Mentioning the $55 price may be harming the idea that it's not about the money, because repro style at that price has a very large profit margin. Of course making something off your hard work isn't a problem (except for the "old school" people) but that is at odds with the motivation.
ok, well, as i said, the $55 figure is not based on anything besides thats how much other coinheaven repros have successfully sold at so i assumed that was the "going rate". I haven't done the pricing on this or anything.. if it can be done cheaper and still make it worth the time and hassle of making and shipping physical objects, then cool.
Originally posted by: bunnyboy
Unrelated to you but mentioned above, when I was starting I contacted Zack about making a more complete Zelda Outlands release, and he did not want it to happen so I didn't. He doesn't make anything from the repro makers and didn't want anyone profiting off his work. If you release your game for free you may want to think about that even though you may not have any legal position.
i don't really care what people do with my rom.. i'm using nintendo's work to make something new so i don't really get upset if people take my work. that's why i'm thinking about doing a cart release with things that can't easily be copied, like my signature, or artwork which is not released in digital form. to basically make an "official" cart that is not reproducible, so that it has value as a collectible
except cionheaven whole idea is profit and making money with multiple variants and limited/numbered versions still cib profit at $35-45 (airball frogger etc) with all new brand new parts instead of the cheaper reproduction carts. tins or plastic cases makes it even cheaper and cheaper looking whenn next to other games it doesnt look liek it fits
Maybe just release the ROM then offer the Box, Instructions and Label, and maybe some token for a price to those who want it complete.
yeah that does seem like a good idea. i wanted to do the cart and rom release simultaneously but I can see how people might want to wait to see if it's "noteworthy" before dropping the cash. of course i think it is, and i'm pretty sure others will think so too, but i can't expect everybody to take my word for it
btw i took the $55 price off the first post since it seems that was distracting people from the main question i have which is would you pay for one at all
I am surprised to see how many people are not interested in purchasing this game, if it was to be released on a cartridge. For me, I am on the fence, simply because I don't play games all too much these days...though it would make a nice present for my brother for his birthday, me thinks. To me, box and instructions is always better than just cartridge...otherwise, why not just get some average Joe to slap the rom onto a cart at some online repro shop? The box and instructions makes it seem more official.
I remember a long time ago, when I had been working on a Castlevania 3 hack. I was rearranging the stages, cranked up the difficulty, and thought it was turning out really good. I kept the game as obviously a hack of Castlevania 3, almost like the SMB2j version. My goal was to provide a new Castlevania 3 challenge for those who mastered the original years ago. When I was finished, I was going to pay a repro maker to put it on cartridge for my brother and I, and maybe for a few friends also, for several reasons.
a) So that we could experience playing the game on the real NES
b) So that my hard work seemed to be a bit more official. Sure, it was a only a hack, but if the game turned out well and wasn't just adding a dick to Trevor Belmont, then why not?
Of course my computer crashed and I lost the rom hack, which was only about 30% done or so, so this is quite irrelevant by now.
I guess my point is, if frantik is not only making a rom hack, but completely redoing everything to make it feel as a totally new game, then I am not sure why people wouldn't be interested in this one. I don't think it is so much about the profit...it is more about putting a limited number of carts out of a game that you "created" and spent 4+ years working on, so that fans can enjoy it. A bit more special than just having several repro makers make varying copies, one here, one there..
I am surprised to see how many people are not interested in purchasing this game, if it was to be released on a cartridge. For me, I am on the fence, simply because I don't play games all too much these days...though it would make a nice present for my brother for his birthday, me thinks. To me, box and instructions is always better than just cartridge...otherwise, why not just get some average Joe to slap the rom onto a cart at some online repro shop? The box and instructions makes it seem more official.
I remember a long time ago, when I had been working on a Castlevania 3 hack. I was rearranging the stages, cranked up the difficulty, and thought it was turning out really good. I kept the game as obviously a hack of Castlevania 3, almost like the SMB2j version. My goal was to provide a new Castlevania 3 challenge for those who mastered the original years ago. When I was finished, I was going to pay a repro maker to put it on cartridge for my brother and I, and maybe for a few friends also, for several reasons.
a) So that we could experience playing the game on the real NES
b) So that my hard work seemed to be a bit more official. Sure, it was a only a hack, but if the game turned out well and wasn't just adding a dick to Trevor Belmont, then why not?
Of course my computer crashed and I lost the rom hack, which was only about 30% done or so, so this is quite irrelevant by now.
I guess my point is, if frantik is not only making a rom hack, but completely redoing everything to make it feel as a totally new game, then I am not sure why people wouldn't be interested in this one. I don't think it is so much about the profit...it is more about putting a limited number of carts out of a game that you "created" and spent 4+ years working on, so that fans can enjoy it. A bit more special than just having several repro makers make varying copies, one here, one there..
Just because people don't want to pay to put it on a cart doesn't mean they don't want to play the game.
everyone will be able to play the game for free using an emulator or powerpak.
i'm just wondering if i should go the extra step and make something for the collector community, because i know some of you guys like to add rare and unique carts to your inventory. An 'official bootleg' would fall under rare and unique imo, but i'm not really a collector, so perhaps i'm totally off base
I wouldn't buy it, but mainly because I don't like Mario games. If you hacked, say, Wizardry into a completely new game, I'd probably buy it (then again, many people wouldn't as it's not really their cup of tea).
^ thanks.. so far there is mixed interest, but enough to think at least a cart only release might be worth it. basically there needs to be significant interest in more than a cart for it to be worth the time to make the extra stuff :-p i didn't realize there was so much drama around how your release it and how much and all that lol
btw, it might not be clear in the first post, but the bit about "twice as big".. in a sense this is two rom hacks in one, as the first 4 worlds (4 x 5, or 20 levels) take up one whole smb rom, and worlds 5-8 take up a second rom. that's one reason it took me so damn long to finish lol.. i had gotten one full rom done and it didn't feel like a big enough game, so i decided to build it in two parts, allowing different things like color palettes and whatnot in each part. of course this is all invisible to the end user. but just wanted to throw that out there
i think some interest building things like videos and the like may boost the interest enough. release date i'm aiming for is late summer/early fall, but i would need to decide about the cart before that obviously, unless i'm gonna wait to do them after the IPS release
Comments
not a kind of a remake that isnt as good mario bros 1.
but thanks for your feedback. obviously the stigma of a billion really crappy smb hacks is a potential issue here..
Mentioning the $55 price may be harming the idea that it's not about the money, because repro style at that price has a very large profit margin. Of course making something off your hard work isn't a problem (except for the "old school" people) but that is at odds with the motivation.
ok, well, as i said, the $55 figure is not based on anything besides thats how much other coinheaven repros have successfully sold at so i assumed that was the "going rate". I haven't done the pricing on this or anything.. if it can be done cheaper and still make it worth the time and hassle of making and shipping physical objects, then cool.
Unrelated to you but mentioned above, when I was starting I contacted Zack about making a more complete Zelda Outlands release, and he did not want it to happen so I didn't. He doesn't make anything from the repro makers and didn't want anyone profiting off his work. If you release your game for free you may want to think about that even though you may not have any legal position.
Maybe just release the ROM then offer the Box, Instructions and Label, and maybe some token for a price to those who want it complete.
yeah that does seem like a good idea. i wanted to do the cart and rom release simultaneously but I can see how people might want to wait to see if it's "noteworthy" before dropping the cash. of course i think it is, and i'm pretty sure others will think so too, but i can't expect everybody to take my word for it
btw i took the $55 price off the first post since it seems that was distracting people from the main question i have which is would you pay for one at all
I remember a long time ago, when I had been working on a Castlevania 3 hack. I was rearranging the stages, cranked up the difficulty, and thought it was turning out really good. I kept the game as obviously a hack of Castlevania 3, almost like the SMB2j version. My goal was to provide a new Castlevania 3 challenge for those who mastered the original years ago. When I was finished, I was going to pay a repro maker to put it on cartridge for my brother and I, and maybe for a few friends also, for several reasons.
a) So that we could experience playing the game on the real NES
b) So that my hard work seemed to be a bit more official. Sure, it was a only a hack, but if the game turned out well and wasn't just adding a dick to Trevor Belmont, then why not?
Of course my computer crashed and I lost the rom hack, which was only about 30% done or so, so this is quite irrelevant by now.
I guess my point is, if frantik is not only making a rom hack, but completely redoing everything to make it feel as a totally new game, then I am not sure why people wouldn't be interested in this one. I don't think it is so much about the profit...it is more about putting a limited number of carts out of a game that you "created" and spent 4+ years working on, so that fans can enjoy it. A bit more special than just having several repro makers make varying copies, one here, one there..
I am surprised to see how many people are not interested in purchasing this game, if it was to be released on a cartridge. For me, I am on the fence, simply because I don't play games all too much these days...though it would make a nice present for my brother for his birthday, me thinks. To me, box and instructions is always better than just cartridge...otherwise, why not just get some average Joe to slap the rom onto a cart at some online repro shop? The box and instructions makes it seem more official.
I remember a long time ago, when I had been working on a Castlevania 3 hack. I was rearranging the stages, cranked up the difficulty, and thought it was turning out really good. I kept the game as obviously a hack of Castlevania 3, almost like the SMB2j version. My goal was to provide a new Castlevania 3 challenge for those who mastered the original years ago. When I was finished, I was going to pay a repro maker to put it on cartridge for my brother and I, and maybe for a few friends also, for several reasons.
a) So that we could experience playing the game on the real NES
b) So that my hard work seemed to be a bit more official. Sure, it was a only a hack, but if the game turned out well and wasn't just adding a dick to Trevor Belmont, then why not?
Of course my computer crashed and I lost the rom hack, which was only about 30% done or so, so this is quite irrelevant by now.
I guess my point is, if frantik is not only making a rom hack, but completely redoing everything to make it feel as a totally new game, then I am not sure why people wouldn't be interested in this one. I don't think it is so much about the profit...it is more about putting a limited number of carts out of a game that you "created" and spent 4+ years working on, so that fans can enjoy it. A bit more special than just having several repro makers make varying copies, one here, one there..
Just because people don't want to pay to put it on a cart doesn't mean they don't want to play the game.
The PowerPak exists for a reason.
i'm just wondering if i should go the extra step and make something for the collector community, because i know some of you guys like to add rare and unique carts to your inventory. An 'official bootleg' would fall under rare and unique imo, but i'm not really a collector, so perhaps i'm totally off base
btw, it might not be clear in the first post, but the bit about "twice as big".. in a sense this is two rom hacks in one, as the first 4 worlds (4 x 5, or 20 levels) take up one whole smb rom, and worlds 5-8 take up a second rom. that's one reason it took me so damn long to finish lol.. i had gotten one full rom done and it didn't feel like a big enough game, so i decided to build it in two parts, allowing different things like color palettes and whatnot in each part. of course this is all invisible to the end user. but just wanted to throw that out there
i think some interest building things like videos and the like may boost the interest enough. release date i'm aiming for is late summer/early fall, but i would need to decide about the cart before that obviously, unless i'm gonna wait to do them after the IPS release