Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Sony is open to having paid alphas on PlayStation 4 - Destructoid

First off, terrible idea.
Second, if anyone could salvage the concept, it would be Valve - but its still a terrible idea.

The reason being is "betas" on consoles this gen were nothing more than glorified stress tests and never, ever actual beta tests where players sent actual constructive feedback that went toward bettering the game. It was just a hype tool.

Additionally, while releasing something in beta and even alpha has worked out for very small indies, big AAA publishers would do what they're prone to do and destroy the model just like they've ruined software driven by F2P microtransactions and in-app purchases. Additionally, you could just invite the rather prolific PC modding community on PC to playtest most of your games for free anyway, thus helping make a better product.

Oh well, its making my choice to focus on handhelds, Wii U and PC a bit easier. I can just ignore the games that do this on PC, but I don't know if I can condone the practice on a console purely because AAA publishers there can and will abuse the idea.

[DakAttack]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

If there's people who would pay, let them pay.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

If there's people who would pay, let them pay.

Fools and money, quickly parted, etc.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

So getting into the game on "beta" wasn't soon enough for people so now they're going to let them pay to get into "alpha". So when is the actual QA testing done?

[DakAttack]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

Actual testing begins typically about half-way through alpha. Beta begins when all content has been implemented can be fully tested. I wouldn't pay to get into either stage, but I suppose some people might be interested in the process.

[Icemage]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

Seems shady to me. The point of testing is to find problems and fix them; there are very few developers that I trust to do that properly under the best of circumstances, and it runs completely counter to the idea of a customer paying to have fun.

The only case where I think this sort of thing kind of panned out was Minecraft, and that is a special case.


Icemage

[Firewind]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

The Dust 514 beta is actually pretty fun and it ties into EVE pretty well. It would be nice to see betas on consoles since Dust 514 and Halo 3 have been the only notable ones.

That said something like this is basically like Internet Anonymity or Communism. It's one of those ideas that is great on paper but will inevitably go to hell once the human element is added.

[Aeni]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

For some online games, having a lot of players is the only way to get a good stress test and to optimize netcode. Other than that, though, I completely agree with Icemage. However, as Dak said, a lot of people are willing to pay money for the "privilege" and if it helps pad a little for the companies, then what's the downside? The only people complaining are those that don't have money and still want to get a free and guaranteed ride.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

The downside is that it largely becomes what beta already is, and you continue to lose focus on actual testing.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

The only people complaining are those that don't have money and still want to get a free and guaranteed ride.

I think those that are complaining miss the days where games weren't overbudgeted, annualized, rushed to market, DRMed, deeply monetized, in dire need of patches, with multiplayer shoehorned and not financially viable unless it sells over five million copies. Paid alphas are just another turd on AAA industry's shitcake.

It makes games like Dishonored or Bioshock Infinite seem like a breath of fresh air when a generation ago their level of quality was fairly normal.

[Malacite]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

I'm gonna try and ignore the fact that you lumped Dishonored in with Bioshock for a moment because I otherwise totally agree with that statement - quality control in some AAA games has completely gone to shit.

Meanwhile, you get gems like my beloved Alpha Protocol that while yes, had glaring (even horrendous in some cases) issues, nailed the core concepts extremely well but then get shutdown for future sequels because it didn't conform to the "norms"...

[Aeni]

Re: Sony and Valve ponder paid alphas

I think those that are complaining miss the days where games weren't overbudgeted, annualized, rushed to market, DRMed, deeply monetized, in dire need of patches, with multiplayer shoehorned and not financially viable unless it sells over five million copies. Paid alphas are just another turd on AAA industry's shitcake.

It makes games like Dishonored or Bioshock Infinite seem like a breath of fresh air when a generation ago their level of quality was fairly normal.

You're conflating one issue with another. The issue here is primarily allowing people to get a guaranteed slot at Alpha/Closed Beta for a yet-to-be-determined fee. This does not equate to a game being horrible. Think Kickstarter from a different angle. Some independent and low-key developers would like this option to help fund their game, provide invaluable feedback, without the headaches and problems an open beta system brings to the table. Sometimes, you just don't want too much exposure, unless you want to risk being 'showed up' by a competitor or some other developer who will lift your ideas and because they have bigger resources, beat you to the punch and lock you out of your own game.