Looking at the rage for Early Access I start to understand where it comes from.
- Disclaimer I'm going to take Wasteland 2 as an example, but any game with Early Access works in this example -
Imagine I'm an unknowing costumer on Steam.
Friends have been telling me how awesome Wasteland 2 is going to be and that I have to buy it when it comes out. I'm a sane person and I say them I will check it out when it comes out if it's anything for me. A couple of my friends even paid a small fortune on a thing called Kickstarter for this game when they even aren't certain they are ever going to get this game. It boggles my mind.
Today I find Wasteland 2 on Steam: it's priced 60 dollars which is quite steep for a game, but I'll check it out anyway.
I get myself pretty hyped for the game and I now understand why it's priced 60 dollars. It's because you can play it earlier than anyone else.
I go ahead and buy it, download it, start playing it and... wait a minute, this is a unfinished game! Waaaaah, Internet rage!!!
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Okay, the person in the example above didn't understand what he bought. That's his fault and he shouldn't blame someone else for his stupidity, right? No, not really. As a company you want everyone to find your game fantastic. The person should have waited and bought the game at release. But he didn't because the company didn't make clear to the person that was the case for him. So the company failed to explain to his costumers what they were trying to do.
The more I think about it the more I find Early Access a flawed concept that needs serious reworking (if necessary, i still find a pre-order with benefits just as good and it communicates clearer to your costumers).
