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[c-murph]

Most devs won't trust us with their source code, let alone interns or students.

There's an issue inherent with needing to be compliant with Sony's certification requirements. Bootleggers don't have to adhere to those requirements and can jerryrig whatever launchers they want together. A Vita game must be a single PKG file to be put on a cartridge so the launcher has to wrap all the individual games into a single PKG. I don't think it is possible to have a PKG that contains other PKG files - so the solution to this is not easy. I certainly don't know how to approach it. The long and the short is that it's not an easy thing to do and I don't expect many developers to attempt it when some are already concerned with the super minimal effort required for an individual release.

There's also an issue with Vita carts only being able to store a max of 4GB (Sony does not manufacture bigger carts).

In any case, I'm not speaking for all our current and future developers here. Some will probably be willing to put the work into creating a compilation. It just comes down to how much time they're willing to invest in building a release for us.

4GB only? That's not very much... In theory, can they be bigger?

 

[Varth]

http://thevitalounge.net/forum/threads/limitedrungames.3072/page-15#post-43963

"So we have a potential partner in Japan! Nothing for sure yet, but we may be able to bring some more niche Japanese games, and even possibly localize some!"

Great news for sure.

Best news for me. That's what I wished them to be in the first place. Deffo worth a follow to help the cause.

 

[Shizuka]

Only 10 followers left.

 

[Tapejara]

https://twitter.com/LimitedRunGames/status/689217962860003330

Limited Run Games ‏@LimitedRunGames 45s46 seconds ago
We've officially hit 3,000 followers! Oddworld: New N' Tasty is coming to physical media. Await further details from @OddworldInc!

Yay!

 

[NinjamicWZ]

Hell yes.

 

[Prelude.]

The problem with compilations is that the developers would have to put way more work into the releases than most want. To do a compilation they have to create a launcher, which is a technical feat that will take time and effort from engineers (the highest paid people on most dev teams). If they have to spend a month creating a launcher and dedicate a staff member to that - that becomes a huge hurdle that could ultimately cause them to back away from doing a physical release.

Wouldn't it be possible to put multiple "start game" buttons on the live area of the collection? Kinda like when they put links to the DLCs or their website near the "start" button? You could boot the selected game from there instead of developing an ingame launcher to select it from a collection.
Or is it a limitation of the OS and it allows only one of those buttons per "app"? I know that it's possible to move it around because some games did that.

Edit: I just read the post about Sony's certification requirements so... I guess not?

 

[reptilescorpio]

Awesome, I'm very keen to grab a copy

 

[TheUnknownForce]

Congrats on LRG on getting that many followers!

I'm still hoping you get some Nintendo-publisher status, too, but I am eager to join in. Might get PS4 stuff even though I don't own one yet (got a Vita but the memory card effectively made me stop buying anything for that device).

 

[Olengie]

https://twitter.com/LimitedRunGames/status/689217962860003330



Yay!

yay.

 

[c-murph]

So I assume oddworld is going to be LRG #4 then?

 

[LimitedRunGames]

I understand that it is time / effort / opportunity cost and all that, so feasibly complilations of Game X & Y @ 2000 copies = $Z

From your standpoint, releasing Game X & Y separately @ 2000 SKUs each, does it simply literally double your costs? General sense, not looking at breaking out the balance sheets, etc...

It's kind of complicated - Vita carts are available in two flavors: 2GB and 4GB. 4GB carts are ~2.2x more expensive than 2GB carts for production. If a compilation clocked in at under 2GB, we'd save money on our end by doing that compilation and could theoretically make more by going that route. If the compilation clocked in at over 2GB, it would need to go on a 4GB cart which would make the compilation cost more to produce than two separate releases.

In general cost isn't our biggest concern; rather, it's getting developers onboard and effort is usually the barrier. Anything to decrease that helps and doing individual releases is much easier than trying to recompile everything into a single PKG for cart mastering.

Wouldn't it be possible to put multiple "start game" buttons on the live area of the collection? Kinda like when they put links to the DLCs or their website near the "start" button? You could boot the selected game from there instead of developing an ingame launcher to select it from a collection.
Or is it a limitation of the OS and it allows only one of those buttons per "app"? I know that it's possible to move it around because some games did that.

Edit: I just read the post about Sony's certification requirements so... I guess not?

I don't think cartridges can be mastered with multiple PKG files. A game's PKG file contains the information that populates the LiveArea (the page seen before launching a game on Vita), so I don't think the LiveArea could store a reference to an alternate PKG.

 

[LimitedRunGames]

So I assume oddworld is going to be LRG #4 then?

Those are the current plans, yes!

 

[Olengie]

Which one is #3 again?

 

[NinjamicWZ]

I picture some devs reacting to the "just change one file" thing like:

 

[zenosparadox]

I picture some devs reacting to the "just change one file" thing like:

Depending on the developer/programmer, some people act like the sky is falling whenever they have to make even the smallest change outside of their "normal" workflow. I know from personal experience.

Makes me wonder why they became developers in the first place. Seems like the wrong occupation if you have a problem with change.

 

[Vanethyr]

Which one is #3 again?

Saturday Morning RPG on the Vita.

Got my alarms set and ready for when it goes on sale on the 29th January!

Please don't sell out too soon ;_;

 

[Shizuka]

Saturday Morning RPG on the Vita.

Got my alarms set and ready for when it goes on sale on the 29th January!

Please don't sell out too soon ;_;

Then what's #2? SMRPG is #2, not #3. I think it's a matter of counting overall releases or breaking down by platforms.

 

[hawk2025]

I'm concluding that, between designing a non-shitty cover (a significantly larger challenge than it looks, since reusing any one game's arts or a montage are extremely likely to turn out shitty), a launcher, and worrying about cart sizes, compilations are more trouble than they are worth.

 

[YianGaruga]

Isn't SMRPG #2 and #3 because of 2 versions?

 

[Vanethyr]

Then what's #2? SMRPG is #2, not #3. I think it's a matter of counting overall releases or breaking down by platforms.

Isn't SMRPG #2 and #3 because of 2 versions?

This.

The PS4 release of Saturday Morning RPG is #2 and the Vita is #3.

 

[Shizuka]

This.

The PS4 release of Saturday Morning RPG is #2 and the Vita is #3.

Oh, they're counting by individual releases.

 

[LimitedRunGames]

This.

The PS4 release of Saturday Morning RPG is #2 and the Vita is #3.

^ This is correct, sorry for any confusion!

 

[Kresnik258]

Yay Oddworld. That's two games in a row I'm itching for from LRG, after Cosmic Star Heroine.

 

[DeuceGamer]

So we now know what release #2, #3, and #4 are, but we know nothing beyond that right?

Will be trying to get a copy of each of those. Hopefully, it goes as planned. Will look good sitting next to Breach and Clear

 

[sn0man]

This is cool! I wonder if they'll ever do Wii U stuff--there's a lot of eShop indie titles I would love a physical copy of.

I would happily buy a copy of Don't Starve on PS4 if they did a physical release.

Guys, guys... Super Meat Boy, Fez, Hotline Miami, Limbo, Shovel Knight (Vita), Guacamelee, Rogue Legacy...

I am so into this. I know their focus is probably only on indie games but it'd be cool if they could release some digital only localized Japanese games as well. Especially for the Vita.

Glad everyone is excited!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

See the quoted above but really you should consider a few back catalog games that were released on previous consoles (quacamole, mark of the ninja). Also you should get into contact with Fast Racing Neo developers for the WiiU.


Also if the issue for Nintendo is the size of the print run why not do a preorder once you and a developer have worked out a price together. You could then gauge availability like a humble bundle or kick starter. If you sell X then you can make physical, if you sell Y then you can pay for some nice artwork unique to physical release for the cover, and if you sell Z a nice full color manual.

 

[YianGaruga]

See the quoted above but really you should consider a few back catalog games that were released on previous consoles (quacamole, mark of the ninja). Also you should get into contact with Fast Racing Neo developers for the WiiU.


Also if the issue for Nintendo is the size of the print run why not do a preorder once you and a developer have worked out a price together. You could then gauge availability like a humble bundle or kick starter. If you sell X then you can make physical, if you sell Y then you can pay for some nice artwork unique to physical release for the cover, and if you sell Z a nice full color manual.

We already had this discussion a while ago. Preorders aren't happening for now

 

[MulderYuffie]

Awww yeah i'm in for Oddworld!

 

[LimitedRunGames]

I know this is random, but it has worked in the past. I really, really want a physical Outlast, someone should start that trend on Twitter @theredbarrels

It's probably unlikely, but it doesn't hurt!

 

[Samuray]

Is there the slightest of chances you could do "Darius Burst Chronicles" for PS4?

 

[Olengie]

I see. Didnt think it was numbered like that

 

[c-murph]

^ This is correct, sorry for any confusion!

You should make it some sort of tradition have have varying covers for multi-console releases (PS4/PS3/PSVita). Because It would increase the collectability and it would also be swell.

 

[LimitedRunGames]

I picture some devs reacting to the "just change one file" thing like:

It's exactly like this. What's worse is this is usually after explaining that a release with us could make them $40k+. It's literally 1 - 3 days worth of work on the dev side, and will result in 1/2 or more of that person's yearly salary being accounted for. Not to mention it preserves their games for future generations.

We've tried our hardest to make this whole thing a no-brainer - I think devs whom are resisting will come around as we gain notoriety. Successfully getting Oddworld out there will be a big deal for legitimizing our name in the dev community.

 

[Prelude.]

Limited Run Games ‏@LimitedRunGames 2 minutes ago

So far we've got 13 games locked in for 2016 (with more in the making) - this will be a very busy and exciting year! Get ready for it!

Dayum.

I don't think cartridges can be mastered with multiple PKG files. A game's PKG file contains the information that populates the LiveArea (the page seen before launching a game on Vita), so I don't think the LiveArea could store a reference to an alternate PKG.

That's a shame, it would have been an easy solution.

 

[blame space]

I wonder what would happen if someone tried to trade one of these in at a game store.

 

[YianGaruga]

I'm glad I'm not a collector who needs a full collection
RIP wallet

But really curious to see which games they have

 

[Skulldead]

I wonder what would happen if someone tried to trade one of these in at a game store.

50 cent trade value...

 

[blacksark]

They are interested in yakuza 5 and outlast. Would love so much to see that.

 

[Vanethyr]

Glad to see there's such an abundance of Vita games coming! It really makes me feel all fuzzy inside ^ ^

I think I'd lose it if Axiom Verge came out physically on Vita/PS4 along with Outlast on PS4. Shovel Knight on the Vita would have been on my wishlist too but it sounds like Yacht Club Games are already doing something regarding a physical release.

 

[LimitedRunGames]

They are interested in yakuza 5 and outlast. Would love so much to see that.

We would love to release those too!

Axiom Verge is one we want too. We won't give up on it!

 

[Shizuka]

From LRG Twitter:

So far we've got 13 games locked in for 2016 (with more in the making) - this will be a very busy and exciting year! Get ready for it!

13 different games, 25 releases total.

Also:

12 of them are on Vita. Only one is PS4 exclusive.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

Will O'Neill (Actual Sunlight) has expressed interest on Twitter!

I also reached out to Bracket Games (Three Fourths Home), because these kinds of games are a big part of what I hope gets made.

 

[c-murph]

From LRG Twitter:

So far we've got 13 games locked in for 2016 (with more in the making) - this will be a very busy and exciting year! Get ready for it!

13 different games, 25 releases total.

Also:

12 of them are on Vita. Only one is PS4 exclusive.

I'll buy them all!

 

[Ventara]

At least 12 Vita Games. That'll translate to around $500 CDN, and that's assuming they're all $25 each.

Will buy every single one, though, and have absolutely zero regrets. May even buy multiple of the ones I really want.

 

[Olengie]

Im likely to buy most

 

[Shizuka]

I'll buy every Vita release, will most likely skip the rest.

 

[NinjamicWZ]

The poll's almost over but I tweeted to see if people would want a physical Vita release of Volume. Mike Bithell favorited it and LRG reached out to him too.

https://twitter.com/NinjaMicWZ/status/689897470755614721

It got over 230 yes votes, so better than nothing considering I'm just a rando

Fingers crossed. I'm really into that game again and the port is actually pretty great. Tell me that wouldn't be an amazing cover too.

Successfully getting Oddworld out there will be a big deal for legitimizing our name in the dev community.

Probably. They're an awesome company for being down to earth imo and still have their ear to the street

 

[dallow_bg]

Oddworld is definitely a big deal.
Glad to see that game preserved.

 

[FerretGamer]

In for all, need those Vita physical releases.

I'm still very excited about Oddworld.

 

[blacksark]

We would love to release those too!

Axiom Verge is one we want too. We won't give up on it!

Just.do.it Pretty please!!! :3 (Would be incredible that after killing with messages to both sega and sony for yakuza 5 physical then you're the ones to release it, I couldn't be happier if that release comes to reality.

 

[YianGaruga]

Seems like Super Meat Boy is getting a normal PS4 retail release from Merge Games Ltd

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AVZIAY6/

no VIta though, which is what I would want