Can't find DAoC box at your local game shop?

[kemor]

Tell us about it...

> Name of the shop
> Town
> Country.

We (GOA) know that finding a box of DAoC always been a bit hard except for special release like SI add-on, and we want to try and change that. Not saying it'll come tomorrow, the day after or even in a month, but we are working on it and you can help us.

For a better English version of DAoC distribution!

 

[old.Tohtori]

It's....it's....Kemor!

*runs to his closet to get the insanity tools*

(excellent idea though)

 

[bob007]

Nice gesture, But thats all it is, A gesture. WoW and other compition coming ? A year to late i think....

Maybe leave this for a while and work on you CS, It might persude the poeple that are leaving each and every day to stay.

Work on your current customer base, And don't try build a new 1 till you can keep the at least a little happy.

/bitter

 

[Addlcove]

Kemor here´s a tip

Merlin (chain in dk, maybe otherplaces)
Fona (^^ same^^)
Fredgaard ( ^^ same ^^)
Expert ( ^^Same^^)
Bilka ( ^^Same^^)
Føtex ( ^^Same^^)

all of the above is chains in Denmark most of which has a large games area and has never heard of DAoC .... , I´m certain people from other lands can provide names for large chains in their contries.

 

[heilel]

Originally posted by Addlcove
Kemor here´s a tip

Merlin (chain in dk, maybe otherplaces)
Fona (^^ same^^)
Fredgaard ( ^^ same ^^)
Expert ( ^^Same^^)
Bilka ( ^^Same^^)
Føtex ( ^^Same^^)

all of the above is chains in Denmark most of which has a large games area and has never heard of DAoC .... , I´m certain people from other lands can provide names for large chains in their contries.

That's odd, coz I've seen DAOC Europe for sale in Merlin, Fona and Fredegaard at least.

Don't know about the others, I don't goto them.

 

[Addlcove]

I did say "some of which" not "all of which"

 

[Cyfr]

Its a bit late now, and you NEED to sort out CS, but..

Ive been to quite a few towns and visited the shops,

'GAME' had them on release but don't stuck them

'PC WORLD' have never had them or heard of them

Then smaller shops which aint just for games, but should stock them IMO.

'WHSmith'
'Woolworths'

These are all UK stores.

 

[Wibbler2]

Most UK shops have never heard of it when you ask.

Some of them *have* had it in stock, but it's very hard to find now.

Stores include:

Game
HMV
Virgin
WHSmith
Woolworth

amazon.co.uk

 

[old.Trine Aquavit]

The UK PC & Video game retail market is almost entirely dominated by GAME (aka Electronics Boutique) these days. In my local area there are 5 GAME stores within easy reach: Woking x 2, Guildford x 2 & Aldershot. I've not done a thorough audit, but I've only seen one copy of SI (just the expansion) recently.

GAME have a pretty strange system for handling releases: some games seem to get acres of shelf-space and others get a few copies hidden on the shelves. On the MMOG front DAOC was one of the latter, as was Planetside (I had to go 3 different stores to find a copy on release). The only MMOG to have got any push from GAME was EVE, which had a big push on release and was in their charts for a few weeks afterwards.

SWG is released tomorrow, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with that one.

 

[old.Tohtori]

Classic. GOA/Kemor comes around and offers a hand in a polite manner, gives some candy, is actually working to improve the CS(which isn't that bad in my opinion)...

And what happens?

The people rush in to beat down every single offer like a hungry pack of bloodsmelling hounds. I don't judge much around these parts, every woman, man and Sharma for themselves but this is just the top notch.

Flame away.

 

[bob007]

Originally posted by old.Tohtori
Classic. GOA/Kemor comes around and offers a hand in a polite manner, gives some candy, is actually working to improve the CS(which isn't that bad in my opinion)...

And what happens?

The people rush in to beat down every single offer like a hungry pack of bloodsmelling hounds. I don't judge much around these parts, every woman, man and Sharma for themselves but this is just the top notch.

Flame away.

Sry, I won't flame. its not my style. But...

What offer, he posts asking for a list of retailers that don't stock/sell DAoC, Pretty sure they can find that out them selves, What he said was "we are working on it". Working on what ? Pretty sure there shipment company know who's getting/not getting the game. maybe email them for a list. Might be quicker.

Dog-Bone ?

 

[old.moriath]

aye HMV in oxford street had it but none of the stores in reading 2 Games 2 HMV 1 Virgin had the game and PCWORLD never had it

Its very hard to get hold of.

BTW

All the online stores seem to say SWG is released on the 7th Nov

But the Sony site says 31st Oct.

Hmm wonder if i am gonna find it in the shops tomorrow

 

[bulge]

None of the Game shops in central Bristol, England had it.

I had to order online and even then it was hard to find an online store that had it in-stock.....

Eventually got it from Amazon marketplace vendor....

 

[old.Tohtori]

Originally posted by bob007
Sry, I won't flame. its not my style. But...

What offer, he posts asking for a list of retailers that don't stock/sell DAoC, Pretty sure they can find that out them selves, What he said was "we are working on it". Working on what ? Pretty sure there shipment company know who's getting/not getting the game. maybe email them for a list. Might be quicker.

Dog-Bone ?

I would say, working on customer service.

This is it. Be it a small thing but still. Customers tell that they can't find a game in their shops, GOA tries to do something.

It's just that how can you blame GOA for not improving their customer service when every time something is fixed or improved, all they get is flames?

Might be wrong here but, it's my opinion.

 

[shu_ayala]

Well I know this sounds silly Kemor...

But how about just banging LOADS of copies of the games to a central ONLINE purchasing distributor like Play.com?

Thats where I got my last copy of DAoC Classic and SI (a month after that they had run out of stock too)

At least then if its handled correctly - ie making sure the distributor keeps very detialed records of stock levels and shows the stock levels on thier website... poeple will then be able to keep tabs on if the stock is getting low? Rather than having the last remaining few copies being spread around the UK 'willy-nilly'

 

[old.Alliandre]

Originally posted by bob007
Sry, I won't flame. its not my style. But...

What offer, he posts asking for a list of retailers that don't stock/sell DAoC, Pretty sure they can find that out them selves, What he said was "we are working on it". Working on what ? Pretty sure there shipment company know who's getting/not getting the game. maybe email them for a list. Might be quicker.

Dog-Bone ?

Sure, they probably know who's getting the game, but they won't have a list of who doesn't get the game. How're they to know what the big places in England, France, and Germany are? This way they might get some of the smaller places selling it to.

For good customer service, you need customer feedback. Selling the game is part of the CS imo.

 

[Uliea]

I own a games store in the UK, South Devon. I stock a couple of copies all the time, and i play it constantly in the shop too (i'm probably goa's best advertiser of daoc to date ) it's not hard to get hold of it tbh but most places don't stock it as it's not a constant seller. I presume places like Game take things off the shelf if they don't sell a minimum amount.
When people ask me what game im playing they are interested until i mention it's pay per month, mainly because they don't undestand what goes into these games.

I personally think it's about time there were some 7 day free trials handed out. Not just through the trial server, i mean full accounts that give you one week of play and you pay after that. If you look at Anarchy Online you can download the original ful game for free and play for 7 days before playing. Even the new add-on, Shadowlands i think it's called, is downloadable for a 7 day trial too. There's even a free 7 day trial account cd that comes with ToA in the USA, which is a damn good idea.

Ohh and btw if anyone here owns or works in a games shop and wants to stock DAoC, Kotch is the official UK distributor for everything published by Wannado.

 

[shrub]

play247.com, somewhere a LOT of UK people buy from, does not seem terribly well stocked at the moment:

Dark Age Of Camelot
Sold Out
our price: £14.99 Delivered
RRP: £19.99 You save: £5.00 (25%)

Dark Age of Camelot & Shrouded Isles Bundle
Sold Out
our price: £17.99 Delivered
RRP: £29.99 You save: £12.00 (40%)

Dark Age of Camelot: Shrouded Isles
Sold Out
our price: £12.99 Delivered
RRP: £19.99 You save: £7.00 (35%)

All their prices include delivery regardless of whether you buy 1 or more than 1 item, which is why I chose them over amazon. I think they have been sold out for a while.

 

[-Nxs-]

I got the game originaly from "EB" store in oxford back in Feb 2002 they only had a few in stock, since then I havent been able to find one anywhere. Was looking around xmass to get it as a gift for someone, ALL computer shops in both Reading and Oxford did not stock it but could order it.

Hopefully things have changed now - but alas, its a little to late for me now. I really hope the boxed game can make it onto the shelves, would be nice to see some new life breathed into the game, for everyone elses sake.

 

[Vell]

A few weeks ago I was looking to buy a third account. Walked round in Nottingham City Centre trying to find it.

The following stores did not have it (DAOC nor SI) in stock:

WHSmith, Listergate, Nottingham.
Game, Listergate, Nottingham.
MVC, Broadmarsh Centre, Nottingham.
Woolworths, Victoria Centre, Nottingham.
Game, Victoria Centre, Nottingham.
MVC, Victoria Centre, Nottingham.
WHSmith, Victoria Centre, Nottingham.

plus a few random non-chain shops.



In the end I gave up, bought a new mobile phone instead, and played my alts


There are serious stocking issues with the game, even when it was first released. These issues haven't got any better - but this is partly to do with the fact that the stores say there is no demand for it - which I can believe since very little advertising has ever been done.

I appreciate that you are looking into the matter Kemor, but I honestly believe there is more than just a stocking issue here.

 

[Mid - Kirinia]

PC World
Winterstoke Road, Bristol.
United Kingdom.

They didn't have it, and the same goes for a few other PC Worlds close by.

 

[bob007]

Ok i was a little bit pissed when i seen this post, Thu my views still stand, Heres what i would do.

First you can'r create supply without demand, Shops don't/won't stock it As very few ppl are asking for it. It takes up space that could be taken by a game that is shifting more unit, So its not cost effective to stock this game over the other 1. This is what you have to change. heres how...

First a new movie, A good 1. I've seen the 1 on your site, Its not that impressive. Jump on some servers, Get some pve action filmed and some RvR action, Don't go for prime time RvR over the weekend, Frankly 150+ albs in emain on excal, All running amg- mmg doesn't make good press. Try following the RvR aimed guilds Nobly pride, Vengence, Guardians of light. To name but 3 of mainy, Try to record even battles, Battles that take more then 30 secs, Assisting savage train, Tho effective won't make it apealing, Except to be a savage . Get some PvE events mixed in there, Slaying Apoc/dragon/legion, That kinda fluff. Make the movie fast passed and intresting, But also add eliments of say... slower times. Just a troll walking along a river with all the nice effects sounds boring, But slammed in the middle of say 4 fgs Killing apoc, and an rvr battle, Would make it quiet effective. Ok you have the movie, now what.

Take some screenies from the movie, Yes even the troll at side of the river with the nice effects Make a new poster. Send a link to your movie to the games mags, And try get it on a free CD of theres, At same time use your new poster as an advertisment campaign. Make the game apealing, Action packed at times and above all a Must Have.

You have created demand, Now supply, Peeps will be poping into shops. Game is the biggest supplier of games in the uk. Pop a mail bomb on them With posters and stickers for the expected demand, Don't try target them all hit the game shop finder, http://shop.game.net/Help/StoreFinder.aspx And target 5 or 6 major cities, Target 50% of there shops in that area. (manchecter has 9 game outlets ). Give them detials of suppliers, They prob have it on file, But nothing wrong with a reminder.

Thats what i would do.

PS to Kemor, Forgive my first reply, and 2nd As a rl peep i wouldn't say that to you, But as "[GOA]English Servers GM" Just take a look at the very first reply. You are a phantom, You slip in once in a while and disappear Just as fast. I know theres aren't the official forums, But if your going to pop a link to this board on your classic client CD, At least be around for the ppl you direct here.

 

[Cyfr]

Oh.. kemor while your here i'll give you a tip.

Let users download daoc (like the korean daoc hosters do) and also let them buy accounts from you. It would sort out so many problems.

 

[Athralmall]

^^ A few posts have echoed this post above.

Since I bought the game I've only ever seen one copy of DAoC on sale in Gloucester/Cheltenham combined, and that was when I was after a second account. The exception being the brief period when SI was released.

But, seriously, trying to fire more copies to retailers is completely pointless without making people aware of it and making them want to buy it.

Like they say, create demand - then supply.

Personally, although it's a starting point GOA have a hell of a lot of work to do before I'd recommend EU daoc over US daoc.

 

[legaoniel.old]

game online

Game stores online (UK biggest retailer) also has an online web site allowing you to purchase games direct. Daoc and SI expansion are both currently showing as out of stock.

This sort of by-passes the "valuable shelf space" argument, but I feel the downloadable 7 day trial option is a good one..

 

[Sabu]

Ofc you can´t find Daoc in spanish shops and we are lot of online players. Bad for Goa losing a good market.

 

[old.Emma]

For those in the Torquay area of the UK check out Games Arena in Paignton, Devon.

Has copies of DAoC and SI in stock all the time as the owner is an avid DAoC player as well

 

[Twaize]

FONA 2000 which is now a plain FONA has DAoC and SI!

Othwise Bog & Ide could also need some DAoC

 

[cHodAX]

A commendable effort by GOA but non the less doomed to failure as it stands, you can't force shops to stock a title that won't sell well. You must first create demand and to do that you need public awareness of your product. So here is how I would approach the problem.

1. Create a 14 day (one use only) free trial useable on any server, the account is a permanent account that will allow perstiant use of created characters if the player subscribes after the trial expires.

2. Give exclusivity to a gaming magazine, let them include the trial on the cover DVD. Sponsor a dedicated column in that magazine that keeps the players upto date and might even catch the eye of potential new players. No gaming magazine will turn down 5,000 new readers and that is what they will gain by having a small regular DAoC feature, loyal players would buy it. Remember that most DAoC players are loyal, they wouldn't be still here after so long and so many problems if they weren't. Even a cynical bastard like myself can see this game has huge potential if directed and patched properly.

3. Make sure every magazine has a full review copy of ToA, that addon will bring you a shitload of new customers IF you market it properly.

4. Give your chosen exclusive magazine an indepth look at GOA and DAoC, let them interview Kemor and one or two respected players.

Thats my 2cents anyway...

 

[Tilda]

> Name of the shop - GAME and PC World
> Town - Gloucester
> Country - UK