Kyle Pittman From Minor Key Games who created Super Win The Game has done a blog post on Gamasutra about their games, and it shows more poor reception from Linux gamers.
They also only sold 694 in the first week on Steam, and that's very low. It seems the main problem has been press, and the lack of it for SWtG. Press is very important of course, but not always the deciding factor.
SWtG was quite unique too, as it used some interested visual effects to make the game really feel like it was from a different time. Of course there lies the problem, a retro-styled game like SWtG is hitting a very niche market, so it wasn't exactly positioned to sell millions.
I was a gamer back in the days of the Amiga, and I loved it back then, but it doesn't mean I want to go back to those games with their awkward controls and funny looking screens. Not to say SWtG is awkward, but it's very much like all those games I played before my teens.
The game is interesting for the use of screen-effects, but when you get down to it, the graphics and gameplay are very simplistic.
It might be right up your street though, it just isn't my cup.
See the full post here.
I hope the developer manages to do better with their next game. If you wish, you can check out Super Win the Game on Steam or buy it directly with the humble widget.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GSMutcLaiU Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
QuoteI’ve sold about fifty copies on Linux, which is a drop in the bucket next to what it cost me financially and emotionally to support that platform.
They also only sold 694 in the first week on Steam, and that's very low. It seems the main problem has been press, and the lack of it for SWtG. Press is very important of course, but not always the deciding factor.
SWtG was quite unique too, as it used some interested visual effects to make the game really feel like it was from a different time. Of course there lies the problem, a retro-styled game like SWtG is hitting a very niche market, so it wasn't exactly positioned to sell millions.
I was a gamer back in the days of the Amiga, and I loved it back then, but it doesn't mean I want to go back to those games with their awkward controls and funny looking screens. Not to say SWtG is awkward, but it's very much like all those games I played before my teens.
The game is interesting for the use of screen-effects, but when you get down to it, the graphics and gameplay are very simplistic.
It might be right up your street though, it just isn't my cup.
See the full post here.
I hope the developer manages to do better with their next game. If you wish, you can check out Super Win the Game on Steam or buy it directly with the humble widget.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GSMutcLaiU Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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yeah so 846 sales total so far, about 50 linux which means about 6%. That doesn't sound like a terrible percentage but obviously when your total sales are so low it's going to be hard to financially justify a port for a platform that makes up only a small part of them. Then again I wonder if that number of sales justifies making the game at all in the first place. Kinda pointless to be bitching about just Linux if it's a failure even on the big platform too.
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To be bluntly honest here: I don't mind if we miss out on a handful of these small indie games. I'm sorry, but it's a loss I can handle with very little pain. Just as long as it is profitable for the AAA productions, I am totally cool. That's what we need. The small indie games will always be there - heck there's even open-source free indie games out there that's pretty darn decent.
What surprises me with these kind of stories is that this even came as a surprise to the developers. I mean, how on Gods green earth could they expect more than 6% of sales to a platform that represent less than 2% of the total market on Steam? Just, how? Don't they do *any* kind of calculations during the planning stages?
What surprises me with these kind of stories is that this even came as a surprise to the developers. I mean, how on Gods green earth could they expect more than 6% of sales to a platform that represent less than 2% of the total market on Steam? Just, how? Don't they do *any* kind of calculations during the planning stages?
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natewardawg 16 Nov 2014
I don't think his problem is Linux sales, his problem is sales in general. Linux user base is 1% of Steam, yet he sold about 600 copies across all platforms in the first week. The game has been out for 6 weeks. If he had 600 sales each week he would have 3600 sales total (edit: I missed the 846 total in his article). But, we all know that sales drop off dramatically after a few weeks, so his sales are probably more like 2500. Multiply that by 1% and he should have had 25 sales on Linux. But, he had 50 sales. That means his Linux user base bought his game twice as much as he should have projected.
Also, his sales are probably low because his price is too high. I'm not talking as a Linux gamer here, I'm talking as a gamer in general. His game probably takes less than 5 hours to complete, which means you're paying more than $2 per hour of gameplay, whereas you can find other games where you're paying about $0.25 per hour.
Also, his sales are probably low because his price is too high. I'm not talking as a Linux gamer here, I'm talking as a gamer in general. His game probably takes less than 5 hours to complete, which means you're paying more than $2 per hour of gameplay, whereas you can find other games where you're paying about $0.25 per hour.
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Is this a rerun? I feel like I've heard this story (or one like it) before.
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If you read the whole article, he's not only bitching about linux sales, be the sales in general of his game. The low linux sales is just a small point in the whole postmortem. For example, he also says that he had made a drm-free version of the game for the humble store and only sold 2 copies!
But he also states that all the work made to port the engine to linux and mac will be reused for his next games. It's not like he is saying "linux, no more".
His point is more about wondering if doing linux and mac version day one is such a good idea and wether he should have used this time and energy to do a "better" game and done the port later.
But he also states that all the work made to port the engine to linux and mac will be reused for his next games. It's not like he is saying "linux, no more".
His point is more about wondering if doing linux and mac version day one is such a good idea and wether he should have used this time and energy to do a "better" game and done the port later.
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I wonder if probing the market with crowdfunding would make sense in these cases. Or, much less work, they could have posted a survey on GoL to check the interest exclusively from Linux gamers (considering that Linux market sales varies about between 1-5% knowing the size of the Linux market can be a way to estimate the windows market as well). They could have realized that there was no enough interest in such a game (it's not necessarily a matter of visibility) and they could have adapted it to a more appealing product.
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This is one of my favorites among anything that's released this year. Including any AAA premiering on Linux. I do understand that it's a niche game but it's far from the same thing as booting up one of the classics it's inspired by through an emulator as it's a modern take on the genre, including design and tight controls. It's a game that should appeal to indie hits like Super Meat Boy but I agree that the price point probably put many off the game even though it felt just right to me.
And Skiski is definitely right in that the developer is not singling out or bitching about Linux specifically. It's just one of many points he makes about where he might have gone wrong; including the price of the game.
It's a great game but it hasn't found its market. I hope the winter sale and a potential future permanent price cut might remedy that.
And Skiski is definitely right in that the developer is not singling out or bitching about Linux specifically. It's just one of many points he makes about where he might have gone wrong; including the price of the game.
It's a great game but it hasn't found its market. I hope the winter sale and a potential future permanent price cut might remedy that.
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thelimeydragon 16 Nov 2014
I enjoyed the game. However the only problem I had is that the game seems to be fixed to pulse audio which I do not have on my system.
So I had to play the game on another Linux system to play it with audio.
So I had to play the game on another Linux system to play it with audio.
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I also want to note that the developer has been great at responding to and fixing issues reported on the Steam forums. If you mention that issue there I'm sure he'll at least try to get it sorted out, thelimeydragon.
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Go! GameBoy Mario Style :D (boring for me)
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thelimeydragon 16 Nov 2014
I also want to note that the developer has been great at responding to and fixing issues reported on the Steam forums. If you mention that issue there I'm sure he'll at least try to get it sorted out, thelimeydragon.
I mentioned it to him on the day of release. Sadly never did get sorted probably as wasn't the highest priority and also I'm probably playing with "the wrong specs".
But managed to beat the game anyway on my other system.
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it shows more poor reception from Linux gamers.What? 6% of all sales is *great* reception from Linux gamers!
In percentages yes, in actual sold amount, no.
The amount sold is what matters, not the percent.
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In percentages yes, in actual sold amount, no.it shows more poor reception from Linux gamers.What? 6% of all sales is *great* reception from Linux gamers!
The amount sold is what matters, not the percent.
And the overall sales were crap. The Linux percentage is great compared to other games.
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Looks fun, its on my wish list now. When it goes on sale, I'll buy it.
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I bought the game and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I felt like I was going to be one of the very few people paying $12 for such a game.....looks like I was right.
That being said, I completely got my moneys worth. It's hard to explain the appeal, but I find the aesthetic beautiful in a lonely Ico sort of way.
That being said, I completely got my moneys worth. It's hard to explain the appeal, but I find the aesthetic beautiful in a lonely Ico sort of way.
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I bought the game and enjoyed it quite a bit, but I felt like I was going to be one of the very few people paying $12 for such a game.....looks like I was right.
That being said, I completely got my moneys worth. It's hard to explain the appeal, but I find the aesthetic beautiful in a lonely Ico sort of way.
You convinced me, I now represent 2% of the Linux sales.
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In percentages yes, in actual sold amount, no.I don’t agree. Linux users showed much more interest in the game than Windows gamers, and your choice of words implies the opposite.
The amount sold is what matters, not the percent.
It's money from sales that keep developers alive and making games, not a percentage of platforms. That's my point.
I don't want to dance around the issue and get hyped about having a higher percentage than usual when the sales are tiny.
The fact is, even from Linux gamers, 50 sales is very low.
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What is with developers misunderstanding their own statistics? This also happened with Garry's mod
Linux users only make up about 2% of steam overall. So 2% Linux sales is the baseline for "normal" reception from Linux gamers.
You should only question that if your sales are below 2%, and if your sales are above 2% you should be thanking Linux users, not taking a dump on them.
This makes me feel no sympathy for them whatsoever. To blame the group of gamers that had a higher ratio of supporters within its own playerbase than the other OS which they didn't even mention is inexcusable.
This sort of thing makes us look bad when in fact it should be just the opposite.
Linux users only make up about 2% of steam overall. So 2% Linux sales is the baseline for "normal" reception from Linux gamers.
You should only question that if your sales are below 2%, and if your sales are above 2% you should be thanking Linux users, not taking a dump on them.
This makes me feel no sympathy for them whatsoever. To blame the group of gamers that had a higher ratio of supporters within its own playerbase than the other OS which they didn't even mention is inexcusable.
This sort of thing makes us look bad when in fact it should be just the opposite.
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Cyba.Cowboy 16 Nov 2014
yeah so 846 sales total so far, about 50 linux which means about 6%. That doesn't sound like a terrible percentage but obviously when your total sales are so low it's going to be hard to financially justify a port for a platform that makes up only a small part of them.
I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed this.
Back in reality, the Linux sales haven't done too badly, at least according to these numbers...
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If they had only sold 2 copies, 1 on windows and 1 on linux, that would be 50% for linux, which is huge, but only 1 sale is just horrible. Percentage only matters if the sampling is big enough. 900 sales are not really representative compared to the millions of steam users.
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