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tbh, going slightly off topic, I think it's a bit much to assume that these folks (who have indeed been doing games for many consoles over many years quite successfully) are too stupid to realize they should take their fan base into account.The real issue, near as I can tell, is that it was/is an unsustainable business model. Unlike most gaming platforms, "real" digital pinball comes with a built-in expiration date - once you've built all the tables there ever were, it's over. There's no further source of significant revenue stream, except from straggler purchases. As a result, you a) have to price your tables incredibly high (owing to development obsolescence combined with astronomical licensing fees) and b) conserve your profits from early efforts to see you through for a while as revenue continues to necessarily decline. Yes, they hawk on new platforms as they become available, but a) how many will buy for those new platforms that didn't before, and b) how many are willing to spend that kind of money on more than one platform? You also have to hire on additional staff to develop for and support these additional platforms, because while core technical knowledge about PA may not change, it's unrealistic to think that dev and QA staff will be able to handle both the technical divergence across platforms and the additional workload...and employee salaries are the #1 expense of any company. Not only that, consoles in particular have continued to extend their lifetimes, not shrink them, so the concept of a new console every other year is a historical relic.We are long past the 'salad days' of Pinball Arcade now, where those who were going to purchase tables and Season Passes already have and there aren't many tables left to (viably) build and sell. Revenues have dried up, and thus key developers, testers, and designers that were in it from the beginning can see the writing on the wall and are departing for greener pastures. Given the same conditions, what would YOU do? I, for one, like to eat, and I'm sure they do as well.As a result of this unsustainable model, the end is nigh. There's just no money coming in to sustain it, and what cash-on-hand they did have was apparently tragically wasted on a new UI (in development for THREE YEARS?!?) that nobody wants, with no way back *and* no way forward.I don't know what I might have done differently - perhaps they could have considered a pay-to-play annual subscription model, but that would likely have driven most customers away prior to even an initial purchase (paying $30 for a season is one thing, but would you pay it year over year, if it offered you better support, communication, and timely bug fixes? You may think 'yes'...but would you REALLY?).Whatever the case, it's too late now - there's no money in the coffers, the product is irreparably broken, and they have managed to forge an incredibly bad reputation that will continue to haunt them...which sucks, because there was REAL talent in the company marketing a very engaging product that I for one quite enjoyed while it lasted.tl;dr they are listening, there's just nothing they can realistically doRodney
tbh, going slightly off topic, I think it's a bit much to assume that these folks (who have indeed been doing games for many consoles over many years quite successfully) are too stupid to realize they should take their fan base into account.
The real issue, near as I can tell, is that it was/is an unsustainable business model. Unlike most gaming platforms, "real" digital pinball comes with a built-in expiration date - once you've built all the tables there ever were, it's over. There's no further source of significant revenue stream, except from straggler purchases. As a result, you a) have to price your tables incredibly high (owing to development obsolescence combined with astronomical licensing fees) and b) conserve your profits from early efforts to see you through for a while as revenue continues to necessarily decline. Yes, they hawk on new platforms as they become available, but a) how many will buy for those new platforms that didn't before, and b) how many are willing to spend that kind of money on more than one platform? You also have to hire on additional staff to develop for and support these additional platforms, because while core technical knowledge about PA may not change, it's unrealistic to think that dev and QA staff will be able to handle both the technical divergence across platforms and the additional workload...and employee salaries are the #1 expense of any company. Not only that, consoles in particular have continued to extend their lifetimes, not shrink them, so the concept of a new console every other year is a historical relic.
We are long past the 'salad days' of Pinball Arcade now, where those who were going to purchase tables and Season Passes already have and there aren't many tables left to (viably) build and sell. Revenues have dried up, and thus key developers, testers, and designers that were in it from the beginning can see the writing on the wall and are departing for greener pastures. Given the same conditions, what would YOU do? I, for one, like to eat, and I'm sure they do as well.
As a result of this unsustainable model, the end is nigh. There's just no money coming in to sustain it, and what cash-on-hand they did have was apparently tragically wasted on a new UI (in development for THREE YEARS?!?) that nobody wants, with no way back *and* no way forward.
I don't know what I might have done differently - perhaps they could have considered a pay-to-play annual subscription model, but that would likely have driven most customers away prior to even an initial purchase (paying $30 for a season is one thing, but would you pay it year over year, if it offered you better support, communication, and timely bug fixes? You may think 'yes'...but would you REALLY?).
Whatever the case, it's too late now - there's no money in the coffers, the product is irreparably broken, and they have managed to forge an incredibly bad reputation that will continue to haunt them...which sucks, because there was REAL talent in the company marketing a very engaging product that I for one quite enjoyed while it lasted.
tl;dr they are listening, there's just nothing they can realistically do
Rodney
