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Hidden And Dangerous Released For Free
Thanks to Blue's News for the information that the PC tactical shooter Hidden And Dangerous has been released for free download by publisher Gathering, to help trail the sequel, out next month. According to Blue, this 'Deluxe' version of the original "...not only includes the full version of the WW2 squad-based combat game, but also the Devil's Bridge expansion, all the required patches and updates, as well as the mission editor." There's BitTorrent linkage to this generous 264mb giveaway courtesy Filerush and via GameTab, and it's noted that you "...can also get H&D Deluxe on a CD as a bonus for preordering H&D2 at EB, GameStop, or Best Buy."
The headline here sounds like a Camp X-ray jailbreak!!! Head for the hills!
Don't blame Durga. I voted for Centauri.
Releasing an old game for free as a marketing ploy.
Valve did them one or two better already.
134340: I am not a number. I am a free planet!
I wish more companies would do this. If a game was five or more years old, just release the game, and maybe drum up support for the franchise again. There are a ton of adventure games that Lucas Arts and Sierra are sitting I'd love to play.
I think that more companies doing stuff like this (that is, releasing a large amount of free content with no or very little strings attached) could do more to counteract fears of piracy than any DRM could.
By releasing free content or making a big deal about free stuff when you pre-order you're going to be building customer loyalty. I realize console game piracy isn't as big of a problem as PC game piracy (at least in America) so this isn't the perfect example, but Nintendo probably ended up selling more Wind Waker copies because of the pre-order deal than they would have otherwise. Likewise with the new Rogue Squadron and Mario Kart games.
PC game companies should follow this lead. Releasing a previous game, in the case of a sequel, or a large number of exclusive demo levels, if it's a new game, can only be a good thing. Homeworld 2 might have sold more copies had you gotten a copy of Homeworld free with your pre-order. Or just free, period.
I remember the demo to Starcaft being three or four 'prequel' missions that took place within the storyline of the game, but were exclusively playable in the demo. I downloaded it even though I'd already bought and enjoyed the retail game. Customers like getting extra cool stuff for free, and will remember you for it.
The extension of that, and the subject of this post, relates to filesharing and piracy fears. If I feel company loyalty to the Hidden and Dangerous guys (because, hey, they gave me this really cool free thing!) I'm going to be less likely to pirate their software, and more likely to frown on those who do so.
I know there are people who will crack and distribute games ilegally just 'because they can' and those who aren't going to pay for a game no matter what. That's not who I'm talking about. There are people, like myself, who do actually buy games, but may occasionally also download illegal versions off Kazaa or the like. And getting our loyalty could do wonders to prevent a company's game from being downloaded without paying for it.
I know I'll be less likely to ever download Hidden and Dangerous 2 because of this. I'll remember that the company is obviously interested in customer loyalty and willing to make an effort to provide a quality product. Even if they're doing it for financial reasons rather than to get a nice warm fuzzy feeling inside (they may have followed the same line of reasoning I did) the end result is the same.
Just my two cents.
-Trillian
Right now torrent is claiming a download time of 5 hours. It'll be interesting to see how much faster it gets as the slashdot effect starts coming into play (story is ~1/2 hour old as I post).
Homeworld 2 might have sold more copies had you gotten a copy of Homeworld free with your pre-order.
#4 on the US sales lists is hardly a poor showing, especially for a RTS game... and the source code for Homeworld is free, 'though I imagine Sierra squashed the idea of releasing the whole game (textures, models, etc.) as they own the franchise.
Now, if we could just get Infogrames to release the stranglehold on the Microprose back catalog...Sorry. I'm an old school Microprose fanboy. :)
You know, I wasn't even a big fan of the game, but bravo to Gathering for doing this.
Nobody does Combat sim and tactics better than microprose imho. I've got 20 titles in my shelf, and only 5 work on my computer right now.. guess I need to boot up my old 486 to get the rest up.
Emulators are great too, but some things are just too old.. sigh.
So does this deluxe edition finally have a proper patch? I doubt it. Gathering of Developers is not exactly known for its bugless releases. Nice games but I will not pay for any more of their crap.
The mafia patch took a bloody year.
I remember the time when patching a game was unheard off. You know when they came on floppies and most people didn't have internet.
Now I don't remember playing a single game recently that didn't require patching.
Sorry end rant.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
then perhaps you should stick to consoles.
First, let me say this: I love getting stuff for free, even some stuff I "shouldn't" (It's not technically legal to download data you own from a source other than the original medium, so even though I have Duran Duran's Decade album, I'm not allowed to download the tracks unless I rip them myself. That's not going to stop me from grabbing "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Wild Boys" off of Kazaa).
The eventual point is, while I am in favor of companies giving away things for free, and especially things that used to be not free, I don't think it's a good idea, commercially speaking. Sure, it builds market base, but it also guarantees a market decay: I hardly ever buy any software new, because I'm patient enough to wait 5-6 months and get it for half the price or less. If companies make a habit of giving away full products for free, I might not buy them at all, save for an occasional token purchase to keep the system alive.
I'm not alone in that sentiment, either. In several areas, movie ticket sales are down, while rentals are up. Reason: Rentals are cheaper. If the public became aware that, within the forseeable future, the product would become completely free, the system collapses. It then becomes a delicate balance of patience versus price.
That's not going to stop me from getting my free copy, though.
Happiness is relative, Based upon the way we live.
Okay. You guys got me. I honestly pulled Homeworld and Homeworld 2 out of my ass because it was the first sequel that came to mind. But you're right, Homeworld is a bad example both because of the source code and because the first Homeworld still probably sells in the bargin bin.
But I think the general principal I was promoting is sound.
-Trillian
Now I'm wondering if I should be writing this in public. It reads to me like an idea that would actually make some nice cash for some folks. :)
First: mod parent post up. Trillian has some good points. One thing:
Customers like getting extra cool stuff for free, and will remember you for it.
You mention Blizzard. I personally think, that Blizzard is (was) one of the few companies who need not have done such a thing. The XCraft series was brilliant, and so was the Diablo Series. At that time, there was one computer game I actually bought for the full retail price and it was a Blizzard title.
Of course, it is a good thing that they did give free stuff away, which was cool even when you already had paid for the retail game.
der Joachim
Geek runner, motorcyclist and professional know-it-all
H&D - one of the hardest games I've ever played. Took months to get to the final mission, which I never completed. Well worth playing multi player co-op, as you need to have snipers covering you as you move.
Looking forward to downloading and playing this again. Yes, it was buggy, but the patches a few years ago seemed to make it playable enough.
Hurry up and patent it! Never mind that Knoppix did something just like that. USPTO's never heard of prior art anyhow.