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Boulder Dash ROM will not be released


Rev

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It was announced via Facebook that the BD rom will be cancelled. Too bad as I planned to get to put on my CC3.....

 

 

 

 

William Moeller

 

I know that Boulder Dash has only been on sale for three months but due to lack of support I've decided to cancel the rom release. Sales were initially strong but have been generally disappointing. The customers have spoken.

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It's easy for me to type this since I was not involved with it at all... The cartridge is a masterpiece of work: great animation, tight control, accurate sound, 1st class job.

 

However, it wasn't released on time for the anniversary to get good reviews/buzz, it was not marketed well individually when it was actually released. Adding those things to the fact that it isn't the most popular style of Intellivision title, and that's that.

 

Don't get me wrong, I pre-ordered my cart, love the game, and when the budget frees up I'll get another cart. But I understand why the overall sales were low.

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I wonder if the cancellation of the ROM is intended to nudge those on the fence (who are waiting for the ROM only option) to buy CIB. Also, I'm not sure how many copies sold, but 200+ copies isn't terrible considering the historical size of the homebrew market. I could see how sales could be somewhat disappointing considering the quality of the game and its reputation, though. Then again, it's not cheap.

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Yeah, that's a bummer.

 

DISCLAIMER: I KNOW NO PARTICULARS!!

 

I would have guessed that this game would be an LTO-flash-only release with the DRM capabilities, given that it was officially licensed. I always want ROM releases, but it looks like there won't be one on this game. :(

 

 

"Sales are bad! Let's intentionally not sell any more!"

 

This is why I'll never be successful in business. Clearly there's something I don't understand about making money.

 

This might help with these two statements

 

There is a misunderstanding. Boulder Dash® was co-published with, not licensed from Frist Star Software. But there are additional on-going costs. Now, take into consideration soft sales and I will leave it at that.

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It's sad that sales of an excellent Intellivision homebrew "have been generally disappointing"... :(

 

It seems like there are not enough intellivisionaries out there

 

Sure there is. Magic Carousel has sold nearly 200 copies. Which is the max amount made btw.

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Maybe the customers have spoken about the $70 + shipping price-to-play. I know I passed at this price point after factoring shipping and Canadian exchange rate. As incredible a release as this is, I just couldn't justify the $100ish CAD dollars. The same will hold true for Hover. And this is coming from a person that has a disposable income, I imagine there are lots of people passing that actually have to pick and choose their purchases.

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No big loss. It's available on so many other systems.

 

 

I wonder if the cancellation of the ROM is intended to nudge those on the fence (who are waiting for the ROM only option) to buy CIB.

 

That sort of tactic doesn't work with me or any of my friends. If that's what they're doing.

 

 

Also, I'm not sure how many copies sold, but 200+ copies isn't terrible considering the historical size of the homebrew market. I could see how sales could be somewhat disappointing considering the quality of the game and its reputation, though. Then again, it's not cheap.

 

The few homebrews I purchased over the years were for gifts and stocking stuffers, things like that. I rarely purchase anything like so over $40-$50. I feel I'm getting ripped off after that point.

 

I've seen games with greater breadth and scope and everything else sell for $29.95 - $39.95, homebrews and full-scale commercial productions alike.

 

 

"Sales are bad! Let's intentionally not sell any more!"

This is why I'll never be successful in business. Clearly there's something I don't understand about making money.

 

That's a rather funny approach. It works for some expensive exotic things like cars, or watches. But for videogames? Probably not.

Edited by Keatah
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I know that Boulder Dash has only been on sale for three months but due to lack of support I've decided to cancel the rom release. Sales were initially strong but have been generally disappointing. The customers have spoken.

How many people were holding out for just the ROM you think? Oh well guess that just means resellers will be the ones reaping the benefits in the future. :dunce:

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Yawn. Did you guys actually buy games in 1980. Your parents did. An on sale game in 1980 was $19.99. Boo ho ho.

 

Inflation Calculator
$ 19.99
In 1980
Value: $61.19
In 2015

Annual Inflation: 3.25%
Total Inflation: 206.14%
Edited by BBWW
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Inflation always get quoted when people complain about the cost of a game. Making games in this day and age is far easier than back then. Look at all the modern development tools and accumulated knowledge. Therefore the cost of development should be a fraction of what it was years ago.

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I thought this sold in the 200ish copies range? Rev is saying maybe even 300? For a $70 homebrew thats fantastic. MANY atari homebrews dont sell anywhere near that and they are typically $50ish or less. Im guessing with the massive amounts of Intellivision games coming out the multiple copies hoarding has slowed down. 300 copies is damn good...

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Maybe it's the number, $49 looks good, $59 looks good, $69 looks good, $70... looks too much ;)

 

I don't really see the point in announcing that ROM will not be released, it looks more like drama. The announcement could be much more like "the ROM will be released once we sell all the physical copies", or more simply "we will delay the ROM release because there are some things out of control" instead of making everyone feel guilty.

 

Just my 2 cents.

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You've read my text before on this... Boulder Dash is not a homebrew; it is an Independent release, same as something from Activision or Imagic or Interphase. Boulderdash fits into the same space as Christmas Carol in that it is a properly written and professionally polished + released title with all of the right licenses and legalese. It makes sense that it costs what it costs, there are no economies of scale to make it as cheap to produce as other games.

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You've read my text before on this... Boulder Dash is not a homebrew; it is an Independent release, same as something from Activision or Imagic or Interphase. Boulderdash fits into the same space as Christmas Carol in that it is a properly written and professionally polished + released title with all of the right licenses and legalese. It makes sense that it costs what it costs, there are no economies of scale to make it as cheap to produce as other games.

 

Not criticizing the price because only manufacturer knows how so difficult is to get everything right, just saying that $69 looks a lot better than $70. ;)

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Keatah, Intellivision dev is not as cheap or fast as it is with modern platforms, even with giants like intvnut and dzjay helping at every turn, not to mention nanochess IntyBASIC. And that is just coding, which is 30% of what it takes to deliver a product.

 

Just focusing on the development angle, please feel free to download the latest tools and push out a game in any form. Please illustrate how inexpensive it is to make something that people might actually buy.

 

 

Inflation always get quoted when people complain about the cost of a game. Making games in this day and age is far easier than back then. Look at all the modern development tools and accumulated knowledge. Therefore the cost of development should be a fraction of what it was years ago.

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People can be funny and adopt strange ways when it comes time to put things on the internet for all to enjoy for free. It doesn't look like drama, it IS drama. Hype, drama, whatever, when it blows over it's all forgotten anyways.

 

One of the best things a programmer can do to drum up business is make the user feel good about the "warez" he/she is peddling. Back in the Apple II days we thought some programmers were gods! And reading the nice warm friendly interviews in the likes of Creative Computing just affirmed our opinions. I won't get into listing my favorites, however I will make a discussion thread in the Apple II section.

 

The point being whenever a game was written by "X" and published by "X" we knew we were getting something good. And after a while we would blindly purchase those games; review unread, sight unseen, game unplayed.. And we were rarely disappointed.

 

I don't follow the modern homebrew scene for intellivision that much, there hasn't been anything that grabbed my attention. But on the VCS there are several programmers whose games fit the goodness I just described.

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Magic Carousel has an "Intellivision history" where people Intv game fans know about it and have been waiting for years to get their hands on it. Boulder Dash is an unknown in Intv circles and also had to actually be made and legally published - the overhead is huge. So without an effort to sell Boulderdash on the Inty to match the effort it took to make it, I can see out MC is the more popular seller.

 

 

 

If Magic Carousel is out-selling Boulder Dash, that's extremely sad news to me.

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