Dotemu Apologises For Confusion Caused By Different Physical Editions Of Streets Of Rage 4

Was it not written anywhere that there was a difference?

If not then I'd still be upset that I missed out on the art. Otherwise, people just need to make sure they read what they are purchasing.

I think the Tee Lopes remix might make up for it.

I got the LRG version just the other night, but didn't know about the other version until after I bought the LRG one.

Had I of known, I would have gotten the other one, since it had more goodies and (IMO) better box art. But oh well.

A lot of the controversy was because of people feeling "ripped off" that LRG's release wasn't going to be the only physical version of the game, even though that's something LRG has no control over. I'm guessing they were scared that the game's resale value would be lower. Boohoo to them.

I refuse to support the business model that Limited Run and other limited print publishers use. False scarcity and psychological manipulation (fear of missing out) are just scummy sales tactics in my opinion. I’m glad smaller publishers like Merge Games have been picking up indie titles and helping them get to retail.

If a game doesn’t receive a regular physical release that I can go pick up at any store that carries games, I just buy it digitally.

@Cevil Yeah, I absolutely support their right to do business and obviously there’s an audience for it. It’s just not for me.

Was pretty messed up they did this to them collectors. And they didn't even care until people started to complain. Had this been Nintendo the whole world would have burned them at the stake. But it's not, so it's ok.

I'm getting tired of this system of limited physical printing of games... 😕

@EVIL-C It's a good scam. Collectors think they're rare and buy them up. Company just prints what people preordered and calls it a day. They don't even care how poorly the game reviews, it's too late anyways,

@mesome713 I'm also very annoyed that Shantae is going LRG for the release of Seven Sirens. WayForward is an established business that has released all their previous Shantae games at regular retail. There's no excuse for it to be limited.

The system is getting abused and now larger publishers are using it and distorting the whole spirit of getting little indie teams a chance at retail.

This was really mismanaged, but I can't find it in me to complain too much as I was never going to order the super limited edition anyway. I might have been tempted by a slightly more expensive edition with a steelbook and OST CD, as I love those things, but paying a lot of extra money for a steelbook PLUS a regular case PLUS another big plastic box and no CD just didn't make sense for me (not a fan of using extra plastic for boxes that have no actual use), and the Signature Edition made even less sense as enamel pins and a cheap bandana (and wow, another box!) are not really things I need.

And I couldn't care less if my edition is ultra limited, super limited or only slightly limited. I really just wanted to have a physical copy.

So if I get a free CD out of this weird mess, I'll be a very happy camper. No steelbook, but whatevs.

(No offense meant to people who are serious game collectors and actually want all that extra stuff. It's just not my thing.)

@mesome713 Well....yes, they would become rare. The games themselves are not, because you can purchase it digitally, but for those of us that feel a physical edition is more valuable for longevity sake, publishing 3K or 4K would indeed have a specific finite number to hunt for if you’re a collector. I don’t disagree about the FOMO tactics but at least they are not kidding that the chances of seeing it physical elsewhere are pretty slim.

@Magrane Good games that sell good shouldn't be limited. Poor games that none wants to buy shouldn't be used as a rare tactic to trick people into buying them in fear they'll miss out on a rare game.

It's gambling. Theyre playing with people's money.

@Grot Well said. I made my first LRG purchase with this game. Only to read this! Very disappointed, but won’t complain too much. Business is business. I’ll definitely be waiting before purchasing anything else I buy from LRG.

@Grot you're in luck because DotEmu is giving this game a regular retail release

I think they couldn't be more happy for this. It's a cash grab for them why else would they let this go. SHAME ONE THEM...they know exactly what they did.

This is why on twitter I complained on twitter why is it so hard for them to put it in one clearing house with links to their respected site and let buyers decide. But I suspect it was all about $$$$$$$.....

Not being sarcastic, genuinely wondering why it's an issue that there are more physical releases happening for the game? I ordered the LRG copy, so can someone Explain to me why it's an issue more are being printed from someone else?

@mesome713 But it’s up to the developer themselves to choose to publish the game. Look at Stardew Valley for the Switch. Sells great but the developer is holding out on a physical publish, probably due to the cost. And I’m also sure these same companies are not going to sell games that are poor if they are not marketable. On top of all that, the small publishing companies themselves take a “gamble” if they don’t make it limited as what are they going to do with a stock of game that blows?

I don’t see the gamble perspective. They sell a product and you enjoy it because now you have a physical versus electronic version. The end. Let the collectors make the choice as a possible investment.

And a developer will make a physical version of a good game if they know it will sell and they have the money to invest in that. Dotemu sure doesn’t and that’s why it made multiple offers.

@Grot I disagree, if you dont want the game within the first month of release (like within the PreOrder window) then most probably will not get it at full price ever. They are the small guys, merge is medium scale

Next time? It's too late for many people. They (and by they I mean developers) just have to say if a game is going to have a physical release, but before its launch, before people buys it digitally thinking that it won't be released any other way.

And then the LRG release was announced as an exclusivity, many people preordered it, just to see 7 days later that the game would arrive to Japan and Europe with regular distribution.

That's not the way to do things. If an indie game releases only digitally and sells well enough to make a physical copy months later that's fine, although it punishes early buyers. But when they released SOR4 they had to know a retail was going to exist, and not only by LRG.

@Magrane " if they don’t make it limited as what are they going to do with a stock of game that blows?"

exactly its like people can't get that in thier heads.

I saw a few days ago that game.co.uk now also have a physical edition for preorder. They totally screwed this up, no idea what they were thinking

I'm just happy LRG cancelled my pre-order, no questions asked. They normally wouldn't accept a cancellation request.

Didn't the same thing happened with "River City Girls"?

Apology accepted. I kept my Limited Run pre-order as it wasn't their fault, but I could have saved on some postage. Very janky, but I'm always impressed by a company that can say sorry in a meaningful way.

Im not sure I see the issue, being from UK, I toyed with the LRG order but then in the end I simply refuse to pay that much in delivery costs for what is essentially a american import.

So I was banking on the game getting a separate euro release which it has and just like many other games from the LRG catalogue have. Lets be honest in the history of videogaming different regions have always had different releases, so why should this be any different?

Perhaps they (Dotemu) could have announced this difference of regions beforehand, but my guess is that LRG didn't want them to and the issue here is really that LRG don't let customers cancel orders due to their business model isn't it?

I was the same with Panzer Dragoon remake, but that doesn't appear to have a euro physical release planned for now, so its just tough, win some lose some.

@mesome713 wel you also have to blame the state of retail games. If you’re not a large publisher it gets expensive to release a large amount of game worldwide. For smaller release games it ends up being produced in small numbers and scarce anyways so it’s really the same situation except here you order directly from the source.

@Strictlystyles You have to order before the game is even reviewed. If they had a system to where you can still order a copy after reviews, then would be great.

God, I really really hope they license Panzer Dragoon too.

I’m not sure why so many on here are having issues grasping this.. so I’ll try and explain.

“Limited Run Games” are a company that do do physical copies of games that are on a limited run. - buy it now or miss out forever. They are mainly for collectors and are geared to that market. They very much see themselves as having “fans” not customers - it’s more about collecting the whole series of limited run games - not wanting the exact game for many. - if that game is going to be made available elsewhere - it is stated. Like when they started doing Best Buy ones. They are expensive. LRG and can take a year to ship the games. You buy from them as a collector.

If then their games are available in a shop for half the price when you are still waiting for them to despatch the game to you it’s poor form.

Basically LRGs and their ilk (elk for Dave Gorman fans) seemed a good idea but their model is now broken. When a game gets popular it has another run or mass run.

This streets of rage thing was a shambles from the off as it’s clearly a game that should have got a standard release.

LRG milked it. Like they milk everything and didn’t have a clear contract did let customers know and it’s bitten them.

I wanted the game physically and was ordering something else at the same time so ordered it. I don’t mind it’s got another release as I know LRG and others do this often now.

It’s just bad form. They need to change their name and the whole concept of limited runs and them being collectors items needs to get in the bin as it’s only gonna get worse from here in

@HammerKirby Yes, Merge Games is putting out the wider release. That’s why I mentioned them.

@Metroidswitchpls I’m not sure what you’re getting at here or what it has to do with my thoughts on limited print publishers.

Is that Streets of Rage 5 confirmed then? (I know, I know, sorry to all those who aren't satisfied with the physical releases).

I was a little bummed out especially since LRG is starting to collect sales tax which makes up for the shipping mostly. I'm not going to get up in arms about it though since I really enjoyed the game.

Yeah, I don't get the hurt feelings on how LRG does business. If you want the game, you best pre-order early. It's a limited run because no one is interested in storing unsold copies in a warehouse. The publisher doesn't want to do that and LRG doesn't want to do that.

If you're feeling "psychologically manipulated" into buying something, that's on you man. If buying an LRG release and regretting it because the game sucks then maybe someone else should handle your money.

It sounds like people are whining that LRG doesn't do business in a way that's convenient for them. Oh well. Opt out. It's a choice.

This is my first LRG game and I'm only doing this because I want to share my physical copy with a friend. Most of my 20ish Switch games are digital.

@Grot I'm saying one month for availability is plenty of time to decide whether someone wants the game or not. I know from my and many others habits is that if someone doesnt want a game in the first year of release, it's that they're waiting for a sale or price drop, which is fine but I wont knock lrg down for that specific reason.

@ramberk exactly this feels like people who never regretted a purchase before. I like there model from a consumer and dev point of view

@Stocksy Amen to that!

I remember the days when EVERYTHING had a physical Hell I remember the old school way of getting a preorder by essentially buying a empty box at Target and they were very limited. If you were ever so lucky to be there when there was any available I'd grab the nearest employee like it was a emergency. I'd display that empty box on a shelf like a trophy to make all the neighborhood kids jealous.

@Kalmaro Your comment confuses me. Limited run games makes games that are (not surprisingly) limited run. So when people buy from there, it’s been games that are not made in physical copies anywhere else. In this case, it seems another company was also given the contract to make the game alongside limited run. Which defeats the purpose to some extent, of buying the ‘limited run’ game.