[quote name='contej85']OVerly limted?
They make niche JRPGs and the like, and simply use a very different business model from the big guys. Instead of shipping 10 million copies and hoping that half of them eventually sell without being clearanced, they ship only enough copies that they are sure they will sell through. The games are always very easy to get at release, and just become scarce quickly.
Unlike huge publishers, Atlus can't afford to have copies sitting on shelves or shipped back to them. That isn't their business model. And with that kind of publisher, if you think the $50 asking price at release is too much, they'd rather not have you as a customer, because you will cost them money. They don't sell enough copies to have them selling later for $20. Not the way their model functions.[/quote]
I realize thats their business model, which is why I edited my post when I originally followed up that very statement with: "They need to stop doing this". But that doesn't make me any less bitter about it. Its very common for a publisher to ship enough copies to go around long after its initial release and quite uncommon for a publisher to do what Atlus does (considering the quality of products), so I don't just automatically forgive them.
I actually think there is a tradeoff effect of this. A positive side is that if they consistency sell enough copies at least break even, they minimize losses on prints that sit on shelves until the price drops as well as the number of secondhand copies in circulation that they make absolutely nothing off of. Also, the inevitable paranoia this will create in fans that if I they don't pick up a copy within the vicinity of release, they were have to go through a hassle of finding a copy when they are ready/can afford it and likely have to pay more than they would've otherwise, and thus help maximize the number of sales at full price.
On the other hand, they are actually directly limiting their potential market and fanbase simply due to the fact that it becomes hard to find copies shortly after release, and if one does learn about the games by then, what do they have to do? Pay 125% or more of the original price.
I'm not gonna speak for a lot of people (but this may indeed apply to a lot of people), but i'd never even heard of Nocturne 5 months ago and had limited knowledge of the Shin Megami Tensei series, period. If I weren't such a hardcore gamer (rather quite a casual), then if I'd suddenly learned about Nocturne and said, "Oh, i'd like this try this", go to retail stores, can't find a copy anywhere, go to stores that deal in secondhand games and not even find one, then look online and realize that the best deal I could find on a new copy was 220% of the original price, then I, and I know for sure more than a few casuals I know would just say "ahh, forget this, I'm not paying that much for this game!" and probably never even give the game or the series another serious thought.
I have no problem believe there are many out there who are indeed potential fans, but not open-minded/willing enough to make that kind of sacrifice to discover just what this series, and more importantly, this company (Atlus) is all about. And I also wanna say I especially sympathize with those who aren't really cheap asses, rather, they just can't afford to buy a lot of games at full price, especially considering today's standard is $60.
If Atlus is satisfied with that, fine. But I don't have to like it. If Atlus is doing this because they have to financially, then I understand an i'm more sympathetic...but I still don't have to like it. Either way (Atlus either doing this out of preference or necessity), yes, the circulation is overly limited. And I mean that in the raw, purely realistic/litteral context that there are simply not very many copies to go around. Thus, the rarity-induced value of a sealed copy can realistically ask for upwards of $200. And when your product is limited, so is your audience.
Hopefully that makes where i'm coming from more clear. I am very much an Atlus fan, I love their games. Admittedly, me being a cheap ass is likely a big reason why this aggravates me, but the fact is i'm not a cheap ass purely out of preference, either. I'm not made of money and I just happen to be a college student living in an apartment at one of the most expensive public institutions in the United States, so in many ways, I don't have much choice than to be a cheap ass. As a hardcore gamer, its all I can afford to be right now, lol.
! (worth a shot anyways).
ed.
