few games with limited abilities compared to what I plan to put on cartridges so we can debug the programming before it is burned onto a cartridge. I am doing all the programming for my games and want to make sure I am putting out a quality and bug free product. It lets people debug, provide us with feedback, and give people a preview of what we are doing. Quote for utter absurdity. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FifthPlayer Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I have decided no digital downloads or floppy disk versions of my games I am putting up on cartridges. That is unless I can charge $5000 USD per download. That should be enough to compensate for damages to myself, Video 61, and KJMANN for all the copies you plan to give to your friends. [...] You want to play Venture on Atari? It is $40 now at atarisales.com in a better cartridge. Not good enough? NO GAME FOR YOU! Good luck with your business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peteym5 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Putting Venture out on @ $40 is certainly better than what we started with. You know I intended my prior remark to be humorous in response to the way people will not stop being a pain in the butt about downloads. However our position stands to put the games on cartridges. I have considered floppy disk versions with nice folder box, manual, and cover art, after the cartridge has been out for several years. So the cartridge version of the game has a chance to make money. However once that goes out, all the cartridge sales suddenly drop because floppy disk media is real easy to copy. At one point, I thought about making Secretum Labyrinth more difficult to get past certain points without a manual that will contain hints and how to. That will only deter if there is a floppy disk version. I am also considering a cartridges with multiple game titles on one cartridge. Do this after I get several games finished. Categorize them, put several sci-fi/space games on one and fantasy/adventure games on another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 At one point, I thought about making Secretum Labyrinth more difficult to get past certain points without a manual that will contain hints and how to. That will only deter if there is a floppy disk version. Guys like you are a dying breed--thank God. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mclaneinc Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 How about a multiple of some of your older games on one cart? I have to say that Venture is well worth the money, a truly cracking game which also gives me a reason to play with my old hardware as well As for the digital downloads, yes they DO get pirated as seen on the C64 but they also do sell very well with a couple of small companies doing quite well out of having them as that option as well as carts and tapes BUT I had this conversation with Sal and he like you have made your case and crystal clear which is your choice and despite what Sal said, I'd NEVER try and put a developer off producing for any machine nor would I encourage piracy, I'm just grateful that we have great devs like yourself putting stuff out and often for free so we win either way. My only suggestion would be to think more carefully about the wording in what you claim was a humorous post, trust me it didn't come across that way in the least and suggesting people are pirates with zero cause isn't good business practice, Sal did the same to me and at no point did I personally say I could or would pirate the games, I don't actually have the knowledge to do it / crack any protection but more importantly I value peoples good work and try to help the community in any way I can. I'd doubt there are any pirates on here, just good folk looking to keep the Atari alive, folk who have kindly sent me games that were all originals, never seen or been offered any present day on sale games ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Stephen Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 A cart can be copied and distributed by probably 90%+ of the people here. The thing is, nobody has done it. I'll not nag about what format you release your games on, but the constant arguing and insinuating that everyone here is a pirate does get old pretty fast. Maybe you should consider moving to the Jaguar forum. You'll get more support there for burning the pirate flag 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 True just about anyone can dump a cart and burn/flash a new one today... and it take less time than making a cup of tea.... Fact is 99 percent of the people here do the honorable thing... we do a good job! When you don't give the consumer what they want they become disgruntled and instead of willingly paying you for a medium that suits their needs, you end up creating people who depise the whole thing........... that kind of person might secret a cart copy and release it to the masses covertly..... 9 times out of 10 when someone is that worried about being ripped off it is because they rip off everything themselves... intellectual property... ideas.... code... in fact whole games re-written or ported when the known Flossie the sheep loving creator is still active alive and coding for many platforms..... all you had to do was ask... Yak loves you and so do I 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+CyranoJ Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 A cart can be copied and distributed by probably 90%+ of the people here. The thing is, nobody has done it. I'll not nag about what format you release your games on, but the constant arguing and insinuating that everyone here is a pirate does get old pretty fast. Maybe you should consider moving to the Jaguar forum. You'll get more support there for burning the pirate flag Yarrr. No, he won't. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozar Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I was never a Venture fan, but was wanting to purchase it to help out the A8 scene. Well, that's not going to happen now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.