CD AGES wrote:Oh hey! Finally, its RSG. With all sincerity, welcome to perhaps one of the most active and greatest DC forum on the web! I hope you are as humbled to be here as I was (still am actually) after being a part of this wonderful community known as DC-Talk where i can share and discuss my passion for the Sega Dreamcast Platform!
Thanks.
CD AGES wrote:Yes. Your site has been a home to viruses, trojans etc since Q1 of 2012 (please check this very thread on the matter for more info), making it very difficult to read up on the status of the pruduct in question and even go about making a transaction to just preorder the game from RSG!
True, at this time there were many attempts to hack and DDoS our site but failed thanks to our webmasters efforts. Unfortunately two infections still could be made within a very short time - however Google decided to display redspotgames.com as Malware site due to these infections.
This meant
this similar warning has been showed due to the previous infection as a warning - even though there was no harm. Had to talk to Google Germany and Google US and eventually they removed it after a week or so.
Sorry you couldn't access our site while this time.
I really recommend you to subscribe our
Facebook or
Twitter account, there you will get the latest information.
CD AGES wrote: It was at that point that i decided to just purchase the game from a third party vendor.
This is a very interesting statement because this third party vendor seems not to be an official Sturmwind retailer at all - since all official have agreed not to list the game yet. They also don't have the final purchase price yet and this very vendors calculations aren't set then.
To make it short: Please ask this vendor if he even had made an inquiry for wholesale at all - there is only a very limited amount of Limited Edition available and it's highly questionable this version will make it to many wholesalers.
Of course you can buy it at another vendor, please don't get me wrong here. But since an eBay seller seems to have ripped off people with Sturmwind units he could not have in his possession, please pay attention.
CD AGES wrote: In respects to my recent technical problem with the site, My broswer crashed about a minute after going to read the FAQ page on your site. I was using Google Chrome if that helps.
So as we. This is really weird, sadly I need much more information (OS, version number, computer specs) so the webmaster could have a look.
Does this always occur when visiting the site? Can you reproduce it?
CD AGES wrote:With that said (and excuse my language), may i ask why the F*** did it take so long to provide this sooner! You guys have all the answers and you even have all the questions and concerns brought about by the community. So why did it take so long to release something as simple as this FAQ to calm the community.
Because the content had to envolve. These are the very latest information we've got.
Example: We've talked about the box manufacturer. Have you read
this passage already?
As stated there the German office couldn't met all of the agreed delivery dates. Not even two weeks before releasing this FAQ we still were looking for alternatives factories that could produce the very same box with same specs and look. The conditions would have been much, much higher than this factory and we thought about pulling the plug at the first factory for good. But actually shortly before the FAQ has been written, they could deliver at least some in advance and now it's rolling again. Now the next steps can be taken.
See, we could not talk about this because there were no updates the customers could have find being productive for the project. And the content of the FAQ had to been formed with solutions we came up with.
Another thing why the FAQ hasn't been released earlier: We thought it would be the right time because many questions have been answered at the redspotgames customer support in the meanwhile. Only a few weeks before these very questions became more and more and we thought it would be the right to make these FAQ public to all.
CD AGES wrote:
Q: The game was delayed over and over again!
A: We’re sorry for the troubles caused, yet this could be subjective perception. In fact, the game has been delayed only once and has been set to “TBA” consequentially.
This may be true but your total lack of communication with the community and your customers makes me believe you're still to blame and RSG should take responsibility for.
I'm afraid this is the public opinion you're referring there. Take a look from another angle:
We have four people who are currently just answering inquries to the redspotgames customer support. All of these questions are answered asap and both our Facebook and Twitter account are updated on a regular base. So the redspotgames customer support has seen no lack of communication.
SInce you haven't ordered at the redspotgames online shop, you might not know our newsletter which is also supporting the communication.
I have two assumptions for this public opinion that there is no communication:
1.) When sending us an email, following bounceback mail will be sent:
Code: Select all
“This is an autoreply on email with subject (…) from (…). Please do not reply to this email.
(…)
Are you looking for the redspotgames customer support? We apologize, but we do not offer email support anymore. Instead the redspotgames customer support will assist you with all open questions concerning shipping, release dates etc. at www.redspotgames.com/support”
Still, many don't read this and won't post their question to the redspotgames customer support. Yet we have seen some with the same name complaining that there is no communication from us - even though we offer it but it won't be used by all.
2.) The Gmail, AOL and GMX issue (quotes from the FAQ):
"As stated on the front page, new spam filters of services like Gmail, AOL or GMX are too strict and might put our replied into the spam folder. Please have a look in your spam folder and allow redspotgames mails to arrive. Additionally, you could contact your provider and demand the removal of such strict restriction."
One actual example:
Believe it or not, we get death threat emails from time to time. One specific customer decided to do so because he hasn't received a reply concerning this inquiry about the release date. In the end the reply has been done within half a day after the question arrived at the redspotgames customers support, but unfortunately in the spam folder.
CD AGES wrote:"Subjective perception"??? well what do you expect when the very publisher of said product has no voice on the matter of their product. We get a subjective "estimated" release from other 3rd party vendors and that's about all we get with regards to info on the game for quite some time.
I'm sorry, all third party given release dates are wrong.
Two weeks ago, we didn't even know if we would make it with one or another supplier to the end. Since their delivery dates weren't met six (!!) times, how could we a.) make an estimation of a final release date nevertheless and b.) communicate any release date with third parties then? As said, they are all false then because there is no release date.
CD AGES wrote:As a publisher, active steps should have been taken to confirm or refute any info regarding your game that would come from any entity outside RSG or Duranik! For the longest everyone else had something to say on the prospect of the games but RSG
I see your point. Still we have set the release date to TBA in
December 2011 already. And since there were no serious delivery dates from the suppliers we could work with (beside both Duranik and redspotgames decided to enhance the gameplay and make further development) there has been no change to this TBA announcement.
You see, we have communicated a lot about Sturmwind (see Facebook site) but we can not change a TBA announcement if there is no estimation we can work with.
CD AGES wrote:Considering you are releasing a game of a particular genre and for a Retro Console no less, you must be aware that you are ultimately catering to a niche group. You're communication and marketing should be as close to the community as possible to promote respect and trust to ultimately bring growth to you're business (Dreamcast fans are the most passionate). Much like how Duranik themselves have gotten on board here for quite some time to appease the community of many doubts and concerns, As a publisher you should have followed in their example even before Duranik took such steps. The fact that you are now here trying to quell people such as myself leads me to think that my banters were not in vain and hopefully that this is not the last we hear from RSG on this forum or any other active Dreamcast forum for that matter!
Indeed I understand your position. Very good to be honest.
On the other hand please also see the two different point of views for Duranik and redspotgames. You're right we have to be as close to the customer as possible.
But being the publisher does not mean to write in forums in first place, because it's (so kind of) editional content and formation of opinion, means online media. You do not change the editional content but give all possibilities to form it.
This is the reason why had been to Gamescom for example:
Beside this we have sponsored / attended at various events or even a preview of Sturmwind was available to the public, e.g.
RetroEncounter, or the [play2012] event just a few weeks ago... we gave away
free posters with orders, had
live performances and made interviews. Beside the customer support we have there for public questions.
This seems to be the logical steps for a publisher the first place. Even though it's a nieche, it's not like there are all gathered in one forum in one language... and there aren't all there waiting for your product already. This has been the marketing steps we have done and seen as pretty important in first place.
As you can see we're highly interested to please the customers.
Our problem is that we are limited men and women and we can not be everywhere.
As an example: We had similar talks at neXGam, a pretty big German website. Also in the forums, which took a bunch of time of the daily work of the redspotgames customer support staff.
But the contact from neXGams site has been made, because honestly there are thousand of sites on this globe that still report about Dreamcast. Don't get me wrong - Dreamcast-Talk.com is very big indeed but since none of us have ever had an account there as a private person nor we have been contacted by the admins or offered a platform for statements or an article, it was not our main priority.
It is very hard already to keep up with the demand of websites and print magazines on which both previous said points occur. For this very reply for example it took me right now 1 hour and 30 mins until this very point - correction read will also take some time afterwards.
So please do not get me wrong here - close customer contact is also was were are looking for, but it needs optimization to reach as much people as possible. And giving statements to a featured interview will be read by much more - having a place were people can ask their questions (
redspotgames customer support) helps optimizing it as well and getting the answer you are looking for - I highly doubt many external readers will make it to this very sentence since they are just looking for their individual inquiry.
Yes, we will stay here and respond to questions in the future.
Still please keep in mind that it's pretty much unrealistic to cover all forums, websites and blogs a question about Sturmwind has been made. Still we do best efforts to concentrate this bandwidth of feedback.
Again, customer satisfaction is very important to us, and we're working on Sturmwinds release.
But can I get back to the point:
Is there anything rude about this FAQ then language-wise then? Because honestly I haven't read anything about being rude between the lines.
Have a nice day!
