I didn't manage to support D:OS 2 through the Kickstarter campaign due to practical reasons. So I was wondering if the collector's edition will be available in retail stores later.
It's not like I don't want to support you guys directly, but due to circumstances Kickstarter wasn't an option.

There aren't any plans currently for a retail version. That may be considered closer to release. The Kickstarter CE does not come with a physical DVD, just Steam or GOG codes for the game.

The Paypal page is still available, though probably not for long.

Now that the launch date is getting very(hopefully) near, do you have plans for releasing a retail CE or any physical edition for that matter of the game?

I believe that during the kickstarter, they said that there will be no retail/physical version. It is no longer cost-effective to produce one.

There still aren't any plans for a retail release. In addition to the cost effectiveness issue that Stabbey mentioned, a retail release requires a lot of work leading up to the release of the game (thus interfering with work on actually completing the game), and once deals are made with retailers and production starts, there is much less flexibility in changing the release date (for last minute updates, to speed up or delay release to avoid conflicts with other game releases or events, etc).

Keep in mind here that last time there was the german publisher ordering a large amount of collectors editions and distribute them via amazon. Those copies sold quite well, so I would not be surprised if a deal like this still shows up. Those copies ended up even cheaper than the digital edition on steam … and my box still has the collector's edition smell.

I actually bought my copy of DOS from Walmart. I will never pay for digital copies. If I pay for something I want to retain my rights not have them hang on the whim of a worthless businessman/woman.

Any updates on a physical release? It does not have to be through a retailer like Walmart or Amazon. I would actually rather purchase directly from Larian so they can retain the full amount.

Cost wise, Larian would make a lot more from selling physical copies on their site rather than selling digital through Steam or GOG. They both take a huge cut. A printed box, DVD's and perhaps a printed map will barely cost $2 and shipping would be media mail so only about $2 more. How long does it take someone to take a automatically printed sticker and plop it on a box then put said box on the outgoing mail table?

How much does Steam pilfer these days? 30%-50%? So for every $50 sale Larian only makes about $25-$37 vs. closer to $45 if they printed and sold their own physical copies.

This would be awesome if there was another option to buy the CE. I went to order it 2 days after announcement and of course the limited quantity was sold out. Which is understandable, from the Kickstarter update it looked pretty badass.

I have found some on eBay, unfortunately the sellers seem shady. They have some bad reviews. Oh and they were 300-500$.

Hopefully we see them on amazon or elsewhere soon. I just discovered the awesomeness of the divinity universe a few months ago. I'm hooked :party:

Industry standard for digital games sales is ~30% (Source: https://www.quora.com/Valve-company-What-percentage-does-Steam-keep-from-sales). Some estimates are closer to 40%, so let's take that and assume a take-home of ~60%.

This is a larger cut than Retail, but Retail includes other costs: http://kotaku.com/5479698/what-your-60-really-buys. Rough estimate there is take home ranges from about 50%-60%.

Most likely, it's not really cheaper to operate in Retail vs. Steam. In fact, if you do all sales online you don't have to deal with supply chain and manufacturing which lets you run on a leaner staff which saves the company money as well. Integration with a platform like Steam is likely cheaper in the long run.

Only real question is whether they are missing out on money by not going retail. The answer is probably yes, but they've made it clear that the extra operational cost is not worth it to them; they're focused on the game.

Not forgetting that going down the retail route typically seems to require a publisher, and we know how well that tends to work out...

I think you guys misunderstood. They dont need to go full retail like Amazon or Walmart for this to be very profitable. Video games are not what they used to be. It used to be that you needed retail for marketing and impulse sales. This game however, does not need that nor will it work well since impulse folks tend to favor action games. The power of RPGs is exactly that they have a dedicated and usually knowledgeable fan base. They dont need retail style marketing... most of the sales will be from folks who already know about the game. This is simply a way to better capitalize on sales that would happen anyway (like myself hopefully).

I am suggesting they simply sell it themselves on the larian website. This would cost next to nothing. You dont need a publisher or distributor. Printing a box is very cheap as is making DVD's. The only real cost is time to assemble the package and ship it. Honestly, this shouldnt be a big deal and can easily be handled by current workers during idle time. Even if they only sell 100k hard copies, thats easily $1m extra profit which can go a very long way for a smaller studio.