Tales of the Abyss

[Agent Gibbs]

Wish someone somewhere would get stock in, i won't pay scalper £60-300 prices! i'm half tempted to but every copy i ever find and put them on ebay myself, but i'd rather not be a hypocrite, at least resale value will be equal to (or greater than) purchase price if you put it up for an actual auction and not with a ridiculous buy it now figure

[EEVILMURRAY]

This is why preordering things is a sexy concept.

[Agent Gibbs]

true but at the time i just couldn't afford to, besides which they shouldn't make limited batches

[Debug Mode]

true but at the time i just couldn't afford to, besides which they shouldn't make limited batches

 

I kind of disagree and agree with this statement. You can't say "oh, they shouldn't make limited batches", they're a business and don't have too much confidence in the RPG market here which is a valid concern, Tales titles have a pretty niche market here.

 

BUT, they should try another run considering how fast it sold out here, it shows there's potential to drum up some new fans considering this is pretty much the only RPG on the system so far here.

[Agent Gibbs]

I kind of disagree and agree with this statement. You can't say "oh, they shouldn't make limited batches", they're a business and don't have too much confidence in the RPG market here which is a valid concern, Tales titles have a pretty niche market here.

 

BUT, they should try another run considering how fast it sold out here, it shows there's potential to drum up some new fans considering this is pretty much the only RPG on the system so far here.

 

well there original batch was far below the demand, had they judged the market right (one would hope a business would do market research) they would have realised the initial tiny batch wasn't enough at all.

 

I don't expect them to make so much they flood the market thus devaluing their product, but doing tiny production runs is a poor business tactic that forces consumers to buy upon release or miss out forever.

 

That sort of action can work for physical products such as Toys, clothing, or large scale electronic devices (such as consoles) but with games it will drive piracy and play straight into the hands of resellers who artificially inflate prices!

 

The end result is it has a negative impact on the company's image, i already think far worse of them due to this, i'm almost at the point where i'm going to say "screw it, you don't want my custom then fine" however i'd consider downloading a ROM now and this is therefore the net effect of this limited batch mentality.

[Grazza]

I agree with @Agent Gibbs. No offence intended, but think how elitist it is to say people should be onto games before they're even released. Imagine this in a different industry - a book, DVD or CD that you have to order before it's released, or you can't get a copy.

[Debug Mode]

I agree with @Agent Gibbs. No offence intended, but think how elitist it is to say people should be onto games before they're even released. Imagine this in a different industry - a book, DVD or CD that you have to order before it's released, or you can't get a copy.

 

Elitist? What the fuck am I reading?

 

There are multiple factors into why Bandai Namco decided to have such a short stock allocation for this game. Look at Vesperia, that game was in stock for months and hardly any one here bought it. When it sold out, the price went up.

 

Because of this and the obvious niche market, brick and mortar shops do not have confidence in stocking it without pre-orders. Heck, even online retailers are becoming like this for niche titles and too bloody right I say, it's happened a dozen times before where these sort of titles end up getting lobbed off for a fiver or a tenner.

 

As far as I've seen, every one who pre-ordered a copy got it. They supplied enough for the demand, which is good enough to be fair. Whether they'll have a go at a second batch is yet to be seen. The lack of on demand 3DS games doesn't help it either, as Bandai Namco have definitely taken a liking to that with the reduced overheads.

 

EDIT: If it's any help to those who are yet to buy the game, too many people are are getting on the band wagon to sell it used at a profit which is driving down the price. Keep your eye on eBay and especially Amazon market place, as I've noticed one seller reducing his asking price by £14.

 

And definitely keep an eye on Play.com, something seems odd about that release date and it may be a second wave.

Edited December 20, 2011 by Debug Mode

[Agent Gibbs]

Elitist? What the fuck am I reading?

 

There are multiple factors into why Bandai Namco decided to have such a short stock allocation for this game. Look at Vesperia, that game was in stock for months and hardly any one here bought it. When it sold out, the price went up.

Because of this and the obvious niche market, brick and mortar shops do not have confidence in stocking it without pre-orders. Heck, even online retailers are becoming like this for niche titles and too bloody right I say, it's happened a dozen times before where these sort of titles end up getting lobbed off for a fiver or a tenner.

 

As far as I've seen, every one who pre-ordered a copy got it. They supplied enough for the demand, which is good enough to be fair. Whether they'll have a go at a second batch is yet to be seen. The lack of on demand 3DS games doesn't help it either, as Bandai Namco have definitely taken a liking to that with the reduced overheads.

 

EDIT: If it's any help to those who are yet to buy the game, too many people are are getting on the band wagon to sell it used at a profit which is driving down the price. Keep your eye on eBay and especially Amazon market place, as I've noticed one seller reducing his asking price by £14.

 

And definitely keep an eye on Play.com, something seems odd about that release date and it may be a second wave.

 

 

well thats just wrong sorry its wrong, that is using the attitude that because consumers aren't buying they are wrong and being "bad" to bandai, companies shouldn't think like that if they want to expand and survive in general

 

If they had correctly judged the market with vesperia then they wouldn't have had peg warming stock. Too much stock on sale anywhere shows that a company has over anticipated demand and made a mistake - thats a negative against the company NOT consumers fault

 

And they obviously haven't met demand with pre-orders else there wouldn't be people requesting stock now.

 

a better way to tackle this if they wanted to prevent future overstock is to do better market research and do smaller more frequent runs of the product, rather than a limited run

And if they want to do limited runs only they should advertise the games as only for a limited period so then people who look to buy the game in future would order while they have a chance. This would surely give them an idea of the market and force larger runs

 

Its a limited business model which has no room for growth, how do they make new customers if they don't have any stock for new people, the limited run/pre-order only business approach limits the market to only existing fans. If thats how bandai think then they are fools and their demise is only due to this sort of attitude

 

I've got pre-orders with shopto and play

shopto now say its gone forever......

 

(left your whole post so its all in context)

Edited December 21, 2011 by Agent Gibbs

[Debug Mode]

I kind of disagree and agree with this statement. You can't say "oh, they shouldn't make limited batches", they're a business and don't have too much confidence in the RPG market here which is a valid concern, Tales titles have a pretty niche market here.

 

BUT, they should try another run considering how fast it sold out here, it shows there's potential to drum up some new fans considering this is pretty much the only RPG on the system so far here.

 

well thats just wrong sorry its wrong, that is using the attitude that because consumers aren't buying they are wrong and being "bad" to bandai, companies shouldn't think like that if they want to expand and survive in general

 

If they had correctly judged the market with vesperia then they wouldn't have had peg warming stock. Too much stock on sale anywhere shows that a company has over anticipated demand and made a mistake - thats a negative against the company NOT consumers fault

 

And they obviously haven't met demand with pre-orders else there wouldn't be people requesting stock now.

 

a better way to tackle this if they wanted to prevent future overstock is to do better market research and do smaller more frequent runs of the product, rather than a limited run

And if they want to do limited runs only they should advertise the games as only for a limited period so then people who look to buy the game in future would order while they have a chance. This would surely give them an idea of the market and force larger runs

 

Its a limited business model which has no room for growth, how do they make new customers if they don't have any stock for new people, the limited run/pre-order only business approach limits the market to only existing fans. If thats how bandai think then they are fools and their demise is only due to this sort of attitude

 

I've got pre-orders with shopto and play

shopto now say its gone forever......

 

(left your whole post so its all in context)

 

Like I've said previously, I do think they should go on a second run for the game as it'd be incredibly beneficial for both parties (publisher and consumer), but that's totally their choice. I think the line between a business and a service seems to be incredibly blurred in video games. Every game has had a limited print, it's just that Tales of the Abyss has had an incredibly short one. It's not the only one mind, there are shit loads of obscure JRPG's that come here that only meet pre-orders.

 

Do not blame the publisher, blame the factors that actually restrict you from the alternatives. It'll come out in the US in Feb, but you can't do that because of some bullshit region locking. They can't choose the low overhead method of digital distribution that they have done on the 360, because no system is yet in place on the 3DS.

 

And blame the state of the industry as well mate. We now buy too much of the same big name titles as a whole rather than the small titles. I do sympathise with the fact you cannot obtain the game at all, but blaming the publisher who has a tough time with sales with that series in the UK just seems a bit too harsh.

[Mokong]

Is this still a rare game to find?

 

I spotted my local GameStop have a few copies in stock... I know I'm getting a few vouchers for Xmas so gotta wait till then to buy it though

[Ike]

General rule with Namco Bandai if it's not a Dragon Ball game, preorder early.

[Goron_3]

Is this still a rare game to find?

 

I spotted my local GameStop have a few copies in stock... I know I'm getting a few vouchers for Xmas so gotta wait till then to buy it though

 

Buy two copies and sell one off in a year or so, will be worth loads!

 

Edit. I've just seen a few on eBay for around £60 already!

Edited December 23, 2011 by Goron_3

[khilafah]

Is this still a rare game to find?

 

I spotted my local GameStop have a few copies in stock... I know I'm getting a few vouchers for Xmas so gotta wait till then to buy it though

 

dude which gamestop?

[Mokong]

dude which gamestop?

 

my local, Waterford, Ireland... was in there today still in stock... as soon as I get those vouchers for gifts I'll be heading there

[khilafah]

my local, Waterford, Ireland... was in there today still in stock... as soon as I get those vouchers for gifts I'll be heading there

 

cool. I am going mayo next week so will try the store in Castlebar.

[EEVILMURRAY]

Might have to hold mine to ransom when I complete it.

[Sheikah]

I do agree that it's annoying for people to not be able to buy this game but then again I know what this company is like and so got my preorder in really early. This would never happen if Nintendo got with the times and made it feasible to download titles as Sony and Microsoft already have.

[Rummy]

I'm not too keen on big name games being downloadable(well, not the being downloadable aspect, just that I wouldn't). Given this is seeming quite popular though, as DM said, it'd just make sense to do another run. Xenoblade suffered stock shortages and they put out another lot due to demand, this seems to be fairly similar.

[D_prOdigy]

Got this today. Feel like one lucky son of a bitch considering.

[Rummy]

Got this today. Feel like one lucky son of a bitch considering.

 

Haha, where was it found! Or bought early for the festivities?

[D_prOdigy]

Haha, where was it found! Or bought early for the festivities?

 

My dear old mother bought it. Told me stories about how she went round all the brick and mortar games stores on the day it came out, asking about it, only to have most of the assistants say they didn't even know anything about it. Was apparently out of stock on the GAME website when she tried to get it from there, but stuck the order in anyway, and eventually, stock trickled in and it was shipped for me in time for today!

[D_prOdigy]

I'm just an hour in...

 

The voices are awful. I mean, just awful. It's odd because I don't even remember the likes of Symphonia being anywhere near as bad.

 

Do the characters at least stop being so punch-worthy as the story progresses?

[EEVILMURRAY]

Yeah, they mellow out and you get used to them also. But it's even weirder going through all the skits without hearing the voices, since you can't even skip the next line, just the whole thing.

[Sheikah]

I think the voices are really good, with the exception of Ion and maybe Anise. Personal preference it seems, but the VA's can't be accused of not putting effort into their voice and they certainly match their character's personalities.

[EEVILMURRAY]

I keep thinking Ion is a girl due to his looking and sounding like one.