The truth about Phantasy Star 4 insane price (by Vic. Ireland)

[maxi]

http://www.gaijinworks.com/interact/...ll=1#post97178

"Yeah, I wanted to do Shining Force III (I still do, actually - all of them), but it wasn't going to happen. But this reminded me,(again) of one SEGA title that pissed me off - Phantasy Star IV. We stepped in to do that when SoA passed because they said was no market for it (total bull) and it wouldn't sell. But when they learned we got involved and were going to license it from SoJ, SoA magically became interested again, but only so they could sell it for a ridiculous price to PROVE there was no market, rather than have us succeed with it and prove them wrong to SoJ. That $100 price had nothing to do with reality and everything to do with them trying to kill the title at launch with a price like 60% over the norm to prove a point. They failed. Even at $100, it sold out."

Looks like Sega was a pain in the ass way before Bernie Stolar.

[Black_Tiger]

Classic Vic bullshit. The easiest way to tell, is that every story involves Vic being right and everyone else being wrong and the ones to blame for something he failed at.

[maxi]

Classic Vic bullshit. The easiest way to tell, is that every story involves Vic being right and everyone else being wrong and the ones to blame for something he failed at.

Still makes more sense than all other explanations we had so far about that price.

[Thief]

Still makes more sense than all other explanations we had so far about that price.

This.

Also isn't it standard business practice to raise the prices of things that are more niche anyway to make up for not selling as much.

[Black_Tiger]

Still makes more sense than all other explanations we had so far about that price.

I think that the notion of a CEO of a console manufacturer spending a lotof money to ensure a loss on a product just to spite a tiny independent publisher has to be one of the least believeable explanation possible.

Anything Vic says about anything has to be taken with a grain of salt and when it comes to his historical revisionism, this is just one more "Bernie Stolar ran WD into the ground" excuse.

If you've read more than one of Vic's stories, then you know that all you need to know about whether a far fetched story is true or not, is whether it's being told by Vic Ireland.

I don't know what retail prices were in the U.S., but here PSIV was the same price as FFIII and Chrono Trigger and less than Super Mario RPG.

[Zebbe]

Thank Odin for not having Donald Trump, Melrose Place and ABBA jokes in my favourite game...

I just checked a Swedish mag I got in January 1996. Phantasy Star IV had the same price (699 SEK) as Light Crusader, "Wrestlemania 2" and Mortal Kombat 3. At least Light Crusader is 8 megs less, so it could have been cheaper.

By the way, I thought Vic Ireland hated cartridges and only wanted to publish disc games at that point.

[Obviously]

I don't buy it at all. Not only was it a larger than average ROM but by this time SNES RPGs in the US had become a semi-successful niche genre with a premium price tag. Chrono Trigger was in shops around the same time selling for a minimum of $80. Maybe Sega got ripped off by their chip supplier, maybe they weren't willing to take a profit margin as slim as Nintendo was on this particular game or maybe they just wanted to make a statement about the quality of their grand RPG. Whatever the case we don't know, but "they didn't want it to sell" is far more ludicrous than any of those guesses.

I don't doubt Sega telling Vic to buzz off is true, but probably because they were already planning to release it themselves. Everything beyond that is likely just fantasy to fuel his ego. Vic thinks he's so important that a company would invest time and money to localize a difficult to localize game on an expensive to produce cartridge with the intention of it not selling, just to spite him. He's not that important.

[tomaitheous]

Black_Tiger and Obviously, are right. Everything Vic says is pure bullshit. If there's a grain of truth, he does his best to hide it in whatever bullshit story that guy is stringing along. The idea behind this story is hilarious; raised the price to prove something to Vic. Yeah right. Careful Maxi, this is how rumors and bullshit stories become the truth on the internet.

[retrospiel]

Phantasy Star IV. We stepped in to do that when SoA passed because they said was no market for it (total bull) and it wouldn't sell.

Looks like Sega was a pain in the ass way before Bernie Stolar.

Reading between the lines, here's what I think are the facts:
- the game definitely was delayed in the West, we got it late 1994-ish in Europe, I think?
- SOA most likely turned it down in 1993 (or earlier when the game's budget and platform was decided, development initially started on Sega CD) like they did with Soeil / Ragnacenty / Crusader of Centy, Golden Axe 3, Monsterworld IV (+ Gunstar Heroes too, well almost)
- SOA was terrible prior Stolar indeed. They were the worst during their most successful years, ironically (1993-1995) which planted the seeds for their failure with Saturn.

[maxi]

Reading between the lines, here's what I think are the facts:
- the game definitely was delayed in the West, we got it late 1994-ish in Europe, I think?
- SOA most likely turned it down in 1993 (or earlier when the game's budget and platform was decided, development initially started on Sega CD) like they did with Soeil / Ragnacenty / Crusader of Centy, Golden Axe 3, Monsterworld IV (+ Gunstar Heroes too, well almost)
- SOA was terrible prior Stolar indeed. They were the worst during their most successful years, ironically (1993-1995) which planted the seeds for their failure with Saturn.

This. The quote I posted was about him saying Sega of America was against the decision of SoJ to localize the game, but looks like some people here are reading something different for whatever reason...

[Obviously]

The last point is irrelevant to the discussion and incidental. We don't need another let's all bash SOA thread.

This. The quote I posted was about him saying Sega of America was against the decision of SoJ to localize the game, but looks like some people here are reading something different for whatever reason...

That's not what you posted at all. You posted a fairy tale by Victor Ireland about Sega's pricing decision.

The only truth in it is that Phantasy Star IV was probably initially rejected and that Working Designs was definitely rejected.

[Sik]

Let me see: 2MB ROM + 1MB ROM + save RAM + battery + something to act as mapper, then add in the fact that because of margins the actual cost gets multiplied so it rises quickly... yeah that thing was going to be expensive no matter what.

And as for SOA: it was both SOA and SOJ constantly sabotaging each other, both sides were at fault. Even if the Saturn had cumberstomped the PS1 they'd still have wrecked themselves like they did =P

[Zebbe]

- the game definitely was delayed in the West, we got it late 1994-ish in Europe, I think?

No, it came in December 1995.

[Team Andromeda]

I don't buy it at all. Not only was it a larger than average ROM but by this time SNES RPGs in the US had become a semi-successful niche genre with a premium price tag.

The games ROM wasn't that big at all and many Mega Drive games have been using 24 Meg or more and didn't cost anything like what PS IV cost inthe USA . I don't buy everything Vic says , but there must be another reason other than the game using 24 Megs for the game insane price in the USA. Story Of Thor used 24 Megs was a Jap RPG and cost nothing like the price .

[Thief]

But Story of Thor also had the benefit of being an Action JRPG. So not really a nitche genre.