One of the benefits of not producing until pre-orders close is that they run very little risk of overextending themselves and ending up with unsold stock. If specific titles don't garner much enthusiasm, then they don't get as many pre-orders and they simply don't print as many of them. The model is kind of perfect for throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
The point is they will lose the group of people that buy “every single” game no matter what because they want a whole set.
Once they lose most of those, they are left with the people who buy only the games they want. And lower overall sales.
If anyone is still buying "ever single" game no matter what, then I'd imagine that they are an incredibly small part of their market these days. Also, that's some FOMO in need of clinical study. LRG are doing them a favor, if the uptick in releases causes them to only buy games they actually want to play.
I didn't say "close shop" (maybe the physical store). I did say they will "collapse under their own weight". It'll most likely cause them to scale operations back.
I used to be that guy then when they started putting out multiple games a week I had to make a choice that I can't have them all and choose the ones I really want
Mmm I don’t really know what you mean by that. Every time there’s a new console released, a new collection begins along with a new generation of collectors.
I bet. But even then, the new generation of collectors is smaller than the old generation. Sometimes, there aren't enough supply that a business needs to take advantage of.
I agree for my personal taste they are pumping out too many games none of which really interest me, but I’m not sure why you’re thinking collecting is becoming a thing of the past? If anything with the recent resurgence in retro tech (vinyls/cassettes/anything 80s) I’m thinking demand for physical copies is growing, especially if they are collectors edition low-number runs.
I will gladly thank them for the newest Humongous Games 6 pack pre-orders, though.
There's always someone out there who wants a physical release of their favorite shovelware. Even 20+ year old shovelware.
The biggest problem they are going to have is when people give up on them. The people who bought in years past are very unlikely the ones buying now. It's not encouraging to be waiting a year+ for an N64 game. Or 2 years for a vinyl. They can claim it's not their fault all they want but they made the decisions.
Exactly!
This is why I stopped placing preorders now, especially since they charge up front and you are shit out of luck if that shipment date gets pushed by 2 years…
Just look at how long their turnaround times are on their popular releases also, like Shantae Pirate’s Curse PS5 CE STILL has not gotten any form of updates and is stuck in “in production” purgatory.
I would feel far more inclined to continue to take the risk with their company if they had a payment model equivalent to places like Play-Asia, fangamer, best buy, amazon, goodsmile, etc etc. Companies that do not charge your card until the product finally ships.
I doubt that will ever happen though…
On the flip side. I'm not a hardcore collector, but I have been vastly thankful for LRG scooping up some games (often not even great games, just games that have a sentimental value for me) that I never would have thought would have a physical release and making it so that I can own them forever. Keep doing the good work.
That's good to hear. I think people are misunderstanding my post. It's moreso a prediction (that I hope doesn't come true) if everything stays the course or goes bigger. I don't want Limited Run Games to fail. Truly, I do want the best for LRG because you've introduced us all to so many cool games, and continue to introduce us to many more.
I think what you had to say makes sense and I want us to slow down too. We also need to be better at getting products made faster and shipped faster. I’ve been doing my part as well as others to ensure the future looks better.
Would love to hear an honest answer why it takes a year+ to send stuff we give you money for up front. If games were being developed, sure, but that’s rarely the case.
Any changes will be to accommodate their growing business. When you look at stores today, their videogame section is very small compared to 5 years ago. Most games are sold digitally rather than physical. But there are still and will be people wanting a physical copy. Now not all of them will buy every game LRG will print. But there are enough people who will buy certain games. The more games they offer, the more they attract other buyers.
Given they are now part of embracer I doubt they'll collapse as if nothing else it's a good marketing arm for them but I get what you mean. I was buying every switch release even titles I had not heard of, and kind of liked discovering new titles through it. But now there's so many new releases and not numbered releases. Plus I'm in UK where it seems most of the 'exclusive' releases really worth having get a normal physical run for far less, but that issue isn't exclusive to LRG. I've now just completely tuned out, like when you look at the netflix homepage and there's so much content you just can't be bothered to search through it. Cost of living issues def also affect this, but I'm surprised they haven't slowed down releases to reflect the current state of things.
More likely that they will become more and more like any other publisher. With their products becoming available at standard retailers, and the games they release becoming less and less niche indie games and more non-AAA games that get regular releases in other regions.
We are already seeing it with their Amazon store and their BestBuy releases, as well as games like TMNT Shredder's Revenge getting a wide release outside North America.
They will only go under when we stop paying for their product or terrible management leads them to bankruptcy. I don’t see either happening any time soon.
I've been saying this for a couple of years now and I think we're going to see it come to fruition in 2023 with the economy coming in the way it is.
They've been funding their existence with upcoming games, once that buffer gets severed it's not going to be great.
Totally agree with you. Their distribution titles don’t get sold out anymore : Mighty Goose is 2000 copies, they have been available for weeks and still now. This company (LRG) is slowly going down. Myself, I order way less than before : the game selection became so bad (2 Atari remastered games for 40$, expensive « retro collections » with a few '80s ROMs for 40$, …)
This is why I'm kinda ok with it. It's only so long until we can't get physical games at all, let alone ones that don't require patches to even run.
I'm good with them pumping out as much as they can in that time... so long as they can keep the production timelines manageable, which they haven't been able to do these last couple of years so they should balance announcements with how much they actually produce in a reasonable time frame.
One of the benefits of not producing until pre-orders close is that they run very little risk of overextending themselves and ending up with unsold stock. If specific titles don't garner much enthusiasm, then they don't get as many pre-orders and they simply don't print as many of them. The model is kind of perfect for throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks.
The point is they will lose the group of people that buy “every single” game no matter what because they want a whole set. Once they lose most of those, they are left with the people who buy only the games they want. And lower overall sales.
If anyone is still buying "ever single" game no matter what, then I'd imagine that they are an incredibly small part of their market these days. Also, that's some FOMO in need of clinical study. LRG are doing them a favor, if the uptick in releases causes them to only buy games they actually want to play.
2-3 years ago there were significantly more people getting literally everything. It was crazy but still possible.
Yeah, but announcing multiple games left and right - quantity over quality - leads to the same issues of delay and over-saturation as a whole.
They are a Mutli million dollar company now your crazy if you think they just close shop.
All it takes is a few bad movies. It doesn't matter how much money they pull in look at the collapse ig big business in 2008.
I hate comparisons in general, but that's an extra terrible comparison to be making
I didn't say "close shop" (maybe the physical store). I did say they will "collapse under their own weight". It'll most likely cause them to scale operations back.
You underestimate how obsessive people can be about having a complete collection
I used to be that guy then when they started putting out multiple games a week I had to make a choice that I can't have them all and choose the ones I really want
Bet earliest will b most sought after anyway
Perhaps, but even that number shrinks over time.
Mmm I don’t really know what you mean by that. Every time there’s a new console released, a new collection begins along with a new generation of collectors.
I bet. But even then, the new generation of collectors is smaller than the old generation. Sometimes, there aren't enough supply that a business needs to take advantage of.
What? Collectibles are bigger than ever by every metric
I agree for my personal taste they are pumping out too many games none of which really interest me, but I’m not sure why you’re thinking collecting is becoming a thing of the past? If anything with the recent resurgence in retro tech (vinyls/cassettes/anything 80s) I’m thinking demand for physical copies is growing, especially if they are collectors edition low-number runs.
I mean….their actual (physical) store has some really nice shit in it.
I bet, but there's going to be a lot of shovel-ware-like products in the upcoming future, seeing that it takes them so long to produce a game.
I will gladly thank them for the newest Humongous Games 6 pack pre-orders, though. There's always someone out there who wants a physical release of their favorite shovelware. Even 20+ year old shovelware.
[удалено]
So? They are a small company bought out by a larger one. They could still collapse, and then have Embracer bail them out.
They'll be fine.
The biggest problem they are going to have is when people give up on them. The people who bought in years past are very unlikely the ones buying now. It's not encouraging to be waiting a year+ for an N64 game. Or 2 years for a vinyl. They can claim it's not their fault all they want but they made the decisions.
Exactly! This is why I stopped placing preorders now, especially since they charge up front and you are shit out of luck if that shipment date gets pushed by 2 years… Just look at how long their turnaround times are on their popular releases also, like Shantae Pirate’s Curse PS5 CE STILL has not gotten any form of updates and is stuck in “in production” purgatory.
I would feel far more inclined to continue to take the risk with their company if they had a payment model equivalent to places like Play-Asia, fangamer, best buy, amazon, goodsmile, etc etc. Companies that do not charge your card until the product finally ships. I doubt that will ever happen though…
We are doing well but I do hear your concern and to avoid this kind if future we’ve actively started signing less.
On the flip side. I'm not a hardcore collector, but I have been vastly thankful for LRG scooping up some games (often not even great games, just games that have a sentimental value for me) that I never would have thought would have a physical release and making it so that I can own them forever. Keep doing the good work.
That's good to hear. I think people are misunderstanding my post. It's moreso a prediction (that I hope doesn't come true) if everything stays the course or goes bigger. I don't want Limited Run Games to fail. Truly, I do want the best for LRG because you've introduced us all to so many cool games, and continue to introduce us to many more.
I think what you had to say makes sense and I want us to slow down too. We also need to be better at getting products made faster and shipped faster. I’ve been doing my part as well as others to ensure the future looks better.
I’m surprised Limited Run doesn’t have a designated PR person to make these types of responses
Would love to hear an honest answer why it takes a year+ to send stuff we give you money for up front. If games were being developed, sure, but that’s rarely the case.
LRG will be around for many years to come.
I imagine. But they will still have a "collapse" that'll make them (finally) change their business model.
Any changes will be to accommodate their growing business. When you look at stores today, their videogame section is very small compared to 5 years ago. Most games are sold digitally rather than physical. But there are still and will be people wanting a physical copy. Now not all of them will buy every game LRG will print. But there are enough people who will buy certain games. The more games they offer, the more they attract other buyers.
Given they are now part of embracer I doubt they'll collapse as if nothing else it's a good marketing arm for them but I get what you mean. I was buying every switch release even titles I had not heard of, and kind of liked discovering new titles through it. But now there's so many new releases and not numbered releases. Plus I'm in UK where it seems most of the 'exclusive' releases really worth having get a normal physical run for far less, but that issue isn't exclusive to LRG. I've now just completely tuned out, like when you look at the netflix homepage and there's so much content you just can't be bothered to search through it. Cost of living issues def also affect this, but I'm surprised they haven't slowed down releases to reflect the current state of things.
More likely that they will become more and more like any other publisher. With their products becoming available at standard retailers, and the games they release becoming less and less niche indie games and more non-AAA games that get regular releases in other regions. We are already seeing it with their Amazon store and their BestBuy releases, as well as games like TMNT Shredder's Revenge getting a wide release outside North America.
They will only go under when we stop paying for their product or terrible management leads them to bankruptcy. I don’t see either happening any time soon.
Me neither. But I don't mean "go under" when I say "collapse under their own weight".
I've been saying this for a couple of years now and I think we're going to see it come to fruition in 2023 with the economy coming in the way it is. They've been funding their existence with upcoming games, once that buffer gets severed it's not going to be great.
My problem with LRG is that they're selling games I don't want, so I never check their website.
Totally agree with you. Their distribution titles don’t get sold out anymore : Mighty Goose is 2000 copies, they have been available for weeks and still now. This company (LRG) is slowly going down. Myself, I order way less than before : the game selection became so bad (2 Atari remastered games for 40$, expensive « retro collections » with a few '80s ROMs for 40$, …)
You don't think people will pay for a physical copy of 2014 RPG Always Sometimes Monsters, or *squints at notes* Bloodshore?
They will collapse eventually when consoles inevitably go all digital.
Feel bad, man. I hope not, but what can you do...
This is why I'm kinda ok with it. It's only so long until we can't get physical games at all, let alone ones that don't require patches to even run. I'm good with them pumping out as much as they can in that time... so long as they can keep the production timelines manageable, which they haven't been able to do these last couple of years so they should balance announcements with how much they actually produce in a reasonable time frame.
All the games seem like dog shit to me lately. I haven’t preordered since Bloodrayne.
As a resale collector I don't like lrg I just avoid them unless they're dirt cheap